Whakaaro Design
TradeMe Team Newsletter

Problem

With a Design team distributed across New Zealand, I wanted a way to connect, share work, celebrate wins, and provide inspiration.

Information was often shared across a range of mediums and forums including Slack, in meetings, and in-person. This often meant that teams who were not geographically in the same space missed out on conversations and information.

I wanted to ensure that everyone in the team felt a sense of belonging and were connected to key information. I also wanted to have a bit of fun, and share a bit about myself to connect on a more human level.

Approach

I looked at the information being shared and identified common reoccurring themes. My aim was to structure the content in a predictable format which could be delivered on a weekly basis.

After reviewing these themes I produced a content plan which included:

  • My weekly update

  • Industry news and events

  • Articles of interest

  • Team wins

  • A music recommendation

Solution

I produced a responsive HTML email template. This allowed the design of the layout to reflect the values we upheld in the team and was accessible to everyone in the team.

I compiled content throughout week and delivered it to the team each Friday.

Deliverables

  • Content plan

  • HTML responsive email template

  • Weekly content creation

  • Ongoing refinement based on feedback

With so many great things happening in my team, every week was a chance to celebrate their wins

Outcomes

There was an overwhelmingly positive response from my team who reported feeling connected, informed, amused, and inspired by the content being shared. My team were proactive in sharing their work and nominated peers for the work being done to have them included in the wins section.

Based on the success within my own team, other areas of the business asked to have the newsletter shared with them too. Product teams felt more connected with the work being done by the Design team, and gained insights into the achievements of individuals.

Learnings

By looking for the good each week I felt more connected and inspired by what I saw in the team. Having this as part of my routine helped me to see things I wouldn’t have otherwise seen.

By templating the sections and layout, it made collecting content much faster. To further increase efficiency, I also encouraged submissions and crowdsourced details where I could.

Future improvements could have included delegating content creation on a rotating basis within the team. This would have driven more ownership, created more diversity in the content shared, and saved me some time.