Employability Skills Report: HR Executive's Role at Spar

This report analyzes the employability skills required for an HR executive role within the context of Spar, a multinational grocery retail chain. The report begins by outlining the author's responsibilities and performance objectives as an HR executive, including recruiting, compensation, training, and employee relations. It then evaluates the effectiveness of these objectives and recommends improvements in areas such as communication and coordination. The report further explores motivational techniques to enhance employee performance and productivity. The report also addresses work-based problems, specifically team conflicts, and proposes solutions involving training, resource allocation, and leadership development. The report also discusses different communication styles and time management strategies. Finally, the report examines methods for addressing work-based problems and strategies for resolving team conflicts, including training and development initiatives. The conclusion summarizes the key findings and recommendations for improving employability skills and organizational performance within Spar.

Employability Skills

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Developing a set of own responsibilities and performance objectives.............................1
1.2 Evaluating the effectiveness against performance objective............................................2
1.3 On a specific situation, recommendations for improvement............................................2
1.4 Motivational techniques for improving quality of performance in organization.............3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
2.1 Developing solutions for work based problems...............................................................4
2.2 Communication styles at different level of organization.................................................4
2.3 Effective time management strategies..............................................................................5
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................6
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................6
4.1 Appropriate methods of examining work based problem in organization.......................6
4.2 Appropriate strategies to resolve the team conflict issue.................................................7
4.3 Impact of implementing the strategies.............................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Employability Skills is a set of achievements in which an individual develops skills,
knowledge, understandings and personal attributes to be employable with good technical skills,
good communication skills and effective subject knowledge. Some organizations often mention a
set of skills that is required to have in their employees (Oliver, Hunt, Jones and et. al. 2010). The
present report is based on a case scenario of Spar, which is US owned multinational grocery
retail chain and has franchises with about 12,500 stores in 35 countries. Currently, I am working
in Spar as a HR Executive. This report will help in determining my own responsibilities and
performance objectives with the development of interpersonal and transferable skills and also
help in understanding the dynamics of working with others along with developing the strategies
for problem solving.
TASK 1
1.1 Developing a set of own responsibilities and performance objectives
Being a HR Executive in Spar, my main responsibility is to manage functions of various
departments and managing employees. With regards to this, my performance objectives are
based on my roles and responsibilities as a HR manager in Spar. As a HR manager my core
responsibilities are as follows,
 Recruiting and selecting talented employees in organisation
 Compensation and benefits to employees.
 Training and development
 Managing employee relationship.
With respect to my job responsibilities in Spar, my performance objectives are as
follows, Establishing a competency model: Being a HR manager in Spar, my performance
objective is to establish a competency model by ensuring that talented and skilled
employees are hired in the organization to perform job effectively. By establishing
competency model in the organization, firm will be able to gain competitive advantage
and my efficiency of performance will also be improved.
 Developing the Skills of employees: Another performance objective of me is to develop
skills and knowledge of employees by providing them training in the organization.
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Through rendering training to workforce, I can develop their skills and technical
knowledge to perform effectively in today's competitive world. This will help in
achieving goals and objectives of the organisation and retaining right talent in the firm as
well.
1.2 Evaluating the effectiveness against performance objective
To supervise effectiveness against my performance objective, I would evolve my in-
depth knowledge of all the subjects by taking assistance from books, journals, internet and other
sources. In depth knowledge of all subjects will enable me to coordinate effectively with all the
departments in Spar and also I will be able to provide effective training to all my staff members.
With regards to my performance objective, I will recruit talented employees in the organization
and provide training to the workforce in order to improve their performance. This will help me in
establishing a competency model of the organization. I will define their job descriptions clearly
in front of employees and benchmark their roles against similar job in the retail industry. My
effectiveness against my performance objectives will not only help organization to achieve its
goals and objectives but also improve my efficiency in my job responsibilities.
Furthermore, my effectiveness against my performance objectives can also be monitored
by over-viewing the level of employee retention in SPAR. I will establish good relationship with
my workforce, so that they can communicate their issues or queries with me.
1.3 On a specific situation, recommendations for improvement
Being a HR Executive in Spar, availability of improper communication and coordination
was the major issue in front of me. The reason for this issue was that employees were not able to
communicate with each other due to separate departments and work shifts. This issue has also
caused coordination problem in them which was affecting organizational sales and revenue. To
resolve this issue, I have identified few methods for improvements.
To resolve this issue within the staff, my responsibility is to establish good
communication between employees through using effective leadership. I will organize training
programs and motivate the staff in the organization. Participation of all employee in training
program will help them in communicating with employees of other departments as well. This
training program will improve their communication skills and leadership skills and enable the
workforce to coordinate with each department at work. As a result of this communication
training program sales executives of Spar will be able to establish effective communication with
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marketing department and other customer care executives of the organization. This will help in
providing effective customer services and increase the sales and profitability of Spar.
1.4 Motivational techniques for improving quality of performance in organization
Spar is a famous multinational grocery retail chain and it is well known for its quality
products and effective customer support. To maintain and improve the quality of performance in
Spar, it is essential to motivate all the employees on time to time (McQuerrey, 2015). Increasing
motivation at workplace helps in improving performance of the staff as well as their
productivity. Being a HR Executive, my responsibility is to motivate workforce. Therefore, I will
use following techniques to motivate the staff, Creating a positive work environment: I will motivate employees by providing them
optimistic and constructive work environment. I will encourage workforce to share their
ideas and sugge4stions with me in order to maintain healthy environment at workplace.
Along with this, I also ensure that all necessary skills and facilities are provided to
employees for performing job effectively. Set goals: I help employees to become self-motivated by assisting them in establishing
personal goals and objectives. This technique will not only attempt to motivate the
employees but also help in achieving the organizational goals and objectives. Provide incentives: The most effective motivational technique is by providing staff
incentives. I will provide Financial and non-financial incentives to employees as per their
performance. Financial incentives are cash prizes such as, increased salary, gift voucher
etc. and non-financial incentives are performance appraisals, compressed work shifts and
extra leaves etc. This is most effective motivational technique to improve the quality of
performance in Spar.
 Recognize their achievements: Furthermore, I will recognize individual employee's
performance by rewarding them through employee of the month or star performer award.
I will motivate employees by recognizing their performance in front of all staff it will
motivate them and improve the quality of performance.
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TASK 2
2.1 Developing solutions for work based problems
Being a HR manager in Spar, my responsibility is to manage all the teams effectively in
all working conditions. Since, Spar is a multinational grocery retail outlet, thus, sales executives
have to manage end number of customers daily. This was creating team conflict issue at Spar.
The main reason for team conflict are as follows,
 Competition over resources.
 Failure to follow the team rules.
 Performance deficiency.
Thereby, to resolve this issue of team conflict from Spar, I have organized a meeting in
which all the team members participated. In this team meeting, they were asked to tell their
reasons for the team conflicts. Some team members were not following the rules made by team
leader that was arising conflicts in team. However, this work based problem was resolved by
providing equal resources to all the sales executives in order to perform job. Team members'
performance deficiencies were resolved by providing them training so that all the team members
can perform well at the expected levels. Team leader was also provided training for developing
leadership skills so that team leader can provide proper direction to its team members in order to
follow the rules and regulations of team.
2.2 Communication styles at different level of organization
Communication is essential in order to transfer information from one to another. Every
individual prefers different communication style to communicate with each other (Gravells,
2010). These communication styles are interpersonal communication, non-verbal communication
and written communication style. Thus, appropriate manner to communicate work based
problem to the various level of Spar is as follows, Interpersonal communication: In this style of communication people exchange
information and feelings by using verbal or non verbal messages. This communication is
held in face to face setting. This style of communication can provide detailed information
of all the factors of work based problem. For instance, team conflict problem in staff can
be communicated by calling a meeting or group discussions.
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 Non-verbal communication: Nonverbal communication style is a communication
without using words. It involves the use of expressions, body language and physical
environment. For instance, non verbal communication in Spar can be carried out by
communicating with customers.
 Written communication: written communication is most common style of business
communication. Written communication is essential in all business organization to
coordinating and communicating with staff (Andrews and Higson, 2008). As per written
communication people communicate through emails, notices, circulars, report etc. written
communication in Spar is required for communicating with managers, staff, suppliers,
customers etc.
2.3 Effective time management strategies
Proper time management is essential in today's competitive business environment.
However, time is impossible to manage, people can only manage their works in limited time.
Thus, I have identified various strategies to manage time. These are as follows, Set Priorities: To manage time effectively it is very important to understand the
difference between important and urgent works. The simple way to prioritize is by
making “works to do” list (Anderson, 2012). This list can be prepared on daily, weekly or
monthly basis. In this list urgent works should be on priorities and important works
which can be delayed can be done later. With the help of this strategy time can be
effectively managed. Use of planning tool: After setting the priorities tasks can be managed in personal
planning tools such as, electronic gadgets, planners, pocket diaries, calenders, computer
programs, notebooks etc. these planning tools can be helpful for focusing on priorities. Become organized: Disorganization is outcome of poor time management. Thereby, all
the important documents, bills and papers should be maintained in files, folder or in
computer programs by proper labeling. This will save lot of time of searching the
document whenever required. Event Scheduling: Scheduling is a time commitment. It is very important to complete the
tasks and event by making time commitment (Gravells, 2010). By making time schedule
for every task effective time management can be done.
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 Stop Procrastinating: to manage time effectively the employees should not put off tasks
for any reason. This procrastination and delay for work can be manage by breaking down
the task which is less urgent in small segments.
 Avoid multitasking: Furthermore, Switching in one task to another consumes more time.
Thereby, for effective time management people should not do multitasking. Instead of
this complete tasks one by one.
TASK 3
Covered in PPT
TASK 4
4.1 Appropriate methods of examining work based problem in organization
Being a HR executive in Spar, I was facing team conflict problem in organization. The
reason for team conflict was performance deficiencies of employees. Some team members were
not contributing effectively in team and they were not performing at the expected quality level.
This created dissatisfaction in team leader. And team was split into two. Thereby, it was my
responsibility to develop the tools and method for resolving this issue. These methods are as
follows, Enhancing ability: To overcome the performance deficiency issue of team members I
will provide them training and development and enhance their abilities for performing the
job efficiently. Training and development will help the weak team members to improve
their knowledge, skills and capabilities to perform the job. Improving motivation: I will motivate employees for their effective work performance. I
will use various motivational techniques to encourage the team members. This method
would be highly effective in order to improve team's performance.
 Performance feedback: further, to resolve team conflict issue in Spar I will use
performance feedback policy. I will provide each team member feedback over their
performance. Through this method they will get to know at what level their current
performance stand and what are the long term expectation of the Spar from its
employees.
Thus, by developing solutions for performance deficiencies, problem of team conflict can be
easily resolved.
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4.2 Appropriate strategies to resolve the team conflict issue
Being a HR executive I would use following strategies to resolve the team conflict issue
at Spar. I have adopted different tools and techniques to address the conflict issue such as
through enabling effectual discussion, using 5 why model, improvement in communication
skills, motivation, seeking feedback.
 Discussions: Discussions are the appropriate measure to address the issue. Through
discussion disputes are resolved through different stages such as identifying cause of
conflict, listening to all the concerned parties, finding out possible solutions and lstly
using the appropriate methods to solve it with the mutual consent. 5why's model: In order to resolve the issue in 360 degree manner, it is imperative to ask 5
relevant and interlinked questions associated with it such as why conflict arose, why
parties get involved, why it is not solved yet, why it is hampering company's efficiency
and why it is not communicated. Improvement in communication skills: To resolve the team conflict issue. I will
establish effective communication between team members and team leader. I will
improve their communication skills so that team members will communicate with each
other. Also, the effective communication will stop arising conflict between team
members. Increasing motivation at workplace: Being a HR executive my responsibility is to
resolve team conflict problem. Thus, I will increase motivation at workplace so that every
employee will perform better and team conflicts will not happen. Motivation in team
members will improve the team deficiencies and improve the performance which will
result in improved relation between team leader and team members.
 Feedback and suggestions: The one more appropriate strategy to resolve the team
conflict is by taking feedback and suggestion form each team member. This feedback and
suggestions will help in knowing the actual reason for conflict and also it will help in
finding the solution from within the team members only. Thus, I will provide them proper
platform to put their problems and issues they are facing in front of everyone. This will
help in resolving the team conflict issue effectively.
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4.3 Impact of implementing the strategies
The impact of proper implementation of strategies for resolving the team conflict at Spar
is as follows. Meeting out objectives: When the conflicts are resolved in appropriate manner, the
organizational objectives are met in appropriate manner which any disruptions and issues. Increased satisfaction of stakeholders: It enhances the satisfaction level of employees
with greater reliability and assurance towards working or organization. It enables the
stakeholder and employees to remain more dedicated towards organization. Proper utilization of resources: With the effective resolving of conflicts and disputes,
the resource utilization happen more productive and appropriate. It leads to profit
maximization and cost minimization. Improved Quality of Performance: After implementing the strategies the issue of team
conflict was resolved from Spar. All the employees were established good coordination
with each other that resulted in improved quality of performance (Kearns, 2004). Also,
after implementing the strategies' the customer support facility was also improved in the
cited organization. Increased understanding: Conflict resolution allowed team members to move beyond
their opinion to make objective decisions. Conflict resolution help team members and
team leader for developing understanding between them which is also beneficial for
effective team coordination.
 Increased sales and Profitability: Furthermore, applying these strategies resulted in
increased sales and profitability of the organization. Team conflict resolution enable the
team member to perform well as per the retail industry standards (Rao, 2014). As a
outcome of implementing these strategies the sales and revenue of Spar is increased.
CONCLUSION
It has been concluded in this report that employability skills are essential for individuals
in order to be employable. To be employable people acquire knowledge and skills of various
subjects and develops themselves by taking help of different sources. In today's competitive
environment organization also provide training and development to its workforce to get the
skilled and knowledgeable workforce.
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REFERENCES
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impact. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning. 2(1). pp.33-44.
Andrews, J. and Higson, H., 2008. Graduate employability,‘soft skills’ versus ‘hard’business
knowledge: A European study. Higher education in Europe. 33(4). pp.411-422.
Cairns, K.V., 2007. Teaching employability skills using the WonderTech Work Skills. Canadian
Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy/Revue canadienne de counseling et de
psychothérapie. 30(2).
Dacre Pool, L. and Sewell, P., 2007. The key to employability: developing a practical model of
graduate employability. Education+ Training. 49(4). pp.277-289.
Goldfinch, J. and Hughes, M., 2007. Skills, learning styles and success of first-year
undergraduates. Active learning in higher education. 8(3). pp.259-273.
Gravells, A., 2010. Delivering employability skills in the lifelong learning sector. SAGE.
Irving, B.A. and Malik, B. eds., 2004. Critical reflections on career education and guidance:
Promoting social justice within a global economy. Routledge.
Kearns, P., 2004. VET and social capital: A paper on the contribution of the VET sector to social
capital in communities. NCVER.
McGrath, S., 2009. What is employability. Learning to support employability project paper. 1.
pp. 15.
O'Neil, H.F., 2014. Workforce readiness: Competencies and assessment. Psychology Press.
Oliver, B., Hunt, L., Jones, S. and et. al. 2010. The Graduate Employability Indicators: capturing
broader stakeholder perspectives on the achievement and importance of employability
attributes. Proceedings of AuQF2010: Quality in Uncertain Times. pp. 89-95.
Rao, M.S., 2014. Enhancing employability in engineering and management students through soft
skills. Industrial and Commercial Training. 46(1). pp.42-48.
Senior, C. and Cubbidge, R., 2010. Enhancing employability in the “ME generation”.
Education+ Training. 52(6/7). pp.445-449.
Watts, A.G., 2006. Career development learning and employability. New York: Higher
Education Academy.
Online
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McQuerrey, L., 2015. Techniques for Increasing Motivation. [Online]. Available through:
<http://smallbusiness.chron.com/7-techniques-increasing-motivation-55420.html./>.
[Accessed on: 18th December 2015].
Anderson, P., 2012. 10 Strategies for Better Time Management. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/burkecountyextension/home-and-family/10-strategies-for-
better-time-management./>. [Accessed on: 18th December 2015].
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