The Art of Influencing

Dealing with confrontation and antisocial behaviour is part of daily life for many people working in the public and voluntary sectors. Apart from the many customer-facing roles common to both sectors, local authorities have civic rules to enforce and officers in both sectors spend much of their time dealing with many types of conflict.

In some jobs difficult situations are more predictable:

street wardens facing a group of drinkers at night in a controlled zone

a youth worker finding himself between his own group of youths and another challenging group,

a housing officer enforcing rules about social standards or legitimate occupation.

In other work officers may face the unexpected

a man being given first aid becoming violent,

a licensing officer warning an off-licence owner about serving under-age customers and then finding his exit blocked by youths,

a support worker finding the grief of a failed asylum application turning into fury.

On the basis of our experience with a wide variety of issues the Dfuse programme ensures that staff develop the skills to respond proactively and confidently to challenging behaviour in ways that deescalate confrontation and lead to more positive outcomes. Whether facing verbal confrontation or the threat of violence employees will learn how to recognize potential risks, develop the skills to defuse confrontational situations, portray confidence and defend themselves against aggression.

The training is adapted to the client’s particular situations through discussion, tutor input and role-playing scenarios.

“The course was an absolute joy. I must confess that I was reluctant to attend in that I have worked for the London Borough of Islington and now Hyde Housing Association. My thoughts were, I have worked for over twenty years in the public sector, what can Dfuse teach me that I don’t already know. Ever the pessimist! I thought your tutors were fantastic, I had great fun and learnt an enormous amount.” Hyde Housing Association

“Excellent day, useful, relevant, gave me confidence". Red Cross

‘We ordered two courses but then took another as staff were saying they felt really empowered and much more confident in dealing with difficult people, both at work and in their personal lives. We are a better team and can really recommend it’. ASB Coordinator, Partners for Improvement in Islington. The final end-of -course evaluation forms together rated the content, delivery and relevance of the material at above 90%.

Training programmes provided to date for: officers in anti-social behaviour, community safety, environmental health, estate wardens, income recovery, licensing, noise complaints, security, street wardens, tenancy officers, trading standards officers and youth workers. Clients groups have included L.B. Redbridge, L.B. Westminster, LB Hammersmith & Fulham, LB Havering, North East London Trading Standards group, Lewisham Homes, Hyde Housing Association, the Red Cross, the Safer London Foundation.