Internship Report from Sydney PR Agency “SLING & STONE”! [Work Edition]
Hello!
I am Koyama from the Promotions Department.
Following the previous “SLING & STONE” office introduction,
this time, we will bring you the “Working at SLING & STONE” edition!
First, you arrive at the office at 8:00 AM!
That said, start times are not strictly set, and everyone comes in freely at a time that suits their own lifestyle.
(Everyone at SLING & STONE is very much a morning person!)
After arriving, the first thing you do is check the newspapers. (This is the same at SUNNY SIDE UP!)
At SLING & STONE, this time is called the “News Room.”
In the “News Room,” you mainly check the following four items:
- Articles related to SLING & STONE’s clients
- Articles related to SLING & STONE’s clients’ competitors and industries
- Checking sections that are likely to feature information about SLING & STONE’s clients
- Checking journalists who are likely to write articles about SLING & STONE’s clients
These are checked every day, and an email is sent to all employees.
In Australia, these are the four main newspapers.
The members in charge of the “News Room” (the 담당 rotates weekly) split up and check these four papers.
Once “News Room” time is over, everyone returns to their desks for work time.
What surprised me most after coming to SLING & STONE was that almost no one makes phone calls!!
So the office is incredibly quiet!!
At SLING & STONE, communication—including with clients—is done by email or via the tool “Slack.”
They said, “Rather than calling, talking by email or Slack saves time and money, doesn’t it? It is far more efficient!”
I was also allowed to join SLING & STONE’s Slack, and I saw company-wide sharing of everything from brainstorming to updates like “The client praised us!” and even “I need help right now!” Everyone actively exchanged opinions, and work moved forward quickly without unnecessary meetings.
Before you know it, it is 12:00 PM!
It is lunchtime.
For lunch, they often order from “Uber Eats,” one of SLING & STONE’s clients, and eat together.
Lunchtime is also an important time to communicate with team members.
We often held meetings while eating lunch as well!
In the afternoon, I was allowed to join SLING & STONE’s company-wide meeting,
(SLING & STONE also has branches in New Zealand and LA, so the New Zealand and LA offices join via video chat!)
sit in on client meetings, learn about basic PR activities in Australia, and participate in brainstorming sessions.
I was able to take part in a wide range of work as if I were truly one of SLING & STONE’s employees!
And work finishes at 5:00 PM!
After work, they play video games,
or play tabletop games together.
I have been spending very exciting days!
In Japan, there are growing calls to eliminate long working hours through “work-style reform,” and I felt that the way everyone at SLING & STONE works offers many hints for addressing this issue.
Cut time and costs as much as possible, eliminate waste, and work efficiently—then deliver results that exceed clients’ expectations.
I would like to bring back what I learned at SLING & STONE to SUNNY SIDE UP and work hard so that I can do even better work than before!
