Personal Skill Audit and Professional Development for HR Professionals

Difference between individual and organisational learning, training and development 7 P4.Need for continuous learning and Professional development 8 TASK 310 P5. High-performance working contributes to employees engagementand competitive advantage 10 P6.Ways in which performance management improves high performance culture and commitment. Training and mentoring staff will results in the growth of an employee as an individual which in return results in overall development of an organisation. In context of whirlpool, HR professionals must acquire expertise knowledge in below mentioned areas: Contract law:

UNIT 35
DEVELOPING
INDIVIDUALS, TEAMS
AND ORGANISATIONS
Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1. Knowledge, skills and behaviour of HR professionals....................................................1
P2. Personal Skill audit and professional development plan for a HR professional..............3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................7
P3. Difference between individual and organisational learning, training and development..7
P4.Need for continuous learning and Professional development...........................................8
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................10
P5. High-performance working contributes to employees engagement and competitive
advantage..............................................................................................................................10
P6.Ways in which performance management improves high performance culture and
commitment..........................................................................................................................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFRENCES.................................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
In business world, the success of an organisation highly depends upon the potential of
working man-force. Employees must be spontaneous and obligate towards their assigned roles.
Every company needs all of its productive and required resources, most importantly its working
staff to be in best shape (August and Shanahan, 2017). Training and mentoring staff will results
in the growth of an employee as an individual which in return results in overall development of
an organisation. This report is created in the context of whirlpool which is an American
manufacturer. It was founded in 1911 by Louis and Emory Upton and hardhearted in Michigan,
US. In this report knowledge, skills and behavior of HR professionals are discussed. Along with
it, need of inclusive learning and development in mentioned. At last merits of high working
performance in relation with various factors is discussed.
TASK 1
P1. Knowledge, skills and behaviour of HR professionals.
For the successful working of a company efficient staff is needed. Every employee must
posses certain skills, required knowledge and appropriate behavior. This will helps the
organisation in achieving its desired market growth. As whirlpool is a renowned company which
operates globally. HR professionals of whirlpool needs to be efficient in recruiting, organizing
interviews, advising management in resolving issues, preparing reports and budget of HR
resources, legal requirements of firm.
Knowledge:
Knowledge is the understanding of a particular subject. Knowledge of an employee is
concerned with the task management efficiency of the company. In context of whirlpool, HR
professionals must acquire expertise knowledge in below mentioned areas:
 Contract law: A binding agreement between the organisation and the working staff is
defined as a employee contract low (Belbin, 2012). HR manager needs to have required
knowledge regarding specific lows like POSH or minimum wage act. It is under the
supervision of Whirlpool's manager to take care of these laws for the healthy work
environment within firm. Knowledge of these lows will help in resolving the legal
grievances of working staff against several originated issues.
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 Training and development technique: Training is considered as a tool to develop
competency and skills within an employee. It is the duty of HR professionals of
whirlpool to carry out development and training activities. Manager of whirlpool must
have knowledge about competency gaps, employee needs, future assignments etc.
Skills:
For the effective working within a firm, employees needs certain skills. These skills are
the qualities and attitude that a worker carries. HR manager of whirlpool must be efficient in
below mentioned skills.
 Communication: Good communication leads to high productivity. HR professional needs
to negotiating and communicating skills. In case of whirlpool, manager must be able to
maintain good relation among management and employees. This will helps in resolving
the issues in a faster way.
 Problem-solving skills: Solving problems between workers and management or between
staff members is the major responsibility of HR professional (Chuang, Jackson and Jiang
2016). HR team of whirlpool, must incorporate patience in his attitude so that problems
can be tackled with maturity within the workplace.
 Leadership skills: It means to be able to manage the staff and department efficiently. All
the staff is accountable to manager which leads them for their work. For smooth
functioning of work within Whirlpool, manager must possess skills of a leader.
 Technical skills: Along with managing whole staff, a manager must posses technical
skills. This will help the manager of whirlpool to solve problems related with technical
field.
Behavior:
It is defined as a means in which working staff responds towards changing situation
within the organization. There are several elements which decides the good behavior of HR
professionals. In reference to whirlpool, some are briefed below:
 Ethics: These are based on the facts which concerns a human about wrong and right
decisions. HR professionals of whirlpool must be ethical by behavior. This will assist
them in right and fair decision making which will incorporate trustworthiness in the
minds of working staff.
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 Confidentiality: It is an aspect in which sensitive information about an individual is kept
secret. The major task of a HR manager is to maintain the confidentiality about workers
private information. Along with it, sensitive management information needs to be
confidential. In case of whirlpool, if confidentiality is not given consideration by manager
this will leads to employees dissatisfaction. They will feel reluctant in working in the
company.
 Team work: A HR professional must incorporate team spirit while performing job in the
company. This will create a sense of unity in the minds of employees working under him.
This will improve the overall working and productivity within the whirlpool.
 Integrity: To complete a designated task within time, it is very important for a department
or team members to work as a single unit. A manager behavior must shows integrity
while leading other employees. This will make employees of Whirlpool more
comfortable around each other.
P2. Personal Skill audit and professional development plan for a HR professional
It is an efficient management tool which helps the employees in identifying their strength.
Also, it helps to acknowledge the weakness a worker has. It is very useful for employees in
maintaining their career in right direction (Fisher, et. al., 2012). It measures and record the skills
of staff members. In reference with whirlpool, traits like skills, behaviour and knowledge for an
HR employee are taken into consideration. The below mentioned skill audit identifies my
strength and weakness in accordance with the position of a HR professional.
Skills Audit
Requirements Personal audit (rating
scale: 0-10)
Score by other GAP
Knowledge about
contract low
8 9 -1
Training and
development
techniques
7 9 -2
Communication 9 7 2
3

skills
Problem solving skill 7 5 2
Confidentiality
behaviour
10 9 -1
Ethical behaviour 8 9 -1
Leadership 10 10 0
Technical skills 7 8 -1
Time management 9 7 2
Benefits from skill audit:
 It increases the productivity level within the Whirlpool as staff members are allotted
work according to their interest, so they perform better.
 Helps in identifying the weakness and strength of employees and job structure. This helps
in increasing the working potential of staff.
 Increases understanding among management, supervisor, staff and manager of Whirlpool
while recruiting new employees in accordance with job requirement.
Disadvantages without skill audit:
 Training and development cost for the Whirlpool will be more as company has no idea of
employees capabilities without preparing an audit chart.
 Productivity will reduce as employees are not matched to their positions.
Strength: As discussed above in personal skill audit, my strengths include tasks regarding
informational technologies and solving various conflicts that take place within an organisation.
4

Weakness: In accordance with above mentioned skill audit, my weaknesses includes
problem-solving issues, communication and negotiation skills (Ford, 2014). Along with it other
problem that I am facing right now is management of time.
For overcoming these weakness and converting them into strength I have prepared my
professional development plan which will leads me in grabbing several good opportunities at
workplace.
Professional Development Plan
NAME: STUDENT ID
NUMBER:
COVERING THE
PERIOD FROM:
TO:
Where do I want to be by the end of this period? What do I want to be doing? (This may be
evolutionary or “more of the same”.)
OBJECTIVE
S:
What do I
want/need to
learn?
What will I do to
achieve
this? Or
What resources or
support will I need?
(reading, shadowing,
coaching, project,
formal training, other)
What would be the
hurdles in
achieving my goals
What will my success
criteria be? /
How the progress will
be monitored?
(workshop feedback,
class feedback, tutor
feedback, by applying
to work etc)
Targ
et
date
s for
revi
ew
and
com
pleti
on
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEEDS
Problem solving Shadowing senior
managers,
observing firm's
environment,
understanding
point of view of
In critical
situations, where I
have to take quick
decision to solve
different problems
within short time I
As a HR manager of
whirlpool, I must be
efficient in solving
various issues that will
arise within the
organisation whether
2
mon
ths
5

different peoples. feel confused while
sharing my point of
view
among workers and
also in between
workers and the
management. This will
make the work
environment of
company more
adjustable as problems
will solve effectively
as working efficiency
will increase.
Time
management
To create an
appropriate chart
plan for task
completion within
time, by attend
seminars which are
time based.
To complete a task
with full efficiency
I usually forgot
about time
deadlines. Due to
which I face
several issues like
late submission
etc.,
Time is an asset in
every field. As a HR
professional in
renowned company
like whirlpool, time
punctuality is much
needed. This will help
me in completing my
designated tasks on
time and helps in
improving the overall
working efficiency of
company.
2
mon
ths
Communication
skills
By attending
Meetings,
presentations,
Group discussions.
Interacting with
various people
about different
Sometimes I feel
reluctant in sharing
my point of view
with others because
I feel my advice
may not help them
or they will not
To successfully
implement roles in
whirlpool, my
communication skills
needs to be up to the
point. This will helps
the employees in
1
mon
th
6

topics. take interest in
listening my
suggestions.
sharing their issues
easily. Along with it,
discussing matters with
higher authority will
also become easy as
appropriate
communication will
take place.
TASK 2
P3. Difference between individual and organisational learning, training and development
Individual learning: It is a method in which an individuals builds knowledge in
accordance with self reflection about sources that are externally linked. It is the smallest unit of
learning. It is up-to the choice of a person whether to share a knowledge with members of team
or not. In context of HR manager of whirlpool, individual training and developments is linked
with the growth of an employee as an individual (Goetsch and Davis, 2014). They targets those
segments which helps an employee in enhancing capabilities which focuses on individualistic
strength.
Organisational learning: It is the process of develop, hold and transfer of knowledge
within a firm. The simplest way to measure company's learning is learning curve. It helps in
increment of the productivity,quality of product. This curve often varies due to different learning
rates. It is a subset of organisational values and studies. This will helps the whirlpool in adapting
the changing situations which results in the improvement in the overall structure of the company.
Along with it, strength between the staff members will also increase.
Difference between individual and organisational learning:
Individual
learning
Organisational
learning
Training and development
 It deals with the
personal development
of a person which helps
It copes with the overall
requirement of the company
basically because of competing
Training helps in improving
those skills which an employee
lacks. On the other hand,
7

that individual in
enhancing its abilities
and capabilities.
environment with in the
business world.
Development of workers is
concerned with the observation
to generate knowledge.
Manpower of the company
learns and grow under this
approach.
 It depends upon the
thinking of the
employees whether
they wishes to share
the content with other
members. They can
keep the content with
themselves only.
In this approach, if one
employee gets to learn about
new concept it is mandatory
for him to share it with his
working team. This will
improve their working
efficiency and they will feel
more comfortable in
performing tasks around each
other.
Training of whirlpool's
working staff must takes place
on a periodic basis according
to the present requirements of
the company. In development,
for a renowned company like
whirlpool it is a self
assessment act which
acknowledge the
transformation of company as
a whole for a long term period.
 For example, in case of
Whirlpool, manager
provide individual
training to employees
according to their
requirement.
For example, in this Whirlpool
provides organisational
training to employees to
improve the overall structure
of the company.
For Example, this section is
provided by company to
increase employees skills and
abilities to perform well.
P4.Need for continuous learning and Professional development
Continuous learning: It is the process in which the individual can develop its skills and
knowledge by learning something. This training of continuous learning is provided by company
to the individual in order to enhance their future opportunities. In context of Whirlpool, the
manager of company provide this session to members individually. This helps individual
8

workers in improving their knowledge, skills and they can able to develop their own learning
goals at workplace.
Professional development: In this process, the training session is given to the whole
department of staff members whether they are skilled or semi-skilled (Hoch, 2013). This process
is also known as formal education. The manager of Whirlpool provide this training session to the
employees of whole company to give them professional knowledge in order to overcome through
their issues. It also helps the company in reducing gaps between the semi-skilled and
professional workers.. It creates a sense of similarities between all the members of the company.
In this regard, company can use theories such as, Kolb's learning theory, Honey and Mumford to
perform well and achieve its goals in time.
Kolb's learning style theory
This theory is given by David A. Kolb in 1984. Company can use this theory to make its
employees professional by giving them training and knowledge so that they can perform their
tasks in allotted time frame. This theory is consists of four major learning cycles and they are as
follows:
 Concrete experience: It refers to meet the new experiences and situations at workplace.
In this stage of learning, workers of Whirlpool get opportunities by learning from specific
experience such as watching videos, lab works and field works. The objective of this
element is that employees can learn new things by watching and doing tasks which helps
them to perform well.
 Reflective observation: It is the process which explains what just happened during
experience. The employees of Whirlpool can recount and evaluate their experiences
through this cycle (Hughes and Terrell, 2011). It assists them in making their own
observations by noticing experience of others.
 Abstract Conceptualization: This is the third essential learning cycle theory of Kolb.
Under this, employees of company gets an opportunity to create their own theories and
can explain their observation. This theory assists in developing new ideas and concepts
which they can apply in future.
 Active Experimentation: This is the last initial stage of this theory, which is helpful for
employees in solving their problems and taking their own decisions. The main motto of
9

this theory is that, employees can discover new and effective ways in order to solve issue
and perform well.
Honey and Mumford learning theory:
This theory is developed by Peter Honey and Alan Mumford which is based upon Kolb's
learning style model. This concept is used by Whirlpool in order to develop employees personnel
skills and knowledge so that they can achieve their objectives (Kaplan, LaPort and Waller,
2013). This theory also provides employees to make smarter decisions and increase opportunities
for future goals. This concept is divided into four stages and they are:
 Activists: It refers to those individuals who learns by doing certain activities. These
members of company are very open to the session of group discussions and problem-
solving.
 Theorists: In this, employees try to understand the theories behind any actions. They
need modes, facts and concepts to get appropriate information.
 Pragmatist: In this, the employees keen to do new things. They looks out for the ideas
which are helpful to solve their problems to achieve their desired ambitions.
CPD: It is the process which stands for continuous professional development. In this process the
training session is given to Whirlpool employees on regular and continuous basis for developing
their skills and knowledge. This process help them in sustainable performance to overcome from
situations.
Advantages of CPD
 CPD helps to improve level of competencies of employees which lead to sustainable
business performance.
Disadvantage of CPD
 If training session is not given to them on regular basis then they cannot perform their
tasks easily.
Barriers of learning and how to overcome from these
The employees of Whirlpool faces some barriers during the learning process and also
discussed to overcome from these barriers such as,
 Problem of understanding situations. This barrier can be reduced if employees of
company communicate with each other effectively.
10

 Create gaps between skilled and professional employees. This can barrier of learning
can be overcome by providing them training equally and influence them to work in
teams.
In this context, company can make use of these theories to overcome from these problems by
giving effective training session and knowledge to its employees to achieve goals of company.
TASK 3
P5. High-performance working contributes to employees engagement and competitive advantage
HPW refers to developing an environment of transparency and trustworthiness between
all the employees. It also includes the communication skills of employees within an organisation.
It is a type of organisation in which knowledge is distributed between the employees to achieve
their goals. In this concept, which managers decide and focuses on ways to improve
organisational performance. In context of Whirlpool, employees are more motivated and eager in
competing their allotted work. The company also offers rewards and promotion to their
employees in order to make them motivated at workplace.
HPW contribution to employees engagement:
It is the process through which employees contributes with organisation towards its
success. This concept is important for company to compete at market place. In case of
Whirlpool, this concept is designed to improve effectiveness and productivity of employees. The
practices of HPW creates a positive environment which is linked with employee engagement.
The employees works and express themselves in form of cognitive and emotional manner.
Engagement of employees towards organisational work is important for company in achieving
their goals (Kostopoulos, Spanos and Prastacos, 2013). These employees make additional efforts
to gain a competitive advantage at workplace. This programme of employee engagement
increase revenue and align employees behaviour with company goals. High engagement of
employees is beneficial for Whirlpool which lead to high profit margins and increase growth
rates at well. It also give advantage to company in order to increase the overall reputation of
company and resolves all internal issues.
HWP contribution to competitive advantages:
It is an advantage that an organisation seek to become more profitable from its rivals. In
this regard, HPW also increases can gain competitive advantage of Whirlpool by offering better
11

quality products to its consumer. This create a greater value for its shareholders and firm. This
advantage is divided into two parts such as, comparative and differential advantage.
Comparative advantage:
HPW helps company to gain comparative advantage by producing goods and services
more efficiently than its competitors. Thus, it will be helpful for Whirlpool if the company make
good quality products and severs them at a lower costs.
Differential advantage:
HPW also contributes in gaining differential advantage by offering products which are
different from its competitors (Lowik, Kraaijenbrink and Groen, 2016). This concept also
includes products with advanced technology, patent-protected products and strong brand identity
which support company with wide margins and large market shares. In order to achieve these
advantages, Whirlpool should use effective and efficient strategies which is helpful for company
to compete with its rivals at marketplace. The company should also kept in mind that the
products produced by them may not be substituted by their rivals. So, advantages which are
discussed above are helpful in increasing more profits and revenues of company and help them
to reach their targets (Troth, Jordan and Lawrence, 2012).
Sharing information: It is a fact of valuable assets of organisation. This helps to improve
competitive advantages and lead to success of organisation.
Knowledge development: In this, employees are given knowledge and training which helps
organisation and give them competitive advantages.
Performance reward: After giving them training session, rewards are awarded to employees
according to their performance which help company in achieving competitive advantage at
market place.
TASK 4
P6.Ways in which performance management improves high performance culture and
commitment.
Performance management is a process in which managers and employees work together
to plan and review employees overall contribution towards organisation. It is a process which
mainly focused on performance of organisation including department, employee and all other
areas of company (Meneghel, Salanova and Martínez, 2016). An effective performance
management system covers a broad range of jobs in the organisation along with its strategic
12

direction and culture. In context of Whirlpool, this process provide an actual picture of
employees performance and their work. It is beneficial for company because it provides proper
feedbacks such as, positive and constructive feedback. Positive feedback helps company to know
that the employees are doing their jobs well and constructive arises when they need some
improvements. The company also provides training and development opportunities for their
employees with the help of this method. In addition to this, some approaches are used by
Whirlpool to attain goals which are as discussed below:
Different approaches to performance management are outlined below:
 Collaborative working approach: This approach is also known as partnership working
or joint working. It is a process in which two or more people works together to attain a
certain goal. In this, each member has a equal participation to complete a particular
tasks. This process is also beneficial for Whirlpool as it assists the company in solving
their problems and in developing employees skill. On the other hand, the disadvantage of
this process is that there is conflicts between working styles of employees.
 Team work: In this, employees of company perform their activities together or in teams
which helps them in resolving their issues and perform well. For example, in Whirlpool
employees perform their activities in teams or groups which helps them to achieve their
goals easily.
 Motivating: In this, the manager of company motivates to workers so that they can
perform their tasks in time. For example, Whirlpool also influences its employees in
order to improve overall performance of management.
 Monitor: According to this approach, manager of company monitors the work of
employees and also helps them in their issues. For example, in Whirlpool the manger of
company looks after the working of employees and monitors their tasks which lead to
improvement in performance of management.
 Feedback: This is the last approach in management performance. In this, employees are
given feedbacks of their works they have done. For example, in Whirlpool also manager
gives feedbacks of what they have done in their tasks which helps in improving overall
performance of company.
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CONCLUSION
From the above report, it has been analysed that it is important for every organisation to
have effective skills and employees tend to work hard to met company with its objectives.. In
this, HPW plays an important role in order to achieve competitive advantages at marketplace
(Parker, 2011). On other, above mentioned theories are also very helpful for companies to
measure its employees performance.
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