Faced with the generalization of online administrative services, reception in the public service often manages the most difficult situations. Having strong interpersonal communication skills is essential to confidently carry out this essential public service mission.
Reception in the public service is an act of human relations: it humanizes the administration. Even more than in the private sector, it brings together people from different worlds. And above all, reception is the gateway for people who come to request a service, assert a right or even respond to a summons. It therefore requires a dynamic and caring posture towards the welcomed public. This is why professionals responsible for reception in the public service must acquire, develop and enrich their interpersonal communication skills. Update with Marylène Exposito, specialist in managerial communication.
At reception: adopting good communication practices
To be effective, the first contact must be focused on the interlocutor and not on the computer screen. Good practice? Always stay connected to others through your eyes or your voice. In fact, they act like magnets that capture the attention of the interlocutor.
“The look and the voice are two essential communication tools in reception. »
Develop listening and empathy
During training, I support professionals so that they develop physical and verbal communication skills. Who says communication says behavioral attitude open to others. We therefore practice listening and empathy exercises in order to better understand the underlying request and needs.
For example, what's behind the question "How long should I wait?" » This person may have working hours to respect or health problems... Indeed, the same request can hide very different needs: needs to organize themselves, to eat, to be reassured, to be recognized…
This is why it is so important that reception approaches the other as an individual with their specificities. And not as a uniform category: tenants, beneficiaries, patients, users, policyholders…
Personalize the welcome to prevent tensions and conflicts
Personalizing the welcome prevents tensions and conflicts. It is also very linked to the quality of listening.
“Being listened to means being less frustrated and sometimes calmed down a little.”
From the first contact, the individual must feel unique, even if for the reception professional he is the umpteenth person. Imagine a doctor who would treat you less well under the pretext that you are his umpteenth patient!
In reception, the way of communicating acts like a boomerang: it first has an impact on others then on oneself.
From controlling emotions to the right emotional distance
“How can I control my emotions when faced with one or more people who cannot control theirs? How to deal with crying, distress or despair? How to deal with anger, criticism or insults? Or even threats or threats of suicide? » So many questions frequently asked during reception training organized for different sectors of the public service.
Generally speaking, reception requires the ability to control one's reactions, fatigue, stress and emotions. To do this, professionals need to take a step back.
Develop positive emotions
In training, I help participants develop their self-control by relying on positive emotions. This includes supporting the team, breathing, visualizing a positive image or a pleasant memory, resource beliefs, etc.
“Like the rider on his horse, welcoming requires holding the reins of one's emotions, without letting oneself be carried away by the gallop of the other's emotions. Like the captain on his boat, the hospitality professional holds the helm and stays on course. »
Keep “the right distance”
Public services often welcome vulnerable people. Hospitality professionals therefore find themselves at the crossroads of administration, health and social services. They may be confronted with distressing situations arousing in them a feeling of guilt, helplessness or “over-empathy” associated with a need to help others beyond their mission. In these situations, they are at the heart of the helping relationship without being health professionals or professionals in the social and medico-social sector. This is why, in training, I guide them so that they learn to distance themselves emotionally and to keep “the right distance”. Experiencing these situations better allows them to better support the user within the limits and constraints of their public service mission.
Is reception a public service in its own right?
Welcoming is both the first helping hand and a public service in its own right. It is not a simple receptacle.
This mission requires real communication know-how. This know-how can be developed using various techniques such as active listening, Non-Violent Communication or even transactional analysis. The objective is to acquire, over the course of two or three days of training, useful skills that can be used upon return to the field. Then, as with sport, training must continue in daily professional life.
“Communication is like a living language. You must practice ! »
At a time when online administrative services are in full swing, we appreciate the human dimension of reception all the more as it is becoming rare. Physical and telephone reception deals and will increasingly deal with the most difficult situations. This is why there will always be a greater need for specific communication skills.
We will no longer say, as I heard so much in the 2000s: “You have no qualifications, you can go to reception”. On the contrary, we will say: “You have the skills to do this job”. To conclude, I would even say: “If you like human relationships, you will flourish in this beautiful profession, complex, useful and very rewarding due to its strong human dimension and its key public service role”.
