Recently, I’ve taken to writing mass emails to all of the team members that work at my company. I write these emails twice a week: once on Friday evenings and again on Sunday afternoon.
I do this every week, too. There’s no real “occasion” that calls for these emails. I’m not writing them because there’s a long holiday weekend coming up or to remind my team of any special occasions on the horizon. I also don’t send these emails to chastise anyone in a passive aggressive manner either — no “friendly reminders” about calling ahead of time if you’re running late or anything of that nature.
So, what exactly goes into these emails? They are weekly updates, with one that closes out the end of the week and another that preps our team for the workweek to come. If you run a small business and this sounds like something you might be interested in doing, here’s how to draft your own and the effect they have (or are likely to have) on your team.
What kind of content goes into emails winding down the week?
Does anyone really check their inbox on a Friday? Statistics have long proven that Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Wednesdays are the best days to send emails for high open rates. However, these statistics generally apply to business-based communication and not necessarily in-house company emails.
I know that by Friday evening my team is tired from putting in their best and looking forward to taking a break. In spite of all that hard work, I don’t want anyone to forget all of the great wins made throughout the week either.
When I draft these messages on Friday nights, I summarize the week that was. If there’s anything in the works, like a product launch or a website redesign, I keep everyone in the loop as to where we are in the completion stages. Big wins are highlighted and congratulations are given to their respective departments, although I try to acknowledge every department since each one contributes so much.
This email is written almost entirely in bullets and often has a catchy title. These are my little tricks of the trade to encourage my team to open and read it, knowing that it will be easy to absorb and a nice note to close out the week.
What goes into drafting an email to start the week off right?
I’ve written about the dread that many face when going into work on Monday — a feeling so powerful that it starts as soon as Sunday with the “Sunday Scaries” feeling. Is there any way to make a message about Monday something to look forward to?
Often, the key to doing this is found in the subject header. “Monday morning… Good stuff!” was the subject line I gave my most recent email to anticipate the workweek ahead of us. I like to set expectations in these emails of the week to come and to anticipate certain things coming up. A kind word also helps get everyone motivated early on too, like messages from our customers praising our team. I acknowledge everyone for their hard work before it happens because I know that the week will be fantastic, thanks to everyone’s ‘in it to win it’ attitudes and commitment.
Do these emails have any real impact on workers?
I like to sign off on my emails by requesting that if anyone has questions, ideas, or feedback, they’re welcome to reach out to me. While you might think a sentiment like that has the potential to fall flat, it never does. Nearly everyone on our team reads these emails and writes back to me messages of encouragement. Sometimes they will reply all so that the entire team can read what they wrote, which inspires many to add on to the good news train.
The best kinds of responses, however, are the emails I get thanking me for taking the time to pen these messages. I know it’s not a requirement of me and I do not “have” to do it. But, it would be strange to live in a world where everyone only did what was barely required of them and no more than that. I have fun writing them and I like it even more that my team anticipates these quick blurbs.
I’ll keep writing these emails simply because they are enjoyed at the beginning and end of the week. That’s reason enough for me.