I had another trip to Accident and Emergency at the weekend. It was Friday night and as busy as you would expect. They have a lot to do and I understood that the doctor was rushing between patients. The experience was a reminder of some vital aspects of working in the public sector.
First we have to remember that people are individuals. Whatever their issues are they are personal to them. It is a service business and we have to remember that in everything we do.
The busy A&E doctor lost sight of that when he was giving me and my father the worst case scenario. He didn’t see me sobbing as a person just a job to be done, a box to be ticked. It wasn’t good but I do understand why it happens. It happens because people are under pressure and they lose the connection to people.
The information he gave us was also a victim of his rush to get things done. It was given when only half of the pieces of the jigsaw were in his possession. It lacked the full facts. It is something I think we can be guilty of in PR and communication. We rush to solution without making sure we fully understand the issue.
We do stuff. We write articles. We develop campaigns. We post messages on social media. We hold events. We talk about the issue. But how much of it actually deals with the issue at hand? How much of it actually does what it set out to? How much cloves problems? And how much just looks nice?
If we are going to make an impact through communication then we have to have a focus on the whole situation and ensuring we understand everything that is going on. If we do that then we can really make a difference. I remain incredibly grateful to the medical profession I would just like them to remember they are dealing with people.
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