Final Week in the Corporate World!!!

Hi everyone,

The week kicked off continuing with my event management task for the Dockers Launch Event scheduled for 26^th 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 (28^th 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 26^th for the Dockers Launch Event and I am looking forward to seeing the end result of my efforts over the last few weeks!

Friday (2^nd 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

Reflective Blog 3 – Yet More in the Corporate World!

Hi everyone,

Well I am now in the third week of my placement at Woodside Energy in the corporate world of the oil and gas business and what a busy week it has been!!

The third week of February is always one of the busiest weeks of the year for the Corporate Affairs Department. This is the week Woodside release their annual results reporting the Company’s performance for the last year. The results were released on Wednesday (22^nd February) through an ASX release, presentation pack and the annual report. The preparation for the investor briefing within our communications team has been full on!!

I had to organise interview slots with the media all week in particular times for journalists to come in and interview the CEO. I also helped set up for a teleconference in the auditorium which allowed Woodside employees to watch a live feed of the CEO presenting the results. The presentation was uploaded onto the intranet for all of the Company’s employees to watch later in the day.

This week I have been in charge of taking media calls in relation to the release of the results and been responsible for setting up a number of interviews. I was also tasked with collecting and escorting media to and from the executive lounge and suites where the interviews were conducted. The media, as with all visitors to Woodside Plaza, must be escorted at all times in accordance with the strict building security policy. And the security systems at Woodside are quite sophisticated, for example allowing lock-out of all the building elevators on a security breach.

Towards the end of the week one of my colleagues returned to work and we both started working heavily on organising the Dockers Launch Event mentioned in my previous posts. Our focus has been on finalising the details and adding the finishing touches to the arrangement. Next week should be an exciting last week of my placement completing the planning for this event – I have even been asked to return to Woodside on 26^th March to assist on the day.

Finally, on 24^th February I attended the Australian Oil & Gas Exhibition at the Perth Exhibition & Conference Centre. This is the premier Australian petroleum industry event, held on an annual basis, and it continues to expand every year. Woodside, along with other oil & gas companies and engineering contractors from all over the world exhibit at the show and participate in the technical conferences. There were some seriously heavy duty pieces of equipment on display which are used in his high-tech industry. It all looked extremely complicated!!

 
Jasmin Stuart

More in the Corporate World!

Hello again fellow practitioners!

Well I am into the second week of my work placement at Woodside and I have to say that every day I am learning something new and exciting and gaining more reasons to want to stay on at the end of this assignment!

This week has been all about the upcoming Fremantle Dockers Launch Event that will be held on 26^th March (unfortunately two weeks after I leave!) - but preparations for the event have to begin now!

The event is a fundraiser for Woodside’s key charity, The Starlite Foundation, and to also herald kick-off of the 2012 AFL Season. One of the highlights of the event will be a visit to Woodside by two main Dockers players, who have been invited to speak, sign autographs and participate in an afternoon BBQ to be held adjacent to Woodside Plaza.

Helping prepare for this event has been full on, but very exciting and I have loved every minute of it! The week began with a couple of meetings discussing and delegating tasks for the event. Then on with the core business of event management, essentially agreeing on a date for the event, contacting the Dockers PR department and liaising with the building owners to gain permission for access to the plaza foyer and barbecue area on the scheduled date.

After gaining the necessary approvals, I proceeded with the organising some of the logistical details such as arranging car bays for key guest such as Dockers players, coaches and hiring the services of a photographer.

Next I had to then meet and liaise with a Corporate Theatre Team about the requirements on the day including stage, seating, microphones and an iconic purple decorative and creative theme in line with the Dockers image. The Corporate Theatre Team have organised numerous events like this for Woodside previously and knew what I was looking for which helped make things less stressful for me organising my first event!

Finally, towards the end of the week I had to organise the BBQ equipment for the sausage sizzle that will take place just outside Woodside Plaza. This involved contacting a catering company to request a quote for supply of all the necessary equipment including BBQ’s, tongs, aprons, gas tanks etc.

Of course, being Woodside, safety always comes first and numerous safety considerations have to be included in the planning and briefing for a major event such as the Dockers launch.

So far it has been an eventful week (pardon the pun) planning the Dockers Launch Day in March, but I have loved every minute of it and am looking forward to seeing the end result!

Jasmin Stuart

First week in the Corporate World!

Hi everyone,

The first week of my PR393 work placement at Woodside Energy has begun and it has been an exciting and amazing rollercoaster ride! On my first day (6^th February) I was escorted through all 24 floors of the Company’s Perth head office, concentrating mainly on level 22 and the Corporate Affairs Department in which I will be spending the next four weeks. During my internship I will be standing in for a lady who is holidaying in America and will have my own desk, fully equipped with telephone and computer! My title for the next 4 weeks will be “Corporate Communications Adviser”.

The protocol for working at Woodside is very professional and formal; before I could commence any type of work for Woodside I had to complete a Drug & Alcohol Test and then spent the majority of my first day completing compulsory online quizzes that focussed on the safety and business ethics standards that are expected and required of all employees at Woodside.

After I had completed the quizzes I attended two meetings over the remainder of the day. The first meeting was an introduction to the small Corporate Communications group I will be working in (5 of us). The second meeting was a Corporate Affairs departmental meeting which included a wider group of people from various departments which work alongside the Corporate Communications group. Working within a communications department I can recognise the importance of having regular meetings to ensure everyone knows what is being done and what still needs to be done.

 
Late in the afternoon on the first day I was required to head down to one of the conference rooms and help set up and prepare for a press conference scheduled to take place the next day at which Woodside planned to announce their continued sponsorship of the Fremantle Dockers. Woodside considers sponsorship of the Dockers to be a really important part of highlighting the Company’s Australian identity as they continue to develop their oil and gas business across Western Australia.

I helped set up the Woodside banners that sit behind where the speakers address the press for the conference, and then helped set up the stage for the Woodside CEO and Dockers guests to sit on. The press conference took place at 12.30pm the following day (7^th February) and in more preparation for the conference I managed to be extremely lucky and was able to collect Dockers captain Matthew Pavlich from his car in the lower car park and bring him upstairs to the press room. (For all you Dockers fans out there ...  Matthew even hugged me on arrival at Woodside). The atmosphere at the press conference was very fast-paced and buzzing; everyone was excited for the arrival of the press and TV reporters, but more importantly for the arrival of Matthew Pavlich!

I have also just completed a 3 month internship over the summer with West TV (Channel 44) working as a reporter for the station so the switch to a Corporate Public Relations environment has been very interesting to see how the two fields interconnect.

It has definitely been an exciting first few days here at Woodside and I can’t wait to see how the following weeks unfold!

Jasmin Stuart