A creative approach to internal email helped one organization transform employee engagement and turn company newsletters into a genuine source of connection and pride.
When internal communications need to both inspire participation and drive measurable outcomes, the right tools make all the difference. That’s what the internal communications specialist discovered after adopting ContactMonkey to manage newsletters, referral contests, and culture campaigns.
Having used traditional email systems before, they knew internal communications could do more than share updates. They could build culture.
With ContactMonkey, they found a way to bring that vision to life by combining on-brand design, seamless delivery, and data-backed insights to turn everyday communications into a company-wide engagement engine.
The Challenge: Building Engagement Across a Large, Distributed Workforce
Ashley’s organization wanted their internal communications to do more than inform. They needed to inspire participation, boost referrals, and strengthen culture.
Before ContactMonkey, internal newsletters and culture updates were functional, but not exactly exciting. Engagement felt flat, and visibility into results was limited.
Recruitment campaigns, referral contests, and culture initiatives relied heavily on email to drive participation, but it was hard to tell what was working and why.
The Solution: Data-Driven, Human-Centric Communication
Ashley saw an opportunity to transform employee communications into a true culture-building lever. Using ContactMonkey’s internal email tools, she began designing data-informed newsletters and referral campaigns that inspired real participation.
“ContactMonkey completely transformed how our employees interact with our communications,” Ashley explained.
By tracking engagement metrics and testing creative content, Ashley optimized send times, improved layout design, and introduced recurring culture features that employees love, like team photos and shout-outs.
The Impact: From Information to Inspiration
The results speak for themselves:
- Employee referral success: Average referral hires jumped from 20 per month to 30 per month, fueled by better visibility and excitement around campaigns.
- Sky-high open rates: Referral contest emails regularly hit above 90% open rate.
- Newsletter transformation: Company-wide newsletters now hold a 4.41 / 5 employee rating, with engagement climbing from 31.3% to 37.3% fully-read rates (and peaking at 41.7% in Q1).
- Culture impact: Employees now proactively send in team photos to be featured, a clear sign that internal communications have become part of company identity.
Most importantly, this organization has seen direct improvements in event participation, referrals, and retention, as communications shifted from transactional to truly engaging.
Key Takeaways
- Recruitment boost: +10 hires per month through stronger campaign visibility.
- Higher engagement: 90%+ open rates and a 6% increase in read rates year over year.
- Culture alignment: Employees now look forward to (and even contribute to) company newsletters.
- Data-driven storytelling: Real-time analytics guide what’s working and where to focus next.
Our customer provides autism therapy and behavioral health services nationwide, powered by over 5,000 professionals dedicated to helping children thrive.
With ContactMonkey, they’ve turned their internal communications into a cornerstone of connection, culture, and employee engagement.
