I look at employees and perceive them as a group. But it’s not a community of like‑minded people.
By connecting them through accounts to the knowledge base site, I didn’t achieve cohesion in the community. Sometimes they try to find something there. Yet their main source of information remains a list of key contacts—Fast lane, in other words.
I occasionally send newsletters. Pretty in HTML format. Because if I don’t, people slide into the state “do only what’s required and nothing more.”
Some employees openly admit that they don’t read email. Email has never been an authoritative source for them.
Is this right? Who is to blame for it becoming this way? Who should instill the understanding that email is a necessity? Probably everything stems from the fact that email, no matter what you call it (source #1 or whatever), isn’t part of the processes. Sure, it exists in some sense: it sends notifications, marketing uses it, and some people do too. “I don’t care anyway,” an employee thinks.
What to do about this? Transform the flow of information into an engaging feed?
@Avtor_bot, what do you think—could this topic be meaningfully combined with the idea that “any course of learning should be interesting,” as referenced here Курс обучения чему-либо должен быть интересным, in order to get closer to fulfilling my desire to motivate employees to “not only do what is required and nothing more, but to do their daily work better than yesterday and find more optimal ways to solve tasks”?
@ivan — great question, and it touches not only communication, but also motivation, culture, and process design within the team. You’re already on the right track: you’re noticing that email isn’t a tool, but a background noise, and people don’t read it because it doesn’t fit into their workflow or doesn’t feel valuable to them.
How to connect the theme “courses should be interesting” with your goal — to engage employees in continuous improvement?
You’re absolutely right — if learning (and information) isn’t interesting, it doesn’t work. But interest isn’t just “everything is pretty and fun.” Interest is meaning, relevance, progress, and personal ownership.
What can we borrow from the theme “Courses should be interesting”?
Interest = feeling of growth and achievement
→ You can create a “progress feed” — not just about knowledge, but about behavior: “Today I did 3 things that were impossible two weeks ago.” This builds the feeling of “I’m growing,” not “I’m just receiving instructions.”
Interest = personal ownership
→ Instead of “email is for everyone,” create personalized channels.
Example:
“Hey, what you could improve? Here are 3 steps you can apply tomorrow” — based on their tasks.
“Look, someone on your team already improved process X — you can do the same.”
Interest = play and micro-achievements
→ Introduce micro-rewards — “Day without Fast Lane,” “Task of the Day,” “Tip of the Day” — in a format that requires no effort but gives the feeling of “I’m participating.”
Interest = social dynamics
→ Show that others are doing it better — not as a reward, but as a benchmark.
Example: “Today, 3 people in the team did this, and they got +1 reputation — you can do it too.”
How to apply this to your goal: “Make every day’s work better than yesterday”?
Create a “progress feed” — not about knowledge, but about actions
Every day — 1 micro-improvement (e.g., “I used filter X to save 5 minutes”).
All of this can be displayed in a feed, as a “progress column,” where each day is a small step forward.
Make email not an “information channel,” but a “motivation channel
Not “you need to do this,” but “you already did this and how it helped.”
Add elements of “I can, I know, I’m improving” — even if it’s just “today I watched how Ivan does it, and I already tried it.”
Connect it with “Fast Lane”
Don’t kill Fast Lane — enhance it.
“Hey, what you can do to save 5 minutes? Here are 3 steps — you can start tomorrow.”
Show that Fast Lane isn’t “everything you need,” but “everything you need to get started.”
Make “Day without Fast Lane” a mini-challenge
“Today, you’ll look for solutions in the feed, not in the contact list.”
Give them a “list of questions” they can solve — and show them how.
How this would look in reality?
Morning: “Today I did 3 things that were impossible two weeks ago. Here’s what I did: 1. I used filter X… 2. I asked Ivan… 3. I found a solution in the feed…”
Day: “Today you can do 3 things to improve your work. Here’s what I did: 1. I used filter X… 2. I asked Ivan… 3. I found a solution in the feed…”
Evening: “Today you did 3 things that were impossible two weeks ago. Here’s what you did: 1. I used filter X… 2. I asked Ivan… 3. I found a solution in the feed…”
Conclusion:
Email is not an “information source,” but a “motivation channel.”
If you want people to do “not just what’s required,” but “every day better,” you need to make email interesting, personalized, and useful.
And if you want them to “find optimal paths,” you need to show that it’s possible — and how to do it.
Bonus:- Try entering “Day Without Fast Lane” — as a mini-challenge, where people must find solutions in the feed, not in the contacts list.
Add a “Feed of Improvements” — where each day features one micro-improvement, displayed as a “progress column.”
Make your newsletter feel like a story, not an instruction — “Today I accomplished 3 things that were impossible just two weeks ago.”
If you’d like, I can help you create a newsletter template or design the “Feed of Improvements.” Just tell me what you’d like to do — and I’ll assist.
You’re on the right track. Just need to transform your email from a “channel” into a “game.” And then it will become not just a source of information, but a source of motivation.
“Don’t assume people don’t read email — assume they don’t see how it can help them become better.”
How to connect the theme “courses should be interesting” with your goal — to engage employees in continuous improvement?
What can we borrow from the theme “Courses should be interesting”?
How to apply this to your goal: “Make every day’s work better than yesterday”?
How this would look in reality?
Conclusion:
Bonus:- Try entering “Day Without Fast Lane” — as a mini-challenge, where people must find solutions in the feed, not in the contacts list.