How? Effective Communication II: Intraorganizational, Remote Communication

I had the distinct pleasure of beginning my professional philanthropic career with a remote internship. As excited as I was to begin this adventure, it did present its challenges. I was fortunate enough, however, to work with a team that was well-versed in remote work and offered solutions to the various challenges.

Set expectations with your team.

1. How often will your team (even if it’s just two of you) check in with each other?

2. How will you meet? Will you call each other or use webcams?

3. What will be the easiest way to contact each other if an emergency arises?

Create a plan of work. I went through a couple different ways of tracking my current progress on work projects.

1. I started with a Google sheet, where I could track the project, its due date, and notes. However, as it wasn’t an ever-present document to either myself or my team, it wasn’t as useful as it could’ve been.

2. I then switched to a weekly to-do email. In this email, I simply listed all the projects I was working on for the week, along with project details and notes I had. I also had projected timelines for each project. This became an email conversation between me and my supervisor for the week, where we could keep track of project notes and completion statuses.

3. There are task apps you can invest in, which do all of this on a more organized platform. Many are paid, so read up before you sign up. I've heard good things about Slack, if you want a friendly suggestion.

Be clear with deadlines!

1. Whether you’re working on a project for your team or for a constituent or partner, clear deadlines (and sticking to them) streamline work plans.

2. If you begin to think a project may not be completed within its original timeframe, alert your team as they may be able to help with the project or take another item off your to-do list. For a project being completed and given to someone outside of your organization, that organization should be updated as to the delay. This message may come from you directly or from a supervisor, depending on your relationship to the other organization.

Be kind. Always.

1. Miscommunications and mistakes happen. Own mistakes, apologize, and strive for a better outcome in the future. It helps no one to be defensive and be angry.

2. Working remote means that you won’t truly see your coworkers face-to-face often. We can’t guess at what is happening at home and even in their own office when we’re not communicating. Be open and honest, and be kind. Always.

Brea Reimer-Baum is a former Graduate Assistant to Youth Philanthropy Connect. She began her adventure into philanthropy in high school when she joined a youth grantmaking organization, which complemented her love of volunteering. She earned her Purdue B.A. in biology from IUPUI and is currently in her final year of Master's work at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. You can read more about her journey here.