I FOUND A WAY TO COPE WITH CHALLENGING CONTACTS

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1 I FOUND A WAY TO COPE WITH CHALLENGING CONTACTS Workplace training directory 2014 Skills to build emotional resilience in the workplace

Our services OUR UNIQUE TRAINING Our employees often talk to people who have recently lost a loved one and can be significantly distressed.

About us Samaritans Workplace team trains staff from external organisations in the UK and Republic of Ireland in Samaritans listening skills.

it, such as dealing with difficult customers and staff conversations.

The way a person responds to a situation is not necessarily related to the event itself, but is more to do with the person s emotional state at the time of the event happening.

2 Our services OUR UNIQUE TRAINING Our employees often talk to people who have recently lost a loved one and can be significantly distressed. The training we have undertaken with Samaritans has helped ensure that our staff are equipped to engage with customers in a sensitive and compassionate way. About us Samaritans Workplace team trains staff from external organisations in the UK and Republic of Ireland in Samaritans listening skills. These skills are useful because while employees can often feel sufficiently trained in the practicalities of their job role, many feel ill-prepared for the emotional challenges that come alongside it, such as dealing with difficult customers and staff conversations. We help you understand that emotional health, like physical health, is not either good or bad but moves up and down a scale according to how well you look after it. The way a person responds to a situation is not necessarily related to the event itself, but is more to do with the person s emotional state at the time of the event happening. By allowing people to articulate how they feel about what s happened to them, you can help build their emotional strength and resilience. Our approach We focus our training on sharing our simple and effective tools and techniques to equip employees with the skills and confidence they need to handle emotional situations effectively, sensitively and professionally. Our courses don t turn staff into qualified counsellors or Samaritans volunteers; they take the concept of first aid and apply it to emotional situations. Those trained in first aid don t become medical experts but the simple things they re able to do can make the difference between life and death. Innovative training solutions Let us inject our expertise, tools and techniques into your organisation. We have a range of solutions to meet your training and support needs as well as consultancy services to help you improve the productivity and wellbeing of your staff. They have also helped our staff to develop the emotional skills to cope with the personal stress of handling such emotive calls on a daily basis. Nick Cherry, Phllips & Cohen Associates (UK) Ltd WHY CHOOSE SAMARITANS? We train and support staff in external organisations across the private, public and voluntary sectors in skills to handle emotionally challenging situations effectively, sensitively and professionally. For example, where staff deal with stressed or angry members of the public or managers who support staff who are overloaded with work or proving difficult to manage. How we benefit your organisation: We have 60 years of experience you ll benefit from our tried and tested techniques. We re cost-effective We charge per delegate on a sliding scale - discounts are available for registered charities. When faced with a person s emotions, it s natural for people to switch to fix it mode our training provides you with the skills to confidently support someone without giving them advice or taking ownership for how they feel. We re professional and credible we have a well-reputed professional training team and the success of our training lies in the credibility of our brand. The Third Sector Charity Brand Index 2010 voted Samaritans as one of the top 20 charities most trusted by the general public. We put your money back into our helpline services Samaritans Workplace is an extension of our charitable work and your money goes back into our crucial telephone, , text and postal support services for the 2.8 million calls for help we receive a year. 2 Workplace training directory Workplace training directory 3

Communication training courses Financial Ombudsman Service The Financial Ombudsman Service is a first point of contact for customer complaints, and its helpline handles calls and emails from the

3 Communication training courses Financial Ombudsman Service The Financial Ombudsman Service is a first point of contact for customer complaints, and its helpline handles calls and s from the general public. Customers are often stressed or angry and keen to find resolution. Samaritans worked with their Outreach team in May 2010 to develop a programme, that trained 320 Financial Ombudsman Service helpline staff and managers to improve the way they handled such calls. The course helped staff understand the power of listening and how acknowledging the customers feelings can help de-escalate emotional calls so that staff can move onto the practicalities of the customer s complaint. Staff also found that the course gave them a greater perspective to the calls they received, and helped them see situations from the customer s point of view. As a result, front line staff now feel more confident and comfortable in dealing with these calls appropriately and sensitively, using Samaritans third-party referrals process when appropriate. The feedback has been universally positive and many of our HIVE Information Officers reported that they took away a great deal of value to use in their interactions with customers. HIVE (Ministry of Defence) We share our simple and effective tools and techniques with your staff to help them improve how they deal with stressed and vulnerable customers. Handling challenging contacts Samaritans trains its volunteers in activelistening techniques using a model known as the listening wheel. These techniques help build rapport with a person in order to alleviate their distress and de-escalate any anger and aggression, which can be used to great effect in the workplace. A person s emotional state can affect their reactions. Understanding how this happens can help you resolve conflict more successfully. Anyone whose role brings them into contact with angry, aggressive, stressed, bereaved or vulnerable customers or colleagues. Frontline or support staff in customer service, vulnerable customer support, service administration, complaints resolution and payments/collections teams. To equip staff with skills and confidence to handle challenging customers in an effective, sensitive and professional way, helping them to focus on the more practical parts of their job. Understanding difficult feelings and circumstances i.e. anger and aggression, bereavement and loss. Effective listening tools and techniques. Defusing difficult customer contacts. Appropriate responses to sensitive subjects. Ending contacts effectively. Support for customers and staff. Really impressive delivery style, I found the course interesting and constructive made me question my personal style and approach. Prison and Probation Ombudsman It s given tools, new learning and skills to enable us as a business to deal with vulnerable customers in the right way. Shop Direct Group Financial Services 4 Workplace training directory Workplace training directory 5

4 Communication training courses Working with people who self-harm Research shows that self-harm is becoming widespread, putting frontline workers under increased pressure. We find that many staff who deal with people who self-harm are anxious about how to respond. Some fear making the situation worse and may feel out of their depth. Anyone whose role brings them into contact with people who may self-harm. Teachers, foster parents, social workers, medical receptionists, information advisors, probation officers and voluntary workers. To equip people with the skills and confidence to respond effectively to people who talk about self-harm. The course dispels some of the common myths and teaches staff how to provide relevant and helpful support for people who self-harm whilst also managing their own feelings. Northampton College As a further education provider, the college felt that staff should understand what self-harm is and be able to recognise signs of it. Our staff gave really positive feedback they found it a very informative and enlightening training session that raised awareness of what self-harm actually means. People left the session feeling more confident about how they could recognise the signs that someone was self-harming. Ann Meister, staff development co-ordinator, Northampton College. Understanding what self-harm is why people self-harm, the difference between self-harm and a suicide attempt. Recognising signs of self-harm in someone and how to raise the topic with them sensitively. How to help someone assess the pros and cons of their self-harm as a tool to open discussion. Gaining new information through effective questioning techniques listening for feelings as well as meaning. How to sensitively refer someone to Samaritans or other services for support. How to use support to minimise the impact on your own emotional wellbeing. Samaritans preventative training programme, on helping people think through issues they may confront and how to deal with it, is outstanding. Cary L. Cooper, CBE, Distinguished Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health. Managing suicidal contacts Those who encounter people with suicidal feelings often feel they re not equipped to handle these situations properly. Like first aid, our training doesn t turn you into an expert, but gives you valuable tools to help someone in the first instance. This can be the difference between life and death. Anyone whose role may bring them into direct contact with people with suicidal feelings. Service-user support, emergency services, transportation and public-service teams. To provide techniques to help staff confidently approach somebody who appears to be suicidal and to provide awareness of the types of responses that are likely to be most effective. Network Rail partnership Samaritans and Network Rail are in a five-year partnership, which aims to reduce suicide on the railways by 20 per cent by Through the partnership, Samaritans trains railway industry staff in the skills they need to help identify and approach potentially suicidal individuals at railway locations. This year, the partnership won several awards including the Charity Times Award for Corporate National Partnership of the Year and the National Transport Award for Best National Partnership, reflecting the level of recognition the partnership has received across the third sector and rail industries. Dispelling myths about suicide understanding and acknowledging suicidal thoughts and feelings. Understanding how talking about suicidal feelings can be beneficial. Recognising signs of distress and suicidal thoughts. How to approach someone who appears suicidal starting a conversation. How to refer someone who is feeling suicidal to Samaritans or medical services for support. How to use support to minimise the impact on your own emotional wellbeing. The course made me realise that by talking to a distressed person, you are not going to make the situation worse. By talking to them, you are in fact breaking their suicidal plan. Course delegate, Network Rail 6 Workplace training directory Workplace training directory 7

WorkLife training courses Managing wellbeing in the workplace Building emotional resilience in the workplace Our emotional wellbeing is highly linked to the way we think and feel.

5 WorkLife training courses Managing wellbeing in the workplace Building emotional resilience in the workplace Our emotional wellbeing is highly linked to the way we think and feel. It s responsible for our ability to cope with life events. Anyone who is responsible for corporate wellbeing, managing or supporting a team. Management, team leaders, liaison officers, HR and support workers operating in a high-pressured work environment. To provide management and support staff with skill and confidence to initiate conversations with other employees about their wellbeing and to then explore possible solutions for their concerns without taking ownership or responsibility for them. Tools to understand levels of emotional health and the whole person at work. Understanding the danger of assumptions we may make about who needs support in an organisation. Recognising early physical and emotional signs of stress and when to intervene. Effective communication tools and techniques for handling difficult management situations exploring the power of questions. Accessing support for your own emotional wellbeing. Typically, organisations tend to think that focusing on emotional health only applies to people who cannot cope or who are in need of help, and that it has negative implications. In fact, it s empowering to be emotionally healthy. Such a person is better placed to deal with stressful life events, they are more likely to be able to support others, be self-confident and have a better chance of delivering results for companies. The first step in promoting emotional health and resilience is to encourage a person s self-awareness and emotional literacy. We help to remove stigmatising attitudes such as the belief that all people who experience emotional problems are weak. Organisations committed to promoting emotional health and resilience in the workplace and employers who are aware of the benefit of emotional resilience on staff productivity and performance. Any team or organisation looking to increase health and wellbeing in the workplace. To provide individuals with self awareness and skills to manage their own emotional state using helpful strategies. Understanding emotional health and resilience. Tools to consider your own emotional state at work. Royal & Sun Alliance Royal & Sun Alliance (R&SA) partnered with Samaritans in 2006 to develop WorkLife, a project designed to develop employee coping skills. The training benefited over 500 employees. The R&SA s risk management service also benefited from the part of the course that aims to help customers better manage risk to help prevent crises. Royal & Sun Alliance welcomes the ongoing development of WorkLife as, like Samaritans, we support the need to be there for people before a crisis occurs. The emotional wellbeing of employees is an issue for many companies in the UK. Like any organisation, listening, empathy and communication are also important skills for our business. Duncan Boyle, UK Chief Executive, Royal & Sun Alliance A person s level of emotional resilience can affect teams, colleagues, other individuals and their own wellbeing; ultimately increasing productivity and performance in the workplace. Understanding difficult circumstances and recognising signs of stress. Strategies for building emotional resilience developing an action plan to improve personal resilience. Techniques for managing our own thoughts. 8 Workplace training directory Workplace training directory 9

Training and support MEDIA Samaritans WorkLife CD-Rom: tackling stress in the workplace This CD-Rom aims to reduce the potential for tension and stress in the workplace by helping to develop managers

The programme includes aspects of Samaritans unique active-listening skills and features a series of fictional characters that are on hand to help participants explore challenging work situations.

we all make about who needs our support identify the written and unwritten rules of your organisation, which can impact on your staff reduce stress levels and enhance the effectiveness of your team

6 Training and support MEDIA Samaritans WorkLife CD-Rom: tackling stress in the workplace This CD-Rom aims to reduce the potential for tension and stress in the workplace by helping to develop managers skills and confidence in tackling problems before they escalate, which helps increase productivity and profitability. The programme includes aspects of Samaritans unique active-listening skills and features a series of fictional characters that are on hand to help participants explore challenging work situations. Using this interactive CD-Rom, you will be able to: communicate more effectively in challenging management situations recognise how your management style affects your staff recognise the assumptions we all make about who needs our support identify the written and unwritten rules of your organisation, which can impact on your staff reduce stress levels and enhance the effectiveness of your team tackle stress issues before they escalate. You can use the CD-Rom as an individual learning tool or as training support for a larger team, or for those who are managing, supporting or concerned about someone who may be suffering from stress. The business licence for this learning resource costs 499 (excl. VAT). Our training and support injects our practices in your organisation and makes staff more able to deal with vulnerable customers, promoting emotional wellbeing in the workplace. The active-listening skills concept, developed by Samaritans, is the basis for this excellent CD-Rom, which looks at stress in the workplace. It aims to develop managers skills when a person needs support and helps them tackle problems before they escalate. The emphasis is on applying a practical model for considering the whole person at work and recognising the danger of assumptions, and the impact of management style and organisational culture. As such, it supports the Health and Safety Executive s standards and guidelines for tackling work-related stress, but because it explores the power of questions, it could also be used as a management development tool. This would be a worthwhile spend for any firm looking for a fresh take on managing others. Excerpt from review by Stephanie Sparrow. Published with kind permission of Training and coaching today, part of Personnel Today publications. Samaritans Workplace training and support We provide a range of solutions to meet your training and support needs as well as consultancy services to help you improve the productivity and wellbeing of your staff. Workplace presentations Our experienced staff share Samaritans perspective on promoting emotional wellbeing in the workplace, and generating awareness of how our tools and techniques can support your organisation. Corporate capability development Our train-the-trainer, strategic partnership and consultancy delivery models are an effective way to share our expertise in supporting vulnerable customers and promoting emotional wellbeing in the workplace. We want to take the industry lead Samaritans and demonstrate Academy that it is possible to take a positive approach to debt recovery and also ensure that we manage the stress levels of our own staff. Samaritans Academy Our Academy membership programme helps equip businesses with the methods and skills to confidently handle conversations with internal (staff) and external customers, safeguarding employee wellbeing and investing in the needs of distressed customers. We work with you to create a personalised package for your organisation and can include the following. Staff training course tailored Handling difficult contacts course (maximum 20 delegates). Additional discount on subsequent training courses. Supporting materials factsheets for staff on reducing stress in the workplace and handling difficult contacts. Guidance on making referrals information on the process for making third-party referrals for those struggling to cope together with contact cards detailing how to contact Samaritans. Guidance on supporting staff information on the ways in which we support Samaritans listening volunteers to ensure they don t take challenging calls for help home with them. Learning resources for line managers business licence for Samaritans WorkLife for Managers CD-Rom on tackling stress in the workplace. Promotion support guidance on the internal and external promotion of Academy membership. Please contact us to discuss what you would like to see in your Membership. Samaritans Academy members: ACADEMY Nick Cherry, Site Director, Phillips & Cohen Associates (UK) Ltd, and founding Samaritans Academy member 10 Workplace training directory Workplace training directory 11

ABOUT SAMARITANS Over the last 10 years we have worked with more than 400 organisations, delivering more than 850 courses developing the skills of over 10,000 people nationwide.

Association Someone to talk to people contact us when things are getting to them. They don t have to be suicidal. We re always here round the clock, every single day of the year.

7 ABOUT SAMARITANS Over the last 10 years we have worked with more than 400 organisations, delivering more than 850 courses developing the skills of over 10,000 people nationwide. Not for profit sector clients include: Age Concern Alzheimer s Society Cancer Research UK Fundraising Standards Board MIND National Self Harm Network NSPCC Mental Health Foundation The Stroke Association Someone to talk to people contact us when things are getting to them. They don t have to be suicidal. We re always here round the clock, every single day of the year. A safe place as volunteers we re ordinary people, and keep all our conversations private. People can be themselves whoever they are, however they feel, whatever life s done to them. We re a charity it s the public s kind donations that keep our helpline open. Public sector clients include: Devon County Council Financial Ombudsman Service Job Centre Plus Metropolitan Police Pensions Advisory Service Pensions Ombudsman Prison & Probation Ombudsman Scottish Ambulance Service National Assembly for Wales National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence Private sector clients include: Atos Healthcare Credit Services Association EDF Energy Legal & General Network Rail Norwich Union Portakabin Prudential Scottish & Southern Energy Westfields Shoppingtowns CONTACT US To make a booking or to find out more about our training and support solutions externaltraining@samaritans.org The Samaritans Enterprises Limited, Incorporated in England and Wales, Registered Number , having its Registered Office at The Upper Mill, Kingston Road, Ewell, Surrey, KT17 2AF.

Workplace training directory

Workplace training directory 2012-2013 Skills to build emotional resilience in the workplace Our services Our unique training About us Samaritans Workplace team trains staff from external organisations