Media training is one of many services Flow Communications offers its clients. Flowstars recently headed to Petra Diamonds, in Cullinan, to provide a day’s worth of training.
Petra Diamonds is listed on the London Stock Exchange and counts among its mines Kimberley Underground, Cullinan, Finsch, Koffiefontein, Fissures and Williamson. Its fast development has established the company as London’s largest quoted diamond-mining group.
The training was met with enthusiasm by the Petra Diamonds employees, who are based in Cullinan and Botswana. A Kimberley leg of the training will also be presented in the coming weeks.
As a growing and leading diamond supplier (Petra initially acquired a 37% interest in the Cullinan mine from De Beers in 2008, but increased its direct interest to 74% in late 2009, when it acquired Al Rajhi's holding in the mine), it’s important for employees to know how to deal with the media.
Aspects such as preparing for a press conference, the do’s and don’ts of radio and TV interviews, and how to handle doorstepping (when journalists confront and record someone who is not expecting to be interviewed) were covered. Flowstars also squeezed in social media etiquette so that the employees are fully prepared to be proud ambassadors for their company.
Petra Diamonds communications manager Gert Klopper, who arranged the training, was glad not be on the receiving end. But he was struck by his colleagues’ performance: “I’m highly impressed with the enthusiasm and good spirit the training was met with. Communication is an essential piece of empowerment. Everyone can now face the media with confidence should they be required to act as ambassadors for Petra Diamonds.”
Exploration manager Tobias Hough was glad he was not required to speak to the media, and has high respect for Gert’s job: “I will not dream of becoming a spin doctor! That said, I learnt a lot and I will be a much more confident speaker when having to deal with people.”
Everyone agreed that should they look for alternative jobs, community development co-ordinator Desiree Dlamini and general manager Juan Kemp would do well as journalists: the two played the roles of “pushy, demanding journalists, with hard-hitting questions” too well.
“This workshop was the best I’ve attended so far. Some of my colleagues (especially Juan) were tough on me when we were doing the doorstepping. Revenge was indeed sweet when it was their turn to be faced by the ‘media’,” said Dlamini.
“I’ve definitely learnt a lot. From now on, I will be on the lookout for interviewees taking off-ramps, whether they stick to their game plan and make comebacks whenever they are painted in a negative light.”
Interesting facts about Petra Diamonds:
- Petra manages one of the world’s largest diamond resources
- Petra's South African production is sold in Johannesburg, and its Tanzanian production is sold in Antwerp
- One of Petra's core values is “Let's do it better”
- A 29.6-carat blue diamond for was sold for R280-million to luxury jeweller Cora International NY this year. The diamond was recovered at the Cullinan mine
- A 39-carat blue diamond, one of the rarest and most coveted in the world, has also been recovered at Cullinan this year.