Consult Regularly

Contact and consult clients

Everyone has the right to be kept safe. Whether they are providing support or accessing a service, involving everyone in your plans builds trust and confidence. Contacting some of your clients is critical to understanding their concerns, needs and preferences for accessing support.

Contact staff and volunteers

Consult your staff and volunteers to understand their needs, concerns and thresholds for returning to face-to-face delivery, or continuing to work from home.

Methods

Consult your staff and volunteers to understand their needs, concerns and thresholds for returning to face-to-face delivery, or continuing to work from home.

Option 1

Send a survey

Quick way to collect information

Surveys can be anonymised

Can be used for clients, staff or volunteers

Option 2

Hold a team meeting

Likely to gain deeper insights

Easier to target focuses

Can be held online

May take longer

If you want to send a survey

1. Pick the right survey tool. Google Forms is simple and easy to use.
2. Draft questions and create the survey.
3. Send the survey to the group you want to hear from. Ensure you follow-up with those who don't fill in the survey after a few days.

Examples of surveys from organisations

PAFRAS used a google form to consult with their clients - are the questions they asked.

Bristol Refugee Rights used a google form to consult with their staff team, these are the questions they asked.

If you want to hold a team meeting

1. Arrange the discussion.
   Once you know what you want to discuss, begin organising the logistics of the consultation. 
   
2. Run the discussion.
   Video conferences are helpful to see attendees’ faces. Consider clients’ access to reliable WiFi or limited mobile data which may impact call quality. An example of a secure video platform is Zoom.
   Group chat conversations enable instant group conversation, which use less data than video platforms. An example of a secure chat platform is WhatsApp.
3. Follow-up with attendees afterwards.
   Thank attendees for their time and think about how you can respond to their needs. Give attendees a timeframe they can expect to hear from you, to help manage their anxieties and worries.
4. Speak with your local/regional partner organisations and those who refer to you.
   What others are doing will affect your services and what you are able to provide. Consult them in the same ways as your staff and volunteers. This may happen at a multi-agency meeting and although it is difficult to prioritise, it should save time in the long term.
5. Communicate your plans.
   When you have completed your consultations it’s important to communicate what you plan to do next. Give time frames for when people can expect to find out more.

Test your vocabulary, questions and agenda with someone first to ensure the purpose and language is clear.