The Covid-19 global pandemic brought countless challenges to individuals and organizations that, due to teleworking brought on by this unprecedented public health emergency, had to reassess their way of operating so that their intellectual capital and operations could acted synchronously, and necessarily with the support of ICTs – information and communication technologies. Thus, BIREME/PAHO/WHO launched the Administrative Human Resources Newsletter, Fique por Dentro (IAdmRH_Fique por Dentro), which completed fifty-four editions in August 2021.
The objective of IAdmRH_Fique por Dentro is to support the effectiveness of the operation and implementation of the BIREME/PAHO/WHO technical cooperation program, through the sharing of information that highlights developments and results in an intra- and inter-institutional context on a weekly basis. More specifically, the newsletter promotes learning at different levels, gives visibility to and values individual and collective efforts, in addition to cooperating to support a high-performance team and encourage access to the main sources of information or institutional and technical cooperation sites of BIREME, highlighting: the Global Index Medicus (GIM), COVID-19 Database, VHL Regional Portal, VHL Network Portal, DeCS/MeSH, LILACS, CCS Online Course and the BIREME Bulletin for technical cooperation. And the operation and management sites that are only accessed internally such as the PAHO Intranet, BIREME Intranet, Business Continuity Plan, Risk Management, Planning, Budget, and Evaluation, DotProject and the PSI Bulletin/Plasma TV.
Silvia de Valentin, Administrative Manager, who, with an intra-institutional team is responsible for the weekly sending of the publication, points out that the newsletter helps everyone to have information and knowledge and also feel represented and included in the main activities of the week, which cooperates with the organization of activities and the understanding of how the individual contribution becomes the whole that is BIREME/PAHO/WHO. Moreover, for those who went on vacation, or on leave and are returning to work, they simply access the newsletter to learn about the main activities with practically one click!
The exchange dynamic is characterized by the newsletter delivery every Monday between 8:00h and 8:30h in the morning to all staff, who receive the IAdmRH_Fique por Dentro both through the general email list and through the WhatsApp instant messaging application where there is a group with everyone from the Center. The shared information is divided into practically arranged themes related to the pandemic, institutional strengthening, sustainability, organizational learning, technical cooperation with countries, product and service launches, commemorative dates, events and training, programs and projects, administration, and personnel, among others. The latest issue is available online and all issues are stored in BIREME’s internal PSI newsletter, while a portal is being built for this purpose.
BIREME/PAHO/WHO has extensive experience with virtual technical cooperation, but it needed to expand its communication actions internally between the teams considering the absence of meetings or in-person events, and the physical and daily presence of its employees in the Center’s physical facilities. This action made working with its institutional partners even more effective, in particular, in the development and monitoring of its projects, products, and services, through the involvement of teams considering the different forums and channels of information and communication available.
IAdmRH_Fique por Dentro was designed to support this approach, and it has been positive, also because it depends on everyone’s collaboration in recording their commitments in the online schedules, preparing, and making available work schedules, and also updating institutional communication channels. In other words, it is another effective channel that supports the consolidated processes of communication and sharing of information and knowledge at BIREME/PAHO/WHO.
According to Diego González, Director of BIREME, “during a pandemic and emergency telework, where we do not have physical contact, updating the actions that take place on a daily basis brings people together and keeps them up to date; this has been the main objective of this initiative, launched by the BIREME’s Administrative Management and which has contributed not only to the activities that are carried out by the Center’s employees, but also brings news related to the emergency disseminated by WHO, PAHO headquarters, and at the level local. It is an initiative that, in my opinion, becomes a good communication practice, which is worth maintaining and replicating, even in other instances of the Organization”.
Related article
BIREME Bulletin n 44. The IT Infrastructure of BIREME and the use of ICTs in teleworking. 30 May 2020. Available at: https://boletin.bireme.org/en/2020/05/30/the-it-infrastructure-of-bireme-and-the-use-of-icts-in-teleworking/