I usually don’t like to mix HWH PR with DigiDame unless there is something new to learn. I believe that this is one of those times. I know that I mentioned this in one of my posts a few months ago but I will reiterate. HWH is the first PR agency selected by Columbia University to conduct a virtual PR internship program. That means that the interns we employ from Columbia this semester, January through April, all work remotely. They don’t see us, we don’t see them. They will be doing work for us in a Starbucks, their home, the campus, on an airplane, train, any place that has an Internet connection.

In fact, one of the students will be working for us from London because this is her semester abroad. A business friend, who is pretty tech savvy, recently asked me, “Why would you pick a student who is going to London for the semester when you can get interns from Columbia University who are right here in Manhattan?” I was a little surprised by the question so I eagerly answered, “There is no difference where a person is situated when they are working virtually. They can be in the next building or thousands of miles away. It doesn’t matter. We are not meeting face-to-face on any regular basis and if we have to talk, we will schedule it by email in advance.” Then he said, “That is going to be a little difficult considering there is a time difference.”

I explained, “Quite contraire. I feel it is easier. I give her an assignment in the evening and it’s waiting for me when I return to work the next day.” HWH has had an internship program for almost 30 years. One of the reasons why Columbia picked us is because we have a lot of experience with them. We have been using interns from colleges all over the United States for 30 years. If a student is not from the New York area, they usually work for us during holidays or the summer periods. Many of them get housing at the NYU dorms when the regular students are on break.

What Columbia liked about HWH is the way we treat interns. The minute they come onboard they get assigned real work, no filing, making copies and collating like in the pre-Internet days. They get assigned research work, writing assignment for press releases, social media, media alerts, and blogs. They also immediately intereact with the press. Unlike most of PR agencies, we do not fear interns saying the wrong thing to a member of the media. In just a few days, most interns know exactly how a PR agency functions and what the objectives and strategies are. College students today know their way around the Internet as well, if not better, than full time workers who are out of college a few years. The younger the better. They grew up using digital technology longer and have natural instincts that make them adjust to assignments better and deeper. Years ago, we had to show interns how to use some of our databases and subscription services. Now the minute we give them the user name and password, they go to work. Explanations are not needed.

What is scary is that they get the work done faster and surface results that we never would have achieved ourselves. They just know retrieve better info from any kind of software program. They grew up with these programs and instinctively know how to manage and organize the research and lists needed to fulfill an assignment. Long before Columbia University ever asked HWH to be the first PR agency to participate in their program, we were working with interns on a virtual basis. If they couldn’t make it to the office because of weather or they were not feeling well, we would give them assignments to work on remotely.

In this day and age, you do not have to be sitting in the same office to get work done. In fact, I find it better if there is no chit, chat. If someone does have a question he or she texts or calls. That is very rare though. When I ask to talk to an intern, they default to texting. That is their form of communications, fast, to the point and documented. It works for them, it works for us.

The real reason I am writing this post is not just because of the Columbia association, but because the workforce will be moving in this direction as well in the coming years. The day of the actual office will be soon be a thing of the past. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule but even those situations will find a way to work virtually also. Don’t think this is a bad thing. Remember, I told you about the efficiency, accuracy and productivity of the new crop of interns each year. Just think that you will no longer be aggravated about what to wear to work, the hours you’re spending commuting and annoying co-workers.

Everyone will still have the option to get together when they really want to see each other rather than when they are being forced to.