Engagement Technique: The Magazine
In larger companies, internal communications became very polished.
Professionally designed newsletters and intranets, corporate messaging, with carefully curated updates from leadership.
They have their place, but they often miss something important: the employee voice.
The Magazine is a simple engagement technique that gives employees a platform to share what’s happening across the organisation from their perspective.
In big companies, this could become a full internal magazine or digital publication. In smaller organisations, it might be as simple as a monthly all-company email.
The key idea is the same: create a space where employees can share stories about work, interests, and achievements.
Isn’t this just a company newsletter? Didn’t they stop in the 00’s?
Well, yes, and pretty much yes…
There was a time when many companies had internal magazines, newsletters, and intranet updates. Sometimes printed. Sometimes a simple PDF or email. But it was a regular way for people across the organisation to hear what was going on.
Today, internal magazines are far less common.
Most companies rely on employee engagement platforms, internal social tools, Slack channels, or intranet updates to share information. News moves faster and communication is more immediate.
However, are we missing an opportunity for employees to have a voice?
Research from Gallup suggests only around 10% of UK employees are engaged at work, one of the lowest levels in Europe. With engagement that low, there may still be space for ideas that help people feel more connected to each other.
The image below links to some ideas for company newsletters (external):
How it works
So if you’re panicking, thinking ‘this seems like a lot of work’, it doesn’t need to be. Once you have a format, a simple version might be a monthly internal newsletter that collects stories and updates from across the organisation.
Possible sections could include:
Team updates
Short updates on what different departments have been working on.
Employee stories
Spotlights on colleagues, their roles, and their journeys.
Achievements and wins
Projects completed, milestones reached, or things people are proud of.
Events and activities
Upcoming socials, internal events, volunteering opportunities.
Passions and hobbies
Employees sharing interests outside work such as sport, music, travel or creative projects.
Charity and community activity
Highlighting fundraising efforts or causes employees are supporting.
In smaller companies, this might be five short stories in a monthly email. In larger organisations, it could become a more structured internal publication.
The image below links to some ideas for company newsletters (external):
What to watch out for
Like many engagement ideas, the concept is simple but execution matters.
If leadership controls all the content, the magazine quickly becomes another corporate update rather than an employee platform.
Encourage contributions from across the company.
Someone should also coordinate submissions so the magazine remains consistent and easy to read.
Another challenge is sustainability. The first edition is usually easy because everything is new. The real challenge is maintaining momentum.
One way to do this is by rotating contributors or asking different teams to take turns providing content.
The Takeaway
Sometimes engagement improves not because of a new platform or tool, but because people have the opportunity to tell their own stories. Think about your version of the Magazine, what would it cover for you?
This post is part of our Engagement Techniques series of practical, low-cost ideas to bring more connection and meaning into work. Find the rest here
👉 Want to explore techniques like this in more depth? I run interactive employee engagement workshops where we bring these ideas to life.