A big part of internal communications planning involves managing an editorial calendar and posting engaging content. For intranets, (purposeful) content is king! Thus, our Intranet Content Blog Series focuses on several practical content calendar tips organizations can use to keep employees coming back to the intranet.
In this post, we’ll share “Humans of New York” themed content ideas for your intranet and employees. In case you don’t know, Humans of New York started years ago as a photo blog and street portraits and interviews collected on the streets of New York. The rawness and authenticity of the stories drove this to become viral and developed a tremendous following through the use of social media.
Internal communications teams have taken to the idea and began to profile company employees. This is a great way to learn more about our coworkers and drive engagement to the corporate intranet.
Here are 12 monthly engaging intranet content calendar ideas to connect and engage your employees:
January: Highlight one of your employee athletes
Get all of those coworkers with resolutions motivated, by following your resident triathlete through some of their training. It will pique interest — even if some of us are motivated by jealousy.
February: Your business leader’s (or employee’s) career pivot
Did you know YouTube used to be a video dating site in 2005? Since its pivot, YouTube has become one of the biggest video-sharing websites. Sharing someone’s career pivot story can be inspiring and help those who are interested to finally take the first step.
March: Valuable lessons learned from soon-to-be retirees
Have a retiree share their lessons learned and some of the triumphs over their career. Everyone is sure to have some lessons, regrets, accomplishments, and humorous content to share along the way.
April: Share a cancer survivor’s story
Cancer is terrible and we’ve all been affected in some way. These stories put work and life into perspective. They help us appreciate our coworkers more.
May: A day in the life of a working supermom
May is about Mother’s Day. Every organization is full of supermoms who deserve a bit of praise. This content idea is the least you could do given their perpetual run of 18-hour days.
June: A day in the life of a working superdad
Dads work hard, too. They also deserve to have their story told. So go find a Cub Scout pack leader that is also a part-time referee and share their story.
July: The day in the life of a remote employee
Have you ever worked from home? Sure, you can do laundry and occasionally sneak out. But data shows us these employees actually get more work done and need social support. Build some empathy and help connect some remote employees with this content idea.
August: A parent who just dropped a child off at college
Ultimately, these employee interest stories build community and help pockets of the organization come together. An event like this will resonate with others who are also there or see it on the horizon. Consider topics for your intranet editorial calendar around other life moments.
September: A day in the life of a new employee (fresh out of college)
Wide-eyed with dreams and ambitions allow all employees to channel our 22-year-old selves and line the individual up with a line of wannabe mentors.
October: Highlight the career of one of your executives
Didn’t realize your suave head of marketing once detasseled corn and shampooed carpets during college? Have them share their journey with career advice along the way.
November: Recognize a veteran
Don’t just go through the pleasantries of Veterans Day. Find out their story and share the parts they’re comfortable with.
December: Employee submitted nomination: The story of a crowd-sourced employee
Every organization has that naturally interesting employee that we just want to know more about: the custodian who is always smiling. The person who always brings treats. The storyteller that everyone wants to be around. Have employees find these people and get them to share their broader story.
These are just some ideas to kick start your content calendar to engage employees using your intranet. Employee spotlights are an excellent way to bring your employees together and use the intranet as a platform to get to know each other better.
Tip: Try a video format! Video has been shown to have higher engagement than any other media format. If you don’t have the means to do so, be sure to include a photo of your employee and make it a 5-question series.
Learn how to Improve your employee engagement
Download our eBook: Strategies to Improve Employee Engagement to learn how to incorporate highly effective intranet content to boost your employee engagement and how to measure your efforts and continuously improve.
