Always Welcome Approach

Why is this important?

We all feel good when we’re greeted with a warm, caring hello. It starts the experience on a positive note, making you more receptive to receiving help, more likely to come back, and more likely to recommend that person/service to others. We genuinely have a better experience.

Members of the Linker Network are committed to providing people with a welcoming experience every time they access a service. It is critical to not only delivering a great service experience, but ensures people are highly engaged so they won’t fall through the gaps in our system.

When we can do this consistently, clients will feel both safe and encouraged to engage in the next step of support. Importantly, they will be more likely to return and follow up on agreed actions.

What is this?

An ‘always welcome’ investment in staff training and supervision that contributes to a strong ‘customer service’ culture – clients feel listened to, not assessed. Workers are supported to adopt a ‘people not paper’ approach, focusing on building understanding and rapport with clients, and acting like a Linker to support them if necessary.

What is this not?

Lip service assumption that everyone knows how to be ‘nice’. An ‘always welcome’ approach should feel person-centred, not appointment-centred.