A taste of Corporate Public Relations: The CSR in CPR

Hi Everyone! So here i am reflecting on my on-going internship placement at Interhill Group of Companies (a property developer and timber producer). My placement began in March and will end on the 31st of June.

First and foremost, I feel nothing but gratefulness to Interhill's CSR Department for giving me this opportunity. With this i extend my thanks to Interhill's CSR Manager and my supervisor Miss Angelyna and fellow intern June for teaching and guiding me through this experience.

Corporate Public Relations to my understanding is the maintaining of the relationship of a corporate organization with their various stakeholders.In my case, the stakeholders that i dealt directly with were Interhill employees and the children from Interhill's After School Project (ASP). In dealing with these two stakeholders, I've been exposed to handling internal communication and corporate social responsibility. Both stakeholders were a joy to interact with and working with the children was especially rewarding.

As I've stated in the first paragraph, Interhill is involved in a competitive and challenging industry that makes internal communication and CSR seem like mundane aspects to consider. In a corporate setting, there is a danger to overlook these aspects, thus I believe a CSR department should exist as an advocate to safeguard the importance of these and other aspects that may usually be set aside.

I have been taught that public relations should be utilized on more than a tactical level, going beyond maintaining public image and PR stunts but rather genuinely investing in stakeholder relationships to build long lasting trust. Sadly, this may not be the case for most organizations as public relations has yet to secure its well deserved place within the management.

Despite various challenges and limitations, Interhill's CSR department is taking its responsibility seriously by strengthening the company's commitment to its stakeholders. My placement allowed me to witness and be a part of the fulfilling of that commitment. By planning employee relations events, such as International Women's Day Muay Tai collaboration with Top Dog Factory, the department strove to empower women employees. By committing to the ASP the department does not forsake the needs of others.

To conclude my reflection, public relations should bring a human touch to a company, without it a corporation will seem like an inhuman entity.

Daphne Margaret Jolly
17895620/7E4A2937
Curtin Sarawak Campus

Half way to somewhere

Hello there,

My internship experience at West Australian Ballet has been fantastic so far! I can not believe how the time has flown. I am more than half way through and it seems like I just began my journey yesterday! The office environment is friendly and inviting, and I believe this is the reason why I am enjoying my experience so much. 

The Ballet has closed  over the Christmas period however I will start up again on the 6th of January. 

I have learned a lot about the industry despite the short time I have been interning. I was unsure of what exactly the role would entail. I assumed public relations practitioners to have strict deadlines similar to that of a journalistic career. I thought I would find myself in situations that were just as hectic. But having entered this industry I have realised that it is actually a quite laid back career pathway. I thought deadlines for media releases, newsletters, clippings and  social media plans would be tight. From West Australian Ballet I have learned that organisational skills and a strategic plan are key to success. Once the PR department is organised (like WAB), staff can spend a week working on a brilliant media release and pass it around to ensure perfection. I found this style of a collaborative approach suits me. I can understand the value of having multiple practitioners overlooking multiple project.

It is interesting to enter an organisation as a young person who had never worked in an office before. I felt as if I had gone back in time after my first  few days within the office. Although systems work reasonably well, I feel that West Australian Ballet could develop more contemporary and efficient business information systems within the office to eliminate menial tasks and clerk errors. This would help to produce more effective services for customers and enable staff to attend to more important tasks. Although the staff ranges from a span of young to elderly people I feel that the systems in place do not cover all aspects of the business and that the systems lack a modern approach. Excel spread sheets are used alongside a computer information system known as ACT. Paper is still used as a primary medium within the office and I believe this should be eliminated. On the other hand, the company has a customer base of mainly elderly people and I understand that paper systems are important for the majority of customer. There is a divide within the business industry. Some offices are embracing change whilst others hold on to older methods. As a young person entering the workforce in 2014 I assumed that more than 90% of offices are paperless and that technology is embraced. This is not the case. To me, this was quite a shock.




 

MAGENTA: Teamwork On Set

Towards the end of my professional placement at Magenta I was given the opportunity to work on a photo shoot for one of Magenta’s key national clients.  I was extremely excited to get some hands–on experience outside of the office environment and to witness the interaction with the client directly.

The photo shoot was for the client’s Christmas gift guide and took place in a beautiful display home in one of Perth’s most prestigious suburbs.  The team on set consisted of two client representatives, an account co-ordinator from the Magenta PR team, a professional Photographer and myself.  I was able to assist in preparing merchandise for each shot as well as learning effective ways to display products for promotion.  I found it extremely interesting to see the ways in which the Magenta team member interacted with the client representatives in order to achieve the desired end result. 

The function of a PR agency is to deliver effective communications solutions for a client.  Magenta collaborates with clients to deliver creative solutions that meet business objectives. It is always interesting to see how people with artistic temperaments interact with one another.  A Magenta creative, a photographer, and two client representatives working together on set can have contrasting ideas about how they perceive the best way to meet the project objectives.

As a PR agency, the Magenta team is in a position where they must exercise quality control of ideas put forward against their knowledge of Public Relations and the industry. In this way, they can give the client the benefit of the wealth of their experience in the PR Marketing industry. It is a delicate balancing act to guide the client towards a collaboration of not only their ideas but those of the agency’s as well.

For example, half way through the day an additional client representative joined the shoot and presented an idea that unfortunately clashed with the overall design aesthetic of the current shot.  The client representative was a relatively senior member of their company and was determined to proceed with the idea.  The Magenta creative strategically negotiated with the client representative and was able to come to a creative compromise by incorporating the idea into another part of the shoot. 

I was very impressed to see how harmoniously the people on set worked together as a cohesive team.  I also saw the importance of collaborating ideas on set to showcase the objectives of the both the client and the PR agency.

Working on the photo shoot was a wonderful experience where I was able to learn a great deal about teamwork and cooperation in a real world situation.

Jacinta McDonald.

#13958888