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In terms of workplace safety, stress and the potential for workplace violence the government and public sectors are the most difficult to work in. That's because governments play several roles, once of which is to restrict or regulate the actions and behaviors of individuals and companies. So, a good percentage of the time "customer" interaction with government staff is difficult.

To make the situation worse, there are some harsh, and usually inaccurate stereotypes about government employees. how often have you heard people say that government staff are lazy, slow, stupid, uncaring and so on? Probably a lot, and angry clientele are quick to trot out those demeaning remarks when they get upset. It isn't fair, but that's the way it is.
 

Bacal & Associates & The Institute For Cooperative Communication specialize in providing both written material and semianrs to government staff to help:
 

• improve customer service particularly in difficult situations
• equip staff with the skills needed to defuse hostile, potentially difficult situations
• reduce work related stress coming from having to deal with hostile members of the public
• save time by reducing time time spent in arguments and debates
• reduce dangerous escalation of conflict

Here are some quick details:
 

• We offer several options, a half-day introduction, a full-day and a complete two day Defusing Hostile Customers seminar.
• ALL our sessions are keyed to YOUR workplace, include a needs assessment and use real examples from your workplace.
• We have worked with government agencies like:
• Worker's Compensation Board
• Liquor Commission
• Public Insurance Agencies
• School Boards
• Departments of Labor
• Social Services
• Departments of Education
• Odds are we are familiar with the context and clientele your organization works with.
• Because of our location our price structure is considerably lower than what it costs for similar seminars in major centers. That means, even talking into acount expenses (eg. transportation, etc), it may very cost you less to use our services. And you still get the best--that's what we specialize in.

Can't swing a seminar? Order our book (based on the seminar) entitled Defusing Hostile Customers Workbook For Public Sector

That where we come in. We help schools and  school boards prepare their staff to PREVENT conflict, both with the public, and with co-workers. We help prepare staff to deal with difficult parent, the hostile parent, or even worse that parent from hell who takes great joy in manipulating staff and management, as if it's some jolly game. 

Conflict Prevention With Clients and Customers 

Many staff (people) communicate with clients in ways that put them off. It's not that they do it intentionally--they just use language in ways that offend people or throw gasoline on the fire. In some cases, staff can create customer problems when none exist. Imagine the effect of the staff member  who responds to a complaint by saying "Sorry,  Sir, there is nothing I can do., and then walks away. Heck, it's polite, it may even be accurate, but it's more than likely that approach is going to end up costing people time if the person get angrier (which is pretty likely). And now there's a problem that could have been avoided with proper handling -- with the use of what we call COOPERATIVE COMMUNICATION. 

Through our book, Conflict Prevention In the Workplace we teach people the difference between language that causes confrontations and language that encourages cooperation, either with customers or co-workers. 

We also design and deliver custom-designed seminars on this topic. No canned stuff. We teach people the use of conflict prevention techniques using examples from THEIR workplace and company. We can do that in various time spans--half-day, 1 day or two day, depending on needs. For details call us at (204) 888-9290. 

What's the bottom line with conflict prevention? With respect to parents and taxpayers, it SAVES time because it prevents escalation of conflict, disagreement, etc. It saves stress, by keeping things in control. Everybody wins. Parents feel they are being treated well, and are less likely to fight . Oh, and principals and administrators don't have to get involved as often with customer disputes. 
 

How can we help.? First we can design and deliver custom-designed seminars on defusing hostile customers. We do it your way, consistent with your department'sc. Send us email for more information at rbacal@escape.ca 

We have produces several books and workbooks on defusing hostile customers (see left hand side of this page). In fact we have produced two for educators -- Defusing Hostile & Volatile Situations For Educators, and it's companion workbook. For details and information please click here. 

Bottom Line: We teach you and staff how to deal with the difficult, the ornery, the offended, the angry, and the manipulative clientt or tax payer .  

Teamwork & Internal Conflict Among Personnel 

Still with us? It's impossible to grow good relationships with clientele and taxpayers if staff don't work in concert and in harmony. They need to be harnessed and pulling in the same direction, not in different ones. And, yes, there's an art to it, and people can learn to handle internal conflict much more effectively, and to prevent it from occurring in the first place. 

We can consult with you to create a plan to help staff work together. We can work with you to teach those "ole" conflict prevention techniques. Or we can provide multiple copies of Conflict Prevention In The Workplace at a significant discount. 

Enough Already! 

OK. I could go on and on and you have better things to do than read more. Here's the summary: 

We provide training, publications and do motivational speaking on the subject of conflict, communication and customer service for the public sector. 

Contact us by email at rbacal@escape.ca, by phone at (204) 888-9290 or fax at (204) 888-2056