Strategies & Models for Effective Consultation

1. Strategies & Models for Effective Consultation Veronika Tatarinoff Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering University of NSW

2. Consultation • gathering information • seeking feedback • providing feedback • meaningful change

3. How informed are you and how good are you at passing on information?

4. enhancing technical staff networking, • supporting ongoing development, • facilitating resource sharing, • improving the profile of Technical Staff within UNSW

5. email Website TOHSS Bulletin Board TechTrain 2003 TechNet Events E-tag Workplace satisfaction Workplace satisfaction Training

6. Why consult? • Legal requirement of OHS Act 2000 • Gather good ideas • Understand the priorities • SOLUTIONS driven, directed and designed by people implementing them

7. Ownership NOT OwnershitLindsay O’Keefee UNSW TechNet 2003

8. Outcomes Issue

9. How to consult? • No magic tricks

10. Processes or Tools • Committee & Task force • Electronic communication • Surveys & Events • Public Forum • Break out groups • Brainstorming focus groups • Structured Interview Focus group

11. Committees, Task forces & Support groups • TechTrain 2003 • TOHSS • e-tag group

12. Electronic communication • Email forum • Website • TOHSS website • TOHSS bulletin board

13. Surveys & Events • Big • Little • Safety expo • Site visit • Videos • Training

14. Public Forum • Focus Groups • Breakout groups • Brainstorming • Structured

15. Breakout groups A A A forum A A A A A

16. Break out groups • Same topic - Premise that quantity breeds quality • No facilitator group sets scriber • wrap up at end to present findings • outcomes

17. Brainstorm focus groups B forum A C

18. Brainstorming • Brainstorming is an exercise in free-thinking • different/unrelated topics • facilitator optional • wrap up & outcome

19. Structured/Interview Focus D E F

20. Structured Interview Focus group • Each topic has set time (20-30 min) • facilitator probing questions • input sought from all participants • comment on each topic • results collated by facilitators • recommendations shared

21. What’s in it for us? • Participantwillingness to contribute, opportunity to understand the process • Organisers prepared to listen no preconceived ideas

22. Listen, listen, listen • “Listening means taking a vigorous human interest in what is being told us” Alice Duer Miller 1874-1942 US author • “Most people don’t listen they just wait for their turn to talk”

23. Gathering good information • Ask the right questions • Listen to understand conscious effort to hear, analyze, assign meaning to and respond to what another person is saying • Reflect before assessing

24. TechNet has used tools to: • Set directions/goals • Identify priorities • Processes in place • Confirm or clarify proposed actions

25. Where to now? • Issues forums

26. It’s not what you know or even Who you know but Who knows what you know.

27. Celebrate achievements • Advertise success • positive feedback • feedback sandwich (negative) • awards

28. DVC launches TOHSS

29. TOHSS task force !

30. Consultation • Consultation is all about sharing information to effect meaningful change

31. Consultation your chance to change the future

32. Modified from Tom Shales - The Washington Postre “ Angels in America” • A disparate group of characters brought together with a sense of dread. Sound like a million laughs? Consultation can be filled with dark humour, often self mocking, philosophical, cynical and wry. • The air becomes alive and electric with ideas and imagination. You emerge from consultation battered, shocked and frightened but maybe also rewarded, moved and emboldened.

33. Acknowledgements • TechNet committee • TOHSS committee (task force) • TechTrain 03 committee • UNSW Staff Development • Working party for OHS communication

34. Consultation your chance to change the futureVeronika Tatarinoff