What I’ve Learned — and How I’m Making Things Smoother for Our Clients
Starting at AMS came with a lot of firsts: my first fully remote role, my first time freelancing online, and my first position with such a wide mix of responsibilities. In just a few short weeks, I’ve dipped into everything from social media planning, to project admin, to invoice processing. I’ve been finding my rhythm with a fast-paced task list.
As Operations Assistant, I was expecting to be working mostly behind the scenes. That quiet management work is what helps everything flow, for our team and our clients.
So I thought I’d share a few things I’ve learned so far, and how I’m using that learning to help make AMS even better for the people we work with.
1. Clear Guidance Goes a Long Way
My previous experiences were mainly volunteering and internships in busy, understaffed environments. I used to work overtime to support and help “my friends” with no guidance or direction. Just a task that needs to be done. I had to find the tools and how I could do it. Simple tasks took lots of time. It was a journey of discovering and learning the long hard way.
When I joined AMS, I received a structured onboarding journey and daily remote support from Angela and the team. This made all the difference – I could walk through new tasks step by step by following guidance or watching Loom videos. And I have permission to ask questions whenever I need. I’ve felt supported from day one.
At first I thought, “Wow, this is a lot of instructions,” but it turns out, the guidance has made things easier, not harder. Hopefully I can do things right the first time, and get faster each time after.
2. The “Admin” Work Matters
I found invoice processing a little intimidating at first. There are a lot of steps to get it right, and it’s a big responsibility. But now I’ve learned the internal systems and got the hang of the process, I have started to see how everything connects.
What looks like “back office” work actually plays a big role in making the client experience smooth, clear, and professional. My job is partly keeping project numbers tidy, naming files clearly, sending emails on time…The best part is updating Trello cards and ticking tasks as done! It might not sound glamorous but I know it underpins the team’s success.
3. Asking Questions Isn’t a Burden
We’ve all had those moments — Should I figure this out myself or ask Jess? Is this a “silly” question?
What I’ve learned is: asking questions early saves time later. Every time I’ve reached out, I’ve been met with kindness, patience, and practical help.
In a remote team, good communication is essential. We have to be quite conscious about how we talk to each other and make sure to create moments where we can connect. And asking for help isn’t a burden; it’s part of doing good work that our clients can count on.
Kindness plays a huge part in this — Systemic kindness, applied effort, and work that makes each day better shows how values shape the way we work.
4. The Little Things Add Up
At AMS, even a short email matters. I’m learning how to keep things clear, sound like “us”, and yes — to double-check the British vs American spelling. I grew up with American spellings and getting used to UK English spellings is taking a while…
But I get that we are a specialist communications agency and every email has to look polished. We correspond with busy nonprofit leaders who don’t have time to decode a badly written email. I am sure that making their lives a little easier is well worth the effort.
For a broader view on what makes partnerships run smoothly, see How to make sure your comms agency partnership goes right.
5. Being New Helped Me Spot the Gaps
Because I’m still learning, I’ve spotted things others might miss — like Canva fonts resetting, or file names being inconsistent.
So I’ve been suggesting tweaks where I can. Nothing huge yet, but lots of little fixes that save time or prevent confusion later. I have quite a lot of autonomy to set things up the way I think they work best, and I’m excited to keep experimenting.
Looking Ahead
Working remotely for the first time, I’m still finding my groove. I am still working out my systems, figuring out what time of day I work best, and how to stay organised. But one thing I do know: everything I’m learning is helping AMS run more smoothly behind the scenes. It is self-satisfying to put what I know into something I believe in! Something that I enjoy doing.
I want to keep improving because I am already learning so much from the AMS team. I love communicating and I’m already starting to write some social media content and edit posts for this blog. (I chose the pictures too – hope you like them!) I love languages and writing so I’d like to develop my copywriting skills in English and Arabic. Who knows, soon I might be on the specialist roster too.
Working with AMS isn’t just a professional opportunity for me, it’s a way to feel that all that I’ve learned is worthy and useful when put in the correct place. AMS is an opportunity to develop, learn, reflect and grow. After struggling for too long to find such a working environment that supports in all possible ways and shares my values so I can contribute to and add value to it with my knowledge and skills, I started my growing journey with AMS and I’m looking forward to taking over more roles and experiences in project management, copy writing and content creation. Who knows! I might launch my own awareness project with AMS.
If you’re looking for a communications partner that values clarity, kindness, and the behind-the-scenes systems that make collaboration feel easy, we’d love to support you. You can explore our communications support and, if you’d like to chat about working together, get in touch to start a conversation.
