Communication

How we communicate

We know good communication is the cornerstone of any effective partnership, and we strive to communicate clearly, consistently and kindly with our partners. Here’s some key features of our approach to communication:

• We’re open to different communication mediums dependent on the preferences of our partners, but generally use some combination of email, Slack and Whatsapp. We find Whatsapp groups particularly useful for coordinating projects with tight deadlines.
• Our remote, global team spans many time zones and has flexible working patterns including some weekend work, so partners may receive communication from us outside their normal working hours. We don’t expect partners to reply outside their working hours, unless that has been specified in the partnership plan.
• We apply our philosophy of working in the open to partnerships, and like to create a shared workplace for partners to work from together. We keep draft and working documents in this space to give full visibility to partners, and expect them to do the same. Depending on the nature of the work and partner preferences, we use Notion or Google Drive.
• Chayn strives to use simple, clear language in all our external and internal communications, including our partnerships. However, we do use certain terms to describe Chayn’s approach that may be less familiar to some organisations. These terms, and how we define them at Chayn, can be found in the Chayn glossary.
• We work with partners to set up the most appropriate feedback mechanisms for each project - we are a fan of group retrospectives, and also find that 1-2-1 calls and written feedback can be useful when delivering critical feedback. Care is taken to ensure this is delivered in a way in line with partner preferences. However, we practice quick feedback on working documents where comments may be short and direct.

Organisational structure

How we work and make decisions

Chayn’s organisational and governance structure is unique, and shapes how we show up and work as a partner. Here’s what you need to know:

• Chayn has a hybrid staff-volunteer structure, and volunteers are also part of our governance structure through our ‘executive team’ which changes on a quarterly basis. While most partnerships will be led by Chayn staff, our incredible volunteers are involved in all Chayn projects so you are likely to interact and work with our volunteers throughout the partnership.
• We hold weekly online work sessions with volunteers. These are an amazing space to get input, ideas and feedback from our diverse volunteer community, and harness the power and commitment of the community to complete large tasks fast! We often use these sessions to work on partner projects, and will invite partners to participate.
• Chayn’s has a five-tier internal structure (CEO, Heads of, Leads, Co-ordinators and Officers) but staff from all levels may manage projects and hold decision-making responsibilities. Staff of all levels will often consult with each other before making big decisions - so time for staff consultation should be accounted for. Fortunately we are a small team, so this doesn’t take long! As a registered charity, certain big decisions may need approval from the board, which we can generally get within one working week.
• The fast-changing and emergent nature of our work means we are flexible and adaptable by default, and accustomed to working with uncertainty and shifting timelines and priorities. Nevertheless, we find detailed project planning with clear deadlines and defined responsibilities vital for partnerships, and strive to stick to these as much as possible. We use Toggl plan to plan and track the progress of projects and RACI frameworks for mapping responsibilities.
• Chayn’s values and trauma-informed design principles underpin and shape all our world and partnerships. Find out about them here.
• Each Chayn team member has an individual user manual. We share the individual user manuals at the beginning of each partnership project so you’re familiar with the working styles and preferences of each person you’re working with.

Evaluation and learning

How we learn and improve

Chayn is committed to being a learning organisation, and seeks to learn and grow with every partner we work with. Here’s how we do it: