Well last Thursday was an interesting day at the art gallery for me. We had another friends meeting (they’re every Thursday so that wasn’t anything new). A little before the meeting the FREINDS co-ordinator asked me to come and have a chat with her. She told me that my supervisor and publicity/pr manager for the art in bloom exhibition would no longer be working with us on the project. I was a little shocked and when I asked why she left, the co-ordinator told me they'd had to have a little chat. It was by far the most awkward conversation I’ve had at the Art Gallery; I wasn’t too sure what to say. I’m still not sure what happened or why she had to leave (it definitely didn’t feel right to ask, even though I really wanted to know). The coordinator simply said ‘I’m sure you understand’. But to be honest, I don’t. My supervisor had been on the FRIENDS committee and involved in some way in Art in Bloom the last 10 years. While I wasn’t that close to her as I’ve only known her a limited time, it was still shocking to hear she’d left and I felt a little sad and rather confused. Later in the day I checked my emails and had one from my supervisor saying the bulk of the PR work for the exhibition had been completed, so most of her work was done and she no longer needed to attend the FRIENDS meetings or come into the gallery. She wished me the best of luck and thanked me for my work.
The FRIENDS meeting went ahead as usual, everyone else was informed of my supervisor’s departure and the marketing manager, Didi, had already agreed to take on the rest of the publicity work. As stated in my previous blog, we have already sent out the media packs, which were the important aspect of our PR strategy, so it shouldn’t be too much effort for the marketing manager to help out with the rest of the smaller activities. During my chat with the FRIENDS supervisor I was also asked if I wanted to help out taking calls and booking tickets for the event. Even though this isn’t PR related work, I agreed to it willingly, hopefully showing I was dedicated and happy to help, something they might remember in the future when my work experience is over (at least I hope so anyway!).
Since then I have been in contact with Didi and today we met to consolidate our information and organise what else needed to be done. Next week our plan is to follow up with the media and see if there is any extra information they need that wasn't included in our packs. It was nice to meet with Didi and discuss where we were with media. Because it was just the two of us, it felt much more like I was working equally together with Didi, rather than being in background just nodding along with what others were saying. I guess it gave me more confidence to be able to put my knowledge of our situation forward and be listened to. I'm looking forward to getting in contact with the media again next week. When we split the media list up Didi even gave me the print media because she knows I'm studying jouralism and said it's a start to making contacts which was very nice of her!
Hope everyone else is doing well
Michelle :)
5 comments:
Hi Michelle!
Great post! I found it very heartfelt and sincere. Seems like you are learning much from your placement position, which is fantastic.
Your confusion and sentiment regarding the sudden departure of your team supervisor for the project is understandable. Probably due to certain non-disclosure conditions, the coordinator could not explain further. Yet, at the same time, this very move created an atmosphere of uncertainty and awkwardness. Not very helpful in boosting employees' morale there.
I am really glad for you, that you have got the opportunity to work with Didi. From what I have read, she sounded like a genuinely sincere and nice lady who wants to ensure that your time with the organisation is worthwhile. I am sure they are also thankful to have you in their team! Little actions like agreeing to help them with non-PR work do go a long way, especially when schedule is tight.
Enjoy what is left of your placement! :)
Cheers,
Joyce
Hey Michelle,
This experience is good in that it does make us realise that we now have a stake an organisations success, especially when your ideas are listened to and your input is used. It is a large responsibility that we probably aren't very used to but its an amazing feeling. Doing the little things that arent very PR orientated does show dedication and will serve to help your PR skills even though not very obviously. Well done on being able to score some contacts for future use as well, as we know, sometimes it can purely come down to WHO you know :)
Make the most of it!
Hi Michelle!
It's so hard to know where the line is when it comes to dismissals among work envoirnments. I think you handed the situation really well and understood that they didn't feel the need to go into detail why she was dismissed. I can understand your curiosty wanting to get the better of you though!
I have also had a similar experiences at work placement envoirnments so I know where you are coming from.
I'm glad to hear that her dismissal won't effect your role within in the gallery. It sound's like everything is really getting into full swing for you. I can't wait to come and check it out.
Carolina :)
gosh, how nerve-wracking!
at least it won't effect your placement at the gallery.
quite tragic i would say but also it was an eye opener atleast in future you will know what to expect and how to deal with this kind of situations.
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