2 assesments to do

BSBPEF501 Student Guide 21-04-21.docx

STUDENT GUIDE

BSBWRT301 Write simple documents Trainer Guide

MANAGE PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

BSBPEF501

BSBPEF501 Manage personal and professional development | 3

First published 2021

RTO Works www.rtoworks.com.au

[email protected]

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© 2021 RTO Works

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Business Works is a series of training and assessment resources developed for qualifications within the Business Services Training Package.

Contents

Overview 4

Topic 1: Developing goals for yourself and your team 5

Topic 2: Facilitating the achievement of work priorities 14

Topic 3: Develop and maintain professional competence 21

Overview

The Student Guide should be used in conjunction with the recommended reading and any further course notes or activities given by the trainer/assessor.

Application of the unit

This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to implement systems and process that support the personal and professional development of self and others.

The unit applies to individuals working in a range of managerial positions who are accountable for the development and performance of others.

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

Learning goals

Learning goals include:

You are able to develop goals for yourself and your team.

You are able to manage and prioritise the different aspects of work.

You are able to develop yourself and your team to maintain competence.

Topic 1: Developing goals for yourself and your team

Most organisations set strategic goals on an annual basis. These goals are set with the organisation’s mission and vision in mind, and provide clear direction for employees and teams in performing their day-to-day tasks.

Managers set goals for their teams to create a common focus and enable team members to work as a cohesive and collaborative unit. Team goals are usually broken down into challenging, meaningful goals or tasks for each team member to ensure work is carried out and that the organisation reaches its objectives.

The organisational framework

It is necessary for a manager or supervisor to have a good understanding of their organisation and its plans before setting goals for themselves and their team members. An organisational framework involves understanding everyone’s role within the organisation and how they should work together in light of business plans, strategic plans and operational plans.

Image by Dylan Gillis on Unsplash

Business Plan

A business plan is a documented set of business goals, objectives, target market information and financial forecasts. The business plan is usually relevant to a specific period of time such as one or two years.

Preparation of a business plan is particularly important when establishing a business, although it should also be regularly reviewed and updated as required.

Strategic Plan

A strategic plan for a business is a framework for growth and steps to achieving long term success.

It includes the company's mission and vision statement, as well as its goals and objectives and how to utilise current resources to achieve these goals.

Operational Plan

An operational plan is a detailed plan used to provide a clear picture of how a team, section or department will contribute to the achievement of the organisation's strategic goals.

It is written by taking specific strategies from the company’s strategic plan, and adapting them to short term goals.

Plans an organisation has can influence personal or team work goals. As an example, an organisational objective may be to increase profits. Therefore, personal and team work goals will need to be structured to achieve this depending on the role.

A business plan is usually developed to set up a business, whereas a strategic plan is used for implementing and managing the strategic direction of the organisation. An operational plan is usually informed and defined by a strategic plan.

An organisational framework provides a structure for arranging individuals and groups in order to achieve the organisation’s objectives. It provides a basis for defining job roles, responsibilities, reporting lines, and compensation for each employee. There are different organisational frameworks and the way they are designed is based on the purpose for and values of the organisation.

Employees, or teams of employees are usually arranged into different business units or departments. These units should have similar goals and responsibilities that can be managed by one or several senior employees or managers. In the case of a small organisation, there may be a small number of departments, for example manufacturing, human resources and finance, with just one or a few managers overseeing staff and having the responsibility for ensuring that organisational goals are reached. In large organisations there are usually many levels of management, including top executives, managers and supervisors for different business units.

When the organisational structure is established, job descriptions can be clearly defined. Job descriptions should reflect the skills and knowledge required to do the job and what the expectations are of each employee, to help meet the organisation's goals.

Managers are responsible for documenting the responsibilities of their team members and outlining the tasks that they will be held accountable for. Responsibilities refer to the day-to-day duties of a team member as per their job description.

As an employee of an organisation, you have to ensure that you understand your role and responsibilities and follow all your organisation’s policies and procedures relevant to your job.

You may need to comply with various legislation that may be relevant to:

· Work Health and Safety

· Privacy and confidentiality

· Discrimination, etc.

Furthermore, there will be policies and procedures that will require compliance such as:

· Written communication

· Professionalism

· Teamwork

· Record management

· Practice standards.

Other responsibilities within the organisation include:

· observing the management structure

· supporting others throughout the organisation

· meeting documentation requirements

· maintaining records correctly.

Meeting these responsibilities will enable you to contribute to the productivity and good image of the organisation.

Managers or team leaders are responsible for delegating tasks to their team and for providing direction and support in carrying out tasks. An effective manager will schedule and hold meetings with their team, facilitate discussions and collaboration, maintain a team calendar and supervise and support the members of the team.

Employees can contribute to achieving overall team goals when they have a clear idea of their own role and responsibilities. Some other benefits of having clearly documented responsibilities for each team member include:

· Increased overall team productivity and success

· Increased morale and momentum

· Avoiding duplication of work

· Better team cohesion and collaboration

	Activity: Read
	Setting goals for employees is important. Read more at the link below. Article: https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/15865-employee-goal-setting.html What are some examples of employee goals? Why should you develop employee goals? How do you set SMART goals? How do you set HEART goals? How do you track and measure goals? Take any notes to summarise what you have read and keep for future reference.

Supporting others to develop work goals

A manager or supervisor can support the development of overall work goals by setting clear goals for their team. Some general team goals might be to:

· boost work performance

· finish projects on time

· increase your organisation’s status in the industry

· strengthen relationships with stakeholders.

Some specific team goals aligned with organisational goals might be to:

· bring in $1,000,000 in new sales revenue this year

· generate 10 new business leads every month

· test and implement a new software within the next six months

· take part in a personal development activity by the end of the year.

Goals should be clearly communicated and regularly referred to, at team meetings. As a manager you should be able to explain why goals are important and what will happen if they are not achieved.

Your team members should have the necessary skills to work towards their individual goals. If not, they should be given access to training, mentoring or coaching so that they can contribute positively to the organisation. From time to time, it may be necessary to relieve some team members of some of their duties so they can work on priority tasks.

Managers can also support team member development by welcoming the ideas of the members of the team and sharing their own ideas and knowledge.

As a manager, it is important to set a positive example through establishing personal work goals.

Positive modelling is a method of coaching, mentoring and discipline targeted at reinforcing positive workplace behaviour and performance. Businesses use positive modelling as part of employee and management training and development programs to enhance their organisation’s capabilities.

You can also be a good role model by managing your time well, prioritising tasks and showing respect and concern for others’ needs. This is especially true when dealing with team members who may have diverse needs.

Image by Fauxels on Pexels

Good managers provide their team members with regular, honest feedback. Constructive feedback, whether negative or positive, is an effective way of discussing performance and it aids in the development of staff.

Performance standards provide the employee with specific performance expectations for each major duty. They are the observable behaviours and actions, which explain how the job is to be done, plus the results that are expected for satisfactory job performance.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) should be set for every responsibility a team member has for completing a task. A KPI is a quantifiable measure of performance over time and is an observable, specific indicators of success. Managers can support employees to set development goals through assigning meaningful, reasonable and attainable KPIs to their tasks.

Take the time to ask employees what skills they would like to develop both personally and professionally. Then, offer your support to help your team members reach them.

Employees should practice self-awareness and reflect on their behaviours in the workplace in order to improve themselves. When setting personal development goals, an employee may have to re-evaluate their work ethic, their workplace relationships and productivity.

Understanding how different personality types influence the way a person works, can help individuals set suitable goals. Identifying your own strengths and weaknesses and learning what is important to other personality types, can improve harmony in the workplace.

The Myers-Briggs type Indicator provides insights into people’s natural tendencies for using their minds and uses four different scales:

Indicator	Extraversion (E)	Introversion (I)
What energises you and gets you excited?	· Draws energy from the outside world · may be from people, things, activities or interaction with others	· Draws energy from the internal world · may be emotions, impressions or ideas
	Sensing (S)	Intuition (N)
Where do you put most of your attention?	· Uses the five senses to interpret information	· Uses the sixth sense to interpret information
	Thinking (T)	Feeling (F)
What do you value most when making a decision or judgment?	· Preference to organise and structure information · Makes decisions in a logical, objective way	· Preference for using a personal, value-oriented way to organise life and make decisions
	Judging (J)	Perceiving (P)
What do you show outwardly most of the time?	· Preference for living a planned, organised life · Makes decision easily	· Preference for spontaneity and being flexible · strong on information gathering

	Activity: Read
	Setting personal work goals can help you succeed in your career: Article: https://www.lifehack.org/798287/personal-goals-for-work Also read about the Big Five personality traits here: Article: https://www.truity.com/book/big-five-personality-model Take any notes to summarise what you have read and keep for future reference.

	Activity: Watch
	Watch the video about setting work goals for employees. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2OPEUjBYdw (04:06) Take any notes to summarise what you have learned and keep for future reference.

Assessing team member goals

Personal and professional development goals of every member of a team should align with the goals and plans of the organisation, in order to reach organisational objectives.

Setting goals for personal development involves employees assessing themselves and identifying the areas in which they can improve. This will include evaluating their current strengths, weaknesses, skills and capabilities and developing a plan for personal growth. Personal development can lead to career advancement, increased productivity and better relationships at work.

Some examples of personal work goals may be:

· Defining priorities and maintaining your own work-life balance

· Developing your emotional intelligence

· Improving communication and listening skills with colleagues and teams

· Managing your own wellbeing

A personal development plan (or PDP), enables employees to improve their performance and reach their full potential, to the benefit of the organisation.

In addition to personal development, goals should be set to ensure the professional development of every employee. Managers have the responsibility to create opportunities for formal and informal professional development.

Professional development is not the same as training; training teaches a skill or fills in a gap, but professional development has the future of the organisation in mind by investing in their people.

Professional development goals may include:

· Familiarising yourself with new technology

· Improving your presentation skills

· Developing your own strengths, knowledge and expertise

· Gaining product knowledge.

	Activity: Research
	Use the Internet to find an example of a Personal Development Plan. What are the types of information you would include in a PDP for yourself or for an employee? Take any notes to summarise what you have read and keep for future reference.

	Activity: Reflect
	Reflect on your current job or a previous job you’ve had. · What are your career ambitions? · What are your current skills and capabilities? · What are some of your strengths and weaknesses? Write your thoughts down and keep your notes for a future activity.

Activity: Develop

Search the internet for an example of a Professional Development Plan. Work in groups of 3-4 students for this activity. You will now practice writing a Development Plan. You may download a free template or create your own. · Each member of the group should list at least three professional work goals (specific or general) based on the position description for their current or previous role. · Using the SMART goal criteria, prioritise the three personal work goals and create a SMART goal for each. Be clear about the steps you will take to achieve each goal, the support you will need and the timeframe. · Practice providing support to the other members of your group by making suggestions and providing feedback on their professional development plan. Your trainer/assessor will provide your group with feedback.

	Activity: Research and discuss
	In what ways can a manager help their team members to align their workplace behaviours, practices and commitment to an organisation’s mission and vision statements? Find an example of a mission and vision statement to illustrate your answer.

Giving your team access to development opportunities

Every manager must facilitate the personal and professional development of their staff.

Employees need to see a path forward in the organisation, this may involve opportunities to learn new skills, work with new people or be exposed to more responsibility.

For most organisations, an agile approach is needed and this is achieved through ongoing discussions with employees. Managers should communicate the options and support they are willing to offer for their employees’ development and demonstrate their commitment to employee interests and needs.

If teams are working remotely, managers should communicate frequently and on a one-to-one basis in order to stay up to date with the career ambitions and expectations of team members. In the case of employees working remotely, virtual training opportunities can be a budget-friendly option and help employees to feel connected to the organisation and its goals. Examples of this may be video sessions with guest speakers or allowing your employees to engage with industry experts through online networking.

Leadership must be invested in developing internal talent. As a first step to setting goals, an employee can complete a questionnaire about their strengths, weaknesses and how they would like to advance their careers. This provides the ideal opportunity for the manager to align the employee’s goals to that of the organisation.

Managers can help employees identify performance gaps and together with the employee, determine how the needed knowledge and skills may be acquired.

The Human Resources department within larger organisations can provide resources for development so that a manager or supervisor has no need to research the options from scratch. Together with their manager or supervisor, an employee can develop a plan that contains steps and timelines for development.

Whether you are a manager or an employee, you are responsible for taking ownership of your own personal and professional development – you need to look for your own opportunities.

Personal and professional development opportunities may include:

· Formal training

· Providing or subsidising continued education

· Participation in professional organisations

· Increased responsibilities

· Attending courses, workshops, conferences to gain industry knowledge

· Self-development through reading and research

· providing an employee opportunity outside his or her job function

· establishing a formal mentoring program

· Job shadowing, and so on.

You might give employees access to an internal content hub with resources including videos, articles, podcasts and more to help them stay informed. Another options

Activity: Research and discuss

There are a number of measures that can be used to assess and monitor performance and facilitate development. · Consider your own position or a position you have held previously. How can you ensure that goals you have set are being achieved? How can performance be measured? · Research the internet to find personal and professional development opportunities that would be relevant to your role. · How can a manager facilitate development that’s catered to team and individual needs?

Activity: Reflect

Have you ever had formal feedback given at a workplace? How did this take place? Was it a positive or negative outcome? Did you take on the feedback and action the recommendations or not bother following it up? Have you given any feedback be it formal or informal? Was it hard to provide feedback, if so, why? Do you take on board informal feedback or responses that you notice in your workplace (for example someone may keep making mistakes and suggest that your instructions can sometimes be difficult to understand)?

Topic 2: Facilitating the achievement of work priorities

In the modern-day workplace, employees are expected to perform at a high level of productivity and to a high standard. Because competition in any industry is fierce, businesses must protect and develop their workforce in order to prevent them from being overworked and overwhelmed.

Personal, team and organisational demands

Prioritising personal, team and organisational demands is an important skill.

Time management refers to the way a person organises and plans how long they will spend on specific activities.

Effective time management can result in a number of benefits such as greater productivity and efficiency and less stress. The consequences of managing time poorly can include missing deadlines, a poor reputation and higher stress levels.

Time management can be a challenging task for a busy manager. Like prioritising tasks, however, it is very important to ensure that all tasks are achieved.

Poor time management skills can result in:

· missed deadlines

· poor work quality

· unwanted stress

· poor professional reputation

· work and life imbalance.

There are many advantages with proper management of time. In your working life, time management can benefit you in the following ways:

· Deliver work on time

· Better quality of work – more time spent on important tasks

· Improved productivity and efficiency

· Less stress and anxiety

· Improved quality of life

· More opportunities for career growth.

Steps for better time management:

· Plan: make smarter decisions about the right time to do a task and use a planner or planning software.

· Prioritise: figure out the most important tasks and the ones that are urgent. Schedule time blocks to attends to these tasks.

· Break big tasks up into smaller chunks.

· Don’t multitask, rather do one thing at a time.

· Cut off distractions such as mobile phones and chatty co-workers.

· Take planned breaks when working.

· Find your most productive times.

Resource management is the organisation of staff, equipment and other resources that are needed to complete a project.

Like time management, decisions need to be made on how to prioritise resources to ensure that projects are completed. The prioritised tasks will be the ones that are most important in achieving the organisation’s goals.

Employees can assist managers in identifying tasks that need to be funded or resourced in order to achieve goals.

‘Activity scheduling’ is about allocating time for team members to complete the tasks they have been assigned. It is about the amount of time in total that is allocated, and when that time is made available.

Keys in this process are:

· Work with the individual where possible to identify the time needed to complete the task that has been assigned.

· Be realistic, factor in time for ‘thinking’ as well as time for ‘doing’.

· Include time for people to challenge the ideas of others and to collaborate with them on tasks they are working on – remember it’s a team, not just a set of individuals so time together doing what a team does is vital

· Identify and block out significant chunks of time – not odd minutes here and there.

· Schedule activity time when it suits the team member – there is often a need to accommodate other work that also has to be done.

· The allocated time must be during paid working hours – team members cannot be expected to work for free but it may be more effective for this time to be work that is done ‘at home’ and not in the office.

· Integrate the scheduling of this task with other co-dependent tasks.

	Activity: Watch
	Good time management in your personal life might help you in your professional life. Watch the video at the following link. Video: https://youtu.be/RiI1NkaDXlQ (01:53)

	Activity: Read
	Read about prioritising tasks, when everything is important: Article: https://www.wework.com/ideas/professional-development/creativity-culture/how-to-prioritize-work What are some strategies for prioritising tasks at work? Take any notes to summarise what you have read and keep for future reference.

Activity: Research and discuss

Consider a work position you may have held in the past or research a position on the Internet. Think about just one day and list down all of the tasks and activities that you have to undertake in a typical day. · How do you prioritise your tasks and manage your resources and time? · Do you have any personal demands placed on you during the course of the day? · Could you allocate resources and time better? Review your list and identify any tasks or activities that you could possibly delegate. List some advantages and disadvantages of delegating work tasks.

Using technology to manage work priorities

Many teams are still using spreadsheets for project management, but those who have adopted project software find that it is a very effective communication tool.

There is a variety of powerful project management software available that help teams plan and implement projects and deliver results within timelines, whether employees are in the working from inside the office or remotely. Many of these software tools feature time tracking, customised workflows, performance management, team calendars and much more. And all these things can be done in real time, using any laptop or mobile device from any location in the world.

Gantt charts are often used as a visual aid in project management and shows tasks scheduled over time, as a bar chart. Gantt charts can be created in Microsoft Excel, but there are different software packages and cloud-based solutions available that have the feature.

Many of these tools offer features that apply to teams working remotely, enabling them to collaborate on projects and stay organised.

With project management software, timelines can be set for individual action items as well as high-level goals. Challenging deadlines will keep the team moving forward and help individual employees to stay focussed on the task at hand. Good managers will gather team input when setting timelines to keep their team from becoming demotivated as a result of not completing tasks on time.

Communication is an important aspect of managing a project well. Manager must model effective communication to the rest of their team. Project management software often has a chat or messaging feature that allow teams to collaborate in real time.

Another feature of most project management tools is that you are able to track the progress of a team and track the activities of the team members, through the use of a dashboard. A dashboard may contain a summary of the project cost (versus budget), track the progress of tasks, provide a summary of the workload per team member, and more.

Popular options for project management software include:

· Trello

· Monday

· Asana

· Jira, etc.

Career development software can offer a self-directed career portal to help employees develop a career path. Features may include the ability to create a profile, see the opportunities available within the organisation, view information about roles and responsibilities, training and more.

	Activity: Brainstorm
	Brainstorm the following: · What technologies could you use (or do you use) to manage work priorities? · Research three different scheduling tools and weigh up their pros and cons. · How could barriers to use of technology be overcome for employees who might feel overwhelmed when switching to a new technology?

Managing wellbeing

A healthy workplace supports the health and wellbeing of employees. This includes fostering healthy workplace policies and the environments to support it, enhancing positive work relationships, personal development of every employee, and promoting healthy active lifestyles. Your organisation, depending on the number of employees, may have to establish or maintain an extensive health and wellbeing program or in the case of a small business, it may involve simple activities.

Image by Mateus Campos Felipe on Unsplash

Managers and employees need to work together to continually support and promote the health and wellbeing of all workers.

Creating a healthy workplace by implementing a workplace health program will benefit employees in the following ways:

· increases health awareness and knowledge

· increased physical health and mental wellbeing

· increase in job satisfaction and self-confidence

· leads to a healthier lifestyle overall.

Apart from these benefits to the employee, there are numerous measurable organisational benefits to employers in implementing workplace health programs or in creating a culture of wellbeing, including:

· Reduced absenteeism: Fitness and a healthy work environment can lead to employees missing fewer workdays.

· Decreased frequency and cost of employee’s compensation: Most companies see a decrease in health costs and payouts for their workers.

· Promote employee morale, satisfaction and motivation: Employee reviews and surveys show that wellness programs result in better teamwork, communication, employee engagement and personal effectiveness.

· Improve productivity and work performance: Workers will be more productive if they are healthy and happy at work.

· Improved corporate image and attraction/retention of employees: Recruiting new employees is time consuming and expensive and a healthy workplace is an incentive for existing workers to stay with the organisation.

· Increased return on training and development investment: The longer an employee remains at an organisation after receiving investment into their development, the higher the benefit to the employer.

There are a number of approaches that can be taken to identify the health and wellbeing needs of employees within the organisation. An employer may be able to identify employee health issues by observing employee behaviour for example, memory lapses, behaviour that would be considered out of character and so on. Employees may show physical signs such as a dishevelled appearance, symptoms of illness or injury, or employers may observe conflict with team members or managers.

Other methods of identifying health and wellbeing issues include reviewing employee attendance records and performance appraisals, reviewing incident or hazard reports, or conducting focus groups, surveys and workplace audits. Employees sometimes work remotely or there may be multiple worksites and you should take this into consideration when collecting information.

Some questions to ask employees may include:

· What sort of activities aimed at improving health, would you be willing or happy to participate in?

· What are some areas of concern relating to health, that you would you like the organisation to give attention to? Some examples can be stress management, work-life balance, etc.

· What are some reasons why you would not be willing to participate in a health program or some related activities in your workplace?

· When would you be most likely to participate in these programs or activities? Will lunchbreaks, before or after work suit you best?

There are various techniques to help manage team health and wellbeing in the workplace. Health and wellbeing programs should be in line with the interests of employees and the issues they experience. Some of the options are discussed below.

Nutrition

Healthy eating habits can have a major impact on an employee’s ability to do their job well. A healthy, nutritious diet can improve a worker’s ability to concentrate.

Programs can be developed to educate employees about healthy food choices, enabling them to make healthier food and drink choices. Organisations can ensure there are healthy choices available at work, that vending machines are stocked with nutritious options and nutritious snacks are supplied at office meetings and at workplace functions. An example may be to replace a percentage of unhealthy canteen options (fried foods and foods and drinks with a high sugar content) with healthy food options like wholegrain breads, fruits, vegetables, low fat dairy, lean meats, water and low kilojoule drinks. Some organisations might be able to provide unlimited access to fresh fruit and other healthy snacks. Employees should be given access to kitchen facilities to store and prepare healthy food brought into the workplace from home.

Physical activity

Lack of regular physical activity can result in weight gain and illness, sometimes chronic conditions.

Workplace health programs should offer employees opportunities to integrate physical activity into their daily lives, in addition to healthy eating. This may include creating awareness or promoting facilities at or near work that encourage physical activity. A workplace may be able to offer onsite programs, services or exercise equipment. An example of this may be to schedule team meetings to be outdoors going for a walk. In this way team members can discuss work related issues while getting exercise.

Social and emotional wellbeing

Workplace health programs that aid employees in manage stress can improve their health and general wellbeing. Employees can be referred to counselling or employee assistance programs to aid them in their mental health.

An employee assistance program (EAP) is a work-based intervention program that is designed to identify and support employees in resolving personal issues or problems (e.g., marital breakups, financial hardship, emotional problems, family issues, substance/alcohol abuse) that may be affecting the employee's performance to an extent where they are underperforming in their role or it affects others in the workplace.

Smoking cessation and help for alcohol and drug abuse

Smokers tend to fall ill more frequently than non-smokers. Encouraging employees to see a doctor to discuss quitting smoking and allowing them the time to do so, is an option for employers to include in their workplace health programs. Support can be sought for those employees who are struggling with substance abuse.

	Activity: Read
	Read the article at the following link: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/workplace-wellness Take any notes to summarise what you have read and keep for future reference.

	Activity: Research and discuss
	Research the Internet for how a large organisation (for example Google or Apple) take care of their staff. List down the types of measures in place and if possible, source a short video demonstrating these measures. Complete this work in pairs.

	Activity: Develop
	You will now practice developing a performance plan for at least two individuals. Assume you are the manager of an organisation of your choice. Select two roles that would report to you (e.g. administration assistant and customer service representative). Develop a personal development plan for these people making the assumption that they have limited experience in their roles. · List the goals and objectives of the organisation as it relates to each person’s job. · Create a list of three goals for each person’s role. · Create performance standards and indicators for each task. Ensure that these are linked to organisation goals and objectives.
	Your trainer/assessor will provide feedback.

Topic 3: Develop and maintain professional competence

Those in a management position should never assume that professional development isn’t as important to them as it is for those they manage. Competencies in the workplace refer to a set of skills, attributes or behaviours that are used to decide an individual’s effectiveness or ability to perform a job – this includes having a leadership position. Workplace competencies can be behavioural, for example, having excellent verbal communication skills; or technical, which may refer to the ability to resolve conflict. These are all very important in a good manager or leader.

You should be able to document your own development needs, priorities and plans by using the standards of competency that applies to your role.

In general, competency can be improved by:

· Observing those around you - this may be particularly helpful when starting a new job or learning a new skill

· asking questions to improve your knowledge - gaining expertise and insight from those who are more experienced than you

· improving your soft skills – this may involve thinking of how can you improve your attitude, or communicate more effectively

· improving the quality of your work – rectify any mistakes that you’ve made previously

· learning new skills or technology to improve your skills – this may be needed as result of industry trends or feedback you receive from other employees

	Activity: Research and discuss
	List the ways in which you maintain your professional competencies either in your current workplace or a position you have previously held. Research the term “Competency Standards” and provide a list of tools that could be used to assess personal competency standards.

Seek feedback from relevant personnel on own development needs

Feedback should be sourced from:

· Inside the team – from all of the team members as individuals.

· Outside the team – which may mean obtaining it from:

Other teams you work with.

Other employees within the business.

Management or stakeholders of the business.

Ways to obtain feedback

It is good to create a culture of feedback within the workplace so that it is sought actively on an ongoing basis and not to rely only on feedback that is provided in a random manner or at performance management discussions.

To obtain this volume and consistency of feedback the team should:

· Include ‘feedback’ as a standing topic at all meeting, briefings, debriefings.

· Ensure new team members are advised of the role of feedback in the team and the need for them to contribute to it.

· Ensure there is a variety of feedback options available so there is plenty of opportunity to provide feedback – as well as meetings etc the team can use casual discussions, text messages, phone calls, emails, non-verbal communication (‘thumbs up’, a smile).

All feedback received (negative as well as positive) should be assessed, and where deemed valid, acted upon – not all feedback will be legitimate but where it is, it is vital that it is actioned.

Make sure that everyone who contributes feedback has their feedback acknowledged and are told how it has been used. Doing this will help keep up the flow of feedback.

	Activity: Read
	The importance of feedback in the workplace: https://www.t-three.com/soak/insights/personal-development-and-the-power-of-feedback Key benefits of effective feedback: https://hraligneddesign.com/leadership/key-benefits-of-effective-feedback/. Take any notes to summarise what you have read and keep for future reference.

	Activity: Research and discuss
	List the type of tools that you could use to obtain feedback from employees, colleagues and clients. Have you ever been given feedback that has enabled a positive change in your work practices?

Participate in personal and professional development activities

Professional development of personal skills and knowledge could be through:

· personal training or one-on-one instruction

· college courses or in-house professional development training

· conferences

· mentoring

· building networks

· job rotation

· secondment.

By providing or encouraging professional development in the workplace, an organisation can increase productivity and remain competitive in today’s growing global market economy.

Personal development can enable employees to build networks, improve their own opportunities in the workplace, develop self-management, focus on performance and undertake best practices.

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Networking can be in the form of professional/industry bodies (for example the ACS); community associations (for example Lions); organisational networks (for example Chamber of Commerce) or individual networks (for example social networking).

	Activity: Research and discuss
	View the LinkedIn professional network site: https://www.linkedin.com and http://www.professionalsaustralia.org.au. Provide three advantages to connecting to a professional network such as these. In what way would these networks provide a competitive edge for you and your organisation?

Activity: Practical

You will now be establishing a professional development action plan which you might choose to undertake. The tasks are as follows: Create an action plan (use an online template if required) for the following: · A professionally presented and up-to-date resume. · Joining a professional network that relates to your industry or one that you are interested in. · Creating a professional profile on a social media or network such as LinkedIn, establishing networks within the network and posting or showing interaction within the network. · Undertaking at least one professional development activity that will help you in your job or college life. This could be an online webinar on study skills or a beginner course in Spanish. · Create a one-year plan to show where you would like to be professionally in 1-3 years from now. Show measurable goals, milestones and explain how these can be achieved. · Present your work at the end of the content delivery of this unit. You may choose to complete some of your activities in preparation for your assessment.

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