Should an Organization Announce a Promotion or New Hire?

Your organization just hired an excellent new team member. Or perhaps a current team member just earned a well-deserved promotion. What is the process to announce it publicly? Does a news release make sense? And where should it be sent?

There is no one right answer.  That being said, it is important that an organization have a formal, written process and timeline as it relates to appointments and promotions.

Here are some suggestions:

• Not all staff changes warrant a public announcement. Establishing guidelines in advance will set the tone for which type of position is worthy of public announcement.  For example, in a larger organization, consider director or vice president level and above.
• Set a policy for how long someone will hold the position before making the public announcement. For a new hire, we typically recommend waiting at least 60 days before making a public announcement, unless a time-sensitive honor, promotion, or high-ranking officer (which would have its own additional strategy).
• Create a news release template for a new hire and promotion announcement to ensure consistency.
• Create a template Q&A that captures all relevant information in one document that can be provided to the communication team to use for content. Include title, responsibilities of position or new role, education, prior roles, significant accomplishments, home zip code, board or philanthropic roles, et al.
• Create a custom media list that includes relevant trades as well as hyperlocal media in the market that might have interest in a local member of the community’s news.
• Triple-check the person has a high-resolution headshot. If not, schedule a professional photographer to do your headshots. headshot. Please, please, do not send the media a cellphone photo. The photo shoot should capture both horizontal and vertical options, and ideally some lifestyle shots.
• Some business publications charge a fee to run new hire and promotion announcements. Consider allocating a budget for these fee-based opportunities.
• If the position is C-suite, schedule a story mining session with the individual. You’ll learn more about the person than just what is in their resume and likely uncover additional story opportunities and potential information for award nominations.
• Post the news release on the organization’s platforms, including the website, newsletter, and social media channels. Create turnkey ways for fellow team members to amplify the news from your website or social channels as well.
• Be sure the individual also updates their personal online profiles and email signatures to reflect the new position.