Customership and professional dialogue

Trust relationship 

Building a trust relationship is always an individual process, sometimes it takes less time, sometimes more. Trust is strongly related to interaction. If you feel that the other person understands you, you will gradually dare to open up more and more about yourself. Trust can create a positive continuum. When you feel that another person trusts you, it increases your own trust in that other person. When you feel that we are working together to develop ways to go forward in difficult situations, a relationship of trust can develop.  

  

There are many things that social worker must consider. Her/his work is governed by laws, workplace or organizational rules and budgets.  It's the worker's responsibility to make sure the client gets the help she/he needs, but at the same time there are a lot of formalities that can't be ignored. The employee builds a relationship of trust with the client through his or her own personal personality, but employee´s organization can also influence the client's attitude towards the encounter. For example, if a customer has a previously negative image of an authority in an organization, this can create a prejudice against the customer. Then the employee must work even harder to establish a trust relationship.  

  

Emotions 

Social workers need good emotional skills. You must be able to recognize the feelings of others. Empathy is big importance in social work. An employee with good emotional skills is able to receive the client's emotions and deal with them separately from his/ her own emotions. I think it's also important to show your emotions, but that also requires the skill to show your emotions in the right way, so that it doesn't 

negatively affects the client situation. You need good situational awareness and the ability to deal with your own emotions. Social work is an emotionally demanding job. Interaction situations also affect the employee, and he or she will have to deal with his or her own emotions. 

  

Customer oriented approach 

Work is customer-oriented when it´s done with the customer and not only for the customer. Then the customer participates in the development of the service, customer is not just the object of the service. Customer orientated approaching should be emphasized empathy, dignity, activation, choices, listening, participation. Genuine interaction gives space for listening. It's important to really hear what the customer is saying.  

  

Seeing the customer's situation holistically helps you shape the working methods for the customer’s needs. Each customer is an individual, and with each individual you should find a suitable way of working with the customer. Decisions should be made together, and not so that the employee dictates how the customer should act. Therefore, the customer should be seen as an active participant, not only as an object of services. 

  

Healthcare challenges are complex. Developing a customer-oriented approach in every aspect of social and health care requires a common understanding of customer-oriented working. 

  

Is it discussion, dialogue or debate? 

Discussion and dialogue are very similar interaction situations, but dialogue is about finding common ground. Trying to seek an even deeper understanding of each other in order to find a common vision. In the discussion, it is possible to disagree on things, but in a positive tone. In a debate, the aim is to put your point of view out strongly and win the debate. The aim of the dialogue is not to find winners and losers, but to reach a consensus. 

As a working in the social sector, you should always strive for dialogue with the customer. It's important to listen to the customer. When the customer feels that we are together taking her/his affairs forward, it increases the feeling of participation. Of course, there are situations when the discussions are tight, but even then it would be important to try to eventually reach a situation where instead of debating, we can focus on thinking about a common goal. 

  

Sources:

Pelottava luottamussuhde – luottamus ja vastuu sosiaalityössä. Available at: https://blogi.thl.fi/pelottava-luottamussuhde-luottamus-ja-vastuu-sosiaalityossa/ Quoted 19.12.2023. 

Tunteet (sosiaalialan) työssä. Available at: https://blogit.metropolia.fi/uudistuva-sosiaalialan-osaaminen/2019/02/06/tunteet-sosiaalialan-tyossa/ Quoted 19.12.2023. 

Asiakas- tai ihmislähtöisyys – tasavertaisuutta ja vastavuoroisuutta ammattilaisten ja palvelun käyttäjien kanssa. Available at: https://www.oamk.fi/epooki/2017/asiakas-ja-ihmislahtoisyys-sosiaali-ja-terveydenhuollossa/ Quoted 19.12.2023. 

Väittelyn, keskustelun ja vuoropuhelun ero. Available at: https://greatplacetowork.fi/artikkelit/vaittely-keskustelu-vuoropuhelu/ Quoted 19.12.2023. 

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