Branch Event

Branch Charity Event (App.9)

On May  1st, myself and fellow classmates hosted an event which had been in the planning for 8 months. It was great to see everything come together, after all the hard work that had gone into and all the issues encountered. It was great to get real practical experience.

Describe what happened?

I put on an event for Branch (App.8), which 41 guests attended. The event raised over £500 for the charity and I managed the whole event.

What was I thinking/feeling?

In the last few days to the event and the day of the event, I felt nervous, stressed, anxious and also excited that it was finally happening. 

What was good and bad about the experience?

All of my guests really enjoyed themselves, which I believe shows I organised a good event, and it raised lots of money and awareness for BRANCH.

There were a few issues on the day such as delays in the kitchen caused by a lack of chefs and technical problems with microphones.

What else can you make of the situation?

The main issue was communication between myself and another person in my group. During the planning of the event, there were constant issues with this person not pulling their weight with the workload and this continued on the day of the event itself.

What else could you have done?

I believe I did everything I could to make this event a success and to work with someone as professional as possible, even though they displayed no interest in putting in any effort. In the end, I think I had just had enough of the attitude displayed and gave up trying to include this person, which impacted the communication between us on the day of the event.

If it rose again, what would you do?

I would speak with my lecturers (or employer) sooner to get them involved in the problems occurring.

I would also try to ensure that despite the frustrations felt, that communication was always clear between members of the team. 

Canapes

Canape Reception, HRC Architecture

The HRC Architecture company, Chichester hired us to make canapés for the reception they were hosting on November 28th 2013.

What was my role?

Between the class, we were put into pairs and each given a different canape to make. Annabel and I were given the task of making 50 cake pops. From the description, it seemed fairly simple but did prove more difficult and fiddly than anticipated. However, we did get them finished and got to decorate and present them how we wanted, alongside the rest of the canapes.



We then spent the evening serving our canapes and drinks as well.

What have I learnt?

This was my first time making both canapes and cake pops, so it was exciting to learn something new. It gave me the experience and understanding about producing something to a large volume, within a deadline (therefore, time management was vital) and ability to present something that appealed visually.

This event also gave us an opportunity to work as a team during service - the area we had to work in was very cramped and we had to be good at communication to ensure smooth running.
I hope to get another opportunity to work on canapés again and improve my skills on creating them.

Organizing Events

Events Coordinator

What is my role?

I recently took on a voluntary position as the events coordinator of Anya's Wish, a charity my mum has begun (App.6). I am helping to organize fundraising events for the charity.

What have I learnt?

I have learnt about planning events and have been able to build on what I am learning in class, as well learning about the importance of each and every small idea, which help create the bigger picture.

I have learnt more about the power of advertising. For the first fundraising event, we held a coffee and cake day. We advertised in as many ways as we could think of - social media, posters and flyers which we disputed to neighbours, friends and family. On the day, we had many more people than we had hoped for come along, just to see what we were about and sit and chat with a cake and a coffee. Even a reporter for the local newspaper came along and interviewed us (App.7).

Identify bad practice.

Although not something I have done personally, I have experienced bad practice from another. We have been planning to hold an African Gala Night, in October later this year. We looked at several venues before deciding on one, which had the facilities we needed. The Sales Assistant who we met with was wonderful, taking notes of everything we wanted, was really professional and gave us more ideas as well. Unfortunately, she moved onto another job elsewhere a month later and promised everything had been handed over to her colleague, who would be in touch with details about the menu and costs.

A few weeks passed and we still heard nothing. After chasing it up, we were eventually sent over a contract, which explained we would need to pay a deposit to secure the date and a cost of £35 per person for the meal. Since we were only having a buffet, we thought this was a bit much and we didn't have a copy of the menu yet either.

Several weeks later, despite numerous emails and phone calls we still had no menu and had received no offer of a face to face meeting with this new events coordinator. I couldn't believe how unprofessional they were coming across.

How will I develop this?

I hope to continue helping to organise more and more events for the charity, mostly small ones for the foreseeable future with one or two bigger events. I hope to continue to develop my skills as an event organiser, building confidence in my abilities and gain more understanding of my role and future roles.

As for the bad practice I have identified, I can only hope that when I am working as an events coordinator, I am professional at all times, no matter how many clients I have or gain through colleagues leaving. I believe it is good practice to always meet a client face to face at least once, especially if you are taking over from a colleague, where miscommunication of details is more likely to occur. 

Journey Ambassador

Journey Ambassador

What was my role?

At work, I have taken on an additional role of Journey Ambassador (App.5). I assist the hotel's Reception team during busy arrival periods and am there as a visual point of contact and welcome for all our guests. Tasks include:

• offering directions
• booking taxi's and dinner reservations
• assisting with luggage
• organizing room moves. 

What have I learnt?

This experience has shown me how important it is to know your venue and local area - its vital that I am able to answer all guests queries, be it directions to the gym to the time it takes to drive to Chichester. It has also given me an insight into how Reception operates and just how much you need to know when you work in a key area of guest assistance. 

How have I developed?

To begin with, there wasn't a lot I felt I could do - I even worried about answering the phone in case I couldn't help the person calling. I would just stand and talk to guests waiting and try and help them in ways I already knew how to. 

After a few weeks, I requested that my shift start earlier, at 2pm instead of 3pm, to give me a chance to speak to Reception about anything in particular that needed to be done that day and took this opportunity to ask questions about how I could assist them more, They showed me the guest registration forms and told me about answering the phones and I felt more confident in assisting in these tasks. 

Now what do I do?

Now, I am fully confident in my abilities to answer any guests queries, answer the phones and assist with checking guests in. 

When there is a queue, I simply get the registration forms and ask guests to begin filling them out, showing them where and then ask them to present that to the receptionist who checks them in when they are free. This helps to check everyone in a bit quicker when we are very busy and everyone arrives at once. 

Greenpower Finals 2013

Greenpower National Finals 2013

What was my role?

For this event, I participated in a number of roles that included providing information for guests and selling programmes and merchandise. I also helped to look after the volunteers, ensuring that they were all fed and watered and given breaks if needed.

What did I learn (App.4)?

Just walking around the location selling programmes enabled me to observe just how much work the organisers put into this event (and big, outdoor, events in general). The location was laid out really well, with separate areas for different people and I was able to understand how important the communication between the team was.

How will I develop this?

Next time an opportunity like this comes up, I think it would be beneficial for me to be there from the very beginning, all the way through to the end of the day, in order to see just how everything comes together on the day and I intend to take on as many different roles at these events as possible.

Goodwood Restaurant

      Each week I spend 6 hours in the Goodwood Restaurant, where a different job role is designated, such as:
·         Head Waiter
·         Waitress/Waiter
·         Bar person
·         Hot Plate
·         Wine Waiter
·         Barista

We then have to set up each section ready for service and be responsible for our sections until the very end of shift.

     What have I learnt?

The main things I have learnt is Silver Service.

Initially, I was quite sceptical about this serving method (app.3) - I have never been in restaurant that silver serves and worried about throwing food over a customer.

  

      To develop, I practiced on each other in class, allowing my confidence to grow. I am now usually one of the few asked to silver serve by the rest of the class in service.  

   

     What will I do next time?

Next time I have an opportunity to learn a new skill that I have never come across before, I will try to approach it more openly and embrace it until it is something I can complete without thinking.

100 Hours

Welcome to my Personal Development Blog. 

Over the next few months I need to gain as much practical experience as possible - a minimum of 100 hours (App.1) - which I am hoping to do outside of my regular job (App.2).

I hope to learn something new from each experience and be able to reflect upon the good practices used, what went well and what I would do differently if the opportunity was there, which I shall aim to do using some reflective practice models. This will also enable me to create an action plan of goals that I will aim to achieve in the near future. 

For my appendices, please see:
http://elli-bowring-100-hours-appendices.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/appendix-one.html


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