Connecting with People and Communities

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to

• Select and discuss communication and customer service theories and techniques for information contexts.
• Explain how individual and community diversity can affect customer interests, needs and interactions in Aotearoa New Zealand society.
• Demonstrate effective communication and customer engagement in diverse contexts.

Course content

Understanding people and communities

• Introduce core psychology, sociology, and educational concepts of working with people of different ages and backgrounds in a customer service context

Connecting and serving people and communities

• Core communication and customer service techniques in physical and virtual environments 
• Techniques for handling complex situations and diverse expectations when working with customers
• Service Design Thinking
• Understanding and improving the user experience
• Introduction to determining user needs

Diversity and inclusiveness

• Overview of the various beliefs, values, viewpoints and behaviours that shape how different communities view, access and use information
• Working with Māori, Pasifika, Deaf and other diverse communities of language and culture
• Ensuring that spaces, resources and services are accessible to and inclusive of people with disabilities
• Cultural competencies in communication

Connecting with people and communities through information services

• Introduce a range of professional information contexts where staff interact with and support people, demonstrating how effective communication and customer service skills are applied, including examples of customer service, training, advocacy, and community engagement

Assessment

100% internally assessed

Textbooks

No textbooks are required for this course

Computer and internet requirements

This course is delivered online, so you will access the course and do your study online, which generally includes reading and doing activities, watching videos, downloading content, and writing and submitting assessments online.

For online learning you need:

• Access to a laptop or desktop computer
• Reliable broadband internet and a data plan

Find out more about online learning

If you are unsure if your current computer or internet access will allow you to study online please contact us.