Sharing my experiences

Hi Everyone,

I am nearing the end of my placement with the CBH Group. Looking back on my time here it has really gone so quickly. I have been able to experience the Corporate Affairs department in many different ways through many different projects. I have really valued my time here and I have learnt so much. It is one thing to learn theory and create communications plans or media releases at university but it is entirely different when those plans you are doing will actually be implemented or go out to the media.

When I first started at the CBH Group I was sceptical about what work I would be given, but from day one I have been given much more responsibility than I would have thought.

I would like to share some of the main experiences I have had over my placement.

A CEO retiring after 15 years in the top job creates so much work for the Corporate Affairs department. With about seven or eight different farewell events there is a lot of planning and managing to do (not to mention a lot of stressing). Every angle needs to be covered to ensure that all the events go as planned.

The Annual General Meeting is another major event on the calendar that must be properly managed. It is the one meeting of the year that shareholders and staff are together. Major decisions are made and it sets up the future year so it is important that it runs smoothly.

Crisis!! Over harvest time the infrastructure of rail and road systems in the Wheatbelt caused delivery schedules to be thrown off track. Criticism is always directed at the big companies.

Introducing a Chaplaincy program to staff and growers is not the easiest task. It is hard to think of ways to encourage staff and growers to use a chaplain service.

The value of research - The value of grower and staff feedback is vital to the future success of the communications department. I have been involved in gathering feedback from our stakeholders with regards to finding better communication methods.

Media Monitors – This is an important service to use for the company as there is quite a lot of coverage generated in regional media (the Countrymen, Albany Advertiser and Farm Weekly). The amount of media enquiries that come into the CBH Group each day is pretty amazing. The Media Advisor spends more time on the phone than she does off!

Those are some of the major events that have happened whilst I have been at the CBH Group. I hope all of your placements have been as exciting! I know I have gained so much real life experience that you simply cannot get at uni. However, I have found that the techniques that we learn at uni do apply to the real world in a huge way.