Taking your employee publication out-of-house

When companies start thinking of employee publications, they often believe it should be an in-house product. It makes sense when you first think about it. Who knows your employees better than you do? However, there are huge benefits to letting a public relations / marketing firm write and manage your publication.

Mainly, a neutral / outside voice is important and key. When employees write their own publication, it is almost impossible to remove each person’s biases from their writing / coverage. For example, if the HR department runs the publication, it is easy for more HR articles to make it into the publication, which may upset the Accounting department or the Marketing team. It is human nature. You write what you know, so you write about your department.

An outside team of writers can help prevent bias claims because they have no bias. They can provide the third-party point of view to keep the writing neutral and keep everyone happy.

Also, when things are run in-house, it is common for them to be pushed aside and forgotten. Again, it is our nature — take care of your customers first, deal with your in-house stuff second. An outside agency can help keep the publication moving on schedule to ensure it hits mailboxes when it is supposed to.

Finally, when it comes to writing, let a professional do it. We know AP style and grammar. I’ve seen numerous engineers, doctors, lawyers, etc., try to write copy for various publications. It isn’t pretty. I guarantee you’ll be happier with your product if you let a team of professionals handle the writing. We don’t try open heart surgery. You don’t try writing a publication.