I am doing my internship with a marketing organisation that I have worked with for about five years now. I have worked with them as a sales demonstrator as one of their very low-line employees. When I was given the opportunity to do my PR internship with them I was quite excited. It is quite a unique position to be in- having such an in-depth knowledge of an organisation and then being able to apply your degree to make changes that can benefit you.
When I started my internship I was very keen to be at their beck and call. I was prepared to do any job they wanted me to do. I was ready to start at the bottom and be free labour essentially. Early into the internship I was given the chance to voice my own ideas about how I could use PR to benefit myself as an employee and my peers. Having the opportunity to improve your own working conditions with your new skills is quite a cool thing! At first I was a bit reluctant. I thought, I am a 21-year-old university student- what could I possibly offer a successful national organisation? It turns out I can offer them a new fresh perspective!
Feedback from employees is critical to a successful business as employees are the most important stakeholder group. Managers can often get caught up on the overall picture of an organisation and can lose sight of the smaller details. By receiving feedback from those who are immersed in the organisation and it's daily interactions with the outside world, you can learn a lot on how to become more efficient and effective.
My organisation is based in Sydney with no head offices in Perth. It is quite a common joke amongst WA employees that we are forgotten about and we can get away with so much more. We only receive visits from managers around four times a year and often I feel that communication is more targeted towards the Eastern states. We may not be another country with a different culture but the relaxed suburban shopping centres of Perth are definitely different to upmarket Sydney shopping strips!
As I am writing this, I am currently creating a Western Australian employees Intranet where we can share thoughts, solutions to tricky customer interactions and receive up to date information on our client company. I am also writing a bible targeted specifically at Western Australian in-mall activation events. My knowledge from being an employee has allowed me to get really personal with what I am writing and add information and experience that managers may not have.
So even though I am a university student working at the bottom of this organisation my thoughts are important. Have any of you experienced similar situations? Have you been with an employer a long time and thought- I have ideas on how we could become better?
