The Open Working Programme, Take Five
Wee disclaimer: I’ve only recently regained my access to Medium, so this blog was from a few weeks ago! :)
Today was the final session of the current Open Working Programme! In an attempt to practise what I preach, this post will be all about reflecting on the experience. I hope it’s useful for people thinking of taking the programme, others who run online training, or anyone who’s curious about what I do.
The Open Working Programme is an eight week course which we deliver on Zoom. It’s funded by the Robertson Trust and the National Lottery Community Fund, which makes it free at the point of access for third sector organisations.
The aim of the programme is to build people’s confidence in writing about their work, and to explain why it’s such a good thing to work in the open.
This most recent cohort of the Open Working Programme is the 5th one I’ve facilitated since joining the Third Sector Lab team last April. Where does time go?
Break through moments
With open working, we find that every group has different ‘lightbulb moments’. For this one, it was the realisation that they can write as themselves, an individual who works for a charity, rather than with the voice of the organisation.
Especially for those not already working in comms, realising that the organisation’s reputation doesn’t hang on every word you say is really valuable. You are not the organisation you work for, and weeknotes should be a safe place to be yourself rather than a bureaucratic blob.
I write very differently as Robyn from Third Sector Lab than I do when I’m writing as Third Sector Lab itself, and that’s okay! Third Sector Lab uses a lot more emojis than Robyn does, and refers to itself with a vague, all encompassing “we”, which, frankly, would be creepy in a weeknote.
Weeknotes leave room for personality and personhood. They’re about your week, not a report of everything your organisation is doing.
Building a routine
Participants seem really keen to continue open working moving forward, which is fantastic. This time around, I really focussed on making writing a sustainable practice.
Helping participants to create a reusable structure in week 6 of the programme really helped to make writing easier going forwards. Armed with carefully crafted prompts for themselves every week, nobody will be alone against the terrifying blank page.
A focus on content in week 7 also made a difference. Where the first four weeks are about confidence building, and focusing on the “why” of open working, the second half of the programme is make or break.
At this stage in the programme, participants are more confident sharing their work, and have the brain space to consider how it reads to other people. This is something I’d like to take into the next cohort — a focus on why it’s important and building confidence up to week 4, and from week 5 onwards building in sustainability and quality.
What didn’t go so well
The run up to the programme could have been better executed. I hold my hands up for this one — there was a lot going on at the time. There were lots of people who were offered places who never formally accepted them. I think we need some sort of system whereby someone officially commits to the programme and everything it entails.
What I’d do differently next time
- It’s valuable to differentiate between the person and the organisation. Reinforce the idea that they won’t break the internet and that the risk is low.
- Being adaptive to a cohort’s specific needs is valuable in keeping them engaged.
- Try to do as much admin ahead of time as possible. This will make the programme smoother for both participants and for me.
If you’ve got any feedback about your experience with the Open Working Programme, please don’t hesitate to let us know directly or fill in this evaluation form.
