11:10am to 11:55amWith the changes in funding, students increasingly see themselves as customers buying a service from the university, and this sense of empowerment has led to an increase in challenging behaviour. In this session we’ll be looking at the causes of this behaviour in order to get the right approach for minimising conflict, and defusing it when it arises. We will be discussing useful techniques to make your encounters as positive as possible for you and your customers.

♦ Brainstorm: hatred♦ Discussion: why are they like that?♦ Summary of advocacy♦ Discussion: best approach♦ Summary: 4 ‘e’s

12:00pm to 12:45pm (GMT)Everyone working for an academic institution now has a more difficult job than they had five years ago, so it seems only fair they should be given techniques for coping with stress. In this session we’ll be looking at the different types of stress, with useful tools to minimise the impact of each of them. It isn’t always possible to stop or avoid difficult situations, but we have some influence on how they affect us, and that is the focus of this workshop.

♦ Pair work: stressful situation♦ Stress types: diagnosis♦ Ruth anecdote: power of cognitive restructuring♦ Presentation: 3 types, subcategories♦ Pair work: application♦ Discussion and examples

1. GENERAL APPROACH:

As stated earlier, the fact that behaviour is understandable does not make it acceptable or even forgiveable. It does, however, give us some clues as to how best to deal with it, which I have categorized into the ‘4 E’s’ of dealing with empowered client groups:

Empathy:

Sympathetic Approach: Being aware that customers have emotions, and sympathising with and responding to these: keeping the encounter human. This may include reassurance for people who are panicky and distressed, and being sensitive to what mood the customer is in and adjusting your manner accordingly.

Thanking Them: Thanks cost nothing, and add to goodwill, so always thank people where appropriate: for bringing something to your attention or letting you sort it out.

Active Listening: See more details on this later!

Patience: Language students need lots of patience: they’re under a lot of pressure, and it is very stressful to always be communicating in a language which you’re only just learning.

Equality:

Careful of dignity: It is very easy for students to feel belittled or infantalised. In your language and tone, be aware of where you might be in danger of doing this.

Being Positive: Always try to give information in the positive: what can be done before what can’t.

Safety: Making sure the client feels as happy and relaxed as possible talking to you.

Ready to Apologise: Like thanks, apologies cost nothing and buy you goodwill, so be ready to apologise for being unclear (even though you know it’s the client’s fault!) or that the system cannot deliver the results they would prefer.

Taking Them Seriously: Even though some of your customer’s concerns may seem trivial or even ridiculous, they are important for the person who has them, and you should always respect this.

Explaining Constraints and Giving Reasons: ‘It’s policy’ isn’t a reason: there is a reason why that policy was agreed. Always keep customers in the know about what the rules are and why they are so.

Efficiency:

Follow-up: Checking you’ve done what you’ve promised, or that the customer has delivered on their side of things. Give them a chance to make good if they’ve failed: don’t just wait until a deadline has passed!

Prioritising: Customers are often flustered, and not good at realising what needs to be done first. You can help with this, taking charge of the encounter and prioritising.

Having Template Emails etc. ready: Not those dreadful ‘out of office’ things, but standard friendly emails that let people know if there will be a delay.

Not Taking it Personally: Unless you’re getting far more difficult customers than your colleagues, remember that it’s the situation the customer is upset with, not you!

Finding Best Solution to Problem: Take time to find that you’ve got the very best solution for the customer: it gives you a clear conscience and saves time later.

Selling Referrals: If you have to send someone somewhere else, let them know why and explain why it is in their interest. If possible, give a recommendation, or a contact person.

Empowerment:

Setting Realistic Expectations: Making sure, in the nicest possible way, that the client has a clear idea of what is possible or likely.

Building Personal Relationship: Especially with agents, but it works well with students too. Learn names, learn something about them: it helps greatly when there is a conflict, and generally increases goodwill.

Willing to Negotiate Where Possible: Customers should feel your organisation is reasonable: make sure they know where a negotiation is possible, and what the constraints upon this are.

Inform of Choices: All advice should be given in the form of a choice: customers should never be treated as children and just ‘told’ what to do. Even if it’s in the form ‘If you want x you will have to do y’, it’s still a choice.

Cognitive Restructuring -Guide to Techniques:

There are of course a huge range of cognitive restructuring techniques, too many to include here, but they fall into three main categories:

Different Perspective:

Sometimes it can help to shift your perspective, and change the viewpoint from which you’re seeing something which stresses or pains you. Examples include:

- Seeing it from another’s point of view: e.g. other road users are not usually out to get you or make your life difficult: they’re just not being as considerate as they could be, or doing their best. Dad on road

- Not seeing yourself as a victim: It’s possible to make yourself unhappy by casting yourself as the victim in the middle of your own private drama: ‘They’ve all let me down rather than ‘No-one’s available’. Douglas rows

- Focus on a positive aspect: If a group of people are argumentative and vocal, well, at least they’re engaged with the topic and not indifferent to it. Dave Barry

- Time Perspective: This is the ‘we’ll all laugh about it later’ perspective. Xmas

- Rename it: ‘Challenging’ customers are often just assertive ones, ‘difficult’ staff are often staff who have a lot of ownership of what they’re doing. Much easier to think about them this way! Empowered client group

All of these involve moving your mental ‘viewpoint’, usually away from yourself.

Openness:

These techniques are good for dealing with the unexpected, or with changes in plans. Often their can be unexpected benefits to such changes provided we’re ready to accept them, using techniques like:

- Releasing Expectations: just because it isn’t what you planned or expected, doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing, but it’s easy to feel like that. The fact your friend didn’t get you wanted for Xmas doesn’t mean what she got you was no good, or wasn’t thoughtful. In fact it may be more thoughtful than the usual tie she gets you! Rita Rudner

- Releasing Control: If you were expecting to be in control of a situation and it turns out that you’re not (for example, staying with friends it turns out they’ve organised trips for you which you hadn’t expected), it’s easy to feel scared or helpless, just because you’re not the one in control. On the other hand, you could accept that other people being in control might do just as good a job as you, if not better for this particular thing: after all, they know the area better, know what’s good to see and so on. Recap Cultawa course

- Open to Opportunities: A change in plans will bring new opportunities. You may have preferred the old opportunities, and the new ones might not be as good, but you may as well make the most of the new possibilities that the change brings. Less work: plug book!

All of these involve letting go of something (expectations, control) and accepting the situation for what it is, not for what you would have it be.

Comparison:

You can make yourself unhappy by comparing a situation with some (frequently unattainable) idea, and moaning about how it doesn’t come up to scratch, like complaining about bad weather. Or you could use comparison in a different way.

- Counting Blessings: a bit of an old chestnut this, but it often works: how badly off are you, really? Do you still have your health, friends, loved ones, a roof over your head, and can you allow yourself to feel happy about that? Or are you going to be miserable even though you have all these things, because you didn’t win the lottery?

- At least it’s not worse: Or you could compare downwards instead of upwards. If you’re having a busy day, at least it’s not one of those seemingly endless ones where you do nothing and feel knackered at the end of it. Spencer: first world problems.

- Comparing With Others: But choose your others with care! Someone once said, ‘Never ready beauty magazines: they will only make you feel ugly’, so make sure you make a fair comparison with how the majority of people are managing. German

- Comparing Earlier: I wish I was the weight when I first started saying ‘you know, I really need to lose weight’! Often it can help to compare you current situation with earlier ones, where you may have longed to be in the situation you are now in. Agent