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Utah Department of
Environmental Quality
DEQ employees Jan Miller, Renette Anderson, and Greg Sorenson
As the first point of contact with the public, Laurie Leib, who frequently works the reception desk at the Department of Environmental Quality, gets all kinds of questions, and complaints from callers who are irritated, frustrated, or worse. “A lot of times people don’t know what they are asking for,” she said. “So I try to listen, ask questions, and find the appropriate person to speak with the caller.” There are also callers who simply just want to complain. “A recent caller wanted to know what kind of face mask he needed to buy to protect him from the bad air quality conditions,” she said. “He then went on to ask whether I drove my vehicle today and if so, pointed out that I was part of the problem.”
Leib, the executive secretary for the Office of Support Services, was among the dozens of DEQ employees who participated in a conflict resolution class, developed by two University of Utah law school graduates, Michele Straube and James Holbrook who formed CommUnity Resolution, Inc. Renette Anderson of DEQ’s Planning and Public Affairs Office taught the 8-hour course at DEQ on February 13 and 14. “Recognizing and understanding what situations push your buttons is the first step toward conflict resolution,” she said. “Different people respond to stress in various ways. For instance, some people will automatically withdraw from the conversation altogether rather than dealing with the problem while others may handle the situation more direct, argumentative way.”
There are many potentially volatile situations employees can relate to. Frank Roberts, an environmental engineer with the Division of Drinking Water, finds himself caught between federal requirements that he must enforce and the Utah water utility that gets hit with the regulation. “Water systems are told that their water must be treated for tougher arsenic standards (see related story) for example, or that their spring is under the influence of surface water and they can’t understand why they have to do the treatment when their water is safe to drink. So I am the one to explain it to them.”
Similarly, Mark Jensen, a geologist for the Division of Drinking Water, deals with a lot of situations that put him in the middle of a dispute. An all too common issue is a developer wanting to locate septic tanks near a drinking water well in a county that prohibits it. “I have to tell them that local ordinances may not allow it,” he said. “So what I do is explain that they need to talk to the county.”
Anderson takes the class through several role-playing exercises and offers them tips on ways to turn a potentially explosive conversation to one that ultimately leads to solving the disputes. “Effective communication involves listening, mutual understanding and respect,” she said. “To become a better listener, look at the person speaking to you, ask questions, don’t interrupt, don’t change the subject, empathize and respond both verbally and nonverbally to put the person at ease and establish trust.”
Tim DeJulis, an engineer with the Division of Air Quality’s New Source Review, doesn’t often come in contact with difficult clients during the permitting process. But if he ever does he plans to put to practice what he has learned. “I believe this will be useful.