A Trusted Learning and Development Advisor
A Trusted Learning and Development Advisor
Developing confident staff who can serve, regulate and engage within the same community.
Moree Plains Shire Council plays a broad role in supporting its regional community. Like many regional councils, its responsibilities extend well beyond roads, rates and rubbish. Council staff work across community engagement, regulation, customer service, infrastructure, planning, reporting, management and continuous improvement, a breadth that creates a particular challenge in regional local government.
Staff are not only council employees. They are also members of the community. They may deal with a resident in an official capacity during the day and then see that same person at the supermarket, sporting club or local event later in the week.
Moree Plains Shire Council recognised that its people needed practical skills to manage these different demands confidently and professionally.
Regional councils often operate with limited resources while being expected to deliver a wide range of services across large geographic areas. At the same time, council staff can become the visible face of decisions people do not agree with, whether that's explaining a regulation, enforcing a requirement, managing a complaint or telling someone that the outcome they want isn't possible. In smaller communities, those interactions don't always end when the resident leaves the council office, which makes communication particularly important. Council employees need to remain professional while setting boundaries, explaining decisions clearly and dealing with people who may be frustrated with council more broadly, and in some situations staff can become an easy target for grievances that have little to do with them personally.
Preferred Training Networks worked with Moree Plains Shire Council across a broad series of professional development programs. Rather than concentrating on one capability, the training supported employees across communication, management, community engagement and organisational effectiveness, with several programs developed specifically around the realities of working in local government rather than using generic corporate examples.
By developing these skills internally, Moree Plains Shire Council was building greater capacity to improve services, manage people, communicate decisions and respond to changing community needs.
Council must listen to and engage with its community, but it must also administer legislation, policies and decisions that will not always be popular.
Key elements of the approach included:
A recurring theme was the unusual position council employees occupy. Council must listen to and engage with its community, but it must also administer legislation, policies and decisions that will not always be popular. Moree Plains Shire Council has a formal Community Engagement Strategy setting out how it engages residents across council business, planning, programs and information sharing. Training in Community Engagement, Understanding Local Government, Council and Community and Conflict Avoidance helped staff examine how they communicate when expectations, regulations and community views do not neatly align. The aim was not simply to avoid difficult conversations. It was to help employees handle them clearly, respectfully and consistently.
Not every objection could be prevented.
Managers therefore needed to be prepared for conversations with patrons who were frustrated, emotional or firmly opposed to the changes.
The training helped participants practise how to:
Developing skills internally helped Moree Plains Shire Council build greater capacity to improve the services it delivers to its community.
Programs in management, performance measures and time management supported staff working across broad regional responsibilities.
Training helped staff communicate decisions clearly and consistently, even where community views, regulations and expectations don't align.
It Addressed a Structural Reality Council staff are also members of the community they serve, often dealing with the same residents in both an official and personal capacity.
It Reflected the Real Breadth of the Role The program covered communication, management, community engagement and organisational effectiveness rather than a single capability, matching the genuine breadth of regional council work.
It Was Built for Local Government, Not Generic Corporate Training Several programs were developed specifically around the realities of working in local government rather than using generic corporate examples.
It Balanced External and Internal Capability The partnership addressed both how staff engage with the community and the internal organisational skills, such as reporting and time management, needed to run an effective council.
It Supported Staff Serving Their Own Community The training helped staff engage, explain, listen and sometimes regulate, often with the same people, with greater confidence and skill.
David is an excellent training facilitator. He took the time to adapt examples that we could really relate to. He is an EXCELLENT listener! And he is really good at picking apart what individuals say (in a good way) and applying the training to situations we bring forward. As someone who rarely feels comfortable speaking up in a situation like this, his approach was very much appreciated.
Preferred Training Network developed a coaching training package that really met our needs and they made the contextualizing process so easy. Their customer service before and after was excellent and their trainer was refreshing and innovative and really knew his stuff. A pleasure to do business with.
Practical strategies for responding when conversations become emotional, resistant or confrontational.
Building confidence when communicating with challenging customers while maintaining appropriate boundaries.
Helping employees communicate expectations, changes and difficult messages with greater clarity.
Supporting managers to explain organisational change and help people understand what is changing and why.
Developing awareness and practical responses for employees who may encounter aggressive behaviour in public-facing environments.
Regional council staff carry a unique responsibility, serving, regulating and engaging with the same community they’re part of. Preferred Training Networks develops customised workplace training programs built around the realities of local government, from community engagement and conflict avoidance to management, reporting and time management.
