How Newsletter Automation Can Transform Your Email Campaigns

newsletter automation

Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides a range of community health services in the North West of England, playing a pivotal role in delivering care closer to home. In line with the NHS Long Term Plan, the Trust works to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into community settings, supporting patients to live independently for as long as possible.

This is especially crucial in managing the UK’s changing health needs over the coming decade. With services that span from health promotion to end-of-life care, Bridgewater’s teams, consisting of nurses, therapists, and social care professionals, work across diverse settings such as patients’ homes, care facilities, clinics, and schools.

Faced with time-consuming, inefficient internal communication workflows, they sought a more streamlined solution to engage staff across multiple platforms.

Client Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Industry: Healthcare

Employees: 1,700+

Services Provided: Community and specialist health services across several regions, including a Community Dental Network covering multiple areas.

The Challenge

With over 1,700 staff across multiple locations, Bridgewater faced a complex internal communication landscape, compounded by the geographically dispersed nature of their workforce. Keeping employees informed and engaged was a significant challenge and the Trust needed a more efficient and streamlined solution for their internal communications.

Before partnering with NewZapp TrustedDelivery, Bridgewater faced several pain points with their internal communication processes relying on multiple platforms, including Outlook and an outdated intranet, to distribute their staff newsletters. Sending newsletters and updates to staff across multiple locations was inefficient and time-consuming. The team had been using Microsoft Outlook to send out all-staff emails, which involved manually copying content from their intranet into emails and then formatting them multiple times for different platforms, such as PDFs for their staff app.

As a result, the communications team faced several challenges:

Key Challenges:

Time-Consuming Process: Each weekly newsletter took hours to compile, manually updating content across platforms. Monday mornings were particularly challenging for the communications team, who had to manually copy, format, and distribute communications, often spending hours on repetitive tasks.
Inefficient Workflows: Managing communication across multiple systems—Outlook, intranet, and staff apps—resulted in duplication of effort and inefficiencies.
Lack of Automation: Bridgewater had no way to schedule emails in advance or automate recurring tasks, leading to a stressful Monday morning rush
Engagement Gaps: The existing system did not provide insights into staff engagement It was difficult to track who was opening the emails and engaging with the content, limiting the ability to improve future communications.

The Trust needed a centralised, efficient, and automated solution simplify the distribution process while providing analytics to improve future communications and one they could trust would delivery important emails to all their NHS staff.

The Solution

TrustedDelivery provided a comprehensive solution that transformed Bridgewater’s communication workflows. The platform allowed them to build and distribute newsletters, track engagement, and streamline their internal processes—all in one place.

Key features of the TrustedDelivery solution include:

Centralised Communication: All newsletters are now created, scheduled, and distributed from a single platform. The process that used to take hours every Monday morning was reduced to just under two hours, freeing up valuable time for the communications team.
Integrated Newsletter Creation: With TrustedDelivery, Bridgewater could build newsletters directly within the platform, reducing the need for multiple formats and platforms.
Automated Scheduling: The ability to schedule emails in advance removed the Monday morning rush, allowing staff to finalise communications on Friday and have them automatically sent out on Monday. Newsletter Automation allows the team to plan ahead, scaling their activities without further investment in headcount.
Time-Saving Web Links: Instead of creating PDFs and reformatting content, Bridgewater could use web links, cutting down time spent on repetitive tasks and allowing staff to focus on high-value work.
Enhanced Engagement Tracking: TrustedDelivery’s analytics tools enabled the team to monitor open rates, click-throughs, and staff engagement across various communications, providing valuable insights to improve future emails. NewZapp allows the team to monitor what content is resonating with staff and tailor future communications accordingly.

Feel Good Fridays: Enhancing Staff Morale

Following the implementation of TrustedDelivery, the Bridgewater communications team introduced a new initiative called Feel Good Fridays. This monthly newsletter is dedicated to sharing positive stories, achievements, and uplifting news from across the Trust, providing a much-needed boost for morale—particularly for remote staff who often feel disconnected from in-person interactions.

Key elements of Feel Good Fridays include:

Staff-Submitted Content: Employees are encouraged to contribute their own stories, ranging from professional accomplishments to personal milestones, fostering a sense of community.
Positive Start to the Weekend: Delivered on the last Friday of each month, the newsletter ends the workweek on a high note, with staff expressing how much they look forward to it.
Increased Engagement: The initiative has received overwhelmingly positive feedback, with higher engagement rates than other communications, demonstrating its impact in boosting team spirit and inclusivity.

Implementation

The transition to TrustedDelivery was smooth and efficient, significantly reducing the manual work involved in sending internal communications.

Phased Rollout:

Initial Setup: TrustedDelivery worked with Bridgewater to configure the platform, ensuring it was technically deployed and tailored to their specific needs.
Training and Onboarding: Staff were trained on how to use the platform to build newsletters, schedule and automate newsletters and emails, and monitor analytics.
Full Deployment: The platform was fully integrated with existing systems, and Bridgewater began using TrustedDelivery to automate their weekly newsletters and other internal communications.

The Results

Results & Benefits

The implementation of NewZapp via TrustedDelivery.co.uk transformed the way Bridgewater NHS communicates with its staff. The results were immediate and measurable:

Key Metrics:

Reduction in Time Spent on Newsletters: The communication process that once took several hours each week was drastically reduced to under two hours, allowing the team to focus on more strategic activities.
Improved Scheduling: The ability to schedule emails in advance meant staff no longer needed to rush on Monday mornings, reducing stress and increasing productivity.
Higher Engagement: By using personalised and visually appealing content, Bridgewater saw a noticeable increase in open rates for their internal emails, especially for key announcements such as pay rises and leadership changes.

Qualitative Improvements:

Better Team Morale: The streamlined communication process improved the overall morale of the communications team, allowing them to focus on higher-value tasks.
Positive Staff Feedback: Staff appreciated the new format of emails, which made it easier to navigate and engage with important updates.
Better Work-Life Balance: The ability to automate newsletters and schedule in advance reduced the need for weekend or late-night work, giving the communications team more control over their workload.

“TrustedDelivery has taken a lot of pain out of our internal communications. We’ve saved hours each week, and our staff are much more engaged with the content we send out. A fantastic tool has significantly improved how we communicate as an organisation.

Adam Britton, Communications Lead, Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Future Plans

The team are exploring new ways to use the platform’s features, such as using survey tools to gather staff feedback during the transition and exploring QR codes to make newsletters even more accessible to staff across various locations.

The success of the NewZapp platform at Bridgewater NHS highlights its potential for broader adoption across the healthcare sector, particularly for organisations looking to streamline their internal communications and improve staff engagement.

Conclusion

TrustedDelivery has been instrumental in helping Bridgewater streamline their internal communication processes, saving time, reducing stress, and improving staff engagement. The platform’s Newsletter Automation and scheduling features have made a tangible difference in the day-to-day operations of the communications team, allowing them to focus on more strategic initiatives.

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