Communication among staff spread out among 20 or 30 countries is never simple. Of course, we make use of the phone (London office number is +44 (0)20 7831 1030) and email, but we also have several other tricks up our sleeve.

Instant messaging:

Instant messaging is a great way to communicate in real time without the expense of telephone charges. Instant messaging also allows for four or five people, whether in the same building or all on different continents, to have a conversation simply and easily. You can also see who is online at any time. It's like working in a virtual office: you can ask a colleague a question at any time and receive an instant answer.

There are several systems for instant messaging, but we use Skype, which is free and secure as well as Meebo which offers many Messenger options from a single page. 

Then, ask your IWPR colleagues for a list of IWPR contacts to add to your system so you will be able to talk to other IWPR contributors whenever they are online.

The whole process should take no longer than five or ten minutes to set up. Once you get used to it, you will find it an invaluable resource.

Discussion list for IWPR authors and editors:

As part of our commitment to training and staff development, IWPR runs an active email discussion list for all our regular authors and editors.

This email discussion list provides an open forum for authors and editors to discuss issues pertaining to articles commissioned for IWPR. This is the place for authors to pose their questions to the editors and for the editors to defend their cuts and changes.

By making these questions and answers public, we all learn from the experiences of others.

IWPR produces a monthly newsletter for its staff and regular contributors. The newsletter contains all the latest updates in staff training and development and examines particular issues common to all of us. To receive this newsletter, visit the subscribe page.