Hey there, I'm Devin!
Most of the time you can catch me deep in the world of internal comms at Workshop (yes, the Happy Mondays folks!), and while I love AI, there are just some comms questions that need a human who really gets it… that’s me!
Hey Devin! We’re moving from adhoc, as needed messaging and resources to managers to hopefully more regular and refined updates. What would be your top things that you include in those emails – to be valuable but still engaging and fun? Is a monthly cadence sufficient? We want to do better at supporting this critical group. Thank you, Devin!!
Monthly is a great place to start! Especially for managers who are likely already receiving (and sending!) a fair amount of emails already. Plus, a monthly cadence gives you/your team enough time to pull content together, do a few rounds of edits, design the email, and so forth without it being too much of a lift right away. Once you’ve established a solid rhythm and there seems to be an appetite for more, you can always ramp up from there.
Take it from me — I’ve done too much too soon, and it can be really hard to sustain, especially when you haven’t gathered enough feedback yet. I’d sneak some quick pulse surveys into those emails or even do listening tours with managers after a few sends to get a temperature check on what’s actually resonating.
As far as content goes, one thing I’d prioritize right away is skimmability. The way people consume emails has changed so much — a lot of tools now offer AI summaries at the top, and managers are scanning faster than ever. So I’d start every send with a quick TL;DR: the two or three things they absolutely need to know this month, with links to dig deeper if they want. Think of it as their “here’s what matters right now” snapshot before they get into the rest of the email.
Beyond that, one of my favorite things to include is some kind of leadership perspective or a quick “what’s on our minds” section. This could come from your CEO or someone on the exec team, but honestly, it can also come from you in comms if you’re doing a lot of listening and picking up on themes across the company.
Even though managers are having 1:1s and conversations all day long, it’s still really helpful to have one consistent place where the bigger narrative lives — what matters right now, where the business is headed, what priorities are shifting, etc. And bonus: it gives managers language they can borrow when they’re talking with their own teams (which makes their job easier too!).
Another thing I always love to include is a lightweight learning and development moment. Nothing intense — just a quick podcast episode, article, or short video that helps managers sharpen their skills without feeling like homework. I’d keep it under 25–30 minutes. It’s the kind of thing they can take for themselves or pass along to their teams.
And lastly, there’s nothing better than a little surprise and delight (as we call it at Workshop!). Maybe it’s a meme, a GIF, a quick kudos, or just something that makes the email feel human. Here’s one we love — for our weekly All Hands email at Workshop, we keep the subject line the same every single week, but the preview text is always something quirky that was actually said in a meeting or on Slack. One recent one was literally “you are so girly pop” (thanks, Jamie). It’s small, but people notice it — and it makes even the most routine send feel a little more alive.
These updates can absolutely be informative, but they can also help managers feel connected, energized, and a little more supported — which really matters.
Okay, okay just one more… if you want to make it even more actionable, you could include a section like “Here’s what to share with your team this month” with a few simple bullets or talking points. Managers are busy, so giving them something ready to go (even a quick TL;DR) is one of the best ways to truly support this group. Best of luck!
