Layar Warisan Sdn. Bhd. where I am interning at is a young company because it has only been operating for less than 2 years in the river cruise industry. The company is currently still going through a slow rebranding process for better service and also improve it's position in the tourism arena in Kuching. There are times when tension could be felt when dealing with other companies that was close with the previous management because of different ways of dealing and different type of agreements. Sometimes there are headache when dealing with clients and companies that had bad experience with the previous management. Some of the staff especially the crew were from the previous management and are still struggling with the changes going through in the current management especially for contracts and duties. But the company is going along the right track especially with a new office and renovation to be done on the cruise has been approved which I hope would boost up or rekindle the publics interest towards the cruise.
When I join the company, I realize that a lot of work have to be done especially in the public relations side because in most parts of Kuching, it is not taken seriously into account of what kind of job should be covering and how public relation is definitely different from sales and marketing. Yes, we do not seal the sales and confirmation from clients or customers but we make sure they are informed of the services and make sure that events held in relation with the company or on the cruise run smoothly without any major problems.
I was not amused when one of the comments I got was "At least you don't have to meet clients and push for sales, you just design posters flyers, take photos and write." Something needs to be done to change this mindset. Any ideas?
2 comments:
ARainKing,
I understand your frustration. In a lot of countries, the PR industry is not as established as it is in Western countries. I think a lot of people still confuse Public relations with sales, advertising and marketing. As a person from a "PR-illiterate" country myself (I come from Maldives) it took me a long time to make that distinction. You said you were not amused when one of the comments you got was "At least you don't have to meet clients and push for sales, you just design posters flyers, take photos and write." In situations like that keep your head down and just do what they say. After all, isn't that a requirement of this unit. Ironically in my internship I was given the task of designing posters and flyers, finding photos and writing. I enjoyed these tasks because I got to hang out with my co-workers and honestly it didn't feel like work. Are you at least getting along with your co-workers? I hope youre not going through a tough time. The key to all internships is to learn and absorb as much you can, not matter how boring or painful. cheers.
Gibran,
Thank you for your comment. Yes, I am getting along well with people at work which is why I enjoyed doing the task of designing the flyers and posters. But sometimes, as you say I do keep my head down and try not to say much when they require changes and disagree with my layout thus I have to follow their taste in what color schemes to use and how the brochure should project though I myself think it's old fashion. But anyways I hope you had a good time during your internship too.
cheers
Adrienne
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