So what's the point of it all?

Hi everyone,

So as I'm now at the end of my placement and getting stuck in to my final report it's got me wondering what exactly the impact of Public Relations has been on Cancer Support WA.

After these years of study I was already of the opinion that Public Relations is an important component of any successful organisation. However, it was only after working at CSWA that I came to realise the integral role it plays in the success of not-for-profit organisations in particular.

With a limited budget and a number of other departments taking financial priority the promotion of the organisation and the services it offers is expected to be done through the acquisition of media coverage and stakeholder communication free of charge through Public Relations techniques.
This strategy being adopted out of necessity means that the organisation is dependent upon the PR department to perform.
 
As Grunig and Hunt put it "Public Relations is the management of communication between an organisation and its publics", and it is clear to me now that if PR was overlooked at CSWA there would be no effective communication between the organisation and its stakeholders which would inevitably lead to a huge decline in the number of new clients as well as donations and volunteers. Since CSWA is a charity and not profit driven this wouldn't just jeopardise their earnings, it would ultimately mean less people in need would receive assistance. 
The hard work of all of the other departments is backed up by effective public relations to make the most of the organisations potential to do good.

Well, that's about it. 20 days didn't sound like long going in, but I have learned SO much during my time with Cancer Support WA. I couldn't be happier with my internship experience and am thankful to have spent my time within such a fantastic organisation. 

Kelsey

The Challenges of Working in Not-for-Profit (Part 2)

In my last post I talked about the challenges of working in a not-for-profit organisation in terms of the implications of low budgets on staffing.
However, something I forgot to mention was the the issues that arise when outsourcing work.

I experienced the frustration of having project development delayed significantly due to the reliance on pro bono work, that is professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment or at a reduced fee as a public service.

The events and programs that Cancer Support WA run are not done so with the ultimate goal of generating large profits. The aim is basically to provide support services to those in need at a price they can afford while bringing in enough funds to keep it running. 
Due to this when CSWA needs to outsource a consultant or specialist for tasks their own staff can not effectively handle themselves they do not have the funds available to be highly selective, they have to take the best option they are provided with which tends to be companies offering services for free.

An example of where this affected me was when we wanted to improve our website and raise awareness of our project in the community. We needed a website redesigned to make it look more appealing to participants and other promotional materials produced to spread around the local area. No one in the office was able to do this to a high standard without compromising their normal workload so we required a graphic designer.
There was one lined up but it fell through and left us searching for an alternative which took weeks to find and held up the progress of a number of other areas of the campaign.  

The project I'm working on is running until the end of next year so realistically it's not that big of an issue that we've lost a few weeks here, I just wanted to help as much as I could in my short time at CSWA but now it looks like I'm not going to be able to go ahead with everything I had planned which is disappointing.

Not long to go now so I'd better just make the most of these last few days and do all that I can in the time I have left. 

Thanks for reading,
Kelsey 

The Challenges of Working in Not-for-Profit

I felt good about getting a placement at Cancer Support WA because it meant that in my 20 days not only would I be able to gain valuable experience in the Public Relations field but I would be able to lend a hand to an organisation that relies heavily upon volunteers.
It wasn't until about half way through my placement that I really saw the implications of this reliance.

While there are 15 paid staff employed at CSWA there are around 65 volunteers and 10 interns every year that make all of their programs and events possible.
Specifically in a PR context there are only two staff dedicated to marketing and communications.

It appears that a number of the volunteers helping out are involved in the organisation due to a personal connection - being touched by cancer in some way and wanting to give back to the organisation that helped them through a hard time.
This means that their volunteers are very passionate and willing to put in significant time and effort to ensure the organisation can continue to provide its valuable services.

I found an article on the topic that put it quite nicely by saying "the ability to attract, maintain, and develop human resources, places ongoing strains and stresses on the constancy of programme and service delivery for not-for-profits".
The organisation doesn't have the time or resources to thoroughly train all of its voluntary staff nor is it feasible for them to be constantly monitoring their work. Having to trust their work without quality control is a risk that leaves potential for a lot of errors and without any monetary incentive it is harder to set expectations and deadlines.

On the other hand, due to tight budgets the paid staff have both limited resources and very high expectations. They work incredibly hard to better the organisation but as there are so few of them their work load tends to be very big and they can't help but rely on their volunteers to get everything done, so the challenge is being able to strike a balance between paid staff and volunteers.

That's it for now, thanks for reading.

Kelsey

The four to 1four60 Ratio

First of all, Welcome ladies and gentlemen to my blog! Okay, so I presume you are all wondering what my little ratio is all about. It is simply a reflection on how I feel about internship so far.

The four to 1four60 ratio can be broken down into three simple points:

•  The first ‘four’ reflects how many days I have attended my internship;

• The 1four60 is a breakdown of my 4 years studying into days – 1460 days give or take  a leap year and all that confusion;

• The sum of all it all is that I feel in my four days at HBF I have gained more ‘useful’ and practical information than I have over the course of my Public Relations and Marketing double major. Never has the term public relations become so definitive to me, it is amazing how hands on experience can just concrete every single aspect or theory ever learnt at uni!

Anyway, let's get back to basics – I commenced my internship on 5 May 2014 at HBF Head Office on Murray Street being accepted immediately into the not-for-profits sixth floor communications family. The sixth floor is a welcoming mix of public relations, communications, marketing, events and the health funds CGU and Pharmacy sector.

My little ‘family’ includes my very approachable supervisor Andrew who is head of PR at HBF, and four driven young ladies Fleur, Jodie, Chantelle and Shae, each respectively taking care of: external public relations, internal communications, social media platforms, media and communications, working extremely close together.

Within my four days, I discovered the “bread and butter” of public relations, as Fleur so simply puts it. Pivotal to public relations is real life cases as they embody compassion and interest as well as relatable content. This “bread and butter” had me tediously stalking the HBF Run for a Reason Everyday Heroes page for five solid hours, finally emerging with a mere, but rich, six possible media grabbing stories *praise the lord*. The stories were eye opening, many being about family losses due to illness, prompting gratitude for simply being granted another day in this life, but brought to attention the realities of how cut throat the media industry can be – with only truly individual, interest sparking stories making the cut.

The afternoon of my fourth day involved taking a trip with Fleur to the local gym, meeting up with Today Tonight journalist Cassie Silver to film a brief clip for the HBF Run for a Reason Ultimate Runners Playlist segment aired on Today Tonight in May just before the run. Oh my goodness, did I learn a lesson that day - did any of you know that it takes around 45 minutes to an hour to film 20 seconds worth of footage to air on Television? Crazy right? I thought so!

One area of the internship which I guess is both a negative and positive however is the timing. I work three/four days per week which means my PR experiences at HBF are limited to smaller activities able to be completed in my two internship days, that is the negative. Here is the positive: I get to experience varied tasks relating to all different activities and initiatives held at different times of the year! Either way I am just so happy that I was given this opportunity to start with!  

Until my next blog,

Have a wonderful week!

Kiara xx

It's coming, it's coming...it's gone.

The adrenaline that comes with planning an event and being there as it happens is much like watching a sports car speed past you. It’s coming, it’s coming, it’s gone. There is so much excitement that goes into waiting for an event to come around and this excitement definitely does not leave when it passes by.

I am currently completing my internship with Momentum Forum Events, a not-for-profit events management company founded by Barbara McNaught. Momentum Forum holds annual events to support worthy causes.

The ballroom set up for the luncheon

Since beginning my internship, the main focus has been on the Xoticar International Women’s Day Luncheon that was held on March 7^th in support of the prevention of violence against women.

As part of my internship I have been lucky enough to try my hand at many different tasks such as managing emails, researching sponsors, monitoring and updating social media pages and websites, compiling guest and contact lists, communicating with the media, writing newsletters and helping to develop media releases, scripts and advertisements. I have also attended a photoshoot and interview for an editorial in the lead up to the event. This experience in itself was great because I was there from the moment the story was pitched through to the final article in the paper. Being both a public relations and journalism major it was interesting to see the process from both sides.

Me with Dana, Rhea and Barbara

Saying this, the highlight of my internship so far has definitely been helping out at the event. It is an amazing feeling when you see all the hard work that has been put into the planning being enjoyed by the guests.

The event was held at Crown Perth and had the U.S. Consul General Cynthia A. Griffin as a guest speaker, Dana Vulin as a testimonial speaker, Nez Erok as the guest performer and a Ruth Tarvydas fashion parade.

There were also four luxury cars on display from the event’s naming sponsor Xoticar. The event had a great mix of celebration, inspiration and emotion that touched everyone in the room.

Before the event we received some great media coverage and this continued after the event.

International Women's Day received coverage on both Channel 7 and Channel 9  news

as well as a spread in the social pages.

From a public relations perspective it is really exciting seeing your event picked up in the media and receiving favourable coverage. It is not only great for the cause but great for the organisation.

The Lamborghini, one of the four cars on display.

The focus at Momentum has now turned to the annual Men In Black Ball and there is no doubt it will come around fast. If there is one thing I have learnt so far it is that the public relations and event industry moves quickly and you need to buckle up or run the risk of being left behind.

Kiara Bonasera

15523055

Curtin Bentley 

20 Days as an Intern: A Reflection

At the conclusion of my time at Baptistcare, it seems fitting to reflect on my personal performance – my strengths, weaknesses, what I have learned and what I could have done better. So here goes.

I completed my internship over the course of Semester One, 2012, rather than 20 consecutive days. Not being in the office every day meant that I often missed out on critical team events or important meetings and was left with no work to complete. I was neglected during busy periods where the team was otherwise occupied, and I felt guilty constantly asking my supervisor what I could do to contribute during times of neglect. As the internship spanned a longer period of time, I also felt a loss of motivation and lack of personal value to the team at times.

However, there were times where I was very involved and felt like a true member of the team. I thoroughly enjoyed being part of a team and collaborating with everyone on projects such as the quarterly newsletter. My friendly manner and mature, responsible nature meant that the team was able to trust me with important activities such as articles, press releases and letters. And with other functions such as graphic design, events and strategic marketing needing assistance, I found additional work to keep me occupied.

I found communication to be very important - the key to success. I would constantly update my supervisor via e-mail on my progress during the day so that she knew what I was doing or where I was at without having to ask. It also meant that she knew I was working hard. I also learned to get on the phone or see somebody in person if I needed the assistance of somebody in the organisation. Having to contact people right across the organisation spanning different locations throughout the state, e-mail was not always the best option, and work was often held up waiting for people to respond to questions or requests.

Besides from the experience, I believe that the most valuable element which I gained from my internship was comfort and familiarity in a working environment. I feel much more comfortable about transitioning into a professional position in the future with experience and a portfolio of work behind me. If you haven't done it, give work experience a go!