Good Communication

The following are general principles which may help to promote good communication between an organisation and its service users

Staff should:

1. Treat each person as a valued service user
2. Give service users as much relevant information as possible - ensuring that it is up-to-date and accurate
3. Never take a complaint (or the anger and frustration that may be the result of a complaint) personally
4. Try and think about the service user's position and see the situation from their perspective
5. Feel empowered to express concern or empathy for a service user's problem or situation, as appropriate
6. Feel empowered to acknowledge mistakes made by an organisation and to apologise for them
7. Try to clearly explain the reasoning behind the policies, practices and procedures of an organisation rather than simply stating "that is/is not our policy"
8. Give service users access to any relevant policies
9. Not give misleading information or "guess" at answers to questions. If the answer is not known then the inquiry should be referred to someone who is able to respond
10. Consider the impact of the manner in which they deal with service users - creating an unhappy service user also affects colleagues
11. Feel free to "let off steam" to colleagues or managers - just ensure it is somewhere that cannot be seen or heard by service users!