Glossary

Accuracy: Ensuring record keeping is factual, consistent and documented clearly.

Advice: Offering a proposal for an appropriate course of action.

Advocacy: The act of speaking on the behalf of or in support of another person, place, or thing. An example of advocacy is an IAG worker that works to help community members who lack confidence and may speak on their behalf.

Client: A client could be a person who uses the services you provide, a customer, or a buyer.

Confidentiality: The principle of confidentiality is about privacy and respecting someone’s wishes. It means that professionals shouldn’t share personal details about someone with others, unless that person has said they can or it’s absolutely necessary. 

Information: knowledge communicated or received concerning a particular fact or circumstance

Data protection: Any information that your business stores digitally needs to be properly protected. From financial information and payment details to contact information for your staff, data usage in the UK is protected by law.

Guidance: advice or information provided to help resolve a problem or reach a goal, guidance is often given by someone of authority.

Effective communication: Effective communication is about more than proving information. It includes understanding the emotion and intentions behind the information. It also involves listening to what is being said and makes the other person feel heard and understood.

Empathy: Understanding how another person feels and what they might be thinking. People often say you are imagining yourself in the other person’s shoes.

IAG: IAG is an acronym for Information, Advice or Guidance 

Legislation: Legislation is a law or a set of laws that have been passed by Parliament. 

Non judgemental: Non judgemental practice is when we continually assess our reactions, thoughts and feelings, to ensure we are being impartial with the IAG we provide. 

Partnership working: When two or more organisations work together in a mutually defined and implemented relationship.

Personal development:  is a combination of actions, plans and goals that we aim towards to improve personal life, relationships, skills, careers.

Policy: A statement that provides a set of expectations for decisions made, or actions taken.

Procedure: A set of established instructions, steps, or methods which are used to carry out the administration of a policy.

Referral: Referral describes the process of contacting an alternative organisation to work with a client when an adviser has reached the limit of their competence.

Research: Research is defined as to track down information or gain knowledge about a specific subject.

Safeguarding: Safeguarding means keeping people safe from harm, abuse and/or neglect. 

Service provider: A service provider is a company that provides a service

Signposting: Is the process of giving a client the details of other organisations that will be able to help them.

Stakeholders:  Are people or groups who are positively or negatively impacted by a project, initiative, policy or organisation. They could be internal (people within your organisation such as directors, trustees) or external (people outside of your organisation such as clients, volunteers).

Values, beliefs and attitudes: The combination of your personal values, beliefs and attitudes are the moral principles that guide you in life and affect your choices and behaviour.