Page 34 - Part B

Information, Advice or Guidance

Your clients may well have specific needs. For example, if you work in an organisation
that covers a large area or, perhaps, a particularly rural area, your clients are likely to
experience some of the same issues – such as a lack of resources, large geographical
areas to cover or even a lack of employment opportunities.

One key way to identify information, advice or guidance needs of specific client groups,
would be through the use of strong evaluation skills, as mentioned in earlier sections.
If you are regularly dealing with the same issues or barriers from your clients, it may be
worth evaluating what practice has been successful before.

See the table below for some examples of job roles, their likely clients and some
possible needs of those clients.

Job Role Likely Clients Client Needs

May have a lack of
experience, so extra
Careers Advisor Young people guidance needed around
the world of work and its
requirements

Emotional support and
Counsellor Variety of clients
understanding

Customer Patience and resolution
Service Advisor Variety of clients skills

Empathy and
People in debt understanding, along
Debt Advisor
situations with practical advice and
signposting skills.

These are just some examples for common roles and the type of client you might see.
When you start working for an organisation, it is important that you familiarise yourself
with the types of client groups you may encounter, along with any particular success
your organisation has had in meeting those clients’ needs.

Often, organisations will have written policies and procedures for helping different
types of clients, such as the vulnerable and people with disabilities. It is important to
make time to read and understand these before working in an advice, information or
guidance capacity.

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