Halfways Blues
The halfway point has come and gone. 16 days done, and not much more to go. Things are building in intensity as we creep closer to the 2023 WAFES event at the start of September.
There is still a lot to get done and not much time. A few of my key focus areas for myself have been compiling content for the WAFES app, getting the awards and trophies ordered, proofed and collected, as well as assisting on any odd jobs sent my way. Recently I was focusing on recently was compiling & formatting the information for the WAFES app. An unexpectedly large portion of this task is completed in Excel, allowing each page to have its own sheet while still in the same book. This is the most efficient way to send to our external developers/suppliers.
This is a lengthy process of working across multiple spreadsheets to find the correct information, matching it to each other and reducing the content to fit within the word limit.
Some tips that I learned through error and Google whilst doing this.
- There is a spell-checking function in Excel, it’s under the review tab.
- You can look at the same sheet on 2 windows at the same time, it is under view, then the new window.
- You can hide columns and rows.
- You can also freeze them so they stay in position even if you scroll; this is great for heading to columns.
So far, enjoying the process of not working on one project at a time; it keeps me busy and productive, learning through action rather than observation. Being on the events team is a balancing act of working with multiple different departments. Working with upper management, media, ICT, to name a few, as well as external contractors and suppliers. It’s a people-facing industry, and I quickly learned that even in a professional environment, you and your team are held up to a standard they don’t have to meet.
I have often felt that my work quality is not up to standard, but I don’t know what I don’t know. I’ve tried my best, and that’s all that can be asked of me. I’m my own harshest critic. That’s why there is a feedback process; you are never the only one to see something before it is published. Some highlights have been getting the certificates from designed to printed and signed. It took a lot longer than I expected, but I am happy it’s over and getting content sent over the devs.
With not much time left, there is more to learn and headaches coming my way.
JOB DONE, BUT FAR FROM FINISHED
MATTHEW ROBSON WRITES:
Just like that, my first twenty-odd days as a part time employee at the Fremantle Football Club has simply just flown by and are now done. I am very much on of the lucky ones in this situation, staying on and continuing to work for a fantastic organisation beyond the minimum days required for Reflective Practice – my first official degree-related job post uni!
So rather than a recap on an interning experience looking to what t
he future might hold, for now I do know what my future will hold (until at least March next year!). So I am here for my final blog entry today to cover over how I have seen my first twenty days go past and what I have learnt about being in a workplace.
When I began working a little over a month and a half ago, I had absolutely no clue on how a football club is supposed to be run, and what amount of say/influence/day-to-day work any departments outside of the central football department actually have.
Upon reflection, my mindset and ideas of how professional sport clubs are run have changed dramatically. I never anticipated how relaxed and chilled out a work environment on a level such as this would be. It got me thinking – is this what I want to do, is there where I envisioned my degree taking me?
The short and long answer are both yes.
Working for a professional sports club or organisation is all I wanted to do through high school and through university but was never sure of in what capacity. Marketing, journalism, writer, admin roles, sales – I would’ve done anything to work there.
Yet when I was finally accepted, I was so scared. What if I did something wrong or didn’t get into the vibe of the club enough?
There was absolutely no fear of that once I had started to get into the work. Any worries of taking too long to settle in and meet the office vibe were very quickly erased and moved on. The team made very conscious efforts to make me welcome by taking up tasks like kick to kicks after work on certain days, team lunches in the early couple of weeks and just general information and chit-chat sessions.
This allowed me to become myself very quickly – something I really needed to do to feel like I was going to be able to produce my best work. I couldn’t have been happier to feel this way so quickly in a new working environment. A dream job, a great opportunity, a lovely team and an easy work-flow to start in.
I guess the final lesson I want to take from this job so far, and the experience of getting to write these blogs has been to always stay true to yourself and keep your best attitude toward experiences. Nerves and uncertainty will always come when starting new jobs and new roles, but the best way to ease through is to just get to work and not focus on things you can’t control. If you’re working a job in an environment that you love and enjoy, then its most likely the people you work with will have similar interests, senses of humour, etc. It is an opportunity that most importantly I wouldn’t have seen or thought of going for if it wasn’t for the Reflective Practice at Curtin of course, so a shoutout to Bridget for that one!
This has been such a great opportunity so far, and I couldn’t be happier with where I have come to, and what’s to come in my future employment with the Fremantle Football Club.
That’s it for me for now, there’s not much more to say. So until any of you are able to hear from me next time, stay well and keep pushing your limits!
Go Dockers!!
TRYING SOMETHING NEW AND CREATING CONTENT
MATTHEW ROBSON WRITES:
Wow, these last few weeks have just flown by!! It’s been a little bit since my last blog, but that’s not to say the experiences at Freo have been any less worthwhile or exciting!!
As I am not far off from transitioning into full-time work, the next blogs aren’t necessarily reflective of the working experience, but rather tasks I have evolved into becoming more competent in than I was before. I would love to go into a specific focus here on how I was asked to undertake a new set task to broaden my abilities in the workplace.
I’m sure we can all relate to this however – how often have you been thrown into a completely new experience by your workplace and you immediately felt no clue what to do at first!!
I have been trying a lot of new things and taking on new responsibilities but I’m here today to talk through the experience of something completely new to me – the process of creating content!
Already in my work I was relatively well versed in the communication and marketing skills, and just continually improved them as I went along. But content?
Aside from my volunteer work at local clubs, I hadn’t done this yet at a level like this so was extremely nervous when our team leader tasked me creating both a Pride Round themed TikTok to sell our club’s pride jumper, and then an ad for our SEDA student program to run on TikTok as well!
First step was to come up with an idea and focus in on what trend we wanted to use. For our Pride TikTok, the goal was the advertise the merchandise the club had produced, and our team leader had a general idea of a shirt transition video. We are able to find a pistol-sound which was trending, and from there it was more about organising one of our AFLW players to model the gear and be used in the TikTok. Easy so far right?
The SEDA TikTok was more of a creative project in my court, with the only instructions offered to me by my team leader was the include a fast-moving array of shots that showcase what students can do in the sports, leadership and business program we offered. I was able to use my limited but functional skills in Premiere to cut the pictures together, choosing the best photos for longer holding shots, and choosing the sound.
I was scared thinking I was going off on my own tangent, and coming up to the approval phase I was so nervous about how many changes would be needed. Luckily I stuck to my guns and held my faith, and very limited changes were suggested by my team leader and the SEDA program heads, so I was able to publish it on the official club account as a paid ad!!
Before I could relax too much, I had to get into contact with Freo AFLW star Kiara Bowers to use as our poster-person for our Pride TikTok. My team leader and I headed out to the training oval with the merch we required to film the video. Again I was nervous – a professional player being told what to do for a social media video by me – a new employee?
http://https://www.instagram.com/p/CjsBE6AOZx0/
Luckily, the shoot couldn’t have gone much better! Kiara was awesome to work with and although the conditions in-front of the Pride Round mural at Cockburn weren’t ideal, we got enough good footage to be able to create a video which we could use to sell our merch as we planned.
The lesson from this experience from me is to always take challenges head on and embrace new experiences. I am settling into the new role nicely, as I am sure so many others have in their own experiences and being asked to do something a little out of your expected roles and comfort zone can sometimes be confronting. I was very worried I would waste a lot of time getting stuff like this done for it to be not good enough or scrapped, but I persisted and just tried to get my best work done. As my 20-days minimum comes to an end and I look to work beyond, I am getting more and more excited with how far and how much I can go and do with this role.
Until next time guys, go Freo! 😉
ALL THAT IN A WEEK’S WORK
MATTHEW ROBSON WRITES.
What a first week! So much for an induction, I was straight into the fire. Writing articles, covering games, sending emails to massive membership bases. I couldn’t believe how quickly they’ve needed me to get into the swing of things!
Tiring and different would be an understatement, but so would exciting and fulfilling!
As someone whose entry into the position was very quickly and came to fruition over a short period of time, I didn’t expect to be thrown into work by day one. Yet there I was, on my first day writing spiels into an empty word document about ticketing information and event promotion for our next AFLW home game against Carlton. Although some tweaking was needed, it gave me massive confidence to write up an article like I’d done so many times before at uni, and even more so when limited changes were made before it was uploaded to the club’s website the next day. By the end of my first week, I had prepared this along with a Matchday Info article, a promotional article about where to watch the men’s semi-final against Collingwood and even an article advertising the upcoming women’s clinic and Peak Performance program.
Click here to check out my Indigenous Round ticket sale article
Young AFLW fans’ chance to learn from the best!
On the Saturday following week 2, I was treated to working my first ever live match coverage, at Fremantle Oval vs Carlton. I was told to come along just to learn what to do and observe, but the supportive team I’m in being themselves, delegated tasks down to me on the day. As the game went on I was creating simple score graphics on Photoshop to post to the club’s Instagram stories and relying game info to Cale, who was running our Twitter feed. I learnt how to create an eDM to send to our members and fans post game, including how to link, the Photoshop templates we already used. I also transcribed the coach’s post-game presser and got a taste of just how much goes on behind the scenes in an AFL/AFLW match.
Bonus – the game was a draw, such an intense first experience!
In summary for today’s blog, the lesson is be ready! I couldn’t believe the amount of knowledge I was passed on and what I was being told in my first few days. I was publishing articles on the club website, advertising for the club, becoming an accredited AFL/AFLW employee and working live match days from the ground and in the change rooms. I have thoroughly enjoyed these first few weeks for sure, it has been a unique experience so far. I am really enjoying all these new experiences but most importantly the responsibility that I have on my shoulders to make sure I am representing the club and the brand as professionally and effectively as possible.
Thanks for jumping and taking a read over my experiences, can’t wait to see what new stories and experiences I’ll have to share in my third edition of this blog!! Until next time guys!!
So… What Now?
I officially completed my internship last week!! I can’t believe how quickly it went, I learnt so much in only 20 days, I feel like I’ve had a crash course in PR. I’m still trying to absorb all the things I learnt, this was an invaluable experience that I feel has really prepared me for life after uni. Having experienced what it’s like to actually work in PR, I’m more confident than ever that this is the industry I want to be in.
This internship has given me a new appreciation for all the things I’ve learnt over my time at Curtin. When you’re in the middle of it, it can sometimes be hard to see how the things we’re learning relate to working in the real world. Throughout my internship the theory I’ve learnt over the past 3 years has helped me enormously, I have a greater understanding of my role and how it fits into the organisation’s greater PR plan. Uni as taught me the why, why we do things and how they help us to achieve the right outcomes for an organisation.
The biggest lesson I learnt during my internship was to not be afraid to ask questions. The people you are working with want you to succeed, they’ve picked you because they believe in you, and they are happy to help when you need it. I think this lesson also extends beyond the immediate team you’re working with, if you are creating a post about an event that you didn’t actually attend, ask someone. Getting the right info for your story is part of the job so you need to be comfortable asking questions.
Now that I’m finished with my internship, I’ve realised it’s time to start thinking about what’s next. Semester is rapidly coming to a close and soon I’ll be out in the big wide world. The future is here, and I need to start making plans for what I’m going to do with it. With some experience now under my belt, it’s time to start applying for graduate positions. Personally, I don’t think it’s ever too early to start putting yourself out there, I know that many companies will not want to take on a student still in their last semester but now that I’ve got a taste for working in PR I just want to get started. I’m excited to see all that the PR industry has to offer as I know I’ve barely touched the surface.
I hope all of your internships have been successful and have reaffirmed your love of PR the way it has for me.
Via Giphy
Don’t Overlook the Less Glamorous Industries
When I first decided that PR was what I wanted to do I imagined myself working in the more glamourous industries, the ones that you think of when you hear the words Public Relations. Industries such as sporting, entertainment or music. Throughout uni I learnt that PR was part of every organisation and that you could be a PR practitioner in any industry but in my mind I still pictured those high profile PR industries that I first imagined. I just couldn’t visualise how PR worked in industries that I hadn’t seen in media.
Undertaking my internship at a civil construction company has really opened my eyes to the benefits of working in a less high profile industry and how PR can look in different industries. I’ve loved the challenge of learning about an industry that I previously knew nothing about. I won’t lie it was a steep learning curve trying to understand the more technical aspects of the industry but I’m really grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to learn something completely new. Surprisingly, I’ve learnt that I actually find construction pretty interesting. One of my favourite things about this industry is the passion the people around me have for their jobs. Hearing project manager’s talk about how proud they are of their team and the milestones they’ve reached has made writing project updates one of my favourite tasks. When the people you are surrounded by are passionate about the industry it makes you want to understand what they love about it so much.
I’ve also picked up a pretty useful tips for anyone else undertaking their internship in an industry that’s completely new to them. Something I found to be incredibly useful when I first started was looking at my companies past PR work. If I was assigned to create a post about a new project that we had been awarded my first step was always to find a previous project announcement post to use as guidance. This helped me to write in the style of the company and to understand the type of language that was used in the industry. As I’ve progressed through my internship I’ve used this trick less and less but whenever I’m stuck this little hack always gives me some inspiration.
While thinking about what I was going to write about for this blog I came across the article below and it got me thinking about what I liked about the construction industry and the hidden benefits of working in PR in a more low profile industry. Construction is by no means a small or underappreciated industry but in relation to PR and communications, it’s not exactly an industry students dream of entering. If you want to read up about some more of the underappreciated industries when it comes to PR and communications give this article a read, I found it really interesting and relevant for those of us just starting out as PR practitioners.
Feeling Out of Place?
Well, well, well
If you are reading this, then you have begun your internship journey as I have and potentially being nervous around the entry into your placement position at your company. I know how you feel, I felt the exact same way. Heading into my first day, I had nerves. The interview had gone well, they had reached out quickly to confirm my placement so they could have everything ready for me by the time I was starting. I knew the expectations were not going to be to an unusually high standard and that I would not die being at my placement. So why did I feel this way? The answer; I felt out of place. Now, I have been doing my degree for a long time heading into this being my final semester; so why do I feel out of place? Why am I so nervous about beginning? Why oh why am I feeling this way?
Thankfully, I did not allow those thoughts to overcome me and the best way to make the unknown known is to follow through. So, nerves and all, I arrived for my first day at my placement. All the other authors here know what it is like on your first day – there is that much information that comes at you that you feel as though your head is going to explode…
Courtesy of BBC
But, thankfully I was able to meet the other members of the organisation (including the Managing Director who is an amazingly energetic woman) which helped me feel at ease and a little bit more comfortable. Even more so, getting a few wins on that very first day. Having the ability to draft and publish a social media post as well as assisting with the development of a plan helped build a little bit of confidence and more comfort in the environment. The environment I have the opportunity to be in also provides that safety of sharing our ideas. Therefore, when I spoke up to provide input on what was being discussed, I was not shunned, laughed at, or abused. No, they nodded their head and helped expand on what I was able to input. Furthermore, in doing this, I was also given my own homework from the Managing Director so I better make sure I get it done!
via Tenor
At the risk of providing you with an overload of information, I will cut to the chase with what I have been able to learn so far hitting on that topic of feeling out of place. It is okay (and expected) to feel this way heading into your placement. Beginning in any new environment provides that worry and the not knowing can potentially paralyse us into inaction. But, once you follow through and get those first few days under your belt and get some work done (and even being complimented on it), those feelings of being out of place will fade and you will sink your teeth into it! The only thing that can stop you is yourself and trust me, once you get underway and have an idea about what you are doing, you will be doing too much to be thinking about that anymore and let’s be honest, at that stage, you will definitely not feel out of place.
SO GOT OUT THERE & SMASH IT!
One door closes, another opens – departing my placement
What a wild ride it has been. I am finally at the end of my internship. Two months ago, I started as a clueless, inexperienced undergraduate student. Now I’m departing from my internship as a not so clueless with a small handful of experience graduating student.
To say that I have learnt from my internship would be an understatement. Instead it felt like I had just discovered the tip of the iceberg, with so much more for me to learn and explore.
I was given tasks that I didn’t even know belonged under the PR umbrella. For example, Incite Solutions has a corporate volunteering program where their employees can take one day off work to engage in volunteering activities of their choice. One of my tasks was to research, contact and source volunteering opportunities that are engaging for the staff or relates to their profession/industry.
The table below provided a quick snapshot of my major task scope.
My placement experience further reinforced the flexibility and range of activities that belong under the PR scope. There is no one size fits all, how PR is practiced from company to company differs. That’s the mystery of the profession; there always seems to be something that can be explored.
I remember my supervisor told me earlier on in my placement:
“You know how to write a media release but it’s’ going to be different every single time”
She was right, we are going to be using the same writing skills to write a media release. But the content would differ depending on the organisation and the topic. Its’ all about honing your skills so you can adapt them to any subject! Similar to a knife that is consistenly sharpened to deliver precise cuts everytime.
The most rewarding part about my placement was seeing the results or impact of the work I do. Such as the flyer that I designed was printed and used during the event launch. The drafts that I have written for the company website portal is now publicly accessible, view it here!. It sounds kind of crazy, but the placement legitimises the PR profession to me. Of course, before my placement started, I know what a PR professional does. But after undergoing this internship, I now have a concrete, solid understanding of the varied tasks of a PR profession. Yes, we write media releases, yes, we do social media marketing. But it is so much more than that. Every task that we undertake can be watered down to its essence. Public Relations. Managing the relations between the organisation and its’ internal and external public.
Besides enriching my knowledge about the PR profession, this placement opportunity also provided me a taster of what job searching will be like. From searching for my own placement opportunities, writing my own cover letters and resume, contacting the recruitment persons, and attending the interview. Frankly the process was daunting to me. But I’ve been through it, and I’ve done it. Looking back, it provided me with the boost of confidence and experience I now need as a graduate who is starting her job searching journey soon.
Now that one door of opportunity has closed, I can’t wait to find the next one that opens.
3 Tips for a Timid Person Approaching Their Colleagues
A blink of an eye, and I am now mid-way through my internship!
When I last touched base with you, I discussed the reality and impacts of corporate reputation in an organisation and how it can boost employee morale and staff retention. To add on, internal communications is also another strategy to maintain employee morale. Everyone wants to feel like they are being seen and heard. Internal communications is an integral function to ensuring employees and staff are being seen and heard by the organisation.
At my internship, I am responsible for a considerable amount of tasks relating to internal communications. Recently one of the company’s CEOs was a nominated finalist for Australia’s National Rehabilitation Counsellor. My supervisor had tasked me to reach out to my colleagues and film a short congratulatory video message surrounding the prompt: What skills or abilities does the Director possess that you admire and respect as a rehabilitation counsellor? Afterwards, I would compile all the footage into one video clip. We aimed to compile as many video messages as we possibly can. Though we were in a time crunch as we had only 3-4 days to film and compile the video.
Frankly, I dreaded the task, and for a number of reasons.
Firstly I barely knew anyone in the office, as I haven’t had the chance to work with the majority of my colleagues. Secondly, I am quite a shy person especially with people I’m not comfortable with, and it takes me some time to warm up to people. Despite my social anxiety I knew the task had to be done. It was a great learning curve for me in terms of video recording content, as well as a socialisation exercise. I have noted down five tips and tricks to approaching your colleagues for anyone who is a little shy like me.
1. Notify them first!
One of the first things my supervisor did was informing all of the staff in the office beforehand about the tasks we were doing. This made my job a whole lot easier as I did not have to repeat myself like a broken record. Instead I could simply just ask them “Hi! Have you seen the email that xx sent earlier today about the congratulations video for our director?” This is useful, especially if you need to engage with a large number of people in the office. By sending them a message beforehand, it brings everyone on the same page faster and makes your job easier when you are discussing with them about the task face to face.
2. Write it down
Preparing a short script with key dot points of what information you want to relay will help reduce the stutters and jitters. You might be thinking, you can do this in your head there is no need to write it down. There is a higher chance of you losing your train of thought especially when you are nervous. Having your key points written down ensures that you relay all the necessary information to your colleagues, as well as for you to jot down any information from them as well.
For example in my script I wrote:
- Say hello and ask them how their day has been
- Prompt them about the email that was sent earlier today
- Rehash the task
- Ask for their availability for filming
- If yes, note down the time. If no, inquire when would they next be available
- Ask them if they have any questions about the task
3. Fake it till you make it
Approaching someone for the first time and asking them for favour can be a really daunting task. I totally understand the feeling. But sometimes you just have to fake it until you make it. Sometimes we get stuck in our head about such tasks but if you approach them sincerely and at the right time, they will most likely say yes. So don’t be afraid to approach your colleagues, as interns we are there to learn as much as we can and develop not just our hard skills but our soft skills as well!
You Just Made The List!
After a few weeks of being an intern at Zella DC, I continued to develop more of the skills that I’ve learned during my Public Relations course and applied that in creating media releases, building a website and creating strategies and guidelines for the organisation for any upcoming projects. But the one thing that I mainly focused on was tidying up the distribution lists for Zella DC.
With this task, I felt like Penelope Garcia from “Criminal Minds”, who is known for her role as an intel/technical analyst. It was like I was hacking and finding information about journalists and writers and reporting it back to my supervisor. As I thought this was an easy project, it was not. I first began looking for journalists and company who has written about the organisation through press releases, looking at articles about competitors and then looking at different industries. I was so pleased that I did not need to learn more about Excel Spreadsheets/Google Sheets (but I definitely should), but never knew how difficult and how long it took to research and find contacts information.
As I was tidying up the distribution list, another job from my long list of jobs was given to me but this one was also similar to a distribution list. I was asked to find the contact information of certain executives of a list of organisations for the company to contact in the future for sales prospects. Like a distribution list, it was also difficult and long to find as many contacts were also not named or hidden under a paywall.
With an extension software provided by Zella DC, I was able to business e-mails and phone numbers just with one click. This! This brought the groove back that I was Penelope Garcia from “Criminal Minds” again.
This long journey of finding contact information about journalists, writers and company executives, lays out the foundation of an organisation in contacting the media to gain recognition. As Zella DC is a business-to-business organisation, it positions its products to appeal to more sales prospects through the media.
That is all from me for this blog. I hope everyone who is continuing with their internship has the best of luck!
First Day Reality Check
Applying for internships was daunting, as I was taking one big step out of childhood and one giant leap into adulthood. Being 22, my fourth year of university and taking my Public Relations and job experiences slowly throughout the years in a university club doing promotional and marketing work to applying to a start-up company was already a big step to me.
I finished my interview with my supervisor, who was very laid back and professional and once I got accepted, my head became a mess. I was trying to get myself to remember everything I’ve learnt throughout my course and trying to apply it to possible situations that may occur on my first day.
When I started on Thursday, August 19th, it was truly overwhelming, as I just became confuzzled with how much information I had to take in about the technology used by Zella DC.
I began my experience with just reading their articles while I take it in for myself what they do and storing them in their system and started to begin tasks for the organisation’s future projects.
I started easy with my first few days out of the twenty but after a few roadblocks with getting sick and the effects after getting the 1st dose of the vaccine, I began to do various tasks that felt like I truly loved doing back in Curtin in my PR units such as the research, writing blogs, completing reports, defining distribution lists, media kits and publishing a press release that I had assisted in writing.
From only the first few days of interning at Zella DC, it has put in reality to me how important public relations is to an organisation.
Yes, Corporate Culture is Legit
It was a Thursday night; I was on my usual Netflix lookout hunting for something to entertain me while I’m having dinner. Along the catalogue of previews there was a film featuring Anna Hathaway called “The Intern”. I’ve seen some talks about the film and having watched an unhealthy amount of Hathaway’s discography, I decided why not?
The film follows the journey of a retired widowed man – Ben, gaining an internship at a leading e-commerce clothing website – ‘All the Fit’. The company culture exudes hip and modern vibes, reflective of the organisation’s founder Jules, a young and passionate CEO. The layout of the office is open with no office cubes, to promote collaboration and team spirit.
A scene that stood out to me was during Ben’s orientation session, one of his colleagues rang a bell that is attached to the wall found in the middle of the office space. She exclaimed, “we just hit a record high of 2,500 likes on Instagram!”. Upon the announcement, all the employees were applauding and cheering.
(The bell scene from the film The Intern)
“This can’t be real”, was the first thing I thought to myself while watching the scene. I couldn’t imagine that there could be a bell attached to a wall in a corporate environment, as well as employees ringing the bell during busy office hours. The whole concept seems absurd to me. Until I got to my internship…
Yes, this is a weird twist of fate and I wish I was making this up. At my internship, in the middle area of the office, there was a bell hung off of the wall called the ‘Celebratabell’. It’s purpose and use was similar to the film, anyone in the office had the opportunity to ring the bell when a significant achievement was obtained and worth celebrating.
(Incite Solutions LinkedIn featuring the celebratabell)
This is one of many examples that depicts the warm and encouraging corporate culture at my internship. As part of my orientation session, they had one of the company’s occupational therapists conduct a work assessment activity. She instructed me on the recommended height for my stand-up desk, educated me on the placement of my arms and legs to ensure optimal comfort, and provided me with ample information on developing healthy and good ergonomics habits. From this, I felt that there is a strong emphasis on maintaining the health and wellbeing of employees at the company.
You might be wondering, how does PR fit in the mix of this?
Well a major work stream of the Business Development department (also known as the PR department, to read more about this refer to my first blog), was Internal Communications. Internal communications ensures that there is an effective flow of information between organisation’s departments and colleagues. The bell ringing ceremony is one of many activities taking place at Incite Solutions Wellness Week. Throughout Wellness Week, there were activities organised in and outside of the office to encourage employee wellness. It was the responsibility of the PR department to organise these activities, relay the information to employees, and encourage their participation.
This experience provided me with a deeper understanding of a fundamental concept of PR – stakeholder management. I often think of the external stakeholders of the organisation such as the customers, suppliers, investors, government etc. But a major and influential stakeholder are employees. Manifesting a positive workplace culture and environment plays a major role towards the organisation’s corporate reputation. Research has shown corporate reputation can act as a form of competitive advantage against other organisations. Not only are investors and customers looking to support brands with favourable reputations, so are jobseekers. Thus the role of PR is imperative in various aspects to support the development of a favourable reputation internally and externally, with all stakeholders.