In last week article, we talked about the importance of communication when it comes to remote team management. It sounds obvious, doesn't it?
It might be obvious, but it's certainly not as easy as you'd think. I promised you that I'd talk in more detail about team newsletters, so here I am.
I'm not talking about marketing newsletters sent to customers, but informative internal newsletters sent to your remote team to ensure they feel part of the organization as much as possible, rather than like detached entities.
Structuring such an email is often not easy when it comes to thinking about the content, and how much you can share, and if it will be interesting for them or not.
Over the years, I've sent hundreds of these emails with different levels of success depending on the team I was managing, and their level of engagement, curiosity, and interest in the product. What always helped me to craft such emails was to have a clear structure.
There are two main advantages to doing this in an organized way:
It will help you to have enough content.
Your team will know what to expect from this email.
Content & Structure
Introduction – Always start with a short introduction, a little executive summary where you highlight the most interesting news they will find in the newsletter (it may sound odd, but I suggest writing this after you have written everything else). Try to use this space to set the general mood of the email as well.
A general overview of the current situation – Use this space to talk about the status of the team, the status of the game, welcome new members, and remind them about structural changes if there have been any.
Feedback on completed campaigns – Provide an overview of the results achieved in the latest campaigns or projects they have worked on. Use data or very simple infographics to show the strengths and the weaknesses, and praise their work. Highlight best practices and lessons learned during the campaign which they can use in the future.
Team achievement/goals – Use this space to highlight team achievements and set the team goals for the near future. Where should the focus of the team be and what should be done to achieve a great end result?
What's coming next – It's important for the team to know what's coming next; having a general overview of the plan for the upcoming six to eight weeks can help the team to share their opinions, foresee blockers/impediments, and raise their concerns in advance.
Team member highlights – Try to give visibility to the great work of your team members. Ideally, depending on the size of the team, this should cover around three people. As we all know, every team has its over-performer. So try not to always highlight the same people; get in contact with them instead and ask them who could be highlighted in the next month.
Conclusion – Always finish your newsletter by thanking your team, reminding them that you're open to feedback and suggestions, and let them know you are available to help them if needed.
You can remove sections you don't need, or replace them with something that fits better with your team purpose, scope or setup. Depending on the team size and pace of work, my personal advice is to send this email during the first week of the month on a monthly or quarterly basis.
IMPORTANT: Don't forget to make this newsletter personal as much as you can, it should be you writing to your team!
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