deliverables,deliverables,deliverables

this entry is one I wanted to add after I had written it (in haste). Upon uploading it now I have only added the 2 last lines.

Excitement is something that can be reason you wake up in the morning. It can also be a source of great frustration when it peters, this is where I find myself on first entry.

Royal Perth Hospital, home to WA's finest has the social and corporate capital that fueled initial desire and excitement for this project. Fast forward to week 14 and I would have my name alongside other, well established and respectable people, recognised world wide! It may still happen if I can salvage my sporadic efforts from shipwrecking in the wide open expanse of the public service.

First off, it seams that my tenure ship with RPH is a widely interconnected yet solo effort. Meetings with project organisers are mainly asynchronous and electronic - this would be a dream if only I had a clear brief or project plan. I am, it seems a master of my own destiny. And yet, maybe this is the allure as well as the calamitous character of the public service - organised chaos. A ubiquitous ecosystem of public health, 11 storeys high and 3 blocks wide has 2 dedicated PR professionals among its quiver. A busy duo indeed.

I know there is an abundance of communications work to do here at the McComb Foundation (it is a R+D facility after), and it must be essential, but envisioning it as a quantifiable work load is not accessible at this early stage.  Meetings to come should bring to life this golden opportunity. Fingers crossed.

reflections

It is a difficult time for any new human resource addition to find his or her feet within an organisation. The core of this difficulty, with particular relation to student work placements, is figuring out what exactly the organisation (therefore its staff and executives) sets out to achieve. Mission statements can only narrowly illuminate one on rather inherent subjects such as this. Indeed one needs to feel like a cog in the working machine before the true essence of the organisation is revelled.  This placement has taught me that starting at this position is not a hindrance to the public relations practitioner, but is actually beneficial. Learning about the firm by way of staff interview (albeit conversational) imbibes a truly elemental understanding of the organisation’s function. One that could not be related through a series of bland corporate brochures.

The placement also put into context the importance and artistry of vocational pitching. Within such a crowded and busy ecosystem such as RPH one needs to re affirm to many that he or she is here to serve a real and consolidated purpose – nobody actually knows what a public relations partitioner does.

Also, job satisfaction is influenced greatly by the social position of the employing firm. It means a lot to mean a lot.

The pathway could be clearer for the next student to settle into a public relations capacity at McComb (if there is to be another), and I hope that the shared experiences can achieve that.

PR - a lost art?

I wondered why so much time was spent in the early PR units leading up to the placement - pushing the idea of constant pitching (PR) to workplace managers . Why would it be that a firm could not easily see the sense and importance of keeping messages and all communications too, from and in between the company tight, to the point and robust? Its because like Zen Masters, Whirling Dervishes and Mike Munro - nobody knows what PR does they just know they need it.

Communication problems are the number 1 reason partnerships break down (Justin Langer: Seeing the Sun Rise 2008) and even tho sledging Pakistani bowlers with Matt Hayden may be a little different from corporate to-ing and fro-ing all communications are based on the same principals - know what you want to say; know who you want to say it to and know how to respond to your messages. The major difference between batting  and corporate partnerships however, is that in cricket your fortune changes in an instant - a sharp piece of fielding a crack in the pitch. Its easy to see where you go wrong in cricket. In other workplaces partnerships build or fail slowly. Adhoc approaches to corporate comms slowly erodes the cache or reputation of the firm until messages sent no longer remain a priority to those who need to hear and respond in a timely fashion.

I have a presentation with my managers in a few days regarding a poorly constructed and managed Intranet. Now to figure out how to tell them to scrap it and focus on PR tools and practices that will correct the adhoc comms course they are currently on. First I'll youtube some classic Justin Langer sledges to get me in the communications mood...

deliverables,deliverables,deliverables

this is a revised and belated upload of an original post written a few weeks ago. It was written in haste and I didn't want regret it. All I have changed is an addition of the last two lines.

Excitement is something that can be reason you wake up in the morning. It can also be a source of great frustration when it peters, this is where I find myself on first entry.

Royal Perth Hospital, home to WA's finest has the social and corporate capital that fueled initial desire and excitement for this project. Fast forward to week 14 and I would have my name alongside other, well established and respectable people, recognised world wide! It may still happen if I can salvage my sporadic efforts from shipwrecking in the wide open expanse of the public service.

First off, it seams that my tenure ship with RPH is a widely interconnected yet solo effort. Meetings with project organisers are mainly asynchronous and electronic - this would be a dream if only I had a clear brief or project plan. I am, it seems a master of my own destiny. And yet, maybe this is the allure as well as the calamitous character of the public service - organised chaos. A ubiquitous ecosystem of public health, 11 storeys high and 3 blocks wide has 2 dedicated PR professionals among its quiver. A busy duo indeed.

I know there is an abundance of communications work to do here at the McComb Foundation (it is a R+D facility after), and it must be essential, but envisioning it as a quantifiable work load is not accessible at this early stage.  Meetings to come should bring to life this golden opportunity. Fingers crossed.