Case Study - Helen Kerr

Age: 21

Degree course and graduation year: BSc Psychology with neuroscience

Where did you do your placement?

At Nationwide Future Environmental Services, at their head office based in Preston. The duration was eight weeks, 5 July 2004-27 August 2004. My project concerned helping Future with their current marketing programme, with an aim of developing a more professional image and generating a larger and wider client market. I was asked to produce an effective marketing tool in order to project and develop a structured corporate image to clients. Previously the company had used a variety of company logos and used a PowerPoint presentation printed in-house to send to clients.

Essentially I was asked to create a brochure with inserts detailing Future’s key services and case studies of UK projects they had completed, along with evidence of quality assurance. Furthermore I organised professional printing and photography for the brochure.

What made you decide to do a placement in the first place?

I am interested in pursuing a career in occupational psychology and wanted to gain some business experience. I only had the summer break to do this and I needed to pay off my overdraft, so I couldn’t do voluntary work. I read about this programme in my university careers office – it seemed like a great way to gain business experience so I applied online to take part.

How did you go about finding and securing your placement?

After discovering the programme at university I filled in an online application form. At this stage they tell you that that the places are competitive so you need to be proactive. They also give you the name and contact of your local STEP agency, who organise the placements in your chosen local area. I then telephoned my local STEP agency in May/June to see how my application had progressed. They said they were seeking local businesses to participate. Then I was telephoned and asked for interview at my host company, along with three other people in June. Later that day I was telephoned by the company to say that I had been successful in my interview and I started my placement in July.

What did the placement involve?

I started by researching the brochure. First I tried to make as much use as possible of information already collected by the company. They had collected many competitor brochures from within the industry. This gave me more insight into drainage services and layout and design ideas. The Internet came in very useful for researching styles of company brochure. Due to the diverse range of services offered, I had the good fortune of being taken out on site, which helped my understanding enormously. Furthermore, after my initial brief I had regular meetings with the managing director in order to gather more information and ideas about how the company was to be presented. I updated him on my progress and got him to approve each stage from initial concept, design and copywriting through to printing.

After this I went on to create and produce the brochure. The first phase in creating the inserts required me to design the artwork for the basis of each insert. This meant choosing and developing company images. I decided to create a standard image. I then went on to create a standard template that could be used for every leaflet, in which text could be added in on top. Being a small company that is rapidly expanding, Future wanted a leaflet design that could be easily changed as new services are updated and acquired.

I then wrote the inserts based on my research. These consisted of 11 single-sided inserts, and included introduction, CCTV surveys, pollution surveys, asset identification, case studies and quality assurance. Next, I organised professional photography. Finally, I copy checked and organised professional printing.

Do you feel you had enough tasks to complete and responsibility in your role?

Yes definitely. I found my placement very challenging. There was plenty to organise and complete. I made an operations schedule at the start of the placement to help. I had full responsibility and management of my project, as I was responsible for producing a completed brochure that could be used with immediate effect. Therefore my placement involved producing a brochure from initial concept to design, copywriting, photography and professional printing.

What did the work experience make you feel about your career choices?

The placement has given me a fantastic insight into business and shows me the ‘real world of work’ and most definitely confirmed my interest in occupational psychology, and entering into business and the graduate market.

What did you find the differences were between being a student and working?

Working was very different to being a student. The most striking difference was working the same hours every day, whereas as a student you have a lot of work but you can choose your own hours.

Was the placement enjoyable?

Yes, very enjoyable and I am absolutely delighted with the outcome of my STEP placement.

Were there any problems during the placement, and if so how did you overcome them?

There were challenges and obstacles to overcome. Early on in the planning stage I found the placement a challenge because I had no previous industry background as it is not a very ‘sexy’ industry, and is very male orientated. I had no marketing background so I used my psychology knowledge about how people perceive things. The company had an undefined structured company image, as mentioned with the logos, and I had to establish a constructive business approach.

What kind of skills did you develop (either through official training or just generally) and do you feel that these will be useful in your working life after university?

I have learnt lots of new skills, particularly presentation skills. The project meant I had to be a very efficient manager of time and organisation. Due to the nature of the project I had to arrange weekly meetings with the managing director, which improved my communication skills and taught me to be assertive and specific in stressing deadlines. Furthermore I learnt to adapt and diversify to a completely new subject area to that of my degree. Before writing about this company and its services, I had no industry knowledge and had not considered what goes on underground, and more importantly the scale and common sources of pollution.

How well do you feel you interacted with your colleagues at work? Did you find it difficult because they were older than you were or did you find that you did not have much in common with people?

The staff at Future were very helpful in providing me with the information I needed for my brochure, I felt like a member of staff and had no problems whatsoever. I think they enjoyed having a fresh appeal within their company.

Do you feel that your work experience was valuable?

I am absolutely delighted with the outcome of my STEP placement. I have gained invaluable work experience for both entering into my final year at university and for entry into a particularly competitive graduate employment market. I have improved my skills base enormously, and been given a chance to prove my abilities in the work place. In terms of plans for the future, having Future Environmental Services as a host company has been invaluable and I have learnt so much from this 8-week placement. This has affirmed my desire to enter the graduate workplace and benefit from similar schemes. Similarly I feel completing such a widely recognised and actively sought after scheme can only be of benefit and stand me in good stead for the future.

How has your work benefited the company, i.e. what kind of projects did you carry out and what kind of a contribution did they make to the company?

To highlight the benefits of having a STEP student I completed a cost analysis of the project and presented it to the managing director. Had the company gone to a professional advertising agency it would have cost them 3.5 times the amount (£8,800). Therefore this has provided them with a cost saving of 250%.

There many other benefits to my host company. They now have a fully completed brochure that they can use with immediate effect. They have a developed professional image, which will allow projection of a standard corporate identity. Furthermore they can project their services to a wider client market and target further geographical locations. This brochure comes in line with the company’s newly established website, which means the brochure can be sent out in response to customer enquires.

My loose-insert design means that individual client needs can be targeted. For example, if they wanted information on just one service, that could be arranged. The inserts can be updated regularly and economically. Finally, a STEP student has provided them with a fresh and innovative outlook and will inevitably offer them a huge potential sales increase.