The Crux of the Matter - Training Queensland - Queensland ...

Tip 1: Communicating with clients
Case Study
Toula received a ‘letter of offer’ for her Event Management Diploma course. The letter advised that
prospective learners should visit the RTO’s website for details of the orientation meeting and the timetable
for the following week’s classes. Toula was excited and went to her local library to use a computer to access
the website. She carefully typed in the URL from the letter but ‘Page requested not found’ was the only thing
she saw. Toula wasn’t sure if it was something wrong with her computer skills, the computer or the course
information site. She was too embarrassed to ask the busy librarian for help so she went home.
Toula rang the phone number on her letter of offer and was greeted by a voice mail message at reception.
She left a message explaining that she couldn’t find the information on the website but that she needed to
know the timetable details as soon as possible because she needed to tell her employer which shifts she
could still work that week. No one rang her back.
She hoped all the communication from her new course wouldn’t be like this. Before she had even started
Toula felt let down and frustrated. ‘How can they be good at teaching event management when they can’t
even manage their own communication’ she thought.
RTOs communicate with learners and potential
learners for a large variety of reasons including
promotion, enrolment information, course content,
training and assessment information, support
services information and appeals processes.
LLN issues are only one factor to be considered
when you communicate with your clients. Cultural
sensitivities, disability issues, access to technology
and social and geographical considerations make up
the full picture.
To communicate effectively with your clients you
must:
• know who you are communicating with
Checklists
Checklist 2: RTO communication
checklist. Page 58.
Interesting data about local populations can be
found by selecting the Community Profiles icon on
the online ABS census data online.
Useful data on the Australian population’s LLN skills
can be found on the Adult Literacy and Life Skills
Survey site.
• pick a method or methods that best suits the
needs of your clients
• build in ways of checking whether your
communication has been effective
• make adjustments to what you do based on
feedback from your clients.
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