Over the last few weeks I have become less like my
Supervisors “Intern” and more of a fellow work mate. I have found that I spend
a great deal of time in the office than my allocated two days a week, 9am-5pm.
Often I am there until at least 6pm at night and it is not unusual for me to be
following up on different things for Starlight on my days off. This has made me
feel more involved as an employee of Starlight and it is with going this extra
mile I have developed close relationships with those in the office and have
gained their trust and respect. This means I have the capability to go above
and beyond the role of a basic intern.
Over theses weeks I have discovered my Supervisor struggles
when pressure is placed upon her. This is nothing against her capabilities; her
work is constantly immaculate, no matter the time frame. Simply when she
realizes she is close to a deadline (of which there are a huge amount in event
coordination and planning, who knew four revisions would be required for a
dinner menu! – but I digress) She struggles. She will begin to “stress out” and
often will begin hyperventilating. I believe my commitment to going above and
beyond at Starlight has assisted in calming these situations. I know she trusts
me and therefore my presence and reassurance has a great deal of impact in
calming her.
I have found I have been trusted to do a great deal of
activities that generally interns would not be provided with. Last week for
example I spent two days driving around Perth by myself meeting with our
generous benefactors. This was in order to strengthen Starlight’s relationship
with our contacts and collect donations for the upcoming event. I was trusted
to not only collect thousands of dollars worth of donated goods. I was a
representative of Starlight, promoting exactly what we do, conversing with the
donors and encouraging them to maintain their commitment to Starlight. This was an interesting concept as I
was expected to “have a chat” with our donors (something I have never shyed
away from!). Starlight believes the core of their work is to make people smile
and to ensure everyone who engages with Starlight has a unique and personal
experience. It was my responsibility to make sure this occurred.
I was very proud to have this opportunity and I believe it
has re-enforced the PR ideal of two-way communication. I now realize this is
the very core of what public relations is all about. It is engaging the public
and our stakeholders face to face, it is having a conversation and responding
to feedback. I feel that this is the best form of Public Relations for any
company – whether or not they are “not for profit”, that engaging with our
associates on a personal level is the best way to maintain relationships.
1 comment:
Hey Steph
Thanks for sharing your insights!
I definitely agree that building relationships is so important in any organisation. Its the two way communication and the face to face contact that makes such a difference; and especially gets your name out there. As an intern for the United Nations Association, I've also learnt the importance of stakeholder engagement for the long term. Most of our events and activities are run annually and so we rely on our stakeholders more than once.
I've also found myself in a similar position and doing tasks which were much more than what interns would normally do. On only my second week, I was asked to photograph and greet the attendees at the World Humanitarian Day event and I couldn't believe the trust they had put in me as I was so new. I ended up meeting some amazing people, including the Directors and Executives of international humanitarian organisations and looking back now, I think it was on purpose.
I that the interns are the organisations greatest assets. Nobody thinks more highly of the organisation or is more committed than interns. Many who devote all their time and energy are really just amazing advocates for the organisation. Even though there is a lot of trust needed, it goes to show how far you can go in such little time, especially with a smaller organisation as it is more likely that you will be seen and appreciated.
Thanks!
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