Enhancing Remote Communication and Collaboration: A Case Study on Purnama Outreach and Fireflies

Purnama Outreach is a slow fashion brand and social enterprise co-founded by Rae Indah-Purnama and Charles Pitts in 2014. The company is dedicated to bringing about positive change in the lives of Asian women and children by providing them with a source of livelihood and educational opportunities. Purnama Outreach operates with rural artisans in Nepal and Indonesia and runs education outreach programs for children in these locations as well as Thailand. The company creates cause-related artisanal products using environmentally-friendly materials and sustainable practices. To date, Purnama Outreach, in collaboration with their corporate and philanthropic partners, has saved hundreds of inner-tube tires and single-use plastic bags from landfills, and has placed women and children in education/skill development programs.

Purnama Outreach, a fully remote social enterprise, faced significant challenges in disseminating meeting notes and other crucial information across its global team. The company, which operates in different time zones, found it difficult to schedule meetings where all key players could attend. This situation was further complicated by the diverse accents of team members, which posed a barrier to understanding and transcribing accurate meeting notes. Moreover, the company was struggling with inefficient information dissemination, a common issue among remote teams. This lack of effective communication and collaboration tools was hindering the company's productivity and its mission to bring about positive change in the lives of Asian women and children.

Purnama Outreach found a solution to their communication and collaboration challenges in Fireflies, an AI-powered tool designed to transcribe and disseminate meeting notes. The Fireflies Notetaker Bot automatically transcribes any meeting it is invited to with high accuracy, breaking down language barriers by handling different English accents well. Once a meeting is concluded, the meeting leader can send post-meeting recaps to the entire team or specific members, ensuring that the right information reaches the right person at any time. Team members can access meeting information on their Fireflies Notebook and Notepad, search for key topics, or flag important meeting moments for review. This solution has significantly improved asynchronous remote team collaboration, allowing the Purnama Outreach team to collaborate easily regardless of time zone and location.

• The implementation of Fireflies has brought about significant operational improvements for Purnama Outreach. The company has seen a marked increase in productivity and a reduction in burnouts, as team members can now collaborate more efficiently regardless of their location or time zone. The ability to transcribe meetings accurately, handle different English accents, and disseminate information efficiently has broken down communication barriers within the team. Furthermore, the ability to flag important meeting moments for review has enhanced the team's ability to focus on key issues and tasks. Overall, Fireflies has enabled Purnama Outreach to optimize their day for efficiency and focus more on their mission of bringing about positive change.