Hello again people! I’ve noticed something at my prac which seems like it happens a lot but that it is completely overlooked.... Like many others, my prac has been part time. Can I just say how frustrating it seems to be as a part time staff member, even though I am only on placement, who, amongst other permanent part time staff, is kept out of the loop of changes in procedures and policies and just news in general? One person didn’t even realise her manager had gone on holiday for a week! Yikes....I think I know what my recommendation is going to be on this one! Has anyone else experienced this in their placement? Or does anyone have any particular suggestions based on what the company does where you are doing your prac? It would be interesting to hear what other work places do in this sort of situation, and what works! I look forward to hearing back!
Sarah Harrison
Curtin Bentley
6 comments:
I went through that as well but it was just for a day. My boss took the day off and he didnt tell me and when i went to work that morning, no one had anything to do for me and i wasted my time there not doing anything and yes it was frustrating. I was lucky cause it was only one day but i spent 4 hours at the office not doing anything expect putting letters into envelops. Even though this is just a part time thing, we should be informed as well.
Hi Sarah,
I'm also doing my intern part time, and yes I do feel the same way. I totally agree with you, this definitely is a recommendation material. It is frustrating that every time I come in, I feel that I'm lacking some updates. The only communications that we have among staff members are via e-mail, which is a worry.
Good luck with your report.
Hey guys,
I too am working part-time at my placement, although it's basically become full time towards the end as we are so busy.
I feel your frustration, but have to say that I actually didn't experience that during my time... quite the opposite actually.
At Therapy Focus I was actually blown away in the beginning by the sheer 'over-communication' internally. If I wasn't at the office for a few days I would arrive the next day to find my inbox full of emails. The staff at Therapy Focus even send entire office emails if there are cakes in the tea room!
The unity of the staff at Therapy Focus is one of the aspects I love about the organisation, and I believe they work so well and achieve such great things becuase they are so connected. We have several bases across 3 different metropolitan areas, and at staff events I was amazed by how friendly and intermingling they all are.
Internal communication is definately an integral part of good business practice, and its sad to hear that these companies aren't informing you as well as they should, or even communicating properly amongst staff.
Well thats my two cents...
Goodluck with everything guys!
Hi Tessa
I do empathise with the over communication. It wasn't so much that there was a lack of communicaiton, but that there was so much of it, that similar to Therapy Focus, the important messages would just become lost in a haze of emails! On return to the office there would be literally hundreds of emails to go through which I just didn't have time to get to. Clearly not ideal. I've suggested in my report that they consider using a newsletter or intranet to communicate these messages and better engage their internal stakeholders through these means. Otherwise, they just get caught up amongst emails about cakes in the kitchen! haha.
Good luck to you too :)
Sarah
Wow, it sounds like you're left out of the loop, that's not good practice at all.
I must say that at my placement (Linc Integrated) I have been overwhelmed with the huge importance placed on inter-office and internal communications!
Not a minute of my placement hasn't gone by without a friendly email reminding staff about upcoming events for clients or new times for meetings...everything is basically handled on their Intranet (a very useful tool).
I think providing these ideas in your report would be a fantastic idea. Sometimes it can take an outsider to really recognise a problem, or rather a need for improvement.
I hope you succeed in your endeavor!
Thanks, Tara
This is the first time I have seen this mentioned on the Blog and I was thinking exactly the same thing.
There were a few instances within my placement that I felt being in a part time position, I often felt like I wasn’t kept completely up to date and found it very hard to progress on tasks in the office without knowing the updated situation.
I did think about this situation, and I think the access of a user friendly intranet for staff of all levels could be very handy. That way individual can log on whenever they like and get updated and informed on whats happening when they are not in the office.
Thanks for your thoughts Sarah!
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