Want attention for your employee magazine? Make it part of your company's social network

We liked The PGiTimes the moment we opened up the electronic file that came with its submission.

Premiere Global Services’ online magazine has the look and feel of a hip news site from the general circulation world. Teasers and headlines cover the home page of the magazine, offering a buffet of stories for tech-savvy employees of a global leader in virtual meetings.

Three feature stories lead the page, each from a different region of the world and each accompanied by a grabby photo or illustration: The Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Video stories produced by employees give fun, inside glimpses into the goings-on at far-flung offices.

But the secret to the success of the PGiTimes is its integration into PGiLife—an online social community powered by Jive Software.

By combining the news magazine with the social platform, editors have facilitated sharing, tagging, global storytelling, and multi-media content for the 1,600 PGi associates around the world. Editors have access to newsletter analytics and can share videos, offer polling features, and encourage comments to stories—all signature features of today’s consumer magazine world.

There’s even a “Trending News” section to the right of the banner telling readers about the most-popular stories and features on the site.

The magazine has been a hit with employees since its launch in August 2011. Before its debut, the company’s four regional newsletters were viewed by only about 30 percent of employees. That number shot up to 75 percent of the global workforce after the launch. More important, employees contributed 100 comments, ratings, likes, and shares.

The PGiTimes is catchy, bright, and interactive, and that’s why we chose it as the winner of the 2011 Electronic Magazine category.