Responsiveness to Customers and Stakeholders
Greater understanding between regulatory services and the businesses they monitor brings benefits for both parties. This removes cultural barriers to communication, strengthens working relationships, encourages mutual trust and promotes a partnership approach to achieving compliance.
Officers now have the opportunity to step into their customers’ commercial shoes via Trading Places. Study visits arranged at UK companies of all sizes offer great practical learning experiences, plus valuable insight into how businesses are run and the challenges they can face. Shared learning is encouraged by bringing together people from the private and public sectors, with the involvement of national regulators.
Trading Places is open to all environmental health, fire safety, licensing and trading standards officers working in local authorities, as well as businesses from any sector. It is free and carries CPD points. It was launched in March 2009 after extensive testing and evaluation, and is endorsed by the CBI, the FSB, the British Chambers of Commerce, the British Retail Consortium, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and the Trading Standards Institute.
The following links lead to an overview of Trading Places, two podcasts in which local authority and business representatives discuss why they support the initiative, the list of forthcoming business placements, and the registration forms. Please complete the relevant one to participate.
Overview: Business Insight for Local Authorities
Trading Places: Benefits for Local Authorities (Podcast)
Trading Places: Benefits for Business (Podcast)