Report on the Skills, Attributes and Development of an HR Advisor

This report delves into the essential skills, knowledge, and attributes required by HR advisors, focusing on their role in organizations like Hightown Housing Ltd. It covers key aspects such as legal knowledge, personnel management, and crucial skills like communication and negotiation. The report includes a personal skills audit, identifying strengths in critic...Read More

Developing
Individuals, Teams
and Organisation

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................3
LO 1........................................................................................................................................................3
Knowledge, skills and attributes required by HR advisor.............................................................3
Personal skills audit.....................................................................................................................5
A personal development plan......................................................................................................6
Differences between some attributes.........................................................................................8
LO 2......................................................................................................................................................10
Covered in PPT...........................................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Human Resource professionals are important in an organisation as their skills and
knowledge help the organisation in achieving its long-term objectives and goals. They help
the employees of the company in developing their skills and capabilities with which they can
increase their efficiency and work performance (Kaney, 2017). The productivity level of
employees increases thus increasing the profitability of the organisation. This report is based
on Hightown Housing Ltd. which operates in various areas in the UK. It is a charitable
housing association working for the people who cannot afford to buy or rent a house. It has a
huge business managing over 6,500 homes and employs over 900 staff. This project discusses
about the various skills, knowledge that are required by the HR along with audit of personal
skills. Also need for continuous development and learning, contribution of HPW in an
organisation, various approaches of performance management etc. are also discussed.
LO 1
Knowledge, skills and attributes required by HR advisor
HR advisors are responsible for managing and controlling the activities of the staff of
the organisation so that they can work efficiently and effectively towards organisational goals
(Lejeune, Beausaert and Raemdonck, 2018). They also perform various other functions such
as recruitment, selection, remuneration, enhancing the performance of the employee’s etc.
For Hightown Housing Ltd. The HR advisor needs certain kinds of skills, knowledge and
attributes so that the roles and responsibilities can be performed as desired. Some of these
qualities are discussed below :
Knowledge:
Law of the country: The HR advisor must have some knowledge about the country’s
rules and laws that are related to employment so that the business can be conducted in legal
framework and the employees can be provided with a safe working environment.
Management of the personnel: Managing the personnel working in the organisation
is the most important role of the HR advisor so that various methods and techniques can be
devised in order to manage the staff of the company. From encouraging employees to
supporting them so that their level of performance and commitment towards the company
increases.
Skills:
Effective communication skills: Communication skills are required by the HR
advisor in order to direct, support, control and manage the employees of Hightown Housing
Ltd. This also helps them in encouraging the employees to work at the desired levels so that
the goals and objectives of the organisation can be achieved on time (Rahimi and et. al.,
2015).
Negotiation skills: This skill helps the HR advisor in facilitating the employees to
share their grievances and issues that they are facing at the workplace. This helps the HR
advisor in better addressing their problems so that the workplace can be made friendlier for
them. This helps in enhancing their performance and productivity.

Attributes:
Accountability: This means that the HR advisor must be accountable for all the
actions that are taken so that the trust of employees can be created and they can themselves
be made responsible towards their roles in the organisation. This helps in increasing their
trustworthiness and their confidence in the HR advisor increases (Sikkink and et. al., 2018).
Critical thinking: This means being able to take quick and accurate decisions in
different situations. This attribute helps the HR advisor in critically analysing the situation
and finding creative solutions (Sostrin, 2017).
HIGHTOWN HOUSING ASSOCIATION
JOB DESCRIPTION
JOB TITLE : HR Advisor
DEPARTMENT : HR
RESPONSIBLE TO : HR Business Partner
RESPONSIBLE FOR : HR Based at : Hemel Hempstead
Hightown House
JOB CONTEXT
Hightown Housing is a charitable association which operates mainly in Hertfordshire,
Bedfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. They believe that everyone should have
home and support they need and currently manage over 5,000 homes and employs about 800
employees. It aims at building new homes and provide excellent housing and support.
JOB OVERVIEW
To work with the HR Business Partner so that strategic, effective and comprehensive HR
services can be given to customers.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
 Provide support to managers and senior managers in all the matters relating to
human resources so that various aspects can be managed like performance
management, remuneration etc.
 To attend several meetings so that managers can be advised to work properly and
also the process can be coordinated.
 Consultion services to managers, liasion with external bodies and internal teams,
analysis of due diligence information etc.
 To monitor HR key performance indicators such as absenteesim so that managers

can be appropriately guided through managing the human resources of the company.
Qualifications
 Must have basic knowlegde about managing the HR team and must have experience
of 3 years in this field.
 Must have qualified from renowned university with specialization in HR.
 Must have good communicatrion skills so that the human resources of the company
can be well manged.
Expectations of post holder
 maiontain strict levels of confidentiality about business information.
 All the duties and responsibilities must be performed efficiently.
Personal skills audit
Personal skills need to be audited timely so that professional efficiency of a person
can be evaluated as it helps in determining the strengths and weaknesses of a person at the
workplace during performing their job (Stewart, 2016). At Hightown Housing Ltd. the HR
advisor needs to analyse their personal and professional skills so as to be able to support the
managers and senior managers in all the matters that relate to managing the personnel of the
company. Being ambitious about my career it is important for me to review my skills and
keep myself up-to date with currents laws and procedures of the country so that i can help
the managers of the company regarding various issues that are related to the human resources
of the company.
My personal skill audit as HR advisor at Hightown Housing Ltd.
Skills and
Competencies
Self assessed score Score from others Variances
Team building
ability
7 8 -1
Conflict solving 8 9 -1
Confidence 7 8 -1
Critical thinking 9 8 1
Communication
skills
8 7 1
Decision making 9 8 1
In the above table positive variance refers to my strong points whereas negative variance are
my weak points.
From the above table my strengths and weaknesses can be listed as below:

Strengths Weaknesses
 I’m good at thinking quickly and
critically which helps me in taking
decisions that can benefit the
organisation as a whole.
 My communication skills help me
in addressing to the grievances of
the employees and they are well
conveyed to the managers so that
appropriate actions can be taken.
 The critical thinking ability helps in
making decisions that prove to be
effective in organising and
managing the personnel.
 I find it difficult to build a team so
that they can achieve a particular
task within an assigned time.
 I also lack in confidence, though
I’m good at taking decisions.
 I also find it difficult to resolve
conflicts among the workforce that
is working at Hightown Housing
Ltd.
A personal development plan
A personal development plan is basically an activity which helps an individual in
improving their weaknesses so that self-improvement can be achieved with respect to career,
education etc. This plan makes a professional more efficient in their performance so that the
roles and responsibilities can be efficiently performed (How to Create a Personal
Development Plan .2013). As a HR advisor a personal development plan can help me in
enhancing my skills as an advisor so that the human resources of Hightown Housing Ltd. Can
be well managed and operated. Following are the areas which need improvement with the
time required for me to improve these areas are mentioned below:
Learn
ing
Objec
tive
Current
proficiency
Target
proficiency
Development
opportunities
Judging
criteria
Time
required
Team
buildi
ng
I face a problem
while forming a
team of workers
so that a
particular task
can be achieved.
This creates
problem of
conflicts among
the workers
which affect the
overall
productivity of
employees and
affects the
organisational
profits.
I desire to
improve this
deficiency in
my abilities
so that team
formation
can be done
according to
the
specifications
and
requirements
of the task so
that no
conflicts
arise in the
company.
This
weakness can
be improved
by deeply
analysing the
abilities of
employees
and carefully
placing them
in groups
where their
efficiency
increases.
The judging
criteria is
based on the
feedbacks
received
from
colleagues
and other
employees.
1 month
Confli
ct
I find myself
inefficient in
I need to
improve my
This skill can
be developed
Senior
managers
2 months

solvin
g
solving the
conflicts of the
workers which
increases politics
at the workplace
and also
discourages the
employees to get
involved in the
company
decisions.
conflict
solving skills
so that the
workers can
be made
more
included in
the
organisationa
l activities
and decision-
making. This
will improve
their
performance
and their
productivity
will increase
hence
organisationa
l goals can be
achieved
within time.
by learning
various
training and
development
techniques
and also by
attending
various
seminars
where my
skills can be
sharpened.
and
authorities of
the company.
Confid
ence
I lack confidence
in certain
situations which
increases my
stress and anxiety
levels. This
affects my
decision-making
capabilities which
can negatively
affect the
organisational
growth and
development.
I desire to
increase my
confidence
levels so that
every
situation can
be dealt with
without
getting
tensed which
affects my
overall
efficiency
levels. This
quality also
needs to be
strengthened
as all the
employee’s
trust can only
be gained by
directing,
controlling
and
managing
them
confidently.
This can be
improved by
talking to my
mentors who
can help me
in dealing
with various
situations
confidently.
Top level
authorities of
the company
who
oversees my
work.
2 months

Differences between some attributes
Individual learning: It relates to developing skills and knowledge of an individual so
that their interaction with external environment cannot negatively affect the individual (Tang
and et. al., 2016).
Organisational learning: It means communicating, creating, transmitting and
retaining the knowledge so as to maintain organisational performance in th extremely
competitive external environment. This learning helps in achieving the goals and objectives
of the organisation.
Basis Individual learning Organisational learning
Scope The scope of individual learning is
narrow as it is concerned with only one
individual.
This learning has a wider scope as it
considers complete organisation and
increases knowledge at a large level.
Rigidity This learning is flexible as each and
every employee can learn and acquire
knowledge so as to enhance their
performance levels.
It is rigid concept as it does not
change with individual employee
needs.
Time It is continuous process and has to be
done lifelong by employees.
The management decides the time
when training sessions need to be
given to employees.
Training: It means developing the required skills and abilities of employees so that a certain
task that is assigned to them can be achieved on time. Different types of training such as on-
the-job and off-the-job training can help in enhancing the desired knowledge of employees
(Tasker, 2015).
Development: It means developing the skills and knowledge acquired by the employees so
that they can execute their jobs and responsibilities as per the job requirement. It helps them
in working in different environments and helps in their career growth. It also helps them in
achieving their personal and professional goals.
Basis Training Development
Orientatio
n
It is a job oriented process. It is a career oriented process.
Skill Training enhances various technology
related skills that are required to
perform certain tasks.
Development enhances the overall
personality of employees and
improves their concepts, ideas and
performance at workplace.
Aim It is used so that the employees can
gain the desired level of efficiency in
execution of their roles.
It aims at improving the
knowledge and skills that can help
the employees throughout their
career.
Scope Its scope is narrow as it emphasises on
quick and urgent needs of the
company.
Scope is high as it looks at the
long-term requirement of both the
employee and organisation.

Need for continuous learning and professional development:
Continuous learning is associated with the desire and willingness of an employee to
expand their skills and competencies so that they can take up future opportunities. This
continuous learning is important if the individual wants to grow and develop in their personal
and professional lives so that they can perform their jobs efficiently (Tattum and Tattum,
2017).
Professional development helps the individual in developing professional skills and
knowledge by engaging them in various training and development programmes such as off-
the-job training, seminars etc. It also helps employees in their careers and builds their
strengths to be able to work with high productivity and efficiency.
In the case of Hightown Housing Ltd. Both such concepts are important so as to
support the employees of the company to achieve further growth and success.
Importance of professional development and continuous learning Higher employee retention: The employee skills and capabilities can be enhanced
and their performance level increases which increases their enthusiasm to work
harder so that they can be appraised for their work. Response to technology: The new technologies installed can be easily and quickly
understood by the employees so that it can be used in order to achieve organisational
goals timely.
 Enhance performance : Both these concept helps in enhancing the performance and
productivity of employees by developing their skills and knowledge.
Kolb’s Learning Cycle-
This cycle is based on two dimensions of individual learning. First one is how
individual reprieves information and second is how the person utilizes the
information in active experimentation. The company can use this theory to improve
the work performance of the employees.
 Diverging: The employees who have different perspectives and prefer
analysis before actually doing a task so that they can perform their work well.
 Assimilating: The employees who want proper information and are interested
in concepts can be trained through seminars.
 Converging: The employees who want learn and solve problems can be given
logical and technical training.
 Accommodating: The employees who think practically and enjoy taking up
challenges can be given work field experiences.

LO 2
Covered in PPT
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that it is essential for HR advisor of a
company to timely analyse their skills and knowledge so that the workforce of the
organisation can be efficiently managed. This helps in improving the productivity of the
employees and increases the profitability of the company. Further it can also be
concluded that various learning and development programmes need to be adopted in an
organisation so that the employees can be benefitted both in their personal and
professional lives.
REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Kaney, T., 2017. Transitioning into the role of trusted leadership advisor.

Lejeune, C., Beausaert, S. and Raemdonck, I., 2018. The impact on employees’ job
performance of exercising self-directed learning within personal development plan
practice. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, pp.1-27.
Rahimi, E. and et. al., 2015. A learning model for enhancing the student's control in
educational process using W eb 2.0 personal learning environments. British Journal
of Educational Technology .46(4). pp.780-792.
Sikkink, J.A. and et. al., 2018. Synchronizing metadata with alterations to a portable
document format print job. U.S. Patent 10,152,284.
Sostrin, J., 2017. Beyond the job description: How managers and employees can navigate the
true demands of the job. Springer.
Stewart, J., 2016. Personal development plan. In Encyclopedia of Human Resource
Management. Edward Elgar Publishing Limited.
Tang, G. and et. al., 2016. Work–family effects of servant leadership: The roles of emotional
exhaustion and personal learning. Journal of Business Ethics .137(2). pp.285-297.
Tasker, F., 2015. How to prepare a personal development plan. BMJ .351. p.h4603.
Tattum, D. and Tattum, E., 2017. Social education and personal development. Routledge.
Online
How to Create a Personal Development Plan .2013. [Online] Available through
:<http://www.mindofwinner.com/create-personal-development-plan/>