HR Advisor Skills, Development, and Organizational Learning Report

This report examines the essential skills, knowledge, and behaviors required for HR Advisors, including communication, organizational, and decision-making skills, along with the importance of empathy and trustworthiness. The report analyzes a personal skills audit to identify strengths and weaknesses, leading to a professional development plan. It also explores the differences between organizational and individual learning, training, and development, emphasizing the need for continuous learning to drive sustainable business performance. The report covers topics such as employee motivation, labor laws, and the application of learning cycle theory to support continuous professional development within the context of Hightown Housing Association.

Developing Individuals, Teams and
Organisations

Contents
INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................1
TASK 1...............................................................................................................................1
P1 Determine appropriate and professional knowledge, skills and behaviours that are
required by HR Advisors................................................................................................1
P2 Analyse a completed personal skills audit to identify appropriate knowledge, skills
and behaviours and develop a professional development plan for a given job role.....3
TASK 2...............................................................................................................................8
P3 Analyse the differences between organisational and individual learning, training
and development............................................................................................................8
P4 Analyse the need for continuous learning and professional development to drive
sustainable business performance................................................................................9
TASK 3 AND TASK 4 ……………………………………………………………………….....10
CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Continuous professional development is a constant process of learning, maintaining
and documenting the professional skills which have been developed by an employee
either formally through coaching and training or informally with the help of observing
other people (Passmore, 2011). Hightown Housing Association is a charitable housing
corporation which operates from Berkshire, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and
Buckinghamshire. In the following project report, an attempt has been made to
determine the professional knowledge, skills and behaviours which are required by HR
Advisors followed by a personal skill audit and professional development plan. The
report also aims to determine the differences between individual and organisational
learning and training and development. At last, the report makes an attempt to
determine the important of continuous professional development in deriving stable
business performance with the help of an application of learning cycle theory.
TASK 1
P1 Determine appropriate and professional knowledge, skills and behaviours that are
required by HR Advisors.
The success of any organisation in today’s dynamic business environment largely
depends on the efficiency and productivity of its human resource or the workforce.
Human resource advisor in an organisation are responsible for managing and
monitoring that the actual performance of the employees meets the standard or the
expected performance levels, reviewing the job descriptions and making necessary
updates, providing suggestions to the management, negotiation of terms and contract of
employment and many other key responsibilities. It makes the job of human resource
advisor very important with respect to the financial and operational performance of any
organisation (DeCenzo, Robbins and Verhulst, 2016). Over the years, there have been
various attempts to identify and determine the basic skills, knowledge and behaviours
which are required in an individual to effectively execute the role of a human resource
advisor. Distinct professional knowledge, skills and behaviours which are required in a
HR Advisor are described as follows:

Knowledge:
Knowledge can be defined as the understanding and awareness of facts and
information acquired through education and experience. Important aspects of
knowledge of an HR Advisor are being discussed below:
Computers & Technology: It is the responsibility of the human resource advisor
of an organisation to maintain large database of the employees and the workforce so it
is imperative for an HR Advisor to have the basic knowledge of computers and
technology. Various survey forms and internal researches are carried out by the HR
Advisors with the help of online computer platforms which is not possible without a prior
knowledge of computer technology. HR Advisor of the company should have basic
knowledge of computers for managing the databases of employees for providing
suggestions and managing their performances.
Knowledge of Leadership & Management Principles: Management refers to the
art of influencing people and achieving desired behaviours. Human resource advisor are
responsible for influencing and motivating the employees to perform to their best
potential (Kandula, 2013). The main function of HR advisor is to manage the employees
of an organisation and the effectiveness of this function increases with the help of
knowledge about various principles of leadership and management which provides
guidance about the impact of different advisorial and leadership styles on different
individuals within the organisation.
Employee motivation: It is important for an HR Advisor to have the knowledge of
employee motivation and factors which determine the effectiveness of various tools
used for motivating an employee to increase the job satisfaction and employee morale
in the organisation. Having the basic knowledge and understanding about the process
of motivation helps in formulating a better organisational policy for employee motivation
on the basis of various needs analysis of the workforce.
Knowledge of Labour Laws: For providing the guidance and suggestions to the
management of the company related to various employment contracts and rules, it is
very important for an HR Advisor to have knowledge of labour laws and terms of

contract which ensures that legal rules related to employment are being complied with
by the company.
Skills:
Skill can be defined as the ability to perform a task or a job with expertise. Some of
the most important skills which must be acquired by an HR Advisor are as follows:
Communication skills: An individual who aspires to be an HR Advisor must have
good communication skills. Communication and interacting with employees and
members of the organisation is the most important part of an Human resource advisor’s
job. The effectiveness and the impact of the interaction depends on the ability and
communication skills of the HR advisor (McGuire, 2014). Thus, the ability to clearly
express yourself with the help of excellent communication skills is a necessary
requirement for every HR Advisor.
Organisational skills: Function of an HR Advisor is not only limited to recruitment
and selection but it involves many more responsibilities such as performance
management, a comprehensive training and development program, legal formalities
such as employment contracts etcetera. Considering all the administration and process
involved in the job of an HR Advisor, keeping organised helps in increasing the
efficiency of HR Advisor and increases the ability and capacity to manage multiple tasks
at the same time.
Decision-making skills: From the initial recruitment and selection process where an
HR Advisor has to decide whether an individual is fit for a particular job description or
position in the organisation to the point of making decisions related to downsizing of the
organisation during the time of economic crisis, an HR Advisor has to assist the
management in take=ing many key decisions which impact the performance and
operations of the whole organisation and having strong decision-making skills helps in
improving the outcome of the decisions taken by the management with the help of
suggestions provided HR Advisor.
Behaviours:
Behaviour can be primarily defined as the way in which a person conducts
himself or acts in a certain condition. Some of the key behavioural aspects necessary
from the aspect of an HR Advisor are:

Empathetic Behaviour: Role of a human resource advisor requires a lot of
interaction on a routine basis with employees in an organisation based on their
concerns and problems which may vary from workload to low compensation. It is
necessary for an HR Advisor to have empathy to understand the situation of the
employee and know where the employee is coming from before making any decision or
judgement on his grievance or problem. Having empathy helps the human resource
advisor to take better decisions which are beneficial for both the employees as well as
organisation.
Solution-oriented: A HR Advisor should be solution-oriented for effectively
managing the employees and the workforce of an organisation. Being solution-focused
instead of problem-focused helps a advisor in seeking a resolution or measure which
could be satisfying for both the parties which are involved (Bratton and Gold, 2017). It is
imperative for a human resource advisor to adopt a solution-oriented approach for
managing the concerns of the employees which requires a creative mindset, one which
assists teams and individuals to surface solutions beyond the limits of conventional
thinking.
Transparency and Trustworthiness: It is very crucial for an HR Advisor to be
transparent and have the trust of the employees of the company and the workforce.
Having employee trust helps the HR Advisor to direct actions of employees and manage
the conflicts since the employees who trust the HR Advisor are more likley to follow the
suggestions and recommendations of HR Advisor.
P2 Analyse a completed personal skills audit to identify appropriate knowledge, skills
and behaviours and develop a professional development plan for a given job role.
Personal skill audit can be defined as a process in which an individual identifies or
determines his skills, qualities, strengths and weaknesses. It is a very vital step and
process which is of utmost importance of people who wish to become entrepreneurs or
professionals in any field to analyse and track their career path and progress (Cottrell,
2015). During the process of personal skill audit, an individual evaluates his strengths
and weakness and a comparison is made with the required skillset for the career
ambitions. Formulation of personal skill audit according to the career ambitions helps an
individual to determine his professional development plan also. My personal skill audit

with reference to the knowledge, skills and behaviours required for an HR Advisor is as
follows:
Personal Skill Audit
Sr. No. Skills and Competencies Self-
assessed
Score
Score from
others
Variances
1 Computer Skills 8 7 -1
2 Communication Skills 8 9 +1
3 Decision-making Skills 9 8 -1
4 Organisational Skills 8 7 -1
5 Management Skills 9 8 -1
6 Solution-orientedness 8 9 +1
7 Empathetic Skills 8 9 +1
8 Knowledge of Labour Laws 8 7 -1
9 Trustworthiness 8 9 +1
(In the above table of personal skill audit, negative variance between self-assessed
scores and score from others shows weakness points while positive variance
demonstrates strength.)
On the basis of personal skill audit, determined weaknesses and strengths
are discussed in below mentioned table:
Strength Weaknesses
 I have good communication skills
which is very helpful for me to
interact and communicate with
various members and employees in
the organisation during the
 I lack strong decision-making skills
which is very important for me to
have considering the nature of my
job and its aspects.
 I am not much familiar and aware

execution of my tasks and
responsibilities. It helps me to
express myself in a better way
which is desirable by every HR
Advisor.
 I have a strong empathetic
behavioural aspect which enables
me to understand the position and
the situation of the employee before
forming any judgement or taking
any decision regarding his concern.
Having empathy also helps me to
increase the satisfaction of personal
needs of the employees.
 I follow an approach which is more
aligned towards finding the solution
of any problem instead of stress
focusing on the problem itself.
Adopting this approach helps me to
solve internal conflicts and
complaints in a better way
increasing the job satisfaction.
 I have trustworthiness which is an
important strength and will influence
the employees to follow the
suggestions and recommendations
I make as an HR Advisor.
about the computers and
technology which might assist and
improve the effectiveness of my job
and task execution.
 I lack basic organisational skills
which might create a problem for
me in managing large databases
and documents of employees of the
company.
 I have a scope of improvement
when it comes to managing people
and increasing the impact and
influence on employee behaviour
which is an important aspect of my
job description as well as job
responsibility.
 I lack a detailed knowledge of
labour laws and employment
contract which is essential
knowledge for an HR Advisor.
Analysis:

On the basis of above personal skills audit and SWOT Analysis, I have become
aware of my knowledge, skills and behaviours in comparison with the knowledge, skills
and behavior which are essential for the role of an HR Advisor. It is important for an HR
Advisor to have knowledge about computers and technology which I am lacking and is
essential for me to develop. Knowledge about various labour laws and employment
contract is also essential for an HR Advisor which I am currently lacking. On the basis of
above analysis, I also need to improve my organisational skills, decision-making skills
and managing skills for me to effectively develop the essential knowledge, skills and
behaviours for the role of an HR Advisor.
Professional development plan:
Professional development plan can be defined as charting out the developmental
process of skills and qualities which are required for any particular professional field or
job position (Choy and Chua, 2019). My personal professional development plan for the
role of an HR Advisor is as follows:
Professional Development Plan
Sr.
No
Development
objective
Priority Activities
to be
undertake
n
Resour
ces
Target
Start
Date
Target
End Date
Criteria for
Success
1. Computer
skills
Medium Understan
ding the
basic
computer
system and
new
technologie
s which are
being used
in HR
industry by
taking
Online
lectures
and
classes
15th
march
2020
15th April
2020
Effective use
of computers
and
technologies
for managing
the human
resources of
the
organisation
such as
conducting
online

lectures
and
courses.
surveys
etcetera.
2. Decision-
making skills
High Learning
how to
evaluate a
decision
and the
risk
associated
with it by
tools such
as risk
register
Online
classes
and
experie
nce of
seniors
20th
March
2020
20th May
2020
Taking quick
and rationale
decisions
related to
important
matters with
a clear
objective
3. Organisationa
l Skills
Medium Increasing
organising
aspect in
day-to-day
life and
learning
how to use
space
effectively
Online
videos
and
self-
assess
ment of
various
method
s of
organisi
ng work
and
desk
15th
March
2020
31st
March
2020
Effectivenes
s and time
required in
finding any
document or
contract or
file. Task
schedules
and
appointment
s.
4. Management
Skills
High Studying
various
books and
Online
classes,
lectures
7th March
2020
7th May
2020
Ability to
influence the
behaviour of

journals on
manageme
nt of
people in
the
business
organisatio
n and
effectively
applying
those
principles
in the
organisatio
n
and
books.
the
employees
and
managing
people in the
organisation
effectively.
5. Knowledge of
Labour Laws
High Reading
books and
texts
issued by
authorities
and
acquiring
proper
knowledge
of labour
laws and
employme
nt contract.
Online
Resour
ces and
Books
25th May,
2020
30th June,
2020
Ability to
draft proper
employment
contracts
and follow
guidelines of
labour laws
in completing
the job
responsibiliti
es
Reflective statement
Skill to be developed Description/Steps Taken

Computer Skills I think having computer skills will help me in effectively managing
large employee databases and increasing the efficiency of
internal communication system as well using electronic mail and
intranet network provisions. The reason why I chose online
lectures and classes for developing computer skills in a
timeframe of one month is because online learning portals
provide a wide range of diverse and comprehensive courses
specifically designed for the role of HR Advisors and these can
be completed in a time frame of one month.
Decision-making
Skills
Effective decision-making skills are essential for me to report
various matters to the management of the company and suggest
the changes or decisions which should be taken. Risk register is
an important tool which I can apply for determining the potential
risk associated with a business decision and by learning the
experience of my seniors, I can develop important decision-
making skills in a time frame of two months.
Organisational Skills I believe having organisational skills which help me in avoiding
any confusion or creating any chaos at the workplace. It will also
help me in maintaining employee databases. By effectively
applying various organisation methods and designs and by
watching online videos which shows how a particular style of
organisation might work for an individual, I can develop these
important organisational skills in a time frame of fifteen days.
Management Skills A large part of my job is concerned with managing people in the
organisation which is a very important skill for me to develop and
for the same. Without having a knowledge of managing
employee, I don’t think I will be able to execute the
responsibilities of an HR Advisor which also involves
performance management strategy formation for the company.
Books are the best source of acquiring management knowledge
which shows various examples of implementation of different