VERSA VOICE: Q&A with Julie Baker
December 2009

This month, Versa Voice meets Julie Baker (Marketing Officer with Oxfordshire County Council) and learns that communication, team work and ownership are the keystones of successful marketing activity.

What have you got in your briefcase today?
Papers for a meeting about focus groups which are being planned, gift vouchers for our “Give the Gift of Learning” Christmas campaign and a draft marketing campaign for business skills workshops. Also, a notebook (I’m an inveterate list maker and scribbler) and a bottle of water (although I know that I’ll be tempted by a cappuccino before I take a sip).

What's the most embarrassing (work!) mistake you've made?
Most recently, failing to spot a typo in a Skills for Life promotional piece. Of course, in Adult Learning, colleagues can spot a stray semi-colon at a hundred paces!

What would you say to your 18-year old self if you met them today?
All experience adds up, and none of it is wasted. Reflect on those times when you feel at your best at work – this is a clue about what skills to develop.

What’s the most important thing you've learned in this job?
How far you can stretch resources through teamwork. For example, our Adult Learning Centre Managers are responsible for local publicity. I formed a community marketing working group very soon after I was appointed, and this group has played a key part in extending ownership of the marketing function across the Adult Learning Service while developing consistency and improvement in marketing activities.

How do you keep sane and focused?
For sanity, colleagues and I frequent a noodle bar along the Cowley Road in Oxford, near to the office. It works every time. For focus, planning each week at the beginning is something I now rely on to stretch time and make sure things get done. Planned marketing campaigns and action plans help to keep work focused too.

When was the last time you felt genuinely surprised at work?
Radio Oxford invited us to join a panel of experts in a live outside broadcast and phone-in as part of its Children in Need fundraising. Although we’re regularly on air, so are many other interesting people and organisations, so it was a boost to realise that the presenters and producers value what we offer their listeners.

Have you ever said 'I'll get back to you on that' and not meant it?
I’m contacted by a large number of sales people, and if I’m interested, I usually ask them to email details. Occasionally I find these emails when I am clearing out the inbox, but they know my number, and they’ll be in touch again!

What would you do with significant additional funding?
I’d suggest that we consult learners before making any firm decisions – what would they like us to offer them?

In your view, will your sector notice a difference with a change of government?
Whatever happens, we’re accustomed to change and we’re always ready to be responsive.

You wake up in a parallel universe where you never took this career path. What would you like to be doing instead?
Presenting a light entertainment show really appeals. When I was living in Devon a couple of years ago, I was singing semi professionally in hotels, but this showed me that I wouldn’t want to do that for a living – it’s much more fun when your living doesn’t depend on it.

What do you look for most from a partner company or service provider?
Great communications make great partnerships.

You find yourself drinking in a late-night bar with the Secretary of State. What would you say to him/her?
On more than one occasion when we’ve been promoting our courses on local radio, presenters have asked what the Prime Minister might like to do. So, it would be interesting to actually pass him a brochure, and ask the question.