Nearing the end...but not before a few last tasks

Hi Guys!

So I have come to the last week of my placement, and I am so sad to be finishing up with the public affairs team at INPEX a worldwide oil and gas exploration and production company.

The last two weeks have seen me become involved with organising director discussions with the companies CEO whereby a handful of staff members are chosen to engage in a group discussion with the CEO where the conversation is free flowing and any question goes. The idea of the director discussions was bought about a couple of weeks ago in a team meeting and I was given the task of organising the very first discussion, the aim is to keep the channels of communication open within the company and allow free flowing discussion in an environment which is typically formal.

Having the responsibility of organising the meeting involved coordinating with the CEO's diary which is always full, booking a venue for the meeting, organising catering and from there carefully selecting guests to attend and then inviting them. What I once thought would be an easy task ended up consuming most of my week, it really helped me understand the value placed on even the most mundane of meetings as I began to realise how important open discussions are within large companies. Without the free flow of information between employees and higher ranked directors things go amiss and there are communication breakdowns which can cause future issues which become much more difficult to resolve.

I have never had so many emails in my inbox at once, employees asking questions, what would be discussed? do I need to prepare questions? etc. It seemed that everyone was nervous about this opportunity so it was my job to put them at ease and explain to them that there was no need to be nervous about talking to the CEO in an informal setting and rather that it would hopefully change the way they interacted with higher levels of authority and that lunch would be provided ( I have learnt that catering is always a way to get employees to attend meetings)

The meeting is schedueled to happen a week after my placement finishes but I have made sure that everything is under control and fingers crossed it all goes well!

Until next time,

Hope you are enjoying your placements.

Hayley