How One Children’s Hospital Doctored Its Employee Newsletter Back to Health
Plus 6 Tips for Success with Your Organization’s Newsletter
// By Lisa D. Ellis //
What’s the best way to nurse an ailing employee newsletter back to health? For Miami Children’s Health System (MCHS), the solution to overhaul an existing internal publication in dire need of an update was to use an updated software solution that creates an interactive digital experience for staff members.
Meeting the Needs of a Large Staff
Francis Forte, Employee Communications Specialist at Miami Children’s Health System
As the only designated health system exclusively focused on children in the Miami area, MCHS has a tall order to fill. The organization operates one hospital, eight outpatient centers, an ambulatory surgery center, a foundation, a physicians’ group, and a management service organization. This translates into more than 3,500 employees who are spread out among multiple locations and who all share one common goal: to care for the health of the youngest members of the surrounding communities. The employees span four generations, and more than 80 percent of them are minorities. Such diversity means MCHS has to find effective methods of communication that take into account key differences to ensure everyone feels included, explains Francis Forte, Employee Communications Specialist at MCHS.
Until recently, she says, the organization produced a traditional email employee newsletter that was a vehicle used by the corporate office to share information with various departments and staff. Yet the publication was stale and dated, so its impact was diluted. This fact prompted Forte to explore a more effective approach to better serve the employees and meet their unique needs.