Negotiation for health and social service professionals - Keith Fletcher

We all negotiate every day, professionally and socially, yet few of us have had any training in how to do so more effectively. For professionals in health, social care and children's services, an ability to negotiate successfully is vital. Commissioning, contracting and negotiating new partnerships for delivering better services are now part of everyday life. Arguing that in the health and social services a different, less aggressive approach is required to that advocated by negotiators in the commercial sectors, Keith Fletcher explains how to prepare for and deal with negotiation situations more confidently so that settlements can be reached which satisfy all parties.

Keith Fletcher has spent much of the past few years working with 'failing' authorities with problems caused by ineffective or non-existent collaboration arrangements. He has helped them to identify strategies and build effective partnerships. He was formerly Deputy Chief Inspector in the Social Services Directorate, Wales, trained as a social worker and his professional background is in government social services. He has previously written several books on children's, health and social services.

This is a useful book and a joy to read. It is useful because it gives a very strong and repeated message that is of considerable relevance to all of us working in health and social services: "The good negotiator in this situation recognises that there is no bottom line, as all the parties involved have the same major interested beneficiary (the patient or service user). The book takes us through the process of negotiation discussing such issues as: preparation; tactics and strategy; timing; giving and picking up signals; and managing behaviour. The book is a joy to read because it stimulated for me thinking and reflection about immediate issues on my work agenda. It is also a joy to read because although it is 151 pages long the pages get turned quickly (always a positive reinforcement!) as many pages incorporate tables, flowcharts, practical examples and exercises.
Community Care

A thoroughly revealing text and a must for decision makers everywhere.
Professional Social Work