Newsletter awash in anniversaries and birthdays? Some alternatives

They’re a must-have and a ‘must we?’ Here are techniques to have your dates and edit, too

You spend hours, even days, making your internal newsletter outstanding—only to clutter it with those requisite lists of employee birthdays, anniversaries and other milestones.

Why even keep these lists going? Because they’re unifying, says internal communicator Becky Graebe. Often, they can be spiced up, drawing employees to the intranet or an internal publication.

Graebe’s company, SAS, has 11,000+ employees in more than 50 countries worldwide. “As a global company, we struggle with holidays and traditions that are different, but company anniversary and birthdays are celebrated all around the world,” she says.

Internal communicators at companies large and small have shaken up such lists by moving them online, adding visuals or allowing employees to post announcements. With just a link on your intranet portal, a call for personal photos or an employee social network, you can dedicate most of your time—and space—to actual news and feature articles.

Take to the intranet