Lead and manage effective workplace relationships
Hsc
Assessment Task 1 BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships
BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships 1st edition version: 1
© 2015 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd Page 1 of 6
Plan and present workplace
communication systems
Submission details
Candidate’s name Phone no.
Assessor’s name Phone no.
Assessment site
Assessment date/s Time/s
The assessment task is due on the date specified by your assessor. Any variations to this
arrangement must be approved in writing by your assessor.
Submit this document with any required evidence attached. See specifications below
for details.
Performance objective
You will demonstrate the skills and knowledge required to plan communication systems.
Assessment description
Using the simulated business information provided, and in response to a scenario, you
will prepare a portfolio of communications planning documentation that includes a
communications strategy and grievance procedure. You will also prepare and deliver a
presentation to the senior management team on your plans for managing
communications and consultation.
Procedure
Part A: Communications planning portfolio
1. Review the scenario in Appendix 1, particularly the background to the simulated
organisation, current change issues, communication and consultation needs, and
information about your role as Communications Consultant.
2. Review JKL Industries simulated business documentation, including strategic plans
and operational plans. Note what the organisation does, how it does it, what its
goals and objectives are, and who its stakeholders and customers are.
Assessment Task 1 BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships
BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships 1st edition version: 1
© 2015 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd Page 2 of 6
3. Develop a draft communications strategy for meeting organisational needs that
includes:
a. two to three communications objectives
b. at least two different audiences, for example, senior management, work
teams, or individual employees
c. at least two methods of communication or media
d. at least two provisions to facilitate bottom-up consultation (from employees
to management); for example, consultation on employee health and safety,
consultation on continuous improvement of work processes, consultation on
employee conditions and pay, or consultation on job roles and performance
expectations.
Note: Ensure you also provide for management feedback on consultation
back to employees.
4. Develop a short (less than one page) grievance procedure.
5. Submit your portfolio in accordance with quality specifications outlined below.
Part B: Presentation to the senior management team
Research, plan and deliver a 10–15 minute presentation to senior managers on your
proposed communications planning.
1. Prepare a business presentation in response to the scenario described in the
scenario. Determine and prepare to discuss:
a. Audience needs and relevant interpersonal skills you will need to deploy to
win support for your ideas.
b. Organisational needs:
i. internal strategic needs, goals and objectives
ii. external regulatory or legal requirements, such as for WHS
consultation, anti-discrimination or industrial relations
iii. business ethics requirements.
c. Your proposed approach to communications and consultation to meet
organisational and audience needs:
i. Prepare to explain your draft communications strategy, organisational
policies and procedures, and how such communications systems and
policies can support a coordinated approach to developing effective
work relationships.
2. Arrange a time and location to deliver your presentation to the senior management
team.
3. Deliver the presentation to the senior management team. Ensure you deliver your
presentation in accordance with deliverables and quality specifications outlined
below.
Assessment Task 1 BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships
BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships 1st edition version: 1
© 2015 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd Page 3 of 6
Specifications
You must:
● submit a communications planning portfolio that includes:
o a communications strategy
o a short grievance procedure.
● deliver a 10–15-minute presentation on your proposed communications strategy.
Your assessor will be looking for evidence of your ability to:
● provide leadership through your own behaviour including professional conduct that
promotes trust with a business audience
● explain how communications systems, policies and procedures can support the
development of effective work relationships
● explain how your communications strategy addresses legislative or regulatory
requirements
● interact with others through:
o building professional trust
o demonstrating high level support and facilitation skills and your ability to
engage and motivate others
● get the work done through:
o taking public responsibility for planning and sequencing complex tasks to
achieve organisational goals
o developing processes and plans for complex communication activities with
strategic importance
o analysing information to inform decisions about organisational
communications strategy
o identifying opportunities for improvement in communications
● develop processes to manage ideas and information including:
o communicating information to support others to achieve work responsibilities
o facilitating employees’ contributions to consultation on work issues
o providing feedback on the outcomes of consultations
o resolution of issues raised or referral to relevant personnel
● demonstrate writing skills through:
o researching and preparing plans and policies incorporating appropriate
vocabulary, grammatical structure and conventions.
Assessment Task 1 BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships
BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships 1st edition version: 1
© 2015 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd Page 4 of 6
Adjustment for distance-based learners
● No changes to the assessment procedure or specification are required.
● The presentation may be conducted via video or teleconferencing.
● Documentation may be submitted electronically.
● A follow-up interview may be required (at the discretion of the assessor).
Assessment Task 1 BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships
BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships 1st edition version: 1
© 2015 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd Page 5 of 6
Appendix 1: Scenario – JKL Industries
JKL Industries overview
JKL Industries is an Australian-owned company, selling forklifts, small trucks and spare
parts to industry. They also have a division that leases forklifts and small trucks.
The company’s head office is in Sydney and has branches in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth,
Adelaide and Canberra.
Change
After 12 years in business, focusing on forklifts and small trucks, JKL Industries has
negotiated the sales rights to a range of medium and large trucks from an overseas
supplier. This opportunity will provide JKL Industries with an advantage in range over its
competitors.
Sales results over the past five years have indicated strong growth in forklift and truck
sales, which have averaged 10% sales growth per annum. The rental market has been in
decline for the past three years due to the reduced costs of these vehicles and some
taxation benefits to industries who purchase these vehicles.
Taking the sales rights opportunity will, however, entail some significant changes,
including significant changes to the current organisational structure. The company will
reposition itself to focus solely on retail sales and service and exit the rentals market, in
which forces such as competition and consumer choice reduce potential profitability.
In accordance with the organisation’s values, JKL Industries intends (to the extent
feasible) to recruit from within the company and up-skill or re-skill existing employees
presently working in rentals who wish to remain with the company.
Given the company’s previous history of employee grievances over pay and conditions
and current plans to restructure, JKL Industries has identified poor communications and
an organisational climate of conflict as a risk to business goals.
Moving forward, the organisation intends to build and maintain a positive organisational
culture, reduce risk and achieve organisational goals through:
● developing an effective policy framework for managing internal communications
and consultation, in accordance with organisational objectives, business ethics,
and compliance requirements
● communicating and building support for organisational initiatives and objectives
● managing information flow to:
o provide managers and employees with at-hand information to perform their
work responsibilities
o communicate ideas for improvement (top-down and bottom-up)
o facilitate feedback both to and from employees and management on relevant
work performance and outcomes of consultation.
Communication and consultation issues
An internal management review of the organisation has uncovered the following issues:
Assessment Task 1 BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships
BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships 1st edition version: 1
© 2015 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd Page 6 of 6
● A lack of an overarching approach to information management that helps to
promote common understanding of team goals and organisational values and to
build strategic relationships.
● Slow responses to internal and external customer needs.
● Slow and ineffective communication of and implementation of ideas for improved
processes.
● Ineffective or no use of modern communication technologies and social platforms.
● Inadequate consultation, resulting in risks to compliance (particularly WHS
consultation requirements) and too little bottom-up information flow from
employees to management. This latter results in poor organisational take-up of
improvement ideas identified by teams and individuals at lower levels of the
organisation and by customer-facing managers and employees.
● Inconsistent application by managers of grievance procedures posing a risk to
employee relations.
● Poor sense of employee engagement, empowerment and accountability for work
performance.
● Poor general awareness of (and therefore poor support of) organisational goals,
ethics, values.
Your role
You are a communications consultant. You have been engaged by JKL Industries to revise
and update strategies and processes to manage communications and information flow
within the organisation.
Note that the senior management team may be resistant to changes to communication
strategies, policies and procedures. In particular, they are concerned that a new approach
to communications may result in a less cohesive organisation.
You will need to ensure your communications strategy and processes address
organisational issues, while using your highly developed interpersonal skills to engage
and motivate the senior management team to embrace your proposed changes.