Launch Comms Pack — Week 3
Editable copy bank handed to the client's Comms Owner on D15. Five assets in sequence: exec email → Slack/Teams announcement → manager talking points → poster → FAQ. Sequence matters — change the order and credibility breaks.
Sequencing rules (read first)
- Exec voice goes out first. If HR sends the launch email under HR's name, the programme reads as a perk. If the exec sponsor sends it under their name, it reads as strategy.
- Managers are briefed BEFORE staff opt-in opens. Managers must be able to answer the first question before they receive it.
- Posters / physical comms go up AFTER the digital announcement, not before. A poster nobody can explain breeds suspicion.
- The FAQ is published with the announcement, not after the questions start arriving. Anticipated questions are the proof of thought.
Asset 1 — Exec sponsor email (D16, sent under exec's name)
Subject line options (pick one):
- The reason we're doing this
- Something we're starting next week
- Why I asked HR to bring this in
Body:
Hi everyone,
I want to tell you about something we're starting next week.
{Sector reason in one sentence — e.g. "Last year we lost too many good people to the wrong kind of pressure, and the data this autumn told us the same story would repeat in 2026 if we didn't change something."}
So we've brought in MEM Academy — a UK programme that pairs employee wellbeing with measurable social impact. Three things you should know:
- It's not therapy. The coaches help you with the practical stuff — sleep, energy, workload, the things that move when you actually pay attention to them.
- Your managers will be trained first. They're spending three hours next month learning to spot the early signs and have better conversations with you. Hold them to it.
- Every seat we buy funds a free seat for someone leaving prison. That part isn't a footnote for me. The business case is genuine, and the impact case is genuine, and I wanted both.
You'll get a separate email from {HR Sponsor} with the practical bits — how to opt in, what's free for you, what's confidential. Read that one too.
If you have questions, ask {HR Sponsor} or me directly.
{Exec sponsor name, role}
Substitution variables: {Sector reason} · {HR Sponsor} · {Exec sponsor name, role}
Asset 2 — Slack / Teams channel announcement (D17, pinned)
📌 Wellbeing programme launching next week
We've brought in @MEM Academy. Three things to know:
✅ Practical coaching — sleep, energy, workload. Not therapy. ✅ Confidential. Your manager won't know unless you tell them. ✅ Every seat funds a free seat for someone leaving prison.
📅 First sessions: week of {date} 🔗 How to opt in: {link} 📄 FAQ: {link to Asset 5} 💬 Questions: drop them in the thread below — {HR Sponsor name} is monitoring this week.
Reactions to seed (HR + exec react first): ✅ 👀 🔥
Asset 3 — Manager talking points (D19, used at the W3 manager briefing)
What managers should say when staff ask. Pre-cleared so managers don't improvise into legal/clinical territory.
| Staff question | What to say | What NOT to say |
|---|---|---|
| "Is this because someone reported me?" | "No. This is a whole-business programme. Everyone in scope has the same offer." | "I don't know, maybe?" |
| "Will my manager / HR know I signed up?" | "No. Participation is confidential. The only thing we see is aggregate uptake across the cohort." | "Probably, eventually, kind of." |
| "Is this therapy?" | "No. It's coaching — practical. If you need clinical support, the routes are still EAP / GP / OH and the coaches will signpost." | "Yes, sort of." |
| "Will I be punished for opting OUT?" | "No. Participation is voluntary. Your performance review will not reference it, ever." | "It'll look good if you do." |
| "What if I share something hard with the coach?" | "The coach holds it confidentially within the safeguarding boundary — same as EAP. If you or someone else is at risk, they'll signpost or escalate with your knowledge." | "Whatever you say stays totally private no matter what." |
| "Why prison-leavers?" | "Because the company has chosen to make every wellbeing seat also fund a second-chance seat. The exec sponsor made the call. The audited number lands in the Q1 board report." | "It's a marketing thing." |
The closing line to know cold:
"If you want, opt in. If you don't, that's fine. The offer doesn't expire."
Asset 4 — Poster (D18, optional for physical sites)
A3 portrait. Single image, single headline, single QR.
Headline (pick one):
- Practical wellbeing. Confidential. On us.
- The 1:1 coaching is yours if you want it.
- Sleep. Energy. Workload. Start there.
Sub-line (always include):
Every seat funds a free seat for someone leaving prison.
QR code: to the opt-in page. Footer: Client logo (left) · MEM wordmark (right).
Print spec:
- A3 portrait
- DM Sans 18pt body, Space Grotesk 48pt headline
- Off-white #FAFAFA background, near-black #0A0A0A text
- Athletic-orange accent on sub-line + QR frame
- No stock photos of people fake-laughing in offices
Asset 5 — FAQ (published with the announcement)
10 questions. Long enough to be useful, short enough to be read.
1. What's the programme? A wellbeing programme delivered by MEM Academy. Practical coaching, manager training, and a quarterly board report on engagement + social impact.
2. Is it confidential? Yes. Your manager and HR will not know what you say to your coach. They will see aggregate uptake across the cohort — never individual data.
3. Is it therapy? No. Coaching is practical — sleep, energy, workload, focus. For clinical support, EAP / GP / OH remain the routes. Coaches signpost.
4. Is it free for me? Yes. The company pays per seat. There is no cost to you for using the coaching or attending the sessions in your contracted hours.
5. Will it affect my performance review? No. Participation (or non-participation) is never referenced in performance reviews. This is a hard rule in your contract with us.
6. What happens if I share something serious? Coaches hold conversations confidentially within a safeguarding boundary. If you or someone else is at risk, the coach will signpost or escalate — with your knowledge.
7. Can I do it in work hours? {Client policy answer here. Default: yes, within reason and agreed with your line manager.}
8. How do I opt in? {Link.}
9. How do I opt out? You don't have to do anything. Simply not signing up is opting out. You can opt back in any time.
10. What's the prison-leaver thing? The company has chosen a programme where every seat your colleagues use also funds a free seat for someone leaving prison. The exec sponsor decided this; the audited number lands in the Q1 board report.
Copy bank handoff checklist (MEM PL → Comms Owner)
- All 5 assets delivered in editable format
- All
{variables}flagged for the Comms Owner - Sequence reviewed in person (15 min call)
- Manager briefing booked for D19
- FAQ link tested
Cross-cutting promise Every employee seat funds a free seat for someone leaving prison. The sentence is in three of these five assets, by design. memacademy.org/corporate/programme