The Early Bird, Metropolitan State University of Denver’s long-running employee newsletter and news website, is getting a new look that will provide a major upgrade to how employees access and engage with University news.
The dynamic site, scheduled to launch Oct. 1, will include much-improved search functionality, multiple news categories and prominent photo and video sections.
Meanwhile, the Early Bird newsletter, which directs readers to the site, will continue to be published, but it will hit inboxes only on Tuesdays and Thursdays instead of five days per week.
The office of University Communications and Marketing has been developing a new approach to the Early Bird site and newsletter to boost employee engagement and to provide information on a more consumable, easy-to-navigate platform.
The current Early Bird site is a blog-style webpage that essentially aggregates stories chronologically and does not feature robust search capabilities, said Laura Miller, associate director of Editorial and Content Operations.
“We’ve listened to feedback we’ve received from our regular readers who want a platform that’s easier to search and features a more functional interface, similar to what the RED online newsroom offers,” said Miller, who manages the RED newsroom and will also serve as managing editor of the Early Bird site.
New and improved Faculty-Staff Hub also set to launch
The launch of the Early Bird site will be followed by the debut of a new, more dynamic Faculty-Staff Hub later this fall. The revamped hub will feature event-calendar feeds, important updates and reminders and resources for faculty and staff members.
The changes to the Early Bird and creation of the Faculty-Staff Hub were informed by data and feedback that highlighted community members’ challenges in finding key information. The integrated projects are part of an effort to make employee news more accessible and provide an easier way for employees to access the latest information when they want or need it.
Since it launched eight years ago, the Early Bird newsletter has served as the official source of University information. However, data shows that employee engagement with the newsletter has dropped significantly in recent years, meaning fewer employees are reading it and those who don’t are missing important information.
“It was clear, based on data from our most recent internal communications audit and Early Bird reader surveys, that we needed a new approach to employee communications — one that allows faculty and staff members to ‘pull’ information they want, when they want it, rather than our office simply ‘pushing’ that information to employees at a set time once per day,” – Laura Miller
Meanwhile, the Early Bird submission process will remain the same. Employees who have story ideas for consideration should submit them through this form, providing as much detail as possible for the Early Bird team to consider.
Early Bird changes coming Oct. 1
- New and improved website to launch, with robust search and dynamic content.
- Early Bird newsletter will hit in boxes only on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
- Story-idea submission process remains the same. Submit story ideas here.
