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Good Communication is Good Business initiative - A Shopping First In Box Hill

On Wednesday 10 May 2006, the Communication Resource Centre of Scope and Centro Box Hill Shopping Centre launched the Good Communication is Good Business initiative. Guest speakers included Peter Smith OAM from the National Nine Network, who is also a Life Governor of Scope.

The project represents a strong local community partnership, with funding from City of Whitehorse community grants, and the involvement of the Chinese Community Social Services Centre. Key stakeholders at Centro Box Hill – including Connex staff, Centre retailers, security and cleaning personnel – worked with Scope’s Communication Resource Centre to trial and develop bilingual (Chinese and English) picture, photo and phrase communication boards to enable easier shopping at Centro Box Hill for people with complex communication needs or language barriers.

Communication boards were developed and trialled for a range of services including, Connex, Angus & Robertson book store and the Happy Bar. A communication board developed for My Chemist allows the pharmacist to determine customers' needs in order to suggest the most suitable `over the counter medication’ and determine any implications for prescription medications – all without actually having to utter a single word.

“People can have difficulty communicating for many reasons. They may have complex communication needs, and hence rely on communication boards or electronic communication devices. Other reasons include difficulties with English, and many people who provide and use Centro Box Hill services come from a diverse range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds,” said Mandy Williams, Occupational Therapist, Scope. “When you have communication difficulties or English is not your first language, sometimes even shopping for simple items can be a challenge.”

“Centro Box Hill is a unique shopping centre environment with foot traffic of over 13 million visitations per annum,” said Deanna Hitchman, Marketing Manager, Centro Box Hill. “The centre houses a major rail and bus interchange and our location in the Box Hill CBD means our customers can be widely diverse. Box Hill is also a very multi-cultural community, with centre research indicating that a high percentage of our customers are of Asian ethnicity.

“Centro Box Hill is excited to be a part of this ground-breaking initiative, and hopes these steps help to increase awareness of the wide range of communication challenges experienced by many people in our community,” she said.