HR Professional Skills, Learning, and Development: Unit 35 Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of HR professional skills, organizational learning, and employee development within the context of a case study involving Whirlpool. It begins by defining the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviors for HR professionals, emphasizing the importance of technological knowledge, recruitment expertise, and strong communication skills. The report then delves into a personal skills audit, using a SWOT analysis and a personal development plan to identify strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, it differentiates between organizational and individual learning, highlighting their respective aims, impacts, and benefits. The report underscores the need for continuous learning and professional development to enhance employee engagement and drive sustainable business performance. Finally, it evaluates different approaches to performance management and their contribution to a high-performance culture, providing valuable insights for HR professionals seeking to improve their effectiveness and contribute to organizational success.

Unit 35

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
1. Presenting appropriate and professional knowledge, skills and behaviour of HR
professionals...........................................................................................................................1
2. Describing personal skills audit to identify skills and behaviours.....................................2
3. Presenting difference between organizational and individual learning, training and
development...........................................................................................................................5
4. Analysing the need for continuous learning and professional development......................6
5. Describing how HPW contributes to employee engagement.............................................7
6. Evaluating different approaches to performance management..........................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
High-performing teams or groups are the building blocks of organizations and are
enabled by effectiveness of people within them. Individual and professionals in a workforce
helps to run a business in an effective way. The report is based upon the case study of Whirlpool
in which the company have many issues regarding high performance of their employees. The
study describe an appropriate knowledge, skills and behaviours of the HR professionals and then
analyses the personal skills audit to determine appropriate knowledge, skills and behaviours by
using SWOT analysis. Beside this, report also analysis the difference between organizational and
individual learning and also describe the needs for continuous learning and professional
development to drive sustainable business performance. Study evaluate different approaches to
performance management and how it supports to high performance culture and commitment. 1.
Presenting appropriate and professional knowledge, skills and behaviour of HR professionals
HR professionals of the firm are the key individuals who take important decision and
oversees the workers and discipline committee. As per the case study, Whirlpool faces some
company crisis and the team should also be quite aware that their restructuring also required
well- informed and time decision making which helps to increases the productivity of a firm. For
this reason, HR of the firm must posses some professional knowledge, skills which are as
mentioned below:
Knowledge: HR professional of Whirlpool must posses some technological knowledge
which helps them to take right decision for the welfare of the firm. HR professionals should also
posses knowledge related to recruitment and selection procedure because they have to select best
candidate for a firm which helps them to increases the probability (Hora, 2019). HR should have
the knowledge of training and development which helps them to raise the working performance
of an employees and must posses the knowledge how to deal with some complex issues and
decreases the resistivity between the employees. For improving performance of organisation, it is
crucial for HR professional of Whirlpool to have proper knowledge regarding practices and
policies related to human resource management.
Skills and behaviours: HR professionals of Whirlpool should have the best
communication skills which help to motivate their employees in order to raise their working
performance. As they are multitasker, then they should have the skills to deal with personal and
professional issues in different manner. They should posses some critical thinking abilities and
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must have the skills to cope with some complex issues. In addition to this, HR professionals
frequently needs to balance out some difficult situations. On the other hand, they should also
have some organizational skills which helps them to manage the things in better way (Garcia and
Villarino, 2019).
As HR professionals plays an important role because they recruit the best candidate for
the welfare of the firm so this shows that they should also posses the best leadership skills which
helps to lead entire team in an effective way. They also have negotiation skills which assist them
to bring others together and tries to reconcile the differences between the team members. As they
take important decision for the firm, therefore it is also quite necessary for the HR of Whirlpool
to have good judgement and decision making skills so that it will also help them to consider the
relative cost and benefits to take potential actions in order to choose the best strategy or decision
for a company (Nankervis and et.al., 2016). If the behaviour of the HR professionals is positive
towards their employees then it will help them to feel comfortable in the working area.
Therefore, if these skills are possessed by the HR professionals of Whirlpool then it will easily
help them to lead a business at further level of success. 2. Describing personal skills audit to
identify skills and behaviours
Being a HR, I also have some strength and weaknesses which can be identify by using
SWOT analysis. This model assist me to determine my knowledge and skills but before it, I am
prepared personal skill audit which is a very effective way to identify my strengths and needs of
development in the working environment of the company (Haraldsdottir and et.al., 2018).
By using Brunel skills Audit, I easily present my personal skill audit chart:
Key :
I need to work on this I am confident I can do this
Skills Rating Rating scale
Communication skills 6
Interpersonal skills 8
Decision making
skills
6
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Presentation skills 6
Risk taking ability 9
Negotiation Skills 9
Organizational skills 9
Decision making
skills
7
Time management
skills
9
Technological Skills 7
Financial Skill 7
Risk Taking ability 9
In order to determine the strength and weaknesses, I used SWOT analysis and this is as
mentioned below:
Strength Weaknesses
 I have good negotiation skills such that
I can easily solve conflicts between
employees.
 Also have organizational skills and
management skills.
 I also have good time management
skills and can easily convince others for
a work.
 Have good confidence regarding my
work.
 Have risk taking abilities as well as
some interpersonal skills.
 I am not easily communicate my view
points with others because of hesitation.
 I lack some presentation skills such that
I cannot express myself in public.
 I cannot take decision because of
emotional attachment with my peers.
 Lacking some technological skills.
 Lack of financial knowledge.
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In order to overcome my weaknesses, I develop my own personal developmental plan
which is an action plan that is based on the awareness, values and goal setting, planning and also
assist me to convert my weaknesses into strength. My personal development plan is as follows:
Skills to be
developed
Activities to be taken Resources Tenure
Communication skills To improve this, I start attending
classes and also take small group's
meeting. Also present myself in
public reduce hesitation. I will also
start to interact more with my
friends and colleagues.
Trainer 3 weeks
Presentation skills Start attending classes and also give
presentation on different topics at
office in order to overcome this.
Beside this, I also start watching
videos.
You- tube
videos, trainer.
2 weeks
Technical skills Start attending lectures and try to
cope up with new and advance
technology into the working area. I
will also attend workshops which
assists me in improving my
technical skills.
Trainer,
workshops
2 weeks
Financial Skills Start attending lectures and also
evaluating business financial
reports.
Books, tutor 4 weeks
Decision making
skills
Start taking guidance from the
seniors and read many case study in
order to determine different ways to
Senior authority 1 week
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take better decision.
From the above, it has been cleared that through personal developmental plan. I can
easily overcome my weaknesses and convert them into the strength. 3. Presenting difference
between organizational and individual learning, training and development
Basis of comparison Organizational learning, training
and developmental
Individual Learning,
training and development
Meaning Organizational training and learning
is done in order to enhance or raise
the efficiencies of their employees so
that it helps to increase the
profitability of the firm (Boyle,
Schwarzbach and Cooper, 2016).
Individual learning is gain by
individual from their own
reflection and external stimuli
in order to raise their
capabilities so that it will helps
to provide opportunities in
their future.
Aim The main aim of organizational
training is to improve or enhance the
specific skills or abilities of an
employee and develop productive
working culture.
Individual learning and
training mainly aims is to raise
a person's skills so that it will
easily lead to achieve their
own goals and objectives.
Impact Organizational training creates direct
upon firm's production as well as
profitability level. For example, if
Whirlpool provide training sessions
to their employees then it
automatically enhances their skills
and working efficiencies.
Individual training is provided
to a person because it creates
direct impact upon their own
future and also raises their
interpersonal skills which
assist them to accomplish
defined goals (Nanda, 2016).
Focus Organizational training mainly focus
to increase the company's financial
position which is possible by
Individual training and
development focuses on
personal skills of an individual
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employees higher performance. so that it will help them to
faces some complex situation.
Basis Organizational training provides a
series of step in order to gain skill so
that it will help to raise production
level of a firm.
Individual training is done on
the basis to improve the
weaknesses of an individual.
Tenure This type of training is provided for
short term.
This type of training and
development is provided for
long term period.
Benefits  It helps to enhance overall
performance of a company
(Boer and et.al., 2017).
 Using organizational training
programs, the employees of
Whirlpool can raise their extra
skills which helps to improve
production level.
 Through individual
training and
development, a person
faces many complex
situation and some
challenges.
 Individual groom
themselves and
develop some
interpersonal skills as
well.
Emplacement Job orientated process which assist
them to achieve company's goals.
Career oriented process that
helps to achieve their personal
goals.
4. Analysing the need for continuous learning and professional development
Continuous Learning and Professional development:It is the process of tracking and
documenting the skills as well as knowledge which gained informally and formally such as
training. It is the simplest process which helps to learn many new things to an individual as well
as an employee in a working area. Through continuous learning and professional development,
employees of Whirlpool will easily gain their defined goals for their future. As the quoted firm
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have many issues regarding their performance of their employees, therefore, it is recommended
to a firm to use the continuous learning and professional development (Yang, Lee and Cheng,
2016).
The main aim of CPD is to drive sustainable business performance in the working area.
As it is also help to improve the knowledge, skills and competencies of a HR professional and in
Whirlpool, there is a need for continuous learning because of following benefits:
Increases loyalty and production level: As employees of Whirlpool faces many issues
regarding their working performance and if the firm uses CPD then it helps to make their
employees feel proud and satisfied with their jobs. As CPD helps to increase the loyalty in a
workplace in order to achieve their defined goals. Therefore, by using CPD, the employees of the
firm are easily gain trust among each other and perform well so that it helps to raise the
production level of a company (Benefits of CPD, 2018). This also encourages collaboration
which is quite important key aspect for the business, through this it will help to easily attain the
defined goals in prescribed time.
Improve performance: By providing proper developmental training session to the
employees of Whirlpool which help to improve the performance level and it directly helps to
increases the level of production as well as profitability. As continuous professional development
helps to improve the professional competencies which directly affect individual performance.
Therefore, it is quite necessary for the Whirlpool to conduct some training session in which the
employees' performance can be measure and improve.
Personal growth: As CPD not only helps to raise professional knowledge of a person but
it also assists to grow personally as well. In every firm, employees are the main source and they
provide proper Continuous professional development then workers start growing personally and
it will directly helps to grow them personally as well as professionally.
Develop opportunities: As CPD helps to develop advance knowledge related to
technology then it further helps to create opportunities for person's future. Through this, an
employee of Whirlpool can easily deliver a deeper understanding with a greater appreciation
which creates direct impact upon the company's production level (Shin and Konrad, 2017).
Hence, through these training sessions, an individual can creates many opportunities which help
them to attain their defined goals. Therefore, it is the another benefit which helps Whirlpool to
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retain their employees in order to increases the working performance5. Describing how HPW
contributes to employee engagement
High performance work plays an important role in the every business and also contribute
to gain high competitive advantages. On the other side, employee engagement is refers to up to
what extent the employees of the firm are satisfied. As per the case study, the employee of
Whirlpool are also faces some issues regarding the high performance work, therefore it is
recommended to the quoted firm to use HPW in their working area. As it helps to maximize the
profit level of a firm and even though there are many advantages of using HPW in the working
area such as:
Employee benefits: Using high performance work into a business will help to provide
employee engagement. Such that if Whirlpool organize or conduct a training session at its
workplace then it will be helpful to provide benefits to them (Van De Voorde and Beijer, 2015).
As a result, these training sessions are helpful to all the employees of an organization to attain
the company's objectives in well manner.
Satisfied working environment: If the training sessions are provided to their employees
then employee analysed their responsibilities and produces more productive products and as a
result, the working environment of Whirlpool remain satisfied. By raising the performance level
of an employee will help to produces more favourable products and thus, it will easily helps to
sustain its brand image in market (Marodin and et.al., 2019). Apart from this, to gain satisfied
working environment, it is quite necessary for Whirlpool to analyse the needs of their customers
and then take action accordingly.
Enhances financial position: It has been analysed that employee engagement also
creates direct impact upon the company's productivity level. For example, if Whirlpool provide
proper training sessions to their employees then it automatically raises the production level and
as a result it helps to increase profitability. Thus, through high performance work, the financial
position of the company automatically raise. Therefore, it is quite necessary for the firm to
provide proper training session in order to raise high performance of their employees and take
immediate action to improve their skills (Richards and et.al., 2019).
Helps to gain high competitive advantage: Overall, it has been analysed that by using
high performance work will help to increases the working efficiency of employees as well as
better financial results. Thus, it directly helps to gain high competitive advantage in a market. So
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it is recommended to Whirlpool to use high performance work so that it will help to keep their
employee hold their position in order to creates best results.6. Evaluating different approaches to
performance management
Performance management is the simplest process through which the managers and the
employees are work together to monitor and evaluated their employees performance. Such that
the owner of a quoted firm measures the working performance of their employees through their
contribution towards a company. There are different approaches of performance management
such as:
Result Approach: It is one of the most simple method in which the performance of
Whirlpool's employees are measured through their results. This approach is also focus on four
parameters such as financial, internal, customers and growth. It is quite beneficial for the firm to
use this approach because it helps to convert strategy into an operation (Ahidar, Sarsri and
Sefiani, 2019).
For example, the manager of the quoted firm can assign the duties to their employees and
through their performance, they can easily analyse the best employee among all.
Behavioural Approach: It is one of the oldest method in which different scales are used
to measure the performance of an employee. Through this approach, they can easily get the best
candidate for the firm. In this approach, managers of the firm can determine their performance in
order to determine their behaviours (Ansoff and et.al., 2019). Therefore, Whirlpool can also uses
this method in order to identify the behaviour and then take action accordingly.
Quality Approach: Through this approach, the employee of a company also enhances
their quality of product which is offered to the customers. This approach basically focus on the
quality of a service in order to minimizes the errors in it. For example, managers of the
Whirlpool can take feedback from their peers and clients in order to check the quality of a
products (McAdam, Miller and McSorley, 2019). In order to raise the quality, Whirlpool also
uses Kaizen process which help them to enhances the offered qualities.
Through this way, the Whirlpool will easily measures the performance of their employees
and also support to high performance culture and environment. Further it is also recommended to
the quoted firm to use Result approach which helps to determine the best candidate who can help
to raise the production level.
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