Digital employee magazines and future-proof corporate communications

In recent years, this question has preoccupied the internal communications departments of global corporations just as much as those of internationally active SMEs. In the context of growth, internationalisation and digitalisation, clearly defined goals are coming to the fore: "one company, one voice". With the expansion of cross-divisional working, collaboration platforms and the cross-media use of all internal channels are becoming increasingly important, and cost efficiency is also becoming more of a focus for decision-makers with new technical possibilities.

Staff magazine

In recent years, this question has been on the minds of internal communications departments at global corporations as well as those at internationally active medium-sized companies. Against a backdrop of growth, internationalisation and digitalisation, clearly defined goals have come to the fore: “one company, one voice”. As cross-departmental working expands, collaboration platforms and the cross-media use of all internal channels are becoming increasingly important, and cost-efficiency is also coming more into focus for decision-makers thanks to new technical possibilities.

The exciting questions, however, are: “What more can an employee magazine achieve?” “What opportunities lie in the need for open communication and participation?” and “Does the medium really have to be a purely internal channel, or can it also contribute to the company’s image-building?”
Let’s set aside the advantages of print – such as its feel, appearance and engagement – and take a look at the benefits a purely online version offers for internal communication:

Staff magazine 2.0 – Integration into the intranet

  • All information on one channel / from a single source
  • Increased reach at no extra cost
  • Flexible information flow and publication frequency as required
  • Opportunities for participation and dialogue through comments and interactive elements
  • Promoting employee identification through emotional engagement (employer branding)
  • Multilingual implementation supports internationalisation and thus integration processes
  • Modern, responsive design on all devices, available globally
  • Cost-efficiency through one-off implementation of a CMS
  • Straightforward updating and customisation via updates
  • Integration of modern multimedia content (e.g. video, audio, animations)
  • High flexibility for text and multimedia content
  • Easy measurement through analytics tools

Internal Communication 3.0 – Opening up to the outside world

It is only a small step from digitising the staff magazine and publishing it on the intranet to publishing it on the company website or as a stand-alone solution on the internet. Nevertheless, this option is still rarely seen. Concerns that confidential internal information might leak out are too great. However, this worry is generally unfounded:

  • Hardly any staff magazine contains truly confidential information.
  • All topics that have made it into the magazine have usually already been published elsewhere, e.g. via press releases.
  • By being displayed in reception areas or read at home, printed staff magazines do not remain exclusively within the internal sphere of influence.

On the contrary, publishing your staff magazine presents a great opportunity, as free access creates a powerful channel for proactively engaging key stakeholders: customers, partners, shareholders and, of course, (potential) employees.

We would be happy to support you in digitising your employee communications to enhance your appeal as a modern employer and perhaps even as a business partner, and to unlock the untapped potential of your communications infrastructure.