Developing Individuals, Teams and Organisation

This report examines the importance of developing individuals, teams, and organizations within the context of Hightown Housing Association. It explores key HR functions, including skills identification, personal development planning, organizational learning, and performance management. The report also discusses the role of High Performance Working (HPW) in employee engagement and the need for continuous learning and professional development in achieving sustainable business performance.

Developing
Individuals, Teams and
Organisation

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1 Identify professional skills, knowledge and behaviour required by HR professional............1
P2: Personal skills audit and professional development plan......................................................2
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
P3. Differences between organizational and individual learning and training and development6
P4 Need of continuous learning and professional development in sustainable business
performance.................................................................................................................................8
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................10
P5 State how HPW contribute to employee engagement..........................................................10
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................10
P6 Different approaches of performance management and their contribution.........................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Employees is considered as a valuable asset of an organisation whose performance level
decide their growth and success in competitive market. For this, the HR professionals is held
liable to develop their workforce which can be possible only if have sufficient skills and
knowledge through engaging in training and development programs. HR professionals should
encourage its employees to perform as an individual and as a group so that both personal as well
as professionals goals can be achieved. The present assignment report is based on Hightown
Housing which is a charitable housing association operating in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire,
Berkshire and Buckinghamshire The project summarises the skills, knowledge and behaviour
that should be attained by HR professionals to perform its important functions. Along with this,
difference between training and development, organisational and individual learning, continuous
and professional learning has also been discussed under this report.
TASK 1
P1 Identify professional skills, knowledge and behaviour required by HR professional
HR professionals is an individual who is responsible to perform various roles like, hiring,
firing, appraisal based on performance, training and development programs, rewarding
workforce etc. which required specific qualities and capabilities. skills and knowledge for better
functioning. The HR manager also should determine those factors which can affect their
performance level and need to be improved. Hightown Housing is a charitable housing
association whose aim is to build new homes and to provide excellent housing and support. It
requires good knowledge in HR Professionals to recruit skilled and knowledgeable employees so
that they can contribute maximum efforts in achieving growth and sustainability of Hightown
Housing Association (Bolman and Deal, 2017). Therefore, to hire such skilled and innovative
thinking people HR manager should have an ability to identify the actual skills and knowledge of
employees and on the basis of which make efforts to enhance the weaknesses through conducting
development programs. Following are the various skills, knowledge and behaviour which must
be acquired by HR professional of Hightown Housing:
HR skills:
Skills refer to the ability for carrying out a task with determined results in the
predetermined amount of time.
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Organising people: HR professionals should have skill of organising employees to the
particular task according to their skills and knowledge so that the performance level of
employees can easily be identified. It makes easy for HR to enhance their weak areas through
conducting training and development programs.
Team work skills: Employees should perform better if working in a team rather than
individual therefore it is the responsibility of HR manager of Hightown Housing to allocate their
staff in a team according to their skills and knowledge so that maximum efforts can gained in
order to achieve desired goals and objectives of an organisation. It can be done only if HR
manager have skills of identifying the issues and conflicts among employees at workplace and
resolve them quickly as possible (Chaskalson, 2011)
Knowledge:
Knowledge refers to the familiarity, awareness, or understanding of something which is
acquired through personal experience or education by perceiving, discovering, or learning new
things.
Law and government: HR manager is liable to maintain healthy environment at
workplace which can be possible only if they have an appropriate knowledge about the
governmental laws and legislation acts in which nation their company operates. For example,
Operating in UK, HR manager of Hightown Housing should understand various employment
laws such as Equality act, 2010, Discrimination act, Sex discrimination Act, 1975, Equal Pay
Act, 1970 etc.
Behaviour:
Behaviour refer to the way through which an individual act or conduct oneself at the workplace.
Accountability: HR professional of Hightown Housing is required to have good
behaviour regarding the roles and responsibilities which are performed by them at the workplace
after providing the real results and output. Through such behaviour, HR manager of Hightown
Housing can try to enhance their decision making power by using the case studies, programmes
etc.
Adaptability: This behaviour assist HR manager of Hightown Housing to analyse the
requirements of workforce at workplace in specific area of work and accordingly apply critical
thinking to fulfil the required workforce for getting the highest possible contribution from the
workers in order to accomplish the desired organisational goals.
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These knowledge skills and attributes are required in the HR advisor of Hightown
housing for performing their job role in an effective and efficient manner. Through these
knowledge, skills and attributes, HR advisor of Hightown housing can recruit the candidates
properly by analysing their skills and competencies as well as can provide proper support to the
HR manager for carrying out the work of HR department in the company.
P2: Personal skills audit and professional development plan
Personal skill audit refers to the procedure of determining own strengths and weaknesses
with a clear objective of increasing capabilities for performing the assigned activities and task in
an appropriate manner. This will enable an individual as on the position of HR manager to guide
workforce in right direction so that profitable outcome can gained in future (Conboy and et. al.,
2011). Hightown Housing is operating its business in various nations having number of
employees who perform with full dedication therefore it is important for HR manager to enhance
their own capabilities to manage their performance level through conducting skill audit. As a HR
manager of Hightown Housing it is essential for me to conduct personal audit discussed as
under:
Personal skills audit of mine as HR Professional of Hightown Housing Association
Sr. No. Skills and Competencies Self-assessed
Score
Score from others Variances
1 Team Building Ability 8 9 -1
2 Conflict Solving 9 8 1
3 Decision making Power 8 9 -1
4 Confidence Level 8 7 1
6 Communication skills 9 7 2
7 Information Technology Skills 9 8 1
8 Critical thinking 7 8 -1
(In above table negative variance is considered as my strong point and positive variance are
identified as my weak point)
From the above discussed skill audit plan, some positive and negative points are
analysed. These are discussed as under-
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Strength Weakness
 Online sources provide huge
information and I can easily use it
because they have a good knowledge of
Internet.
 I have responsibility towards their
employees therefore, they have to
provide training to less experience
employees in order to bring efficiency
in them.
 Communication structure was not good
in the organisation because I have no
skills of communication.
 I am not considering the issues of
employees so, there are a conflict in the
environment of organisation.
 I am not performing properly their
duties because they have no skills of
presentation and IT due to which they
can't conduct their functions in effective
manner.
Personal development plan (PDP) for HR professional role
Personal development plan is an activity of developing skills and knowledge of which
HR manager suffer. It is considered as an action plan in which suitable measures has been taken
to overcome identified weaknesses and enhance strength so that they are more capable to
perform roles and responsibilities while having at position of HR professionals. It can be
developed through using various sources such as seminars, books etc.
Sr
.
N
o
Learning
Objective
Current
Proficiency
Target Proficiency Development
Opportunities
Judging
criteria
Time
Scale
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1 Commun
ication
skill
I am weak in
communication
skill, so I can
not
communicate
with employees
in impressive
manner.
I wants to improve
this skill, so policies
can be
communicated in
effective manner and
interact with them in
case of any issue.
This skill can
be developed
with the help
of online
sources,
seminars
related to
communicatio
n, etc.
Peer members
and
subordinates
2
months
2 Problem
solving
skill
As Hightown
Housing is a
charitable
association
which has
different
employees
having
difference in
perception.
Hence there are
different
problems with
affects
performance of
workforce. I am
weak in solving
their issues.
I wants to improves
this so harmony can
be maintained within
organisation.
By dealing
with practical
situation and
guidance of
top level
managers.
Top level
personnel.
3
months
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3 IT skills I don't have an
efficient IT
skills due to
which I failed to
secure the
informations
which is related
with staff
members
I have to improve its
IT skills so that, He
easily secured
information that is
essential for
organisation.
Training
programmes
Board of
Directors
4
months
4 Presentat
ion skill
I have no ability
of presenting the
presentation in
front of new
joined
employees.
I need to have skill
to formulate an
effective policies
and practices which
required to
implemented after
the consent of
employees.
It can be
developed
through using
internet
sources,
seminars etc.
Peer members
and managers
5
months
Through the communication skills, I can advise on disciplinary, capability, grievance,
whistle blowing, absence and similar cases in line with Hightown’s policies and procedures and
good practice. Through the IT skills, I can TUPE transfers, including assisting with consultation,
analysis of due diligence information, and liaison with other external bodies and internal teams.
Through the problem solving skills, I can provide my support to managers & senior managers in
all matters relating to human resources including; terms and conditions, absence management,
performance management and employee relations issues within agreed time limits. Through the
presentation skills, I can assist and support the business to manage team changes, restructures,
redundancies, relocations and transfers to ensure that staff are supported and risk is identified
and managed appropriately.
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TASK 2
P3. Differences between organizational and individual learning and training and development
learning and development is very essential for the employees of an organisation in order
to achieve good results from their work as well as the firm can achieve sustainable business
performance.
Individual learning: It is described as a process of enhancing skills and abilities after
making interaction with an external stimuli and other sources. HR professional here play an
important role in identifying the deviations in performance level of employees and conduct
learning programs accordingly.
Organisational learning: It is described as an activity of improving capabilities and
knowledge of overall organisation through framing plans and policies by HR professionals. It
mainly focuses on achievement of organisational goals and objectives without considering
employees' capabilities individually (Day and et. al., 2014).
Differences between individual and organisational learning
BASIS INDIVIDUAL LEARNING ORGANISATIONAL LEARNING
SCOPE Scope of this kind of learning is
very low because it mainly focus
on enhancing the knowledge of
individuals.
Scope of this learning is very wide
because it enhances the knowledge
of overall firm.
RIGIDITY It is flexible in nature because it
not only focuses on training but
also enhances the knowledge of
them from any means.
In it, learning material is provided by
management to their employees.
Therefore this learning is rigid in
nature.
TIME It is an ongoing service for the
career of individuals and not
depends on a specific time period.
Time frame should be decided by
management for enhancing the
knowledge and skills.
Training: It is conducted by almost every organisation with an objective of increasing
the specific skills and knowledge of their employees so as to increase their contribution towards
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achievement of organisational goals and objectives. Thus, it is useful for Hightown Housing to
conduct both on-the-job and off-the-job training programs in order to increase the talent of their
workforce.
Development: It mainly focuses on increasing overall personality of an individual with an
objective of assisting them to achieve future growth and success in their personal as well as
professional career. For this, HR professional of Hightown Housing must develop programs for
the growth of its workforce so as to increase their value and position within an organisation
(Eime and et. al., 2013).
Differences between training and development
BASIS TRAINING DEVELOPMENT
ORIENTATION This process is job-oriented While, it is career-oriented.
SKILL It enhances technical skills of
staff members which is required
for completion of task.
Development increases the ideas,
concepts and performance level of
workers of organisation
AIM Main aim of training is to
increasing the skills which are
related with given task or whole
work.
Whereas, aim of development is to
improving overall knowledge and
skills so that they can easily face
upcoming challenges.
Time-Duration It is a short term process because
after implementation of desired
skills it is completed.
Apart from that, it is very long
process because it emphasizes on
overall improvement of firm and its
employees.
As a HR advisor of Hightown housing, I can create an inclusive learning and
development culture within the Hightown Housing by motivating the employees through rewards
and compensation. Also I can provide training to the employees so that they can improve their
learning for bringing more efforts to the organisation through which firm can achieve higehr
competitive edge over the competitors.
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P4 Need of continuous learning and professional development in sustainable business
performance
Learning may be described as the process of acquiring new things and improving existing
skills, knowledge and values. It takes more time but provided long term advantages to an
individuals in terms of growth in professional career. Such learning can be done through
observing others who are more experienced and knowledgeable in specific field of work due to
which it brings motivation to perform with the same in order to achieve growth and success in
future period of time (Goetsch and Davis, 2014)
Continuous learning: It may be defined as the process of acquiring knowledge of
different field by an individuals on continuous basis with an objective of developing own
personality and performance level in an organisation. It will be more helpful for an individuals
and team in carrying out daily business activities in more effective and efficient manner. It
includes process which consists of observing and analysing others who are specialised in their
particular field, determining the methods of enhancing skills such as training and learning
programs including seminars, executing work under the guidance of professionals and many
more.
Professional development: Every organisation requires to have an effective skilled and
knowledgeable employees who knows how to support company in achieving competitive
advantage. For this, its professional skills needs to be developed which can be possible through
conducting professional development classes which clearly identified the low skilled and high
skilled workers. This will enable management of Hightown Housing to analyse skills gap and
accordingly tried to remove such skilled gap between them.
Hightown Housing is a charitable association who has attained huge workforce to bring
company ahead in the competition. To enhance their skills, the management of Hightown
Housing develops both types of training sessions at workplace on regular basis in which different
skills has been tried to improved such as IT Management skills (Hitt and et. al., 2011). Agile
leadership and Management skills etc. Apart from this, they also focuses on enhancing skills of
employees on individual basis which can be more helpful when new technology has been
introduced at workplace which requires sufficient skills to operate. Training and learning
programs brings more advantages to Hightown Housing which are listed with brief description as
under:
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Higher employee retention: These trainings help in generating abilities and raising
dimension of confidence in employees. It will offer chance to Hightown Housing in retaining
experienced employees and their work commitment with company for longer period of time.
Alongside this, it likewise help managers in minimizing employee turnover. Through this
procedure, Hightown Housing gains advantage in developing sustainability of business with
maximum contribution of workers for longer time-frame.
Support critical thinking: By attending training session, The critical thinking abilities of
employees also improves by using the training so that they can tackle the business issues at
workplace. It is also helpful in maintaining an effective team at work environment by developing
the feeling collaboration in workers and including them in team work. As Hightown Housing
needs to sustain in business thus if employees are more capable to resolve its problem on their
own then it will increasing their professional career for longer period.
Enhanced performance level: By organizing different training programmes for the
learning and development on continuous basis, workers can improve their abilities at an
individual basis and team basis which will assist the employees to perform with maximum
efficiency at work environment. On the other side, if employees perform well, it will offer
chance to Hightown Housing in enhancing the sustainability rate of business by minimizing
wastage don e by the production process and by executing the work in shorter time period
(Marquardt and et. al., 2011).
Nature of the Hightown housing is that the firm is engaged in providing homes to the
needy people at affordable prices. The company is doing this so that the people can live properly
without facing any economic issues. The CPD can be implemented in the Hightown housing
through providing training and development opportunities for improving their performance and
productivity so that they can become successful in their future career.
Kolb learning cycle: Kolb's learning style is based on two dimensions which are how a
person understands and processes the information. This model has 4 steps which are as follows: Diverging: People having this learning style look things from a different perspective.
Such people prefer to watch then perform as they have strong imagination capacity,
emotional, strong in arts and prefer to work in groups.
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 Assimilating: People having such learning style prefer good clear information due to
which they prefer to logically format the given information and exploring analytic
models. Such people are interested in concepts and abstracts than in people. Converging: People having such learning style prefer to solve their problems. They use
their own learning to practical issues and prefer technical tasks. Such people also
experiment with new ideas.
 Accommodating: People having such learning style tend to perform their work
practically. Such people are attracted to new challenges and solve problems themselves.
TASK 3
P5 State how HPW contribute to employee engagement
There are several practices which can be adopted by HR professionals such as recruitment
and selection, rewards and incentives etc. among which High Performance working are most
suitable to adopt by Hightown Housing Association as it help in promoting high performance by
motivating workforce through providing them training and development programs. The
competitive advantage can be gained by an association through encouraging employees to get
engaged in different business activities. Such business activities includes decision making
process which are made to achieve organisational goals and objectives. According to the
research, HR professionals plays an important role in enhancing the performance level of
employees through providing them suitable guidance and direction (Waddock, 2010)
Competitive advantage is an important factors for an organisation as it hep them in their
establishment in competitive market. To achieve strong market position, Hightown Housing
association must adopt economic prices for their housing facilities in order to influence buying
behaviour of customers who can increase their sales ratios. High Performance Working
encourages employees to generate new and innovative ideas which assist an organisation to
achieve competitive advantage in market.
In Hightown Housing Association, HPW practice are adopted to formulate an effective
strategies which drives business to achieve further growth and development. These plans which
are properly executed by the management in order to carry out the business operations with the
help of taking support from skilled and knowledgeable employees. The team work and better
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coordination will make easy for an organisation to achieve growth and sustainability in
competitive market.
There are 4 major element of HPW which are as follows:
 The employee's decision making process: Through determining this, the management of
the Hightown housing can analyse the decision taken by the employees so that proper
decision and strategies can be developed.
 How the employee learns: Through this, the management of the Hightown housing can
determine the way through which the employees can learn in proper and better manner.
 What the employee sees as incentives: Through this, the management of the Hightown
housing can determine the way for motivating the employee so that proper performance
can be achieved.
 What technologies the employee is familiar with: Through this, the management of the
Hightown housing can implement the latest technology in the operations of the
employees based on their technical skills.
TASK 4
P6 Different approaches of performance management and their contribution
Performance management system is defined as an effective strategic and integrated
approach to gain profitable result through enhancing the performance level and capabilities of
teams and individuals. The main aim of adopting performance management system to make
workforce more capable to execute its allotted roles and responsibilities so that they can easily
achieve its personal as well as professionals goals. Hightown Housing executes different
activities regarding performance management system some of which are given as under:
Reward and remuneration: It is most suitable strategy which is implemented at
workplace with a clear objective of bringing motivation and self confidence among workforce to
perform better. Using such approach, HR professional of Hightown Housing should first
determine the performance level of all employees and after measuring them carefully, the list of
employees who are eligible to receive rewards and incentive will be made. This will motivate
others as well to work hard and gain company's benefits in future period of time (Organisational
learning, 2017)
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Performance appraisal: It refers to an activity of giving higher job position to the
employees after analysing their capabilities and efficiency in their performance level
Performance objectives and standards: Under this, HR manager setting up targeted
towards employees so that they can feel motivated and achieve desired target within allotted time
period.
These all functions must be adopted by Hightown Housing with the purpose of enhancing
quality of performance and support employees to accomplish the growth in their own as well as
organisational goals and objectives. To support these methods, there are various measures which
can be used by Hightown Housing some of which are described as under:
Comparative approach: Under this approach, the performance of all workers are
properly analysed by ranking them in comparison of their team members. The higher performer
gets highest rank whereas low performer gets lower. It facilitate management in identifying the
employees along with their capabilities which makes easy for them to formulate an effective
plans and strategies. For example, high ranked employees gets rewards and incentives from their
managers whereas the low performer gets training and learning sessions to enhance their skills so
as to compete with their rivals within an organization.
Behavioural approach: It is a method which is adopted with an objective of analysing
the interest and working behaviour of employees which makes easy for the management to allot
task in order to get positive result. Thus, it is more useful for an organisation to maintain healthy
work atmosphere which indirectly increases the working behaviour and retention rate of
employees (Performance measurement approaches, 2017).
The above mentioned are the approaches for measuring the performance level among
which behavioural approach will be more suitable to adopt by an organisation. The reason for
adopting such approach is the size of an organisation as using comparative approach will bring
profitable outcomes when the workforce of an organisation is smaller. As Hightown Housing is
operating its business globally with having huge number of workforce thus to analyse the
working behaviour of their employees and make efforts to enhance them on continuous basis,
behavioural approach will bring more profitable outcomes.
CONCLUSION
It has been summarised from the above report that HR managers have several roles and
responsibilities to perform which can be possible only if they have sufficient skills, knowledge
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and behaviour. For this purpose, an individual as HR position need to conduct personal skills
audit in order to identify their strengths and weaknesses so that an appropriate personal
development plan can be prepared. HPW also helps in maintaining healthy relations with the
employees through employee engagement which indirectly makes positive impact on the brand
image of an organisation.
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