Employability Skills and Training Strategies

The assignment discusses the significance of employability skills in today's job market. It highlights the benefits of providing training to employees, including improved efficiency, increased profit, and good relations with employees. The document also explores various strategies used by managers, such as six hats strategy, Belbin team roles, trial and error, sustainability, and peer-to-peer support models, to manage teams and work effectively.

EMPLOYABILITY
SKILLS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1.1 Develop a set of own responsibilities and performance objectives....................................1
P1.2 Evaluate own effectiveness against defined objectives......................................................2
P1.3 Make recommendations for improvement..........................................................................2
P1.4 Review how motivational techniques can be used to improve quality of performance.....3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
P2.1 Develop solutions to work-based problems........................................................................4
P2.2 Communicate in a variety of styles and appropriate manner at various levels...................5
P2.3 Identify effective time-management strategies...................................................................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
P3.1- Explain the roles people play in a team and how they can work together to achieve
shared goals.................................................................................................................................7
P3.2- Analyse team dynamics.....................................................................................................8
P3.3 Suggest alternative ways to complete tasks and achieve team goals..................................8
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................9
P4.1 Evaluate tools and methods for developing solutions to problems.....................................9
P4.2 Develop an appropriate strategy for resolving the problem of labour turnover in an
organisation of your choice.........................................................................................................9
P4.3 Evaluate the potential impact on the business of implementing the strategy...................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Employability skills are the skills which are essential for any person in order to get
employment in an organisation. These skills are transferable and usually organisations states the
required skills to the employees in terms of knowledge and understanding of the subject or field.
Strong skills are required by the companies for hiring the employees in order to achieve the
desired organisational growth and objectives. The taken firm in this report is Travelodge who is
providing hotels and hospitality services to their customers. Travelodge was established in the
year 1985 in England, UK. This report will determine the responsibilities and performance
objectives of the manager of Travelodge. Further the interpersonal and transferable skills for
problem solving and time management will be developed in this report. This report will also
discuss the dynamics of working with other employees. In the end, strategies will be developed
for problem solving using tools, evaluation and specification of problems.
TASK 1
P1.1 Develop a set of own responsibilities and performance objectives
Own responsibility and performance management is associated with the self analysis for
determining whether the performance is aligned with the responsibilities and objectives or not. It
can be states as the capability and skills of employees in order to give their maximum efforts and
better results in their respected job field. I am working as a manager in the Travelodge company
and my main focus is on increasing the profitability and productivity of the company and
managing operations and functions by properly performing my roles and responsibilities. Some
of the responsibilities and performance objectives are given below:
Responsibilities:
Ability to learn and develop within work role: As a manager, It is also my responsibility
to develop my learning and adaptability to fit with the job role. Through this, my performance
can increase along with the employees. I need to enhance my skills and knowledge for handling
and managing the employees in a proper manner.
Employment legislation: As a manager of Travelodge, I must have the knowledge
regarding the employment laws and rules and to direct other for following them properly. Also , I
need to have knowledge regarding the changes in such laws and it is the responsibility as a
manager to convey the changes to the employees.
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Performance objectives
The performance objectives of my as a manager are:
 Enhance the customer satisfaction by providing training to employees To determine the efficiency and performance of employees by comparing it with others.
Individual appraisal systems: As a manager of Travelodge, I need to determine the
performance and efficiency of employees and if their performance is not satisfactory, then I
needs to motivate them by providing them appraisals, incentives and rewards. Through these
rewards, they can improve their performance and efficiency.
Training needs: As a manager of Travelodge, I needs to provide the training to
employees when their performance is below than expected. Through the training, I can improve
their efficiency and performance for achieving their personal and professional goals in an
efficient manner.
P1.2 Evaluate own effectiveness against defined objectives
I had described above my responsibilities and performance objectives for Travelodge. It
is essential for me to evaluate the effectiveness of my defined objectives. It is essential for me
adapt to the job role and needs to have ability to learn and understand the job role and
responsibilities properly for the betterment of employees as well as of organisation. I needs to
provide appraisals and incentives to the employees for boosting their morale and performance.
Another factor which is needed is to provide training to the employees for enhancing their skills
so that they can perform their work with the right efficiency. Also I need to maintain proper
relationship with employees for effective communication and coordination with them. As a
manager of Travelodge hotel, I need to take decisions on the basis of performance and personal
data of workers. There are some of the rating methods such as ranking, comparison among
workers, checklist etc. for enhancing the performance and productivity of the employees.
Through these above mentioned rating methods, I can deliver improved results and performance
to company and to employees of Travelodge Hotel. Also I can implement suitable strategies for
the employees by evaluating the effectiveness of my defined objectives.
P1.3 Make recommendations for improvement
From the above discussed information, some of the recommendations for improvement
are discussed below:
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 Manager of Travelodge should use effective Appraisal System in order to motivate the
employees. By this motivation, employees can become loyal to the company and
company can retain them for long time.
 Managers should use paired comparison method for rating in order to improve the
performance of the employees for the betterment of organisation.
As a manager, I can use the appraisal and incentive system on quarterly basis for
employees in order to evaluate their performance. Through this, I can provide them incentives
and benefits on their performance for overcoming the issue and improving their performance
and productivity.
P1.4 Review how motivational techniques can be used to improve quality of performance
Motivation is the process of encouraging the individuals for enhancing their working
efficiency and performance (Dhar, 2012). Through motivation, individuals and teams can
effectively achieve their target by improving their performance and productivity. Motivation is
very essential for improving the skills, performance and knowledge of employees in Travelodge
hotel. As a manager, I needs to motivate the employees through implementing suitable strategies
and policies as discussed below:
Providing positive working environment: This technique is very useful for motivating
the employees of Travelodge. In this, positive working environment must be provided to the
employees so that the employees can work comfortably and support each other in needy times.
In good working environment, employees can share their ideas and suggestions with each other
for increasing their knowledge. Positive work environment assists in improving productivity and
profitability of company.
Provide incentives and rewards: When the incentives and rewards are provided to the
employees on the basis of their performance, they feel motivated (Gbadamosi and et. al., 2015).
Travelodge hotel can provide some monetary benefits such as rewards and appraisals to
individuals and teams on their performance. With this they feel motivated at workplace and work
to accomplish the organisational aims effectively.
McGregor X-Y theory: Theory X and theory Y was developed by Douglas McGregor for
the motivation of workforce. These theories are given below:
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Theory X: This theory states that when the employees are lazy and avoid their work,
they needs to provide rewards and punishment on the performance basis. Through this, they can
work better and can improve their performance.
Theory Y: This theory states that the managers needs to follow participative style of
leadership for maintaining healthy relations with the employees which will increase their
confidence level. Through this, the managers can improve employee's efficiency and can
encourage them to improve their skills and knowledge. Use of this motivational theory can help
manager of Travelodge in improving performance quality. Improved efficiency, knowledge and
skills of employees will results in enhanced performance of company.
TASK 2
P2.1 Develop solutions to work-based problems
Travelodge is operating in hospitality industry where the company is dealing with various
issues such as employees turnover, lack of communication skills and conflicts among employees
etc. which needs to be resolved at the right time (Gravells, 2010). It is the responsibility of
manager to look for such issues and resolve them. Some of these issues are discussed below:
Problems
 Employee turnover of the company is increasing because of competition among the
workforce and lack of assigning proper team roles.
 Lack of communication skills are resulting in conflicts among the workers and also due
to this, employees are facing problem in handling the clients properly.
Some of the tools for resolving such problems are discussed below through which
Travelodge can resolve the issues of employees and clients. Problem analysis: This method is useful for resolving the above discussed problems
through proper analysis of problems. By this analysis, Travelodge can determine various
solutions for the problems. Manager of Travelodge needs to maintain proper work ethics,
values and beliefs which must be followed by the employees for eliminating such issues
in future. Manager needs to provide healthy workplace to employees so that they enable
to work collectively in teams with their predefined roles so that possibilities of conflicts
can be eliminated and employee turnover can be reduced.
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 Researching changes at workplace: Above discussed problems are effecting the working
environment of the company. Such issues are arising due to the various cultural
backgrounds of workers. Travelodge needs to do proper research regarding the issues and
cultural differences of workers for eliminating the communication issues among the
workforce in future. The company can solve the problem of communication by providing
the communication skills training through which the employees can coordinate and
communicate with each other in an effective way.
Generating and choosing Solutions: As a manager of Travelodge, it is my duty to
arrange meetings with the employees for analysing their performance on regular basis. I am also
conducting some fun activities for enhancing the mutual understanding of employees. Also I am
using the Six hat strategy which was given by Edward De Bono for resolving the various above
discussed issues of workers.
White Hat rule: In this rule, analysis of past data is done for determining the possible
solution.
Red Hat rule: In this, the problems are resolved using emotions and gut reactions.
Managers need to consider the emotional reaction of employees and also needs to understands
the perspective of other employees who does not understand the solution.
Black Hat rule: This rule is used for determining the root cause of problem and provides
the solution on the basis of cause.
Green Hat rule: This rule is used for identifying the creative employees whose ideas can
easily resolve the problem.
Yellow Hat rule: This rule signifies the optimism and brightness. This rule is used for
determining the positive solution for the betterment of the organisation and of employees.
Blue Hat rule: In this rule, potential ideas are implemented for resolving the issues
easily. If the problem is complex, then it is conveyed to green hat thinking.
These above discussed strategies are helpful for me in choosing right solution for the
problem of Travelodge. For example: the problem of various cultural differences can be resolved
through green hat rule whereas the problem of employees turnover can be resolved through blue
hat rule.
P2.2 Communicate in a variety of styles and appropriate manner at various levels
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Letter
Address:
Date: 2nd January, 2019
The Senior management
Travelodge, London
Respected Sir,
After doing my research, I had analysed two main issues i.e. lack of good communication skills
and employees turnover which are faced by the Travelodge. These 2 issues are hampering the
performance, productivity and brand value of the firm simultaneously. These issues can be
resolved by providing communication skills training and development sessions to the workers in
order to enhance their skills and to deal with customers and other employees in a better and
effective manner. With proper communication skills, employees can be able to interact and deal
with customers in a more productive way. Also the issue of employee turnover can be
controlled by training as the employees can cooperate and coordinate with each other in an
efficient way through this training.
Sincerely
Name
Memo
Travelodge Hotel
To: Employees
From: Manager
Date: 1st January, 2019
Subject: Issues of the Hotel
It has been discovered that some employees are facing issues in handling the clients and
in coordinating with other workers due to lack of good communication skills. Because of this,
such employees are unable to cop up with the current situations. These issues can be resolved
by providing communication skill training to such employees. Providing such training to them
will result in good coordination among other workers and also they can handle the clients in an
effective way. The issue of employees turnover can also be resolved through the training as this
issue is rising because of competition among the workforce. Also, managers will assign the
team roles and work according to the knowledge and skills of workers. The management will
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also provide monetary benefits such as appraisals and incentive to employees for reducing the
competition among them. Through these above discussed solutions harmony can be maintained
in the Travelodge hotel and employees can serve the customers in a proper manner.
P2.3 Identify effective time-management strategies
Time management is the process of managing and planning of time based on the assigned
activities. Time management is very essential for managers in order to perform their work
efficiently (Jones, Torezani and Luca, 2012). Some of the time management strategies which are
adopted by the manager of Travelodge hotel are discussed below:
Prioritising Workload: It is necessary to prioritise the work according to the importance
of activities. Through this, the priority work can be finished on assigned time. This will also
helps manager of Travelodge to execute their work efficiently on the required time and decrease
the workload.
Setting work objectives: It is essential for the manager of Travelodge to determine and
convey the objectives to the employees. Manager needs to set proper work objectives as it will
help in carry out work effectively. From this, the workers can work according to the objectives
and can perform their work in an efficient manner.
Making and keeping appointments: Managers of Travelodge must keep track of daily
activities and appointments of workers for finishing them on the basis of priority of work (Kong
and Yan, 2014). Through this, the workers execute their important work on time and also it is
helpful for guiding them.
TASK 3
P3.1- Explain the roles people play in a team and how they can work together to achieve shared
goals
The newly recruited 3 candidates can be assigned with various roles depend upon their
skills and knowledge. These roles are chosen by the manager or leader based on the 9 role of
Belbin team roles (Belbin, 2004). These roles help and coordinate with each other for executing
the assigned work.
 Plant: These are the creative and good problem solving individual who provides the
ideas to team.
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 Resource investigation: These use their investigative nature for bringing ideas to team.
 Co-ordinator: This focus in team's objectives and provides the guidance to members
when needed.
 Shaper: This boost the morale of members and keeps them going for executing the
project.
 Monitor evaluator: This take the judgements for the team and provides a logical eye on
the judgements.
 Teamwork: This is responsible for maintaining good relation among the team members
for proper coordination among the members.
 Implementer: This implement the strategy for increasing the efficiency of members for
accomplishing the objectives easily.
 Completer-finisher: This checks the work for errors and to maintain the quality
standards.
 Specialist: This provides the complete information or data to members related to the field
of assigned project.
From these 9 roles given by Belbin, leaders can assign the suitable role to the appropriate
members. When the task is assigned to suitable persons, conflict in team gets reduced and the
members can coordinate with each other in a more effective manner. The members can work
together in an better way when the conflicts among them reduced. When the conflict among the
workers are reduced, than they can support each other and feels motivated in working which
ultimately helps them to achieve the shared team goals.
P3.2- Analyse team dynamics
Team dynamics refers to the various forces which can effect the working and
performance of the team. Teams are common in current business environment. Managers get
familiar with their employees over the time due to coordination and supervision (Rao, 2010).
Tuck-man and Jenson model can be used for determining the team dynamics in Travelodge as
discussed below:
Forming: In this first phase, different members of team comes together for the assigned
task. In this phase, members becomes cautious of each other's behaviour.
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Storming: In this phase, team members start gaining each other's trust and voice their
opinions because of which the conflicts may rise among them. Leader needs to guide and
encourage the members for sharing their views and opinions.
Norming: In this phase, members start working in an proper manner. Members share
their ideas freely due to which the efficiency of the team can be increased.
Performing: In this phase, members acts as a team and understands the objectives and
work for achieving them efficiently. Members support each other due to which the task can be
completed in the given time.
Adjourning: In this final phase, the team gets dismantled due to completed task or task
failure.
P3.3 Suggest alternative ways to complete tasks and achieve team goals
There are various numbers of ways which can be used by manager of Travelodge for
achieving the aims and objectives of firm. These alternative ways are helpful in executing the
work with required efficiency for accomplishing the desired team goals. Some of the ways for
executing the tasks are discussed below: Setting standard: It is essential for managers of Travelodge to consult with the project
department for the information and matters associated with the project. Managers needs
to set standards before initialising a new project (Rasul and Mansor, 2013). By setting the
standards in a proper manner, Managers of Travelodge can obtain favourable and better
outcomes in future from their teams Convergent: It is the process of conversion for improving the existing processes and
structure. For example: The convergence of imaging technology and communication in a
mobile for making the phone calls and to take pictures simultaneously. Both of these
different technologies are converging in a single device. Through the conversion,
managers of Travelodge can improve the processes and functions of firm for increasing
their efficiency.
 Divergent: It is the process of diverging to different plan instead of changing the
objectives in case when the existing plan and procedure is not capable of achieving the
objectives of firm. For example: In supply chain management, managers of Travelodge
can use the analysis of portfolio in order to track the activities of suppliers.
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TASK 4
P4.1 Evaluate tools and methods for developing solutions to problems
Various types of issues are faced by the Travelodge hotel while performing their
operations and activities. It is essential for managers to identify such issues and eliminate them
from the root level. One of such issues which is faced by the Travelodge is employee turnover.
High rate of employees turnover means that the employees are leaving the company due to
unhealthy competition and lack of clarity in team roles and due to this, the company is facing
problems in operating as the employees turnover decreases the viability of business (Scott and et.
al., 2018). It is essential for company to adopt suitable method for eliminating this issue. Some of
the methods are given below:
Trial and error: This is an essential way for managers to handle the issues using repeated
attempts for resolving. In this, the managers of Travelodge try new methods for solving the
issues until a permanent and reliable solution is found.
Sustainability: Using this method, the managers of Travelodge can make the future
planning for sustaining in the market. Through such planning, Travelodge can resolve their
issues in an effective manner.
P4.2 Develop an appropriate strategy for resolving the problem of labour turnover in an
organisation of your choice
Travelodge is facing problem of labour turnover as the employees are dissatisfied in their
work as they are not receiving training and development sessions due to which they are not
capable of properly using the social media and other technologies. Travelodge can provide them
technical training and development sessions for improving their technical skills and knowledge.
Through this training, they can easily use the social media and other internet websites and tools
for attracting new customers. By providing the technical training to their employees, employees
can attracts more customers towards the company by using social media and internet (Wilton,
2012). This will strengthen the customer base and brand image of firm in the market in a more
successful manner. Apart from this, manager of firm needs to develop healthy workplace for
employees so that they can be able to work in effective way and unhealthy competition can be
eliminated. This will help in retaining employees for longer term which results in reduce labour
turnover.
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P4.3 Evaluate the potential impact on the business of implementing the strategy
Travelodge has selected the strategy of providing technical training to their employees
for overcoming the issue of labour turnover. The strategy of providing training and development
sessions to the employees is successful and the employees turnover is under control. But there
are several financial and non-financial impact of adopting this strategy. The financial impact of
adopting this strategy is that providing training to employees is costly for the company but
through this training, employees can work with improved efficiency which will increase the
profit and sales of the company. The non financial impact of this strategy is that the company can
maintain good relations with the employees and even the company can retain them for a long
period of time. Also employees can be able to use internet in an effective manner for attracting
more customers which will increase the productivity of the firm.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from the above report that employability skills are essential for
people to get their desired job on the basis of their skills and knowledge. Through these skills,
they can perform their work effectively in an efficient manner. Managers of Travelodge are
using six hats strategy, belbin team roles, tuckman and jeansen model etc. for managing their
teams and work. Also company is using methods such as Trial and error, Sustainability etc. for
dealing with the various issues of project and company and developing effective solutions for
resolving the same.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Belbin, M., 2004. Belbin team roles. Book Belbin Team Roles.
Chalamwong, Y., and et. al., 2012. Skills for Employability: Southeast Asia. Report for
Innovative Secondary Education for Skills Enhancement, Thailand Development
Research Institute (TDRI).
Dhar, S. K., 2012. Employability of Management Students in India: Some Concerns and
Considerations.
Gbadamosi, G and et. al., 2015. Employability and students’ part‐time work in the UK: does
self‐efficacy and career aspiration matter?. British Educational Research Journal. 41(6).
pp.1086-1107.
Gravells, A., 2010. Delivering employability skills in the lifelong learning sector. Learning
Matters.
Jones, N., Torezani, S. and Luca, J., 2012. A peer-to-peer support model for developing graduate
students’ career and employability skills. Intercultural Education. 23(1). pp.51-62.
Kong, H. and Yan, Q., 2014. The relationship between learning satisfaction and career
competencies. International Journal of Hospitality Management. 41. pp.133-139.
Rao, M. S., 2010. Soft Skills-Enhancing Employability: Connecting Campus with Corporate. IK
International Pvt Ltd.
Rasul, M. S. and Mansor, A. N., 2013. Employability skills indicator as perceived by
manufacturing employers. Asian Social Science. 9(8). p.42.
Scott, T., and et. al., 2018. Healthcare performance and organisational culture. CRC Press.
Wilton, N., 2012. The impact of work placements on skills development and career outcomes for
business and management graduates. Studies in Higher Education. 37(5). pp.603-620.
Online:
Employability skills. 2018. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.skillsyouneed.com/general/employability-skills.html>.
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