Developing HR Professional Skills, Training and Performance at Tesco

This report examines the critical aspects of HR professional skills, training, and development within Tesco, a British multinational grocery and retail company. The report begins by identifying the essential knowledge, skills, and behaviors required of HR professionals, emphasizing the importance of interpersonal skills, teamwork, and training expertise. It then conducts a personal skills audit for an HR officer, Jane Cambridge, highlighting her strengths and weaknesses in areas like IT, communication, and problem-solving, and proposes a detailed personal development plan to address identified gaps. The report further explores the distinctions between organizational and individual learning, training, and development, and underscores the need for continuous learning to drive sustainable business performance. Finally, it assesses the effective use of high-performance working frameworks and performance management models to foster a high-performance culture within Tesco, providing a comprehensive analysis of HR practices and their impact on employee engagement and organizational success.

Developing Individual,
Terms and
Organisations

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1 Determine appropriate knowledge, skills and behaviours for HR professionals..............3
P2: Personal skills audit to identify training and development needs & creation of professional
development plan....................................................................................................................5
P3: Differences between organisational and individual learning; training and development 9
P4: Need for continuous learning and professional development to drive sustainable business
performance..........................................................................................................................11
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................12
P5: State how HPW contribute to employee engagement and competitive advantage........12
P6: Different approaches to performance management that support high performance culture
and commitment...................................................................................................................13
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES.....................................................................................................................16

INTRODUCTION
The competition in the present market is very high due to demands and needs of
customers. The growth and success of any organisation depends on the abilities of their
employees and are constantly improving the team and individual performance using trainings
and development programmes. Effective teams are the need for organisations to improve the
productivity of company. Development of individuals will result in enhanced performance and
profit of the company as well as of employees. The taken company in this report assignment is
Tesco which is a British multinational groceries and retail company based in United Kingdom.
This report will determine the suitable knowledge, skills and behaviours of HR professionals.
Also this report will audit the complete personal skills for an employee including training and
development needs along with a development plan for employees in HR Officer role. This report
will also discuss the differences between organisational and individual learning; training and
development and the need for continuous learning and professional development. Further
anessay on Effective use of high-performance working framework and performanc management
models to support high performance culture for Tesco has been provided.
TASK 1
P1 Determine appropriate knowledge, skills and behaviours for HR professionals
Knowledge, skills and behaviour of employees are necessary elements of every
organisation for enhancing their productivity. For attaining goals and objectives successfully,
enterprise requires to have knowledgeable workforce. Identification of these will help in
enhancing the skills and capabilities of employees. Different activities are performed by HR
managers of Tesco for carrying out various operations in a systematic way. HR managers should
have required skills and experience for taking excellent judgements (Aarons, Hurlburt and
Horwitz, 2011).
Skills: It is the ability to perform a given task which gives expected results in a
predetermined time. Two types of skills are described below:
Interpersonal skill: Such type of skills is necessary for an HR manager for effective interaction
with other employees. Mangers having excellent interpersonal skills tends to more successful in
doing their tasks whether it is personal or professional. People having such skills are the essential
requirements of an organisation for better performance in carrying out their tasks. So, managers

of Tesco should need to have such skills which will help in performing their activities in a better
way.
Teamwork skill: Team working enable employees to perform their tasks effectively
in a given time. It helps individuals in making effective judgements in the times of
difficult problems (Blandford, 2012). So, it is necessary for managers of Tesco to
have such team working skills in order to ensure the execution of allotted task in a
specified time.
Training and development skills: HR department is responsible for providing
required skills and capability through training and other development programmes in
order to increase their efficiency of doing their tasks. Training and other courses will
provide different skills to employees for performing their tasks in a better way. It will
help in increasing the growth and performance of the company.
Knowledge: It is the understanding of facts information and skills which comes through
the experience in a field.
 Communication and media: Knowledge of digital media and communication is
essential for HR managers of Tesco as it will result in conveying better
information and policies to the employees and other managers of the company. It
will also help in increasing the brand image of the Tesco in more productive way.
 Government and legislations: Knowledge of various factors such as rules and
regulations, laws, codes of conducts, employment laws, agency rules, democratic
political process etc. are very important for HR manager of Tesco as it will help
in performing their operations in a structured way. It will also benefit Tesco in
maintaining their good position in the market (Chang, 2006).
Behaviour: It is an another important feature of HR managers which assist them in
properly understanding the employees for assigning suitable duties and responsibilities. This will
help in differentiating the employees based on their skills and knowledge. It also helps in
determining the needs and wants of employees and then adopt suitable strategies to meet their
needs and demands. Behaviour helps managers of Tesco in improving the performance and
effectively accomplishing the target goals of the company. HR managers should work closely
with other departments for increasing their efficiency and assist line mangers in understanding
the implemented policies and procedures. HR managers should promote equality and diversity

according to the culture of the organisation and for negotiating with a large number of people for
evaluating the staff performance, health and safety. HR managers should develop and implement
policies and strategies on the issues such as working conditions, performance management, equal
opportunities, disciplinary procedures and absence management (Conboy and et. al., 2011).
P2: Personal skills audit to identify training and development needs & creation of professional
development plan
Personal skills audit is a method by which individuals can determine their skills and the
fields in which they are lacking. The requirement of various skills, knowledge and behaviour is
very high in the workplace in order to get the best output. Skills audit provides a chance to
enhance the skills and knowledge for future growth. Tesco is introducing new and innovative
ideas for the satisfaction among workers. Jane Cambridge is working on the post of HR officer
in Tesco and should need to audit skills of herself in order to perform effectively in her activities
and operations.
Personal audit of skills of Jane Cambridge is given below:
Personal skills audit of Jane Cambridge is described below:
Skills Very Good Good Adequate Little or no
experience
Information
Technology
Use of Microsoft
word
✔
Use of Microsoft
Excel Spreadsheets
✔
Use of specialist
HR software
✔
Use of databases ✔
Use the internet
services
✔
Use Emails ✔
Use Microsoft
PowerPoint
✔
Skills Very Good Good Adequate Little or no
experience
Communicati
onal skills
Drafting
contracts of
✔

employees
Taking
important
notes on
hearing
✔
Writing
reports
✔
Producing
materials for
supporting
presentation
✔
Delivering
required
training
sessions
✔
Solving issues
and disputes
✔
Interviewing
capability
✔
Addressing
issues of HR
✔
Skill Very Good Good Adequate Little or no
Experience
Problem
solving skills
Use of verbal
reasoning
skills, ability
to handle
complex data
and
information
✔
Explore more
innovative
solutions for
problems
✔
Considering
ideas of
employees to
provide
solutions
✔
From above development plan several strengths and weakness of Jane Cambridge were
found which are described below:

Strengths Weakness
 Good knowledge of internet which
helps in getting data from internet
easily.
 Jane is weak in presentation and IT
skills which will negatively effect her
performance in performing her
activities effectively
 Jane is good in providing planning of
training workshops which helps in
maintaining healthy relationship with
employees.
 Also Jane is weak in problem solving
skills which leads to improper handling
of issues of employees at workplace
 Jane is good in handling complex
information and data which will
positively effect her performance.
 Jane also has weak communication
skills which results in less
understanding of issues of employees.
Personal development plan (PDP) for HR officer role
Personal development plan is a legitimate and organized form of development by which
employees can measure the gap between the skills possessed by employees and skill necessary
for the assigned task (Garavan nd et. al., 2002). Personal development planning provides various
standards which needs to be consider for improving the existing skills. Various sources such as
online sources, journals, books, etc. are available for enhancing the knowledge and skills.
Sr
.
N
o
Learning
Objective
Current
Proficiency
Target Proficiency Development
Opportunities
Judging
criteria
Time
Scale

1 Commun
ication
skill
Weak
communication
skills of Jane
will result in
improper
communication
with
employees and
hence will affect
the performance
in doing the
tasks.
She wants to
improve her
communication
skills for conveying
the policies and
effective interaction
with other
employees in time of
issues and conflicts.
This skill can
be improved
using online
articles,
workshops
and books
which are
associated
with
communicatio
n skills.
Colleagues ,
co-workers
and
subordinates
2 months
2 Problem
solving
skill
There are
chances of
various
problems which
will affects the
employee's
performance due
to the weak
problem solving
skills of Jane in
solving the
issues of
workers.
She needs to
improve this skill for
the harmonious and
healthy working
culture in the
organisation.
This can be
improved by
dealing with
difficult
problems and
situations and
from support
of higher
authorities or
top level
managers.
Top level or
higher
authorities
3 months
3 IT skills Jane Cambridge
lags in IT skills
which restricts
her to maintain
the record of
She aims to improve
this skill for
maintaining the data
and information of
Certification
course
Higher level
managers
6 months

the data and
information of
workers.
employees.
4 Presentat
ion skill
She faces
problems in
presentation in
front of newly
recruited
employees
related to
overview of
company
Jane wants to
improve this skills
for conveying the
policies and
strategies of
company to the
newly recruited
candidates.
With the help
of online
sources,
seminars this
skill can be
developed
using online
sources,
videos, books
and articles.
Co workers
and managers
4 months
Source: Approaches for measuring performance of employees. 2017
Illustration 1: Approaches of measuring performance

P3: Differences between organisational and individual learning; training and development
Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge by using different techniques and
procedures for effective understanding of the given concept. It is necessary for teams, individuals
and companies to use learning for achieving success and growth in the industry (Hartnell, Ou and
Kinicki, 2011). The learning is unique and important aspect for company as well as individuals
to enhance their skills and knowledge. Organization and individual learning are not same as
described below:
Individual learning: Such type of learning refers to the ability of individuals in gathering
knowledge and data from external environmental sources. Such knowledge is gained by
individuals through the process of personal consideration. However, Individuals can also
increase their knowledge through communicating with other employees of company. Managers
at Tesco should need to determine the strengths and weaknesses of workforce and provide
necessary training based on their flaws.
Organisational learning: In such learning, the information or knowledge is created and
transferred or is expedite within the company. This learning can enhance the experience and
performance of Tesco. Organizational learning helps HR managers to retain their workers and
build improved relations with the employees. Several unique techniques and procedures are
followed by Tesco to attain their desired goals in a predetermined time (Hislop, 2013).
Difference between organisational and individual learning
Basis Individual Learning Organisational Learning
Scope It has a narrow scope due to
the aim of increasing
knowledge of individuals.
It has wide scope as it focus on
increasing the knowledge of
whole company for retaining
their talented employees.
Rigidity It is flexible as it's not only
limited to training as in this
employees can increase their
knowledge from anywhere.
It is rigid as the methods of
gaining knowledge is provided
by higher authorities to the
companies.
Time It is the process of gaining
knowledge throughout the
The time period for training
employees of a company is

career of individuals so it
doesn't depend upon time.
specified by managers and and
higher authorities.
Training: It is the process of enhancing the skills of individuals using necessary methods
and procedures (Landy and Conte, 2016). Training improves the performance of employees as
well as of company. HR officers of Tesco undergoes several training programs for enhancing
their skills in order to perform effective in doing their role and responsibilities. It is necessary for
HR managers to equip employees with suitable skills for enhancing the revenue and productivity
of Tesco.
Development: It is the continuous process of team, organisation and employees for
improving their own performance. It can be the development in the individual's career or
complete development of Tesco. HR manager of Tesco can enhances the overall career of the
workers by implementing suitable strategies and policies for development in the company.
Difference between training and development
Basis Training Development
Orientation Training is a job-oriented
process
Development is a career-
oriented process.
Skill Required skills of workforce
to enhance their efficiency in a
given task can be enhanced by
training.
The complete employee's
performances can be enhanced
through development.
Aim It aims to enhance the skills of
employees for a specific job as
it is a job-oriented process.
It aims at the overall
development of workforce of
Tesco.
P4: Need for continuous learning and professional development to drive sustainable business
performance
Continuous learning and professional development in a company is necessary for
improving their position and profitability at the market place. Through using these two

processes, the productivity of workers will increase which leads to enhanced performance of the
Tesco (Matlay, 2000).
Continuous Learning: It is on-going process by which the skills and knowledge of
workers can be enhanced by adopting the business environmental changes and stay updated with
the latest market developments. In Tesco, continuous learning makes the organization more
efficient which will result in reduced cost of training and better loyalty from workers towards the
organisation (Paulus, 2000).
Professional development: It is the process of enhancing the capabilities of employees by
providing various training and development workshops in the company. Professional
Development in Tesco will enhance the efficiency and productivity of employees which boost
their will to accomplish the goals as well as to get effective result for enhancing the sustainability
of the organisation.
Tesco can increase the performance of their employees by establishing a adequate
working culture for continuous learning and by providing the opportunities of professional
development to their employees. These both concepts are very important for the organisational
and semployee’s growth. The importance of these two are discussed below:
Improves performance and enhances personal growth: Continuous learning in Tesco
will help workers to enhance their performance. Helps the employees to improve their
performance (Penuel and et. al. 2011). Regular training is provided to these employees
periodically for increasing their knowledge.
Enhances sustainability: In Tesco, Continuous learning enables the employees to ensure
their sustainability in the performance.
Enrich employees' work experience: By continuous learning and professional
development, employees of Tesco feels motivated from their own performance which helps them
to receive appreciations from their employer.
Prepare employee for advancements: By continuous learning workers of Tesco can
enhance their performance in the job. These improved results enable them to move forwrd in
their career.