As a freelance communication specialist, I’m lucky enough to work with fascinating teams and for amazing organisations. Although all my work shares a communications theme, there is plenty of variety in the detail of my projects that is enjoyable and rewarding. Recently I’ve been reflecting on some of the most enjoyable, fun and proud moments I get to be involved in.
Connecting with people around the world
By and large, the people I interview for communication audits and articles care passionately about the work that they do and the reason they do it. It is inspiring to hear their enthusiasm, their ideas and their desire to do the best job possible. I speak to fundraisers, frontline staff, researchers, support teams, line managers, board members, retail staff and many more. Some are based locally, some are based in other parts of the UK, some are on different continents and in different time zones. This has led me to be able to casually drop into conversation sentences like “I was Skyping with Cambodia this morning”. Makes me smile every time!
Working alongside teams from different disciplines
There is no standard place for internal communication in an organisation – sometimes I work alongside HR teams, other times I am in a Marketing and Communications setting and still others I share office space with a specific support function who need to communicate better. This leads to all sorts of dynamics, conversations and ‘moments’. Last summer, whilst hot-desking in a room also used for radio interviews with academics, a press officer came rushing in, exclaiming, “I really need your office, Ebola’s gone mad!” It was a classic moment I will remember for a long time!
Being part of teams that are changing the world
I was working at Cancer Research UK when MPs voted to introduce the smoking ban in England and Wales. This was a huge deal for the whole organisation, as CR-UK had been lobbying for years. My team and I were due to be out of the office on the day of the result, so we needed to write the staff announcement in advance. I spoke to our Parliamentary team, saying ‘You must know deep down which way the vote will go, how should we write it?’ – the ban was actually voted through with a margin of 200 MPs in the end, but the lobbying on all sides was so fierce, it was too close to call in the run up to the big day. So I wrote the staff announcement both ways and remote published the right version on the day. Exciting and satisfying to be a small part of!
What do you love about your job?
If you would like me to help create some interesting communication moments at your organisation, please get in touch.
Until next time
Sarah