It’s okay to Over Communicate
Hi everyone! My name is Meaghan Corej and this fall semester I have had the opportunity to work with Digitas Health as the account management intern. Typically DH only hires interns over the summer, but I was lucky to interview for a position due to COVID’s circumstances. This past summer, leading up to my senior year, I went through the interview process in hopes of being hired as a summer intern at Publicis Health. Unfortunately, as most of us suffered because of the pandemic, my internship was drastically moved online. The entire program was shifted from a hands on, independent experience, to a more informational program. I am still very lucky I was able to have some type of academic instruction and I definitely gained a deeper understanding of pharmaceutical advertising. Through this summer program, I was able to network with students from all over the country, speak with healthcare professionals, and participate in a mentorship program. Without this summer opportunity, I would not be working as an intern at DH today. I am thankful Publicis created a beneficial program and therefore in my featured image picture, you can see me showing off my swag item they sent all of the new interns!
I titled my blog post, “it’s okay to Over Communicate” because I think the most useful thing I observed while working with the account management team is the amount of communication used daily and how team members are informed. There is no such thing as too much communication. You of course aren’t sending every single update directly to everyone on the entire team, both HCP and Consumer, but there is never a time when you don’t have to CC someone via email. For example, some people on the account team don’t tend to daily tasks, so it is my responsibility every Friday to email them our internal team’s materials for all of the current projects. This gives them a brief overview on the status of a project and provides next steps. This helps keep everyone informed.
I also learned that everyone of my team is quick to communicate. We use Microsoft Teams to video chat, message, and send updates to specific teams. My team is very comfortable with quickly pinging someone if they have an immediate question. Some communication is very formal, especially when it comes to emails with clients, but other communication internally with the team is casual. I constantly communicate with the project management team and if I ever have a quick question or want to clarity a task, a short unplanned video chat is typical.
Even after meetings, there is constant communication. For example, there is always a follow up email after a meeting. This breaks down a general list of recapping what was discussed, what changes need to be made, and next steps for when to meet.
If there is every hesitation or you are unsure of something, ask! No one is every going to be upset for asking a question. Communication is a vital part of being a successful account manager. You have to communicate with your internal team, the client, the medical team and the creative team. There are so many working parts to being an account manager, and by over communicating, you can be sure to have everyone on the same page and informed. At the end of the day, among all the different teams, we are one team working together to achieve the same goal.
