The Art of Communication: - Derry City Council

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ForewordWe are very pleased to co-write theforeword for this report, as the hard workthat underpins this piece of research wasvery much grounded in the true spiritand full application of partnership. Thisreport is the culmination of two yearsof effort and is a testament to the sheerbreadth, depth and quality of what can beachieved when public, private and voluntaryorganisations synthesise their efforts fora common purpose. In this instance thebinding common purpose is the desire tocommunicate more effectively. Not aneasy task, particularly when set against thelandscape of regulatory service delivery toEthnic Minority Businesses (EMBs) who facevery real language and social barriers.District council Environmental Healthdepartments must take account of theparticular needs of EMBs, as must theyalso take account of the needs of theirstaff who are expected to deliver a qualityand equitable service on an ongoing basiswithin this arena. A well-established legalframework now exists in Northern Irelandto ensure public authorities actively focuson the Equality and Good Relations agenda.In essence, Equality and Good Relationspractice should be seamlessly mainstreamedthroughout the work of EnvironmentalHealth departments. In practice, this mayrequire changes in organisational culture andindividual attitudes, as well as the creationof tailored processes and the focusing ofsupporting resources.Chinese catering establishments are anexample of EMBs with which EnvironmentalHealth Officers (EHOs) have contact. WhenChinese employers and EHOs engage aspart of the regulatory process it is essentialthat shared communications are effective.Results of this study demonstrate that animprovement in face-to-face communicationsis deemed by both parties to be the keypriority. Qualitative data revealed that,in the main, goodwill existed betweenEHOs and Chinese employers across thefive participating council areas. It is veryheartening to have uncovered innovativepractice and individual endeavour. However,frustration with current forms of sharedcommunication was also clearly evident, withmany examples of ineffective communicationinteractions provided. Overall, it isconcluded that the majority of EnvironmentalHealth departments involved are attemptingto communicate with Chinese employerslargely in the same manner as they wouldwith any other type of duty holder. This is amatter that requires improvement.The Art of Communication: A landscape shared between regulator and ethnic employer 3
A need exists for a partnership-basedapproach involving all the relevantstakeholders to be developed so thatthe conditions necessary to support animprovement in shared communicationscan be established in a systematic manner.Finally, some may find parts of this reportencouraging, while others may find certainparts make for uncomfortable reading. Wehope that you will view this as a faithfulreflection of all of the aspects of thecurrent shared communication experienceas provided by those Chinese employersand EHOs who are involved in this processon a regular basis. Let us celebrate themany positive aspects that this research hasuncovered and work to address the issuesthat we now know require our full attention.Eamonn TonerEnvironmental Health DepartmentDerry City CouncilSue DivinCommunity RelationsDerry City Council4The Art of Communication: A landscape shared between regulator and ethnic employer
Page 2 and 3: ContentsAcknowledgementsForeword1.
Page 6 and 7: 1.0 IntroductionThe Art of Communic
Page 8 and 9: 1.3 Environmental Health and the We
Page 10 and 11: Table 2:Number of Chinese catering
Page 12 and 13: 2.1 Communication, Culture and Inte
Page 14 and 15: 2.3 Communicating with the ChineseC
Page 16 and 17: 2.4 The Sills and Desai ‘Seven St
Page 18 and 19: 3.0 Study DesignThe study was a col
Page 20 and 21: 4.1 Environmental Health Functions
Page 22 and 23: 4.4 Effectiveness of Shared Communi
Page 24 and 25: Figure 5:EHO knowledge of organisat
Page 26 and 27: 4.7.1.2 Barriers• EH job is targe
Page 28 and 29: 4.7.2.4 Opportunities• Can we rai
Page 35: The findings of this study suggest
Page 38 and 39: 7.1 The European Foundation For Qua
Page 40 and 41: 7.3 People ManagementIt is vital th
Page 42 and 43: To address the key concerns express
Page 44 and 45: ReferencesAyoko, O., Hartel, C., Fi
Page 46: ForewordI am very pleased to be wri

The Art of Communication: - Derry City Council

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