Real Deal Fundraising
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Subscribe
  • About
    • Connect
    • Testimonials
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Tips for Managing Your Remote Fundraising Team So You Come Out of COVID-19 Stronger

5/14/2020

1 Comment

 
Picture
If you’re a regular reader of Real Deal Fundraising you know that I’ve been working from home for almost five years and fundraising for a school in California. (I live in Mississippi.) I rarely talk about the fact that I manage a team remotely too. I have an annual giving coordinator who is also the communications manager for the school and an advancement associate who helps us manage the data and process gifts. She’s half-time for now and lives here in Mississippi. In 5 years, I’ve learned a few things about how managing a remote team is different than managing an office full of folks. 

As offices adjust to work-from-home as a new reality, here are some suggestions for managing your newly remote team:

Trust

The entire work-from-home model is all about trust. Perhaps that’s why WFH folks are 87% more likely to love their jobs than office dwellers, according to research by Leadership IQ. 

Your old worn-out 20th century leadership models that are based on command, control, activity metrics, pay-for-time, and  micro-managing are not going to survive this crisis. Go ahead and make the change now and start trusting your people.

The 20th century also was a time that believed in work-life separation, that world lingers with us in the high number of people who are freaked out when their kids interrupt meetings. The work-from-home model acknowledges that people are people and their life is fully integrated and influences their work. Acknowledgement of this increases respect between employer and employer.

Resources

Leveraging technology is so crucial right now. You new superior hardware, internet connections, communications software, database software, and perhaps other systems. Lobby to re-purpose budget resources for this purpose and you will endear yourself to your colleagues.

Clear Goals and Plans

When you aren’t with folks in person, you must have very clear goals and plans. Knowing when things must be done is crucial but the deadlines must be meaningful in order to inspire action. This isn’t about having more meetings on Zoom. It’s about having a crystal clear idea of what you need accomplished when you go into those meetings. Write out a plan or use a project management software to keep things on track.

Focus on Outcomes

Do not expect that your team will be sitting in front of their computers for exactly 8 hours every day. When working from home, work happens around kids, laundry, cooking, and many other things. I find that texting to check up on a project is the best way to reach out. If things are not urgent, send an email. I also use email to send detailed plans. But with my team, texting is the best medium for rapid communication. 

Focus on goals and milestones as you progress to goals. Don’t wring your hands over activity metrics and whether people are working “enough”. If goals are being achieved, they are working enough. Don’t feel you must find tasks to fill in the “gaps”. This is not the way to inspire loyalty. 

How you manage your employees during this crisis will determine whether they want to work for you long term. This seismic social change will have long-term consequences, including, I believe, more people wanting to work from home permanently. Why not view this as a opportunity to put some new management skills in your toolkit? Comments and questions are, as always, welcomed and encouraged!

​Cheers!
Picture
PS - If you liked this post, you might also like these: PS - If you liked this post, you might also like these: 
  • 6 Essential Skills Every Fundraiser Needs in this Pandemic
  • Why You Should Fundraise During COVID-19 (and 8 Ideas How to Do It) 
  • Wisdom for the Pandemic: 8 Timeless Fundraising Lessons from "Asking" by Jerry Panas
  • Self-Care: The Most Important Thing We All Should Be Doing Right Now
  • Phonathon During a Pandemic: A Case Study from Western Carolina University

PPS -  There's still time left to join my new course, All-Star Annual Giving. The course begins on Monday, May 18th! All-Star Annual Giving is a fully online 12-week course with 9 modules covering all areas of annual giving strategy and execution. If you want to roll into the semester with a fully-fledged plan to raise more money than you've ever raised before in your annual giving programs, you need to be in this course.
Subscribe
1 Comment
Adam Golightly link
7/30/2020 05:01:00 pm

Thanks for your tips about how to know what you want from meetings and events by keeping things son track by managing the project better. My aunt has been thinking about putting on a fundraiser so that she can help out some neighbors that have been having a really hard time since they both got laid off by their jobs. Improving the fundraiser with the help of a professional could allow her to do more good and she can help them more.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Jessica Cloud, CFRE

    I've been called the Tasmanian Devil of fundraising and I'm here to talk shop with you. 

    Subscribe

    Archives

    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    September 2017
    August 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016

    Categories

    All
    Advancement Services
    Alumni Relations
    Annual Giving
    Apps
    Asking
    Board Relations
    Books
    Budget
    Caller Training
    Career
    Case Building
    CFRE
    Communications
    Contact Rates Series
    Covid19
    Crisis Response
    Dance
    Data Integrity
    Data Research
    Development
    Direct Mail
    Donor Events
    Donor Relations
    E Books
    E-books
    Fiscal Year End
    Flash Mob
    Free Resources
    Fundraising
    FUNdraising Friday
    Geekery
    Giving Days
    Giving Societies
    Giving Tuesday
    Graphic Design
    Impact
    In Depth
    In-depth
    Interview
    Lobby
    Love Your Career
    Major Gifts
    Management
    Motivation Mondays
    Online
    Phonathon
    Productivity
    Public Speaking
    Quizzes
    Self Care
    Social Media
    Strategic Planning
    Student Debt
    Team Building
    TED Talks
    Telefund
    Thoughts For Thursday
    Thoughts-for-thursday
    Travel Hacks
    Travel-hacks
    Trip Planning
    Tuesdays Tip
    Tuesdays-tip
    Video
    Work From Home
    Young Alumni

    RSS Feed

What Folks Are Saying

 Jessica has been a wonderful colleague and mentor over the years.  In the beginning of my annual giving career, I found her expertise, experience and willingness to help, invaluable.  Her advice and custom phonathon spreadsheets had a direct impact on our phonathon’s success and my ultimate promotion.  As I progress in my career, I continue to value her insight and professionalism." 

​- Ross Imbler, Director of Annual Giving, Lewis and Clark Law School
 Ross Imbler

Contact Us

Photos used under Creative Commons from ZERGE_VIOLATOR, FindYourSearch, Teddy Mafia, slightly everything, COD Newsroom, Howdy, I'm H. Michael Karshis, smoorenburg, derrickbrutel, Matthew Paul Argall, TP studio, craiglea123, wuestenigel, davidmulder61, baranco1, Editor B
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Subscribe
  • About
    • Connect
    • Testimonials