Senior public officers are now armed with skills and techniques that will allow them to better negotiate on behalf of government.
On Wednesday, some 25 officers concluded a two-day workshop aimed at giving at enhancing their skills and techniques for negotiation.
The workshop which was held at the Public Service training center was facilitated by Dominica’s Labour Commissioner, Mathew LeBlanc and Director of Trade, Wellsworth Bethelmie.
LeBlanc says there is a dire need for training in negotiation, marketing and public relations among public officers.
“Although a lot of training has been done, in customer service, our staff still needs to develop skills and techniques,” he said.
The process of negotiations, relationships, the concept of negotiations, the different types of negotiations and the character of the negotiator were some of the broad topics discussed.
LeBlanc says several tactics of negotiations were discussed, including dirty tactics of negotiations.
“We did a mock negotiation with the participants and at the end reevaluate them in an effort to ascertain whether they could apply the skills and techniques taught,” he said.
He said focus was also placed on applied negotiations and interaction with the public.
“The participants are now able to immediately apply whatever skills learnt when they return to work. Interaction with the public is essential as we try to improve communication within the service,” he added.
Meantime LeBlanc said poor customer service and the attitude of some public servants have been something affecting the service over the years.
He is hoping that with the skills and techniques passed unto the workers, criticisms could become a thing of the past.
Yes Matthew, Labor going out soon, I hope you will join the next Gov’t that come in power to continue your work.
Yes I Mr. Ross..Que bola aseres?
I agree with Mr. LeBlanc that customer service in Dominica, especially in the public service, is POOR! Much more improvement is needed in this area of Dominican life.
Charles Darwin, the father of evolutionary theory taught us that it is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. And, public servants should know that change is non-negotiable.
Allegedly, when he was caught hiding in a hole in Baghdad, the former president of Iraq allegedly told his American captors words to this effect “my name is Saddam Hussein. I am the President of Iraq and I want to negotiate.” He hadn’t realize that change had come. Allegedly, his lead captor’s response was “greetings from President Bush.”
Inter alia, leave, compensation, and retirement age are non negotiable for public servants but negotiating in and of itself is a very good skill for every day living. The basic rule is to know who and what you are dealing with and to learn how to pick your battles. Customer service is crucial for both private and public sectors.
another one from the vieille case,grup of deth
Great investment!!!
Hope we have debates next election too.