Professional Identity and Practice Report: Skill Audit and Planning

This report delves into the concept of professional identity, examining its components and its impact on workplace performance. Focusing on Crowne Plaza Hotel, the report analyzes the benefits of ongoing professional development for employees and employers, highlighting the importance of skills and competencies in the hospitality industry, specifically for a floor manager role. It includes a personal skill audit, identifying strengths and weaknesses, and proposes a development plan to enhance team working and technological knowledge. The report also reviews various learning theories, such as behaviorism, cognitivism, and social learning theory, to support personal and professional development processes. Furthermore, it outlines a development plan to improve chosen skills and competencies within a specific work context and reviews the strengths and weaknesses of a job interview process.

PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY
AND PRACTICE

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................4
P1. Key benefits of on going professional development for different stakeholders within
company.................................................................................................................................4
P2. Investigate professional employer expectation of skills and competencies within industry 6
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................7
P3. Assess own abilities, skills, and competences for a specific job role..............................7
P4. Review a range of learning theories and approaches used for personal and professional
development processes...........................................................................................................7
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
P5. Construct a development plan to enhance chosen skills and competencies within a specific
work context...........................................................................................................................7
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................7
P6. Undertake a job interview for a suitable service industry role.........................................7
P7. Review key strengths and weaknesses of an applied interview process..........................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Professional identity can be seen as the concept that is made up of several belief,
attributes, experience, motives and practices which contributes in the improvement in the
performance of the individual at work place. Mainly it is developed with various situations that is
being faced by the individual and also makes them learn new things which overall develops their
working capability. The present report is based on Crowne Plaza Hotel, a chain of hotel whose
headquarter is situated in United Kingdom. The hotel is mainly providing accommodation
oriented services to its guest (Brooks, 2016) The present report include discussion on the key
benefits of on going professional development for stakeholders within the company and different
expectation of employer in the terms of skills. At next, it will conduct a skill audit analysis for
specific job. It also describes about different learning theory that supports in improvement of
skills as well as competencies of employees. Last but not the least, it describes job interview for
the chosen job role along with its strength and weakness.
TASK 1
P1. Key benefits of on going professional development for different stakeholders within
company
Professional development refers to an important practice which helps an individual in
improving their working practices that leads to improvement in career growth. For the purpose of
developing employees skills business organisations are focusing on conducting certain regular
based training sessions in which employees are trained from expertise. Along with the training
session, business organisation also conducts some seminars, events and many other programs
where employees gets opportunity to sharpen their skills as well as knowledge. Hospitality
industry is very dense in size as it has number of players which are leading the industry.
Therefore, it is essential for the undertaken company that is Crowne Plaza Hotel to use some
innovative ideas and themes for attracting maximum number of customer towards the company.
This will help them out in gaining competitive edge (Cruess, Cruess and Steinert, 2016). Along
with this, the hotel also required to develop skills and capabilities of the existing employees by
developing professional skills of employees at continuous basis. Apart from the accommodation
facility, Crowne Plaza Hotel is also offering some of the other leisure facilities like swimming
pool, gym, spa, wellness centres etc. The chosen hotel is also planning to introduce new bedroom

design. In this regard, the top management team of Crowne Plaza Hotel is focusing on going
professional development as it helps them in gaining competitive edge by delivering high quality
services to the guest. Some of the main benefit of On-going professional development for
employee and employer as described as below in detailed manner.
Basis of comparison Employer Employees
Increase employee
retention
On-going professional
development helps an employer
in retaining employee longer in
the company. In context of
Crowne Plaza Hotel, it can said
that regular based development
influences interest of individual
towards the company as their
learning improves their quality of
performance (Cruess, Cruess and
Steinert, 2016).
On-going professional development
improves skills and knowledge of
employees. This ultimately enhances
number of opportunities in the
company for them. Along with this,
these employees can also attain their
professional goals with advanced
skills.
Enhances
productivity
With reference to Crowne Plaza
Hotel, it can be said that regular
based training seminars and
sessions directly raises working
capability of employees. This
ultimately improves overall
productivity of hotel.
For employees, the main benefit of
on-going professional development is
that employees are able to perform
their work in more effective manner
without facing any trouble. Error free
work improves productivity level of
employees as they are able to work
effectively without facing any
obstacle.
Enhance Knowledge Professional development plan
directly improves working
capability of the Crowne Plaza
Hotel as employees of this hotel
The knowledge which have been
developed with the help of
professional development helps
employees in developing right

are now capable of dealing with
different situations with advance
knowledge. It also contributes in
gaining competitive edge.
strategy for the company. Along with
this, with effective knowledge
employees can also gain improve their
working practices.
P2. Investigate professional employer expectation of skills and competencies within industry
Professional skill and competencies are seen as the essential part in employees life as
they they perform their respective work accordingly. Efficiency in these skills helps them in
satisfying customers need in positive manner. In context of Crowne Plaza Hotel, for job role of
floor manager it is essential for candidates to own certain skills and competencies for performing
their work in effective manner. Some core among them are stated as below:
 Communicational skill:- Effective communication skills is required to be owe by floor
manager of Crowne Plaza Hotel as by having proficiency in this they can easily manage
the work of floor in effective manner. It also contributes in overcoming chances conflict
at workplace.
 Delegation of work:- In Crowne Plaza Hotel, it is essential for its floor manager to
assign work to workers in right manner (Cyrino, 2016). Therefore, it is required by the
floor manager to assign work to employees according to their capability. As a result,
employees will not face any issue at the time of performi9ng their work.
 Team leading and development:- It is essential for the floor manager of Crowne Plaza
Hotel, to owe capability of working in the team and lead team members in right direction.
This ultimately improves productivity of employees as they appropriate guidance from
floor manager.
TASK 2
P3. Assess own abilities, skills, and competences for a specific job role
For understanding my core skills and competences for job role of floor manager, I have
conducted personal skill audit that will help me out in knowing my strength and weak skills.
With the help of this, I can improve my weak areas for working in Crowne Plaza Hotel as a
floor manager. Personal skill audit is defined as below:

Personal Skill Audit
Learning Skills Target Proficiency Existing Proficiency
Skills:
Team working
Communication skill
10 7
10 8.5
Abilities:
Decision making
Critical thinking
Target Proficiency Existing Proficiency
10 9
10 6.5
Competencies:
Assignment of work
Technological knowledge
Target Proficiency Existing Proficiency
10 9
10 6
All of the above stated skills, competencies and abilities are very important for floor
manager. All of the them are rated by me on the basis of targeted proficiency. With the help of
this I got to know about strong as well as weak skill.
Strength Weakness
 My communication skills is very strong
as I use soft speaking skills with my
team members in order to make them
understand my actual intentions.
 Along with this,, I am good at taking
right decision because firstly analyse
the situation and then take right
decision for the same (Guile, 2014).
 My team working skill is not good
enough because I am not able to
manage my work with the team
members. This also affects my
relationship with them.
 I am not having good proficiency in
technological knowledge. This affects
my work as I am not able to simply use
technology oriented tools.
Opportunities Threat
 Effective communication skill develops  Lack of technological knowledge might

opportunity for me as I can get
opportunity of getting promotion in
quick manner.
 Effective delegation of work will help
me accomplishing business goals in
quick manner as effective management
of work will make it easier for
employees to execute work in effective
manner.
affect my performance as I am not able
to use suitable tools that are helpful in
making my work easier.
 Ineffective team work might influence
my job role as non corporation with
team member could influence my
superior to take negative action towards
me.
P4. Review a range of learning theories and approaches used for personal and professional
development processes
Personal and professional development plan is seen as the effective practice that helps
employees of Crowne Plaza Hotel in improving their skills and competencies. It is an essential
practice that could be effectively understood with the help of some learning approaches that are
described as below:
 Behaviourism approach:- Behaviourism is seen as the effective learning approach as it
states that behaviour of individual changes according to their life experience. It can be
said that employees of this company can effectively learn by understanding different
consequences of their life. With the help of this approach performance of Crowne Plaza
Hotel can be improved (Hayward and Li, 2014).
 Cognitivism:- It is seen as the mental activity which improves thinking capability of the
employees by providing them better experience. In context of Crowne Plaza Hotel, with
this learning approach cognitive skills of employees can be raised which ultimately
contributes in enhancement of their productivity ( Kearney-Nunnery, 2015).
The above expressed learning approaches can easily be implemented in Crowne Plaza
Hotel with which its employees skills could developed and leads to success of the hotel. Along
with this, floor manager of this hotel can also use learning theory for more improvement.
Social learning theory
This is a theory of social behaviours as well as learning processes that is keen on gaining
new behaviour by way of observation and imitation. This theory is used by floor manager of

Crowne Plaza to undertake professional and personal learning by copying and observing
superiors and other individuals.
Kolbs learning theory
Proposed by David A. Kolb, this theory is inspired from Kurt Lewin's work. This is a
kind of method which is used by the floor manager of Crowne Plaza, comprising of four step
learning cycle as well as four learning styles. This instils a sense of confidence and
empowerment among professionals by assisting them in carrying out the process of learning.
TASK 3
P5. Construct a development plan to enhance chosen skills and competencies within a specific
work context
Professional development plan refers to the document which clearly stated that how weak
skills of individual can be improved in right manner. On the basis of my personal skill audit, I
have prepared professional development plan so that my weak skills can be developed in right
manner. My professional development plan has been described as below:
Skills &
Competencies
Goals Activities for improving skills Effectiveness of PDP
Team working skills 3 months In order to improve my team
working skills I will participate
in maximum activities in which
work is being performed by all
team members collaboratively.
By participating highly
in the team working
activities my team
working skill will be
improved. As it will
allow me adjusting
with the team
members. Along with
this, it will also
developing my
bonding with them. As
a result, it will allow
me to work with the
team effectively.

Technological
knowledge
2 months Technological knowledge of
mine can be improved by
attending certain training
sessions. These session will be
conducted in organisation only
as my other mates could also
learn about the same knowledge
effectively.
With the improvement
of technological
knowledge I will be
able to improve my
performance as I can
easily use specific
technological tools
with which my work
can be easily executed
in right manner.
TASK 4
P6. Undertake a job interview for a suitable service industry role
Job interview refers to the process in which employer recruits best suitable candidates by
personally interacting with them. With reference to Crowne Plaza Hotel, it has seen that job
position of floor manager is vacant. In this regard, HR manager of the company will going to
conduct an interview for filling vacant position.
(a) Job specification
Job Specification- It refers to formal statement in which overall information of job that is
job summary is clearly stated. It also include role and responsibilities of candidates which are
going to be performed by them after their section (Nicholls and Olsen, 2015). In context of
Crowne Plaza Hotel, job specification for floor manager is described as below:
JOB SPECIALISATION
Organisation Name: Crowne Plaza Hotel
Job Profile: Floor manager
Qualification Required: MBA(Human resource)
Selection Criteria:
 Responsible for delivering effective services to customers for enhancing their
satisfaction level.

 Team management skills
 Be able to guide employees in their work
 Delegate work among employees according to the schedule.
 Able to do effective strategic planning for betterment of work execution.
Desired Criteria:
 Minimum 5 years in Hospitality sector
 Technological skills
 Confident personality.
 Soft communication skills.
(b) Curriculum Vitae
Curriculum vitae refers to information of individual which depicts about educational
background as well professional experience. CV basically provide an overview to company
about skills and knowledge of candidate that helps them in selecting right candidate. In context
of Crowne Plaza Hotel, one of the CV presented by interested candidate have been defined as
below:
CURICULAM VITAE
Name- John Watson
Address- 35, High street, London, United Kingdom
Contact no.- 2222554449
Job Experience- Have worked for 6 years in Marriott Hotel as the floor manager. Focusing on
working with the organisation like Crowne Plaza Hotel that will provide me opportunity for
developing my skills as well as knowledge that leads to growth of my career. Crowne Plaza
Hotel is giving equivalent opportunities to employees for encouraging them and also attaining
success of employees with the organisation's growth.
Specialisation-
 Team management
 Influential skills
 Ability to take right decision during disputes
 Technological knowledge

Qualification-
 Bachelor in Business administration (B.B.A)
 Master’s in Business administration (MBA) (Human resource)
Declaration- I hereby declare that all of the presented information in the above section are true
and best of my knowledge.
Date-
Place-
In order to understand interview process in positive manner, one example of interview
conducted for job role of floor manager have been described as below:
Interviewer: Tell me something about yourself?
Interviewee: “Hello, I am John Watson. I belong to High street London. I am MBA in Human
resource department. I have worked with the Marriott Hotel for 6 years as floor manager. At
present, I am looking for working with Crowne Plaza Hotel because, I believe that this
organisation is giving more opportunity to passionate candidate and values their experience
which will definitely give career hike to me in comparison of Marriott. This is all about my
professional life. Thank You.”
Interviewer: “Do you think Crowne Plaza Hotel will provide you satisfactory growth
opportunity?”
Interviewee: “Yes I personally belief that Crowne Plaza Hotel provides value to the professional
experience of candidate. This shows that the company will provide satisfactory career growth to
me.”
Interviewer: “According to you, what is the core skill needed for a floor manager?”
Interviewee: “On the basis of my own experience, leadership skill, effective communication
skills, patience, calmness and conflict management is seen as the core skills needed by floor
manager.”
Interviewer: “Okay, thanks for you precious time.”
Interviewee: “Thank you so much sir.”

P7. Review key strengths and weaknesses of an applied interview process
On the basis of above mentioned interview process which have been discussed for the job
position of floor manager in Crowne Plaza Hotel. The interview was conducted in structured
format. It has been analysed that the interview method is having both the strength as well as
weaknesses which are described as below in detailed manner:
Strength:-
 structured interview method is quite easier to conduct in hospitality industry such as
Crowne Plaza Hotel. The method also allow human resource department in approaching
huge range of applicants within less period of time. As a result, the HR department can
increase find out best talented candidates from the applicant.
 The interview method can easily be executed as it only contain certain questions which
will definitely help HR manager of Crowne Plaza Hotel to find out best candidate who
could work for hotel and also execute their business activities in right manner.
Weakness
 Lack of flexibility is seen as the main weakness of this method as it does not allow HR
team of Crowne Plaza Hotel to add some more question which could improve selection
of candidates. This reflects that there are probable chances that with the use of old close
ended questions Crowne Plaza Hotel could select wrong candidate.
 Minimal access to information can be seen as the another weakness of structured
interview method as it only include close ended question that does not allow applicants to
share their actual perception because they have to answer from the limited stated answers.
Due to this, it becomes difficult for HR department of Crowne Plaza Hotel to analyse
capabilities of applicants.
CONCLUSION
On the basis of above discussed report, it has been analysed that continuous based
professional development is considered as the important part of career of an individual which
helps them in learning new skills effective that leads to growth of the career in quick manner.
Along with this, it has also been identified that competencies and skills of individuals are
required to met with employer's expectation in order to raise chances of selection. Personal skill
audit also helps an individual in identifying their weak skills which can be improved later with
the effective development of professional development plan. In addition to this, usage of various

learning theory like Social learning theory and Kolb learning theory directly contributes in the
overall improvement of learning process. At last, it can be said that interview is seen as the
effective method which helps companies in bringing best suitable employee to the company on
the basis of their job role.
REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Brooks, C., 2016. Teacher subject identity in professional practice: Teaching with a professional
compass. Routledge.
Cruess, R. L., Cruess, S. R. and Steinert, Y. eds., 2016. Teaching medical professionalism:
supporting the development of a professional identity. Cambridge University Press.
Cruess, R. L., Cruess, S. R. and Steinert, Y., 2016. Amending Miller’s pyramid to include
professional identity formation. Academic Medicine. 91(2). pp.180-185.
Cyrino, M. C. D. C. T., 2016. Mathematics teachers’ professional identity development in
communities of practice: Reifications of proportional reasoning teaching. Bolema:
boletim de educação matemática. 30(54). pp.165-187.
Guile, D., 2014. Professional knowledge and professional practice as continuous
recontextualisation: A social practice perspective. In Knowledge, expertise and the
professions (pp. 88-102). Routledge.
Hayward, L. M. and Li, L., 2014. Promoting and assessing cultural competence, professional
identity, and advocacy in doctor of physical therapy (DPT) degree students within a
community of practice. Journal of Physical Therapy Education. 28(1). pp.23-36.
Kearney-Nunnery, R., 2015. Advancing Your Career Concepts in Professional Nursing. FA
Davis.
Nicholls, G., 2014.Professional development in higher education: New dimensions and
directions. Routledge.
Olsen, B., 2015.Teaching what they learn, learning what they live: How teachers' personal
histories shape their professional development. Routledge.
Pihl-Thingvad, S., 2015. Professional ideals and daily practice in journalism. Journalism. 16(3).
pp.392-411.
Wald, H. S. And et. al., 2015. Professional identity formation in medical education for
humanistic, resilient physicians: pedagogic strategies for bridging theory to
practice. Academic Medicine. 90(6). pp.753-760.
Warner, J. H., 2014. The therapeutic perspective: Medical practice, knowledge, and identity in
America, 1820-1885 (Vol. 371). Princeton University Press.
Wenger-Trayner, E. and et. al., 2014. Learning in landscapes of practice: Boundaries, identity,
and knowledgeability in practice-based learning. Routledge.
Willetts, G. and Clarke, D., 2014. Constructing nurses’ professional identity through social
identity theory. International Journal of Nursing Practice. 20(2). pp.164-169