Six months already?!

After six months working as Comms and Engagement Lead with Citizens Advice across Stockport, Oldham, Rochdale and Trafford, I wanted to reflect on my experience, thinking about my achievements so far, and my goals for the next six months…

What am I proud of?

• Leading on the rollout of Workplace (a collaboration & communication platform)

It’s been a big challenge getting used to a new platform myself, and then leading on a project to train staff and volunteers on how to access and use it effectively. After capturing lots of feedback, lots of trial and error, and understanding how different teams can utilise the platform to save time, collaborate and improve employee engagement, we’re starting to see some real progress and a positive shift in mindset across the organisation, which is great to see!

• Social media management

Over the past six months I’ve been developing our multiple Facebook and Twitter accounts, increasing our social media engagement and increasing the amount of original content we share- including client success stories, quick advice by video and introductions to members of our teams. I’ve also really prioritised engaging with other local charities, businesses, local MPs and individuals in our local community- obvious, yes, but not always easy to do without a dedicated social media team!

We’re seeing a steady increase in engagement across our accounts, and it’s been great to see how much support we have in our local communities, and the positive impact our service has.

• Staff and Volunteer Conference

One of my very first tasks when I started, was to plan our annual conference, for over 120 people, which was due to take place less than three months later! I’m proud that I was able to work with the wider team and pull off a successful event, and there were no huge dramas on the day!😅

I’m now starting to plan for our next conference, and am bursting with ideas to make sure that this one is our best ever. Our staff and volunteers provided some really valuable and creative feedback about what they’d like to see at the conference, and i’m excited to take some of those ideas and make them a reality.💪

• Student projects

Coming from a careers background, in a role where I supported university students to secure work experience, I can’t quite let go of working with students!

I’ve been working alongside University Campus Oldham to offer student projects and mentoring, and have been getting involved with a research project, looking at social inequality in Oldham. This is really rewarding on a personal level, and is of a huge benefit to our charity, as we get plenty of fresh ideas and a new perspective on business challenges. 👍

• Learning lots of new stuff, not panicking too much and just giving it all a go!

My role is very varied, and in any given day I am a videographer, copywriter, designer, PR officer, events manager, project lead, researcher, and web developer.

Like anyone else, i’m not brilliant at everything. I definitely have my strengths, and there are a couple of areas where I feel I am kind of winging it!😆

I’m proud that i’ve managed to teach myself lots of new skills, and I feel very lucky to work somewhere where I can be creative and have the freedom to try things out, and even the freedom to fail. If something doesn’t quite go to plan, I can reflect on it, learn from it and move on, with the support of my team 💛

What next?

Over the next six months I’d like to continue to build my skills in the areas I feel a little less confident, such as navigating our complex client data, pitching to the media and improving our websites user experience.

I will keep developing our internal comms, with the goal that every single one of our staff members and volunteers feel that they have a voice, that they are heard, and that they feel valued for the work that they do.

I want to keep meeting as many people in our organisation as I can, capturing their feedback, sharing their fantastic client stories and positive outcomes across the organisation, as well as externally.

There’s plenty more, I could write, but those should keep me going for a while!

Describe the last six months in a sentence

A fun and challenging whirlwind, supported by a wonderful team!