assignment Leadership & Management

Application

This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to lead and manage effective workplace relationships.

It applies to individuals in leadership or management who have a prominent role in establishing and managing processes and procedures to support workplace relationships, taking into account the organisation's values, goals and cultural diversity.

At this level work will normally be carried out within complex and diverse methods and procedures, which require the exercise of considerable discretion and judgement, using a range of problem solving and decision making strategies.

No licensing, legislative or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of publication.

Unit Sector

Management and Leadership - Leadership

This section describes language, literacy, numeracy and employment skills incorporated in the performance criteria that are required for competent performance.

Performance Evidence

Evidence of the ability to:

· Develop and/or implement processes to manage ideas and information, including:

· communicating information to support others to achieve work responsibilities

· facilitating employees' contributions to consultation on work issues

· providing feedback on the outcomes of consultations

· resolution of issues raised or referral to relevant personnel

· Establish and/or implement policies to ensure that the organisation’s cultural diversity and ethical values are adhered to

· Provide leadership through own behaviour, including:

· professional conduct that promotes trust with internal and external contacts

· adjusting own interpersonal communication style to meet the organisation’s cultural diversity and ethical environment

· Plan for, and manage, the use of networks to support identifiable outcomes for the team and the organisation

· Develop and/or implement processes and systems to manage difficulties, including:

· identifying and resolving conflicts and other difficulties according to organisational policies and procedures

· planning how to address difficulties

· Providing guidance, counselling and support to assist co-workers in resolving their work difficulties

Note: If a specific volume or frequency is not stated, then evidence must be provided at least once.

Knowledge Evidence

To complete the unit requirements safely and effectively, the individual must

· Explain how systems, policies and procedures can support the development of effective work relationships, focusing on interpersonal styles, communications, consultation, cultural and social sensitivity, networking and conflict resolution

· Outline legislation relevant to managing effective workplace relationships

Assessment Conditions

Assessment must be conducted in a safe environment where evidence gathered demonstrates consistent performance of typical activities experienced in the management and leadership field of work and include access to:

· Relevant legislation, regulations, standards and codes

· Relevant workplace documentation and resources

· Case studies and, where possible, real situations

· Interaction with others

Assessors must satisfy NVR/AQTF assessor requirements.

LinksCompanion volumes available from the IBSA website: http://www.ibsa.org.au/companion_volumes

Your trainer will inform you of the following:

Where the toilets and fire exits are located, what the emergency procedures are and where the breakout and refreshment areas are.

Any rules, for example asking that all mobile phones are set to silent and of any security issues they need to be aware of.

What times the breaks will be held and what the smoking policy is.

That this is an interactive course and you should ask questions.

That to get the most out of this workshop, we must all work together, listen to each other, explore new ideas, and make mistakes. After all, that’s how we learn.

Ground rules for participation:

Smile

Support and encourage other participants

When someone is contributing, everyone else is quiet

Be patient with others who may not be grasping the ideas

Be on time

Focus discussion on the topic

Speak to the trainer if you have any concerns.

Discover how to manage ideas and information

Know how to establish systems to develop trust and confidence

Learn how to manage the development and maintenance of networks and relationships

Understand how to manage difficulties to achieve positive outcomes

Gain skills and knowledge required for this unit.

1.1. Ensure strategies and processes are in place to communicate information associated with the achievement of work responsibilities to all co-workers

1.2. Develop and/or implement consultation processes to ensure that employees have the opportunity to contribute to the resolution of issues related to their work role

1.3. Facilitate feedback to employees on outcomes of the consultation processes

1.4. Develop and/or implement processes to ensure that issues raised are resolved promptly or referred to relevant personnel

Your organisation should have strategies and processes in place to communicate information across to co-workers regarding their responsibilities and their achievement of these. This will include information about the role and the organisation’s expectations for the employee’s performance.

A strategy is an overall aim – what you want to achieve.A process is a series of procedures that are linked to achieve a goal.

Processes should cover how you plan to communicate:

Roles and responsibilities

Feedback on performance

Progress with targets/goals

Career development information

Employee reviews.

Providing a job description

It can be a good idea to create a template of roles and responsibilities for different jobs and send this to the appropriate personnel.

Example template:

Clear role descriptions

It is vital that you are able to give clear role descriptions to ensure that team members understand what it is they are supposed to do and that work activities can get underway smoothly. Clear communication here can help avoid misunderstandings and disputes between team members.

Role descriptions should include:

Authority levels

Individual performance-measurement criteria

Position descriptions

Responsibility matrix

Team responsibilities

Role definitions

Task responsibilities

Project skills matrix

Training plans.

Descriptions of roles and responsibilities are also a means to measure performance by setting KPI's (Key Performance Indicators) against the project tasks or requirements.

Performance feedback has a more formal approach. It involves a regular ongoing assessment of an employee’s performance by a manager or supervisor. Constructive feedback – both positive and negative – is given to the employee to motivate them and improve their work. Some organisations have a rating system on a scale (e.g. 1-10) and a list of responsibilities, traits and goals and on which they score the employees.

A progress report allows you to track individuals’ progress and performance. To carry out a progress report, find the information on your plan that specifies the tasks and find those assigned to each individual. Once you have these in front of you, you can ask the individual to report on what they have achieved and are yet to achieve and compare this to the plan.

You should inform the relevant people when responsibilities are not being met for any reason.

Responsibilities may not be met for a number of reasons, including:

· Illness

· Lack of skills or resources

· Motivation

· Lack of communication

· Time restraints

· Conflict

· Diversion, such as when asked to do something else mid-task.

You should inform employees of any opportunities within the organisation for further training and professional development, as well as any opportunities available within the organisation to progress their careers. This is important for encouraging motivation. One procedure to enable you to achieve your career development strategy could be to offer all positions that open up within the organisation to internal staff before looking externally.

Employee or performance reviews are formal reviews of performance that can involve a self-assessment and a manager’s opinion on your performance.

Example self-assessment

Experience level:

· 1 = I have no skills/knowledge in this field

· 10 = I am an expert in this field

Frequency of use:

· 1 = I never use this skill/knowledge

· 2 = I sometimes use this skill/knowledge

· 3 = I always use this skill

Template performance review document:

A consultation process is where employees and decision makers talk about work-related issues and problems. Decision makers should listen to employees’ views about issues as they may provide some helpful insights into how problems can be rectified. Employers or decision makers should provide employees with a plan of what they wish to discuss and how they intend to come to a decision. What factors will influence a decision, for example? There may be legislation issues, budget considerations or time restraints that need to be taken into account.

A consultation process can be implemented in a number of ways, which include:

A diary, whiteboard or suggestion box used by staff to report issues of concern

Fact sheets to fully inform personnel

Formal meetings with agendas, minutes and action plans

Informal meetings with notes

Involving personnel in decisions

Recording issues in a management diary

Regular staff meetings

Seeking staff suggestions for content of policies

Workshops to specifically address issues

Staff handbook

Performance reviews

Surveys or questionnaires that invite staff feedback, such as employee satisfaction surveys.

You should refer to your organisation’s policies and procedures for consultation with staff when deciding on a method to use. Some of the above methods are expanded on below.

Employee satisfaction surveys allow employees to express their feelings and opinions about aspects of the workplace.

They may ask opinions on the following issues:

Breaks e.g. regularity

Opportunities e.g. career development

Pay e.g. rises in pay

Working conditions and environment e.g. safety.

Tips for creating an employee satisfaction survey:

You will need to create a method for analysing the answers; a scale is good for this e.g. agree, neutral, disagree

Keep the surveys anonymous so that employees do not have any inhibitions about writing negative points or criticism

Employee surveys may also contain a comments box for employees to write their thoughts and opinions without being restricted to the confinement that the questionnaire dictates

You may like to send out newsletters together with the satisfaction surveys that show the opinions from last year as an example of how problems can be overcome and how the organisation uses employee input.

Informal meetings are a great opportunity to discuss issues with staff and just generally keep staff informed about day-to-day activities. Try to remember that some staff members may not want to come to you directly with issues face-to-face and may prefer the anonymity of a questionnaire setup.

Formal meetings are highly organised with pre-planned topics for discussion. They are often headed by a senior member of staff or chairperson, planned for a set time and may have an agenda with a formal schedule. The purpose of a formal meeting is to discuss the set topics and make decisions regarding them that are in line with set objectives. This may mean that there will be a limit as to the number of people that can attend. All departments should be represented and usually there will be a spokesperson or manager nominated from each department to represent the views of each work area.

Conducting a meeting

When conducting a meeting, either formal or informal, one important factor to consider is the structure. A meeting should have a sensible structure to help team members engage.

Here is an example of how you could structure your meeting:

· Introduction:

Aims and objectives

Topics of discussion

· Individual responsibilities and accountabilities

· Teams and departments involved

· How roles and teams interrelate

· Open detailed discussion on issues/topics

· Conclusion and summary – this enables you to answer any queries and provide a last motivational boost.

You may like to use a couple of different methods to helpteam members engage and ensure that you have covered all the details.

Small teams may benefit from an informal presentation method e.g. a group circle

Slides provide an on-screen method and can sometimes be better than simply speaking, as they provide a visual stimulus

Written communication can help to expand on points in the presentation and give staff something to refer to

Audio-visual media is a method that uses sound and images e.g. a video recording. It can be very engaging, so could be considered for communicating with team members during the conclusion to a meeting.

Performance reviews can highlight issues to both employees and employers about individual or team performance. These will vary depending on the industry but will involve analysis of data gathered about employees’ performance; for example, a sales team that is not reaching targets, or not performing as well as another team that is selling the same products, might need investigating. This can be done through a variety of methods.

Measurable performance indicators, or KPI’s, are values that can help to demonstrate the performance of an organisation. They are measurable and help to indicate how effectively a company is performing in relation to their goals and objectives.

A good KPI should be:

· Available

· Measurable

· Relevant

· Timely

· Useful.

Measurable performance indicators may be developed:

· From a strategic plan

· In consultation with those who will undertake the specific tasks.

Non-profitable performance

You may need to make adjustments to direct marketing activities to extinguish non-profitable performance.

Non-profitable over-performance may include:

· Customer service issues related to not following up leads quickly

· Excessive processing and fulfilment costs

· Low gross-profit per contact

· Low profit margin

· An offer that is priced too low.

You should implement changes to turn these non-profitableover-performances around. For example, if you have customer service problems, you may need to implement training, alter procedures, hire more customer service staff or obtain better technology.

If you have excessive processing and fulfilment costs you should aim to reduce these in some way. Could you upgrade your technology? For example, you might obtain new software programmes to help with processing that could be more efficient than human processing.

Employee performance review

Individual employee performance reviews can also be undertaken as an opportunity to discuss with employees in a one-to-one setup how they feel they are doing and to compare that to the organisation’s expectations.

There are many reasons why responsibilities might not be met.For example:

· Illness

· Lack of skills or resources

· Motivation

· Lack of communication

· Time restraints.

Diversion, such as when asked to do something else mid-task.

Reviews and meetings are a good opportunity to clarify the reasons for underperformance or to utilise over-performance and discuss possible solutions that appeal to both the individual and the organisation. Through consultation, team members feel valued and supported and are more likely to try and improve, offer their opinions to issues and find solutions to them.

Employees should be informed about the outcomes of the consultation process in good time to prepare them for implementation or changes.

The outcomes will vary depending on what was discussed during the consultation process and may include:

No changes

Changes to procedures

Additional training

Disciplinary action

Alterations to timeframe/schedule

Changes to facilities or other environmental conditions

Withdrawal of funding.

Whatever the outcomes of the consultation, you will need to communicate it to staff in an appropriate manner that explains why that particular decision has been made. There are bound to be disagreements with the outcomes and you must remember that the organisation cannot please everybody.

The communication may take many forms:

Report

Presentation

Newsletter

Group meeting/seminar

One-to one meeting

Email.

It is up to you to decide which of the above methods of communication is the most suitable for each case. Organisations will differ in their expectations and each case will be different. Clearly if the outcome only involves one person e.g. for disciplinary action, then you would choose a one-to one meeting to communicate this.

Whichever method is chosen, the communication should go into detail and provide evidence, where possible, to support the decision. It should be worded carefully so that staff does not think that the organisation has not listened or has disregarded what they have to say. One good way to demonstrate this is by creating a full report that can be accessed by staff, explaining the reasoning in detail with both quantitative and qualitative data.

Remedial action simply means to change or correct something, such as through the educating or training of staff members. You will need to create a report for remedial action, of which you may incorporate many formats.

For example:

Status reports

Progress measurement reports

Forecast reports

Spreadsheets

Charts and graphs.

Your organisation may have a template in place for remedial action reporting, that could look something like this:

There are many possible workplace issues that you may face as a leader at your organisation. It is therefore important that you and your colleagues know exactly how to handle each as it arises. This is the purpose of policies and procedures. Policies and procedures can inform staff of the sequence of steps they need to take to resolve an issue.

There may be staff that deal with particular issues, such as a grievance within your organisation. If this is the case then you should refer to them for advice or to pass the issue over entirely where appropriate. If your organisation is large then you may not know who the appropriate person is.

To find out whom you need to contact, you might be able to:

Search the database

Use the organisational website

Look for a contact within policy or procedure documents

Use an organisational chart

Roles and responsibilities chart or specifications

Ask colleagues.

Organisational charts

An organisational chart can also be useful to demonstrate the different roles and hierarchy of the structure. An organisational chart can be as simple or as complex as needed.It may also have photographs of the individuals under each job title for ease of recognition. Organisational charts can be sent to team members or hung up in poster form for reference.

A root cause analysis is a process you can follow in order to identify the root cause of a problem. If the identified problem is indeed the root cause, removing it from the equation would mean that the problem never occurred. You can identify the root cause of a problem and take action to tackle this, which should mean that the problem can be resolved and avoided again in the future.

Root cause analysis can be done in several forms, including:

· Ishikawa / fish bone diagrams

· Table

· Mind maps

· Flow charts

· No real format.

Example root cause analysis:

In the above example, you can trace the root cause of the problem to a lack of structure and responsibility. By designing and implementing a rota system and assigning responsibility to certain individuals on certain days, you can hold this person accountable and thus eradicate the problem.

A root cause analysis can be applied to many different situations and scenarios and can be very useful for identifying and resolving problems.

You or your colleagues should look into what you could do to help overcome problems and follow the correct procedure.

There are various possible solutions depending on the situation.For example:

Additional training

Funding application

Disciplinary action

Counselling

Conflict resolution.

All of these will have a process that you will need to follow to ensure that you resolve the problem fairly. There may also be legislation that dictates how you approach certain issues, such as disciplinary action procedures.

2.1. Establish and/or implement policies to ensure that the organisation’s cultural diversity and ethical values are adhered to

2.2. Gain and maintain the trust and confidence of colleagues and external contacts through professional conduct

2.3. Adjust own interpersonal communication styles to meet the organisation’s cultural diversity and ethical environment and guide and support the work team in their personal adjustment process

A culturally diverse organisation represents people from all aspects of society within an organisation.

A diverse workforce will have employees from a wide range of backgrounds, including:

People with disabilities

Women

Indigenous Australians

Overseas workers

Mature workers

Trainees

People from different cultural backgrounds.

It is important to establish accountability when establishing or implementing policies. Accountability is about responsibility and who is responsible for certain actions. Internal accountability is accountability within the organisation – what the organisation does to ensure they are accountable for their actions, e.g. how they develop procedures for improvements such as managing complaints. There should be a clear organisational structure with defined roles so that members understand who to contact about specific issues. External accountability helps ensure organisations are regulated and abide by standards, codes of practice and best practice guidelines.

Organisations should have policies in place to ensure they are not biased in any way towards any particular culture. These policies should try and help under-represented people feel comfortable at work and to have a fair chance of representation in an organisation.

Policies and procedures may relate to:

Legal duties, such as:

promoting equal opportunities

promoting good relations between different cultures

eradicating discrimination

Other duties or principles:

educating staff so that they can respond to situations where cultural knowledge or sensitivity is required

promoting cultural activities, e.g. celebrations

provide cultural support services, where possible.

There should be procedures in placefor hiring staff that encourage applicants from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Best practice guidelines for recruiting cover:

Developing selection criteria, for example:

ensuring there are no unjustifiable English language qualifications in criteria

Advertising, using a wide range of media, such as:

ethnic media

community groups

trade journals

Shortlisting, for example:

being consistent and ensuring you record your decision and why it was made

Application forms, for example:

not including unrelated or intrusive questions

Testing, for example:

checking for bias and indirect discrimination, such as asking for qualifications that may discriminate against mature people or for experience from apprentices

Interviewing, for example:

checking to see if interviewees need any special arrangements for the interview, e.g. translator or lift access

Referee reports, for example:

creating a template for referees to ensure standardised questions

Making the decision, for example:

using a ranking system for consistency and fairness

Medical examinations, for example:

any examination should relate specifically to the job and examiners should be provided with a copy of the job description.

Different sectors will have different codes of ethics and professional conduct to follow. You should ensure that you are familiar with these and can access them to refer to when you are unsure of your position.

Business ethics are the moral principles that govern an organisation to ensure corporate responsibility, quality assurance and customer satisfaction. When combined, a code of conduct and business ethics define the morality of an organisation and set the standard for the behaviour and work ethic of its members. All members of the organisation will be given equal opportunities and treated equally and fairly regardless of any differences.

A code of conduct and business ethics policy will normally be a written document that can be easily accessed by all members of the organisation. It should form part of the induction process for all new employees and be used for existing employees for refresher training at regular intervals.

A code of conduct and business ethics policy must be enforced consistently if it is to have any effect or if it is going to be valued by those it governs. If employees that breach the code in any way are not dealt with accordingly, other employees will have no faith in the system and this may lead to increased unethical behaviour. It is particularly important to ensure unethical behaviour is addressed and dealt with appropriately and thoroughly.

Building relationships and establishing rapport is an important part of managing a team. By making people feel valued and building trust you can help to improve performance.

To establish rapport:

· Try and find something you have in common

· Use positive, confident and co-operative language

· Be interested in what people are saying and ask questions to demonstrate this

· Interpret non-verbal and verbal messages and react accordingly or mirror their body language

· Your use of language, verbal or non-verbal – try to be accommodating and adapt your style

· Be aware of cultural differences:

· different cultures and communities have different euphemisms and accents, which you should bear in mind when speaking

· English can potentially be a second language

· some words, terms and phrases may be offensive.

A professional code of conduct is a document laid out by an organisation or professional body in which expectations for behaviour, responsibilities and actions of its members are clearly stated. It provides a professional framework for workers to work around and incorporates values and attitudes upheld by a specific industry.

Professional behaviour could include demonstrating the following:

Respect, for example:

respect confidentiality and privacy, e.g. of personal details

do not harass, discriminate or use offensive language

respect and tolerate cultural and individual differences

Integrity, for example:

acknowledge mistakes

do not mislead people on purpose

do not abuse privileges, e.g. use telephone for personal calls

Honesty, for example:

do not plagiarise

be truthful in all aspects of communication

keep accurate records

Conscientious, for example:

ensure you fulfil responsibilities to the best of your ability

help teach others or offer advice and support

make an effort to learn from your experience

commit time to learning and professional development

Limitation awareness, for example:

do not attempt tasks that you are not confident with

ask for help when needed

Avoiding conflict of interest, for example:

disclosing financial interest that could impact on your decisions, e.g. if you have shares in a company

disclosing personal relationships that could impact on your decisions, e.g. in an interview process

Responsibility for others, for example:

help impaired staff or those who need additional support

report serious breaches of conduct

express disagreement or take disciplinary action against less serious cases/breaches

Cooperation, for example:

dress appropriately

answer questions from colleagues in as much depth as needed.

Interpersonal skills involve communicating effectively with different people. If you have good interpersonal skills you will usually be able to talk with ease to a variety of people with differing backgrounds and at a wide range of levels. Your communication will be confident, eloquent and adaptable to suit different situations.

Each individual is different and you may have to be a chameleon when it comes to communicating. Altering your style to suit the style of communication to mirror that of the person you are talking to is a good way to build a relationship with them.

For example, depending on the country there may be differences in meaning associated with:

· Pauses

· Gestures

· Bargaining

· Eye contact

· Length of response

· Pitch and tone of voice.

The following table looks at communication by splitting it into three categories – passive, assertive and aggressive:

By being conscious of how you communicate with people, you can alter your communication style to the preferred assertive type or to suit conditions. It is always a good idea to personalise your communication and try to relate to people either on a personal level or business level.

Another model of communication splits communicators into four types that work in business scenarios.

The four types are:

Controller – they like the facts and are task orientated and want information that is to the point

Promoter – they are sociable and expect a get-to-know-you conversation before getting down to business

Supporter – likes to hear new ideas, is patient, balanced and adjusts to change well

Analyser – likes to hear every detail before making a decision, enjoys debating and likes to see charts and graphs with in-depth explanations.

Different cultures attach varying meaning to language; both verbal and non-verbal. You will need to be aware of the language styles and meanings behind things like gestures, so as to not be misinterpreted, nor to misinterpret the communication styles.

The Lewis model represents nations on a scale of business types:

You can help team members to identify their communication styles and the communications styles of others in the team through a workshop or training day. This could teach team members about the characteristics of different communication styles and the models of communication employed by various cultures, to open their minds to the various possibilities and situations they could find themselves in. This will help employees to see past their expectations of certain groups, and see everyone as individuals, while also getting them to think about the cultural differences in the workplace.

Support team members by:

Conducting a workshop or training day – these could involve practicing communicating with each other in role play scenarios

Creating a questionnaire that helps team members identify their communication style

Get team members to think about positive and negative communication

Brainstorm opportunities for improving communication procedures

Conduct one-to-one sessions for team members who need to discuss cultural issues further.

3.1. Use networks to build workplace relationships, providing identifiable outcomes for the team and the organisation

3.2. Conduct ongoing planning to ensure that effective internal and external workplace relationships are developed and maintained

Networking is used by organisations to develop contacts within industry. Face-to-face networking involves gatherings of people or organised meetings, but it is not the only option. Other methods can be used to network.

For example:

Business networking websites

Phone

Email.

By making connections and building mutually beneficial relationships with people, you can promote not only your organisation, but also yourself.Networking is often used as part of a marketing strategy to gain access to an ever increasing pool of clients or knowledge.

Networking helps to:

Learn more about your industry

Provide career opportunities

Build business contacts

Develop mutually rewarding relationships

Gain access to knowledge

Make people feel part of a community.

Some members of the team may not be familiar with networking and what can be achieved by it. You should try to encourage and support them in their efforts.

Help staff to start networking by:

Providing a short course or workshop

Providing mentors for staff members

Using role-play to develop confidence in face-to-face networking

Giving a presentation on the benefits of networking

Hosting a networking event

Giving team members a factsheet with helpful places to start, such as a list of websites that they can join.

Introductions

Introductions are important and allow you to make a good first impression of yourself and your organisation. You should look people in the eye, smile and introduce yourself politely. Body language is important and you should try to keep it ‘open’ standing with your feet slightly apart and palms facing out.

Your ability to listen is also important and immediately tells the speaker that you are interested in what they have to say and makes a good impression. Give feedback to the speaker, such as ‘mmm’, nodding in agreement or making a comment that shows you are interested in what they have said. Try to be positive and assertive with your comments.

Tips for introductions include:

Prepare conversation starters, for example:

‘How did you get into this field/industry?’

‘What made you want to be a …?’

‘What are the major issues in your area at the moment?’

‘What ways help to promote your business?’

‘What are the most useful contacts for you?’

Engage in small talk

Try to remember people’s names

Ask thought-provoking questions that will encourage light debate

Politely interrupt a group by joining their conversation at an appropriate pause

· At the end of an introductiongive out a business card/ask for a card

Follow up with an email, call or note.

Maintaining the relationship

It is important to think about how you can help to maintain the relationships you build after the introduction stage and exchange of business cards. It is no good to simply create a list of contacts that you do not engage with. You need to try and sustain the relationship if you want to be remembered; this takes time, tact and tenacity.

Ideas include:

Give praise if they achieve something – send a congratulations

Recognise other dates, e.g. birthday, anniversary etc.

Invite to lunches or events

Remember their names

Get up-to-date with trends in your industry and use as a topic of conversation

Connect other people

Start a newsletter

Offer to help at networking events.

Ongoing planning can ensure that you are meeting your objectives. You should make it procedure to monitor this plan so that you can be sure you are on track and can make the most of business opportunities.

The first questions to ask then are:

What are your objectives?

Do you have any targets you need to consider as part of these objectives?

What are your priority areas?

How are you measuring effective workplace relationships?

The methods used to develop and maintain workplace relationships.

Objectives

An objective is an aim or goal to be achieved by implementing the plan. You may have more than one objective.

Objectives are SMART:

· Specific

· Measurable

· Achievable

· Relevant

· Timed.

Objectives will be written in statement form and describe what the plan is aiming for. They should not be ambiguous, but well thought out, so that you can make conclusions and evaluations to determine the success of the plan. Objectives should lead to outcomes. For example, introduce yourself to five new people and get their contact details at this months’ networking event.

Targets

Targets can help you achieve objectives. You might, for example, have an objective for your organisation that can be fulfilled through the individual daily or weekly targets that you set employees or departments.

Priority areas

This will involve assessing staff competencies for developing and maintaining relationships. Using data collected from managers, e.g. through feedback, questionnaires, performance reviews and self-assessments, you can discover information about your employees and their success or otherwise about developing and maintaining relationships.

For example, you may find that staff is struggling to make connections because they have under-developed communication skills. You may find that staff have no problem finding contacts and introducing themselves, but cannot seem to maintain the relationship. These types of problems can be resolved through additional training and support and therefore should be made a priority.

How are you measuring effective relationships?

This depends upon which criteria you are referring to when you say ‘effective’. An effective relationship may mean one that results in a successful exchange of knowledge, new contacts, partnerships between organisations or job opportunities, or it could refer torelationships that you are able to maintain for a period of time. You should be clear about what you mean by an effective relationship.

Methods used to develop and maintain relationships

There are a variety of methods that you can use to develop and maintain relationships. Some of these will be more appropriate for internal relationships and others for external relationships.

Internal:

Regular meetings e.g. daily, weekly

Team building exercises

Conferences

Social media/business network sites

Announcements

Newsletters

Staff email

Events, for example:

parties

award ceremonies

lunches

Activity days, for example:

volunteering in the community

charity days

casual dress days.

External:

Networking events

Trade shows

Functions, e.g. charity functions

Conferences

Business network sites

Lunch meetings

Email

Telephone.

You will need to keep track of your workforce and their networking opportunities. You will need to plan events, conferences and other one-off days around your regular meetings and get-togethers. You may need the assistance of a wide range of tools to help you manage your time and remind staff of upcoming activities and opportunities.

To help you plan, you could use tools such as:

Calendars

Schedules of events

Timeline

Diaries (electronic or paper)

Spreadsheets

Charts.

4.1. Develop and/or implement strategies to ensure that difficulties in workplace relationships are identified and resolved

4.2. Establish processes and systems to ensure that conflict is identified and managed constructively in accordance with the organisation’s policies and procedures

4.3. Provide guidance, counselling and support to assist co-workers in resolving their work difficulties

4.4. Develop and implement an action plan to address any identified difficulties

It may be a good idea to try to assess whether there is likely to be difficulties that could have an impact on work as it progresses. You should hold meetings with groups and individuals to gauge their happiness in their position and the working environment.

You should also look at evidence of difficulties, for example through:

Management observation

Performance documents

Complaints forms

Disciplinary forms

Feedback and references

Attendance and quality of work.

This, together with feedback from the team member in question,will help to identify potential difficulties or conflict.

It is important when trying to resolve issues that you have a variety of options for communicating available to you. Discussing issues is one of the most important steps to take when confronting issues to do with workplace relationships.

You can do this by providing opportunities for discussion and feedback through:

Meetings – involve a group of people who come together to discuss their progress, solve issues and present information

One-to-one sessions – involve two people conversing about elements of work, one of whom is in a more senior role than the other, giving guidance and advice

Drop-in sessions – involve one or more people who are seeking support or advice in having a quick word with a manager

there is usually a set time for drop-in sessions, such as thirty minutes set aside once a week for answering questions or discussing issues

Brainstorming sessions – is a creative process involving a group of people who come together to share their ideas and solutions to problems

Suggestion boxes – can provide an opportunity for staff to anonymously confront problems or issues.

Additional communication training may be needed for team members to help them become better communicators and prevent misunderstandings that lead to workplace conflicts.

You could give out fact sheets on communicating with clarity or organise team building exercises and other training.

You should identify, plan and implement ongoing development and training of project team members so that you can support personnel and project performance. Identifying areas that personnel need additional help with and having ongoing support in place will help improve project performance.

Types of training include:

· Action learning sets

· Coaching and mentoring

· Team building

· On-job training

· External training

· Self-directed learning.

You may be able to give the individual(s) concerned a choice of development opportunities so that they can decide which best suits them. Alternatively, it may be necessary for you to choose the best method to suit the time and budget of the organisation.

Team building activities

Team building and group activities can help to create bonds between team members and remove hostility. They can also help team members develop a skill, such as problem solving abilities, or help them to get to know each other betteror to become more motivated and adaptable. Team building activities can be performed internally or externally and can be as simple as small group exercises held in a conference room, or extend to adventurous outdoor pursuits. To be most effective they should be held regularly, e.g. weekly/monthly.

Action learning sets

An action learning set is a small group of peers who come together with a learning facilitator to discuss work issues. The group will meet a few times a year and get the chance to report on various issues they are dealing with. After reporting back to the team, the other members will get a chance to ask questions to openup the problem or situation and help to analyse it. Each member then gets the chance to discuss what they have learned from the session. The members take what they have learned and apply it to the workplace.

Coaching and mentoring

Coaching and mentoring can overlap. Coaching involves creating an optimum environment for learners to perform to the best of their abilities. It allows the learner to dissect a situation and discover their own solutions. A coach does not necessarily have to be in a similar role to that of the learner, although they may well be. Mentoring involves regular contact with a person in a similar or higher position. The learner will be able to draw on the experience of the mentor to help them handle issues that arise in the workplace.

Tips for verbal communication:

· Using active listening techniques, e.g. clarifying by summarising

· Controlling your tone of voice and body language, e.g. remaining calm and demonstrating understanding by:

· talking slowly

· looking interested by maintaining eye-contact and an expression of concern

· not folding arms

· Interpreting non-verbal and verbal messages, e.g. resistance

· Your use of language; verbal or non-verbal – try to be accommodating and adapt your style

· Questioning to clarify and confirm understanding

· Using language and concepts appropriate to cultural differences:

· different cultures and communities have different euphemisms and accents, which you should bear in mind when speaking

· English can potentially be a second language

· some words, terms and phrases may be offensive

· Using positive, confident and co-operative language.

Tips for written communication:

· Understand the purpose of your communication

Know your audience and their level of understanding/expertise

· Structure your writing

beginning/introduction

middle/main body

end/summary/sign off

· Different formats and their traits

letters

presentations

emails

· Choose the correct level of formality.

Working in a team will almost always present conflicts. You should aim to identify these as early as possible to ensure that they do not make too much of an impact on the goals of the team, or team morale.

Conflicts occur for a variety of factors, such as:

· Clash of personality

· Differing opinions

· Claims to authority.

Inter-group conflict is conflict arising between two or more groups, whereas intra-group conflict is a conflict that arises from between individuals.

Types of conflict include:

Superiority – can occur when a team member or group thinks that they have superior qualifications, ability or experience

Vulnerability – this is where team members are afraid about their future due to resource issues, especially if resource management includes moving projects a lot

Task conflicts – can occur when people have different opinions on issues related to the project

Personal conflicts – can occur when people’s personalities clash and can result in negative emotional response, e.g. shouting/arguing

Knowledge sharing conflicts – can be a result of other types of conflict, such as superiority or personal conflict, or could be a result of poor communication and knowledge transfer between multiple projects.

When dealing with conflict in the workplace there are some general principles that you can practice that may be found in your organisation’s dispute-resolution processes.

General principles for managing conflict include:

· Listening to both parties to understand what has caused the dispute

· Treating each party equally and remaining impartial

· Getting the parties together to talk about their issues

· Presenting each view point and talking through the conflict with each party, acting as a moderator for the conversation

· Document discussions and follow formal procedure for disputes (these may include disciplinary action if serious).

Serious conflicts should be resolved according to the dispute resolution processes that are in place at your organisation.

Dispute-resolution processes may include:

Documented organisational policies and procedures

· Industry agreements

· Relevant legislation and regulations, such as discrimination legislation procedures.

Providing guidance involves leadership. To lead a team successfully you will need to demonstrate really good leadership skills.

Leadership skills include:

· Ability to inspire

· Expertise

· Confidence

· Empathy.

There are many reasons why a team member may be having difficulties performing their work role:

· Illness

· Lack of skills or resources

· Motivation

· Lack of communication

· Time restraints

· Conflict

· Diversion, such as being asked to do something else mid-task.

Counselling involves one-to-one discussions with a professional to help a person overcome personal problems that are impacting on their work. Counselling is offered by employers to help prevent personal problems from becoming a disciplinary issue. Sometimes, however, people are referred to counsellors as part of disciplinary action.

Counsellors can help with:

· Stress

· Bullying

· Depression

· Alcohol or drug abuse.

Employers should promote healthy living and work practices. These may include access to a gym, healthy eating options in the cafeteria, relaxation classes and ergonomic solutions.

Confidentiality

Personal information should be protected and only disclosed professionally. The only situation where this private information can be disclosed is when there is a serious threat or risk of injury to the individual or others. The individual may choose to disclose their information, but it has to be their choice.

Organisation policy on confidentiality may relate to:

· Access to records

· Carriage and storage of records

· Collection and use of client's personal and health information

· Destruction of records

· Release of information.

Ways to ensure confidential information is kept safe, include:

· Keeping it in locked filing cabinets

· Keeping it away from unauthorised people

· Keeping it in locked rooms

· Having it password protected on computers

· Refraining from naming clients in public discussion

· Discussing things in soundproof rooms.

Your action plan should state your overall objective and demonstrate how you plan to achieve this objective. An action plan helps you to ensure that you have covered everything so that you have a firm idea of what it is you want to achieve and how you can put it into practice, through step-by-step instructions.

Even small objectives can benefit from planning as it is easy to miss something. Action plans save time in the long run as you just have to follow the steps instead of stopping at each stage to think about the next problem.

The plan should be:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Relevant

Time-based.

Depending on what you are planning for, your action plan may also include:

· Milestones

· Timelines

· Costing for each tactic

· Priorities

People responsible.

Milestones are significant points of reference and occur after a certain number of tasks have been completed.

Responsibility for milestones

You should also think about the responsibilities surrounding different milestones.

Questions to consider include:

· What should each team or team member be doing at the point of milestone achievement?

· Do you know each individual responsible for the tasks leading to a complete milestone? (And if not, can you find out?)

· What are the procedures for this?

· What does the milestone mean for the end goal?

· Who is accountable for the milestone?

You may have timelines for the tasks, a completion date for each milestone, and also the end goal. Timelines are really useful for visualising the information and putting it into context as you can see where you are and what you should have already completed and what the next steps to be completed are. This is much better than a simple list of dates and makes it more difficult to miss things.

An example of a simplified version of a timeline can be found below:

The costing will depend largely on what it is you are aiming to achieve. It should incorporate all the individual expenses involved in achieving your goal; for example, staff training or the use of counselling or other dispute resolution services. Time should also play a part here, as wages are one major costing to take into account.

Other costing matters to consider include:

How long will the objective take to achieve?

How many people will you need to achieve it?

Which additional resources will you need?

external consultants

materials

software

What level staff will you need?

When managing time and deciding on priorities, one technique is to divide your priorities into categories relating to their urgency and importance.

Eisenhower’s urgent vs. important principle:

In order to divide your priorities into categories, such as in the above model, you will need to understand the difference between urgent and important. Urgent are those tasks which if not done immediately will have immediate consequences. Important tasks are those that lead to outcomes that will achieve goals, which may be either personal or professional.

From the above matrix you can see that the order of priorities is as follows:

1. Urgent and important tasks (for example, crisis situations or important deadlines)

2. Not urgent but important (for example, relationship building or professional development)

3. Urgent and not important (for example, interruptions to other tasks, such as unimportant emails or telephone calls)

4. Not urgent and not important (for example, junk mail or gossip).

You should plan who you will need to help achieve the goal, how many people you will need and the level of expertise required.

You may want to think about what type of responsibility each person involved with the goal has. To do this you can use a RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consult, Inform) chart. This will help you to see the different relationships that individuals have with the project tasks.

Example RACI:

Key:

Responsible = R

Accountable = A

Consult = C

Inform = I

Your action plan should now be ready for implementation. You will need to consult it regularly to monitor your progress and achievement.

Nearly there...

At the end of your Learner Workbook, you will find an activity titled ‘Major Activity’. This is an opportunity to revise the entire unit and allows your trainer to check your knowledge and understanding of what you have covered. It should take between 1-2 hours to complete and your trainer will let you know whether they wish for you to complete it in your own time or during the sessions. Once this is completed, you will have finished this unit and be ready to move onto the next – well done!

These suggested references are for further reading and do not necessarily represent the contents of this Learner Guide.

The Fair Work Act 2009: