Welcome to my
blog. I am Caris Dinardo, and this is where I will be sharing my opinions and
experiences as a Public Relations Intern at Main Roads.
When undertaking
an internship you’re not quite sure what to expect. Whether you will be
successful, whether you will learn from others or whether you will be misused
as a coffee assistant.
Luckily for me my Public Relations internship at Main Roads Western Australia has
allowed me to have a greater insight into the Public Relations world. My first
day quickly made me realise that our tutors weren’t lying, communication really
is everything.
When going for
this Internship I was asked by my supervisor which areas I was interested in
working in. Coming to the end of my degree, I’m still unfortunately not aware
of what areas in PR I feel most passionate about, but I am a firm believer in the importance of experience and asked to be put in
any area that would have me.
So for my first
day I was put in the Customer Information Centre. My day started off normally,
meeting all the employees, being welcomed to the team and going out for coffee.
Automatically I knew I would fit in well because of the amazing work culture
Main Roads have created.
I was given the
chance to work alongside the manager to see what her daily tasks involved. Checking emails every 5 minutes, dealing with complaints about road closures,
traffic complaints, fault reports and the list went on… The phone was
constantly ringing and not one call went through to voicemail. The Customer
Information Centre team plays an important role in communication with stakeholders, as they are the
first on duty to contact for any emergencies or general queries.
Now for the
interesting stuff:
As a team, they are hugely important in crisis management. Without their input or communication, stakeholders would
struggle to find out important information as they are constantly being
communicated through website updates and social media updates.
Unfortunately, on my first day there was a crash that had 3 fatalities in Geraldton. I witnessed first hand the
importance communication plays in
crisis management, as the team were constantly ringing the media, the Main
Roads team and sharing posts to make sure the effected publics were aware of any delays and the full
story of what exactly had happened.
By the afternoon,
the team had also had to deal with a possible
fire outbreak in the Southern suburbs. Through constant updates on their
Twitter sites (which has over 400,000 followers) and phoning media outlets the
Main Roads Call Information Centre team were able to alert the community of the
possible fire outbreak. Fortunately, I was able to contribute to several
Twitter posts which made the public aware of nearby crashes. This was great to
finally see how important the role of social media plays when organisations
regularly communicate to stakeholders.
Main Roads have
recently changed their corporate brand and logo to the focus of ‘Keep WA
Moving.’ My experience within the first day made me realise that communication
plays a huge role of ‘Keeping WA Moving’ as they are constantly communicating
to stakeholders to make them aware of what is happening on Western Australia’s
roads.
It was only my
first day and it was an eye opening experience. Throughout University I have
studied different Public Relations theories. But seeing
those theories in the real world made me realise how important communication is
to successfully develop strong relationships with stakeholders. Another outtake
would be the importance of having a team that is aware of what to do in crises, as the steps you take in those
situations are extremely important.
I am thankful to
have this opportunity and to be undertaking this Internship at Main Roads. This is only day one and I can’t wait to gain more insight into what they do.
How were all my fellow interns first days?
Until next time,
Caris Dinardo.
