Hi everyone,
The week kicked off continuing
with my event management task for the Dockers Launch Event scheduled for 26th
March, and the majority of Monday was spent meeting with the “Corporate Theatre
Company” mentioned in my previous blogs. This task has highlighted the
importance effective communication, leaving nothing subject to interpretation,
when preparing for a major corporate event.
This event represents a significant opportunity for Woodside to boost
their public image and promote their Australian identity so it’s important for
things to run smoothly on the day.
Speaking of the importance of
things running smoothly, the key event during my final week at Woodside
involved assisting with preparations for a crisis management exercise which
took place on Tuesday (28th February). Woodside holds four such
events each year, which is typical for a major operating organisation and
particularly an offshore petroleum exploration and production company. This
simulated exercise required participation from all of the major departments
within Woodside, including the Corporate Affairs department which is
responsible for preparing media releases and providing status updates on the
emergency situation, as well as outlining the Company’s response and forward
plans. The day was a great reminder of what Woodside’s business is really all
about.
Emergency exercises are intended
to test the company’s response to a crisis scenario (for example a major oil
spill); everyone within the crisis management team has a specific role to play
in dealing with the situation. The events are carefully designed to allow the
team to practice response to realistic scenarios and learn under exercise
conditions. This week’s exercise required full mobilisation of the crisis
management team, as well as participation by the emergency services and local
media, and ran for approximately 8 hours in total. I was asked to observe and
assist during the afternoon and, although this was only an exercise, the
pressure of the situation on the various teams was very noticeable – everyone
played their part and treated the exercise as the real deal. It was an exciting afternoon and a privilege
to watch and learn from some very professional people in action.
On Wednesday I returned to
finalising the last details for the Dockers event, including liaising with
suppliers on the catering arrangements for the biggest sausage sizzle
imaginable, completing a stock take of the Dockers merchandise which will be
offered as prizes, completing a Job Hazard Analysis to identify potential risks
and emailing the Starlite Foundation, Woodside’s key charity, to confirm the
details of the event and that all proceeds will be donated towards their
foundation. As I mentioned previously, the team have asked me to come back on
the 26th for the Dockers Launch Event and I am looking forward to
seeing the end result of my efforts over the last few weeks!
Friday (2nd March) was
the last day of my work placement at Woodside! L I have enjoyed working for this company and am
grateful for the all of the PR experiences I have been given. The Corporate
Communications team in particular were all very helpful over the last four
weeks and rewarded me for my efforts with a farewell lunch at a local
restaurant. It has been an invaluable experience being able to work at
Woodside, supplementing the theoretical part of the Curtin PR course, and I
have learnt much during the last 20 days, lessons which I know I will take with
me into my future career.
Finally, all the best to my
fellow bloggers with your own individual work placements!!
Jasmin Stuart
2 comments:
Wow Jasmin, that would have been a wonderful experience to see how everyone would deal with a major crisis in such a large corporation! Especially because it is something that has always seemed to pop up in our PR class discussions (more presicely, the BP oil spill).
Just last week I actually saw in the news that BP has reached a settlement of $7billion to the people that were affected by the spill, and still many, many more billions to be paid if they are to be found negligent in the situation (it has been estimated this could be a sum of $18billion!) So I can imagine why Woodside has these trainings and role-plays in place and are carried out that often, god forbid it happens again, but if it were to, I am sure they could handle it better than BP!
Enjoy your night at the Dockers event also, I hope it all goes to plan! Thanks for your blogs Jasmin, I have enjoyed them!
--Sarah
Hi Jasmin,
It sounds like you had a fantastic time at your industry placement! The Dockers Launch event sounds like a really interesting way for a big oil corporation like Woodside to gain a strong presence with its stakeholders as well as making a positive impression by donating its proceeds to The Starlite Foundation. It's great that you get to go to the event and see the outcome of all your hard work!
I can imagine the crisis management exercise would of been really interesting as I only ever see these major oil companies crisis' from the perspective of the media, not what goes on behind closed doors so to speak. It's good to know they conduct quarterly crisis management exercises to, with the stakes so high if anything did go wrong, I can certainly see the importance of these events.
It's great to here you have taken away so much from your industry placement experience, it sounds like you really enjoyed your time there!
Katie :)
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