Reflective Blog 4 - Wrapping up and Balancing Act

Greetings all!

Well this is officially meant to be the final blog in relation to my internship as I've well and truly completed my 20 days here at the Stadium.  Both the Internship unit and the Stadium managers have been very flexible regarding to my length of stay here in this capacity.  My Final Report isn't due til November this year which is fair (as the weighing grade on it is immense!) and I've been invited to continue assisting with internal and external public relations, events and marketing duties.

The Tourism and Events side of my double-major has also assisting with my duties in the Sporting Office, such as specific website updates, promotions and communication.  I am grateful for having chosen the Tourism & Event Management complimenting double-major as I see the usefulness of these duties in the Stadium every day.  For example, I have recently updated the website information, added new photographs, images and supporting information on their partners (Uni Credit, Ron Farris, and the West Coast Pirates).

Electronic communication is the easiest, most powerful and most vulnerable method of communicating as so many things can and do go wrong.  Curtin Stadium's website updates are done through the Web Master System. The Web Master System requires patience, training and good Public Relations to ensure accuracy, efficiency and sustainability of these duties and awareness throughout the Stadium and the campus overall.

For example, who does everyone call with IT issues? Curtin Information Technology Services (CITS) and as normal, IT services aren't very personalised so to maximise productivity and minimise time wastage, I suggest:

• Always save and have a back up of any work you enter electronically, 
• Know exactly what your technical issue is before you lodge a call,
• If your issue is of dire important say so and be persistent in requesting immediate help,
• Record the receipt number, 
• Clear your work area from clutter and unnecessary distractions,
• Make your department/internal/external stakeholders aware of your dilemma and that you're handling the situation appropriately,
• Make sure you're accessible to receive the maintenance assistance or at least hand over your issue to another person who can relay the information in your absence.

And unfortunately today (6th Sept 2013), with the expiry of my internship status I have made a decision not to renew my Curtin Associate status with the Stadium due to the amounting last semester group assignments, etc. As I have declared in previous blogs I have been treated with fairness and flexibility at the Stadium and though there is always work that can be done I don't see myself as able to commit to any more work experience added to my other responsibilities.

I have learned some fabulous PR, Events and Marketing techniques and skills in the workplace that I can use anywhere.  I am forever grateful for the opportunities that I have learned in my time at the Stadium.  I feel empowered!  Lucky for me I am a regular client at the gym and undergraduate student at Curtin University. I don't see this way of life changing dramatically any time soon!

Please note that a big majority of my internship work has not just been onsite, hence the odd timing and talking in both past and present tense.  I hope this does not confuse the reader but I'm confident we all can share similar workplace and schooling dynamics.  Definitely a journey that will be remembered!

Best regards,

Warm regards,

Chelsey Phillips

Curtin University Bentley, WA

14982969 Student

259629K Curtin University Associate

    

Reflective Blog 3 – Positioned to Publicise

Greetings all!

The Curtin Stadium Sports Manager, Rodney Glossop, had kindly agreed for me to occupy one of their stations with the absence of their Elite Athlete Coordinator, Tarryn Dickerson.  Tarryn is currently assisting at the World University Games in Russia 6-17 July 2013. http://www.unisport.com.au/Pages/Home.aspx.  

Five other Sporting staff are stationed in the Sports office at any time.  Communication is open and transparent in the office.  Each member of the Sporting team seems to me as educated, able, accountable and animated.   The ambiance at this office is great.  They perform their specific duties efficiently, assisting one another, myself and the wider organisation with any queries graciously. 

Attached is a recent picture taken of me in the office.  I don’t wish to bring up a point that it is wheelchair accessible here because there is no point needed to be made.  In the entire stadium I have been welcomed, regardless of physical ability.

The communication methods and channels throughout the Stadium are varied, according to the department’s requirements.  To follow are communication channels that I have been exposed to (and why):

• Microsoft Outlook emails – the most popular method of sending an immediate record or message internally and externally.
• Microsoft Outlook calendar – another popular method used by the department and wider organisation at Curtin to remind to attend meetings.
• Face-to-face – a personal and highly regarded way of communicating with team members without the risk of misunderstanding a message.  I have made a point to have a personal chat with all staff members at the Stadium as to gauge internal dynamics and communication.
• Telephone – another personal way of communicating internally and externally.  I spoke to the Curtin Digital Media Unit staff for directions in preparation for my induction earlier this month.
• Reception – the face of the stadium.  Reception staff has provided me with statistical data and a calendar of events for the Stadium, along with details of all visitors to the stadium.
• Fitness Operation Rosters – good physical checkpoints to find out whether Exercise staff is currently in the gym, what programs they’re undertaking and when.

The communication methods, channels and messages above have each been analysed in the Business Communication and other Public Relations units (Media, Corporate, Consultancy, etc).  I am most aware of the crucial role they play in establishing good communication.

Currently I am working on submitting a Media Release to the Curtin PR Consultant for Human Science, Susanna Wolz, for one of the Stadium’s recent events: ‘Unstoppable’ Group Fitness Challenge, held 30 June 2013.  Though the media release represents an event already held, it contains a call-to-action for community members to participate in those classes at the gym and gym the various services offered at the gym.    

I have endless appreciation for the skills developed in my PR Techniques and Media classes, for the way I was able to craft the media release and in a timely fashion.  Curtin PR had praised me for my efforts and that was all the thanks I need to remain ever-fascinated by this position!

Warm regards,

Chelsey Phillips

Curtin University Bentley, WA

14982969 Student

259629K University Associate

Reflective Blog 2 - Valuable Connections

Welcome! 

I’m already half way through my internship at Curtin Stadium and I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience so far.  Already I feel that my Public Relations (PR) knowledge gained throughout the course has greatly assisted as a benchmark for my conduct and my and confidence in this role.  My opinion has been welcomed throughout the workplace on communication matters and relationships with academic and professional staff, students and the community.

A background of the Stadium Operations and recognition of the Marketing and PR role was provided to me by the Stadium’s manager, Shelagh Pascoe.  Curtin Stadium is owned by Curtin University and shares the university brand, yet is a separately-run, self-funding business on campus.  The Stadium’s marketing and promotions must still comply with university policies and procedures http://policies.curtin.edu.au/findapolicy/.  Good relations within Curtin Stadium must be streamlined throughout the university campus, so that both organisations can fulfill separate goals and still work together to achieve Curtin’s vision, mission and values http://about.curtin.edu.au/vision-mission-and-values.cfm. 

Some Stadium managers and I met up with Curtin Engineering Outreach Coordinator, Tim Keely, to discuss the setup requirements of a scheduled event at the Stadium ‘Robocup’, at 23^rd-24^th August 2013.  I was briefed on the event as being run by Sci Tech.  I queried our relations with Sci Tech and whether our Engineering department would be able to contribute some of our impressive work alongside.  Tim was appreciative of my interest in our combined science relations and soothed that the particular event is for Sci Tech, though he would talk to his contact Zac.  I managed to also share with Tim my other affiliations around Curtin University which may be of interest to him.  

On Thursday 4^th July I was invited to the Stadium’s weekly Communications Meeting.  Shelagh arranged these weekly meetings to give employees a greater understanding of day-to-day goings throughout the organisation.   The meetings have also given departmental representatives a chance to share issues with other team members.  I was invited to contribute ideas and opinions I had made in the time I had liaised with the Customer Service, Fitness, Sports and Events departments.  

Relations with Curtin Student Guild prior to our promotional displays at their Open Day 7^th August 2013 event http://www.guild.curtin.edu.au/Common/Event.aspx?EID=18, were raised.  I offered to visit the Guild Marketing and Events Manager, Mia Fukuyama, to discuss my student membership, introduce myself as working with the Stadium, revise past and present Student Guild events and ensure a good rapport.  Mia and I both concluded that increasing students’ awareness of each of our services around campus is a shared goal and that we can work together to achieve Curtin’s overall mission.

I believe that relationship opportunities exist with my various affiliations at Curtin Stadium and at Curtin University.  I relayed the details of my visit to the Student Guild and hoped that it would be well received by management, as it was.    As described in my 10 day intern form the only concern of mine was that I was able to show initiative where needed.   

I feel privileged at being given this opportunity to practice all I have learned in PR, in the business environment and actually at the same campus!    

Warm regards,

Chelsey Phillips

14982969 Student

259629K Curtin Associate
Curtin University, Bentley, WA

Reflective Blog 1 - New Beginings

Reflective Blog 1 – New Beginnings

Welcome fellow explorers!  Though from different places in the world, we’re each lucky enough to be on a similar journey and at similar stages in our lives.  I’m delighted to be able to learn from your experiences and share with you my own, right here, right now.  Technology can bring us together in ways never thought possible before and for this communicative gift I am so grateful!

My name is Chelsey Phillips and I’m a part-time Commerce student from Curtin University at Bentley.  I’m about to complete the final semester of my Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management and Public Relations (PR) degree.  For me this has been a rewarding journey so far. 

A prime example from where I had recently used my cross-cultural communication skills was in a Singaporean taxi last year.  I maintained good listening skills and 2-way communication to establish information sharing and a build great rapport with humour.  I feel this is one of my strongest personal assets that I hope to carry with me in every new environment.

I chose to complete my internship over the mid-semester holidays.  I commenced my first day working as a PR intern at Curtin Stadium, in Bentley http://recreation.curtin.edu.au/, on Wednesday 26^th June 2013.  My blog access was provided shortly afterwards.  I had made many notes to provide substance to my reflective blogs.  

Ms Shelagh Pascoe, the Stadium’s Manager, had authorised my internship and had agreed to act in a mentoring role, as I familiarise myself with the organisation and the role in which I was undertaking.  It became apparent to me just how crucial maintaining good communication is in every organisation, both internally and externally. 

The Curtin Stadium is owned by Curtin University and must comply with Curtin Policy and Procedures to sustain the University’s good reputation, though operates separately to generate its own funds.  Good internal marketing and promotions are a priority to encourage students, staff and the community to Curtin Stadium.   Ongoing good relations with all stakeholders are therefore paramount for its sustainability.        

My prior training in Commerce had given me a fair idea of how important the attributes of planning, organising, leading and controlling are in a manager’s role.  Shelagh was devoting her time to giving me an operational overview of the stadium, the service roles and some marketing and promotional aspects.   

On my first day I was encouraged to attend the Curtin “UniLife Support Services Team Performance Session” meeting with other Curtin Stadium staff members.  This gave me an organisational overview and reinforced the importance of team building, service delivery and achieving Curtin’s goals.  I could see the broader role in which the Stadium plays in university life and personal development of the entire community.   

At the Stadium I was encouraged to make contact with other staff members.  I had noticed that each of the staff was willing to share information with me and I was treated as an equal immediately.  The empowerment that I felt after being supplied with a uniform made me even more determined to provide the best assistance possible with my prior workplace training and knowledge of public relations.   

      

I consider the following resource a bible for aspiring PR academics venturing out to the real world PR, with an Australian focus:

• Harrison, Kim. 2011. Strategic Public Relations: A Practical Guide to Success. South Yarra: Palgrave Macmillan Publishers Australia.

I also believe, wholeheartedly, that the cultural boundaries that distinguish PR practice are becoming less prominent and that the human action of sharing information with others will be a lead driver of training and development, globally.  In the meantime, the following textbook has assisted in greater cultural appreciation in the PR field.   
 

•   Curtin, Patricia A. and Kenn T. Gaither. 2007. International Public Relations: Negotiating,          Culture, Identity and Power. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.

All the best with your endeavours and watch this space!

Warm regards,

Chelsey Phillips

Curtin University Bentley, WA

14982969 Student

259629K Curtin University Associate

Being a good sport Part 3

In the lead up to the University Games coming events most of my job has been data entry and a lot of it. We need to know who tried out, who qualified for a team, who is coming to uni games etc. I was vaguely familiar with excel before I started my internship, but now I know it up-side down and side-ways so I guess that it has been a valuable learning experience.

I think, we forget sometimes that although an integral part of our jobs will be developing and implementing public relations strategies, most of our day-to-day tasks will be all the leg work done behind the scenes. And much to my dismay most of that will be data-entry. I do have some exciting news though, so far I have 152 people attending our University Games Information Session! I am quite impressed considering I only put up the posters and facebook event last week.

That's another thing I wish I had practised before I commenced this internship, poster making! Who knew it could be so challenging? Especially when I can "only use colours that use the least amount of ink" and I have to use the black and gold colours to match our branding... Not as easy as I thought it would be! The first few I tried to make looked like something right out of primary school. But practise makes perfect and I found the best thing was to look at other organisations' posters and get a rough idea of how they are supposed to look.

Getting the word around campus that Uni Games is back again was not as hard as I first thought. I did the usual run-around with posters, fliers, facebook events, website updates but I found the best tool by far was word-of-mouth! Most students seemed pretty keen to spread the word and get their friends involved also. The only problem I am having is weeding out the students who simply want to come along to Uni Games just to party and have no real interest in playing sport, but we are monitoring that pretty well by getting teams to meet up and practice. So we can monitor who is putting in the effort.

I would definitely say a big lesson I have learned is once you have spread the word as much as you can it is really important to wait and see how well it worked and where it can be improved for next time. Good observation and evaluation is really important and can teach you a great deal.

Bye for now!

Jade

Being a good sport

Hello everyone!

A bit about me to start off, my name is Jade Fairbairn I am in my final year at Curtin University studying a bachelor of commerce with public Relations and journalism. I managed to secure a placement with the Curtin Stadium where I will be a public relations assistant for the sporting office.

The Curtin Stadium should be familiar to all of you as first and foremost a gym, and where we have our exams. But one of the first things I realised when I began my internship here is it provides the community much more then just that. Curtin Stadium offers inter-faculty sports programs that are free to students, plays host to the TSWA (Tertiary Sports Western Australia) tryouts and games, evening social sports available to the whole community and one program that definitely pulled my heart strings, the Pink Crusaders program.

Little did I know that here in our very own gym, there were two Accredited Exercise Physiologists, known to me as Bec and Paula committed to helping survivors of breast cancer get their strength back. On my first day Mark, ‘one of the big bosses’ as I like to refer to them approached me with a dilemma. Curtin Stadium has been offering the program hidden away in the ladies gym for a few years now, one of only five recovery programs available in WA, but not many people are aware it even exists. So Mark faced me with the challenge of preparing my first real media kit to spread the word of this program.

I met with Bec later that day and sat in on one of the classes, so I could meet the women and completely understand the program and how it has benefited them. As a woman myself, it was difficult to learn of their struggles. One lady said because she had a double mastectomy the last thing she wanted to do was go to a gym full of “posers” and “skinny barbie dolls”. After meeting with these women I realised their struggles were not just with self confidence levels but simple day-to-day tasks for example, collecting the washing took hours because they simply didn’t have the strength.

Here I was thinking my internship would be very black and white, planning and promoting sporting events. But I have since realised working in public relations you have to be prepared for those curve balls.  We learn a great deal about how to connect with audiences and convey the messages of your client, we know the theory inside and out but putting it into practice is a whole different story.

I am thankful for this unit because now maybe I can shed light on this program so other women can find their inner and outer strength. Who knew public relations could be so rewarding for the soul? One of my first big lessons in this journey is never forget just how faceted your client can be. I will leave you with one of my favourite quotes, “Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality”, Nikos Kazantzakis.

Thanks for reading!

Jade