I suppose one of the main reasons for this is how volatile the company I work for tends to be. It's actually a bit of a joke around the office about how unpredictable and changebale things can get around here. The owner of the company likes to jump into everything head first and is constantly coming up with new ideas without following through on the old ones... which sometimes lands us in a bit of trouble (we actually had Today Tonight chase us up a few years ago which isn't the best feeling). A lot of these new ideas are good, but our resources are limited so projects we are working on already are inclined to suffer.
In terms of PR the biggest issue we have with the constant changes is internal communications. It can be really hard to keep everyone up to date with what is going on all the time. On many occasions I have found myself sitting in the weekly staff meeting (which is without question the LEAST favourite part of my job) and wondering what the owner of the company is talking about. In the past I was embarressed by this - as though I was incompetent for not being able to 'keep up with the program'.... until it dawned on me that NO BODY besides the owner knew what he was talking about.
Coincidence? I think not.
It turns out my boss constantly changes the business plan, program, marketing initiatives (etc) and either conveniently forgets to tell anybody, or doesn't deem it necessary to keep his staff informed. Thus new plans and projects aren't implemented as effectively as they could be and a lot of time gets wasted sorting out the consequences later. I wonder if anyone has ever pointed out the six P's to him? (Proper Planning Prevents P*** Poor Performance). I doubt it.
It would seem a pre-requisite for working at this company would be natural psychic abilities; because it's the only way to know what is going on half the time. I don't remember reading anything about it on the job description though.
A perfect example would be only recently when I answered a phone-call (the call centre was pretty swamped) and a patient asked that I book her into our South Australian clinic. I must have seemed quite the idiot when I asked her 'What South Australian Clinic?' It turns out only the week before the owner had signed off an agreement to open a new clinic in S.A. and they had already gone ahead and started marketing it. How embarressing. I am supposed to be the marketing and communications manager and HE DIDN'T EVEN TELL ME. Fortunately we are now on top of things and everyone has been updated with what is going on, but this situation should not have happened.
Anyway, as productive as it can be to sit around complaining about a problem all day and not actually fixing anything it is not an option for us any longer. I have spoken with the owner and manager about the internal commuications problem and we are now implementing a weekly email alert for all staff to inform them of the owner's latest 'plans.' The meeting minutes are also being made available to all staff (previously only available to those who attended the meeting) via the intranet.
Despite my rant I would like to point out the fact that my boss is actually a good man and a nice person - but a specialist doctor by trade. Due to his profession he is a bit detached and naturally keeps communication to a minimum. It makes things a bit more difficult but not impossible. Also, his dynamic nature definately keeps us on our toes and adds to the overall learning experience. It's easy to go to work and get things done when everything runs smoothly. When 'things hit the fan' we really show our true colours and abilities.
Kind Regards,
Ashleigh Coyle
Marketing & Communications
1 comment:
Hey Ashleigh,
In response to your post it seems as though you are having a really difficult time with communication at your work. Unfortunately I know what it’s like to work with erratic and disorganised owners and sometimes, (while they are of course lovely people), it can drive you a bit batty!
I have been helping the functions and promotions coordinator at my ‘money-making’ job at the Inglewood Hotel and while this isn’t actually my placement is giving me a bit more experience in the industry. The owner of the venue has a lot more dollars than sense and is prone to change his mind about things every day. It is very hard trying to keep up with his mods and what direction he wants to achieve. I finally had had enough of him changing his mind and me having to churn out twice as much work so I had a work to him. I was very scared and I did stay very respectful however I communicated that I couldn’t just drop and change plans because he saw something on Gordon Ramsay Kitchen Nightmare’s. It is really hard for an owner to step back sometimes and let people do their job. My boss definitely had control issues however unlike your boss he had no idea about PR. It kind of gave me a bit more authority on what I was saying and he took me seriously because he is an accountant not a PR consultant.
I can empathise with you and I really hope things start to sort themselves out. I know it may be a bit daunting but maybe you need to have a chat with him as well. Good luck!
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