Employability Skills Report: Performance and Improvement at Timbacourt

This report examines employability skills within the context of Timbacourt, a clothing retailer under Premier Products, focusing on how these skills contribute to organizational success, particularly with the opening of a new flagship store. The report delves into the responsibilities and performance objectives of a Human Resource (HR) manager, evaluating effectiveness and recommending improvements such as coaching, mentoring, and training. It addresses motivational techniques, including rewards and bonuses, to enhance employee performance. Furthermore, the report explores problem-solving strategies, effective communication methods, and time management techniques crucial for achieving business goals and promoting teamwork. The report also outlines job descriptions and person specifications for various roles, including a store manager and sales executive, and provides insights into how these roles contribute to overall business objectives. The importance of transparent communication, open-mindedness, and responsiveness to customer needs are also discussed.

EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Responsibilities and performance objectives.........................................................................3
1.2 Effectiveness against defined objectives...............................................................................4
1.3 Recommendations for improvement......................................................................................4
1.4 Motivational techniques can be used to improve the quality of performance.......................5
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
2.1 Solutions to work based problems.........................................................................................6
2.2 Communicating in a variety of styles and appropriate manner at various levels..................6
2.3 Effective time-management strategies...................................................................................7
Task 3...............................................................................................................................................8
3.1 Roles that people play in a team and the way in which they can work together to achieve
the shared goals............................................................................................................................8
3.2 Analyzing team dynamics......................................................................................................8
3.3 Alternative ways to complete the tasks and to achieve goals................................................9
Task 4...............................................................................................................................................9
4.1 Tools and methods for developing solutions to problems.....................................................9
4.2 Appropriate strategy for resolving a particular problem......................................................10
4.3 Potential impact on business of implementing strategy.......................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
References......................................................................................................................................12
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INTRODUCTION
Employability skills can be defined as the set of achievements, understandings and
personal attributes that make employees more likely to gain employment and to be successful in
their work at Timbacourt (Clarke, 2008). Premier Products is the parent company of Timbacourt
which is a clothing retailer of high-end fashion clothes for men and women. Employability skills
help the organization to open a new flagship store easily.
The present report focuses on learners to assess their own skills and abilities in relation to
the requirements of work and to understand the way in which these might be utilised to improve
their employability. Under this report, various motivational techniques have been discussed to
improve the performance of employees in the organization. Furthermore, the time management
strategies and importance of teamwork in Timbacourt which helps employees to achieve the
goals effectively and efficiently are also discussed.
TASK 1
1.1 Responsibilities and performance objectives
Human resource manager has strategic and functional responsibilities for all employees
in the organization (Ryan, 2012). A human resource manager has the expertise of an HR
generalist which has the combination general business and management skills. Some of the
responsibilities of HR manager are:
 Human resource managers give guidance and direction to specialist people who are
engaged in providing compensation and benefits to employees Thus, a proper record can
be maintained for each employee.
 They manage need assessment to determine the time when training is necessary and also
the type of training to improve the performance and productivity of employees. They
analyse the employee performance records to identify the areas where employees can be
improved through training and development (Clouder and et.al., 2013).
 Human resource managers develop strategic solutions to meet the demand of workforce
and labour force trends. HR manager is primarily responsible for the decisions which are
related to recruiting and retaining the talented employees.
Performance objectives for a HR manager are:
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 A core objective for HR manager is recruiting new staff. New talent must improve the
efficiency of work and market share (Mott, Noor and Aziz, 2006). Managers need to
ensure that company’s culture is good for new talent and compensation packages that suit
them well.
 HR manager needs to ensure good relations between senior management and employees.
These relations are under the greatest stress when a company implements changes. If
there would be a good relation then it will be easy for company to adopt the changes
quickly.
1.2 Effectiveness against defined objectives
Individuals have to evaluate personal effectiveness with the goals and objectives that are
assigned by Timbacourt. Some of the effectiveness against objectives as a HR manager is
discussed below: Communication skills: I have good communication and listening skills by which I can
easily build friendly relations at workplace. These skills will also assist in delivering
messages in an accurate sense. HR managers are required to supervise employees and
guide them for regular job. With my communication skills I will be able to do this job in
an effective manner. Management skills: I will be able to manage the employees which are going to be hired
for the new flagship store in Timbacourt. Proper managing helps the firm to achieve its
goals and objectives properly (Singh and Singh, 2008). HR managers are expected to
have good managerial skills as they manage human resources to meet the goals of
company.
 Problem solving skills: I can manage the strengths and weakness of employees or
workers at flagship store. I had studies various techniques to resolve workplace issues.
1.3 Recommendations for improvement
Company is opening a new flagship store in Timbacourt. Proper monitoring from
executive level may reduce the responsibility of employees (Kazilan, Hamzah and Bakar, 2009).
Some initiatives can be taken for improvements which are as follows:
 Employees of Flagship store will get proper coaching which helps in improving the
performance and work. Coaching usually focuses on specific skills and goals, although, it
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may also have an impact on individual’s personal attributes. Coaching helps employees to
work in a manner which is desired by the firm from them. Mentoring is a process which
is given by one person to another in making improvements in knowledge, work or
thinking (Sheldon and Thornthwaite, 2005). Mentoring helps employees of flagship store
to work properly and to adopt the best way of working. Proper mentoring proves to be
very helpful to achieve the goals and objectives of Timbacourt effectively and efficiently.
 Changing working style helps the flagship store employees to get a change from the old
style. Sometimes, changing style helps employees to improve the performance.
 Proper training needs will help the workforce of flagship store to do the work effectively
and efficiently (Bakar and Hanafi, 2007). Training can help employees to work in a
proper manner.
 Employees know the condition of Timbacourt so they can generate an idea to develop the
organization. All employees and workers should have the power to share idea to enhance
the work opportunities and practices.
Person specification for Store manager
Essential Desirable
Attainments
Experience Minimum experience of 2
years in retail industry.
Candidate having experience in
the retail company of clothing.
Qualification and training MBA in marketing and HR Diploma courses in human
resource management
General intelligence
Knowledge and expertise Basic knowledge of Candidate should have
knowledge of MS office, telly
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computers
Good command over english
etc. Person should also have
knowledge of leadership,
monitor, control and sales
promotion concept.
Personal attributes Candidate must have
dedicative, coordinative,
positive attitude, sincere and
hard-working toward their
work.
Candidate will be preferred
with analytical and technical
skills.
Job description for staff level
Position- Sales executive Reports to- Store manager
Department- Sales and marketing department Location-Westfield Shopping Centre in West
London
Job responsibilities:
 Individual will be obliged to attain the provided sales targets in the provided deadline.
 Maintain good customer and staff relationship
Performance measurement:
 Assessment of performance by store manager to measure the performance and improve it in
effective way to achieve organization's need.
 Relationship and coordination with other staff member of store for better environment.
1.4 Motivational techniques can be used to improve quality of performance
As per the hierarchy need of Maslow, the way of motivating employees is to fulfil their
needs. Hierarchy of needs helps employees to fulfil their lower requirements from lower level to
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the topmost stage. HR manager tries to motivate the employees as per their needs (Stoner and
Milner, 2010). Money is the sole motivator and can fulfil the demand of employees.
According to McGregor, there are two types of employees. One type is not willing to
work and take work as a tension. However, another type includes employees who are willing to
work and take work as simple. In this case, the HR manager needs to take initiatives to motivate
employees which are not willing to work. Motivation can be of several ways like: Reward: Flagship store needs to give monitory rewards to its employees so that they will
be motivated towards their work (Butterwick and Benjamin, 2006). Monitory reward
keeps employees willing to perform their assigned work. Bonus: Bonus can also help employees to get motivated towards the work. If such offer is
announced by the top management then employees would be eager to do the tasks
properly for winning bonus at flagship store.
 Housing facility: Timbacourt can provide a housing facility to its best employees. This
will help the organization to have a better competition among employees. This will
motivate the employees towards their work and can get a housing facility from company.
TASK 2
2.1 Solutions to work based problems
Problem solving can be described as observing something wrong and taking initiative to
solve the problem. Problem solving process includes identifying problem such as quality
assurance and risk management (Kazilan, Hamzah and Bakar, 2009). Initiative in problem
solving is an important aspect so that the problem can be solved easily. Soe of the ways to solve
the problems are discussed below: Transparent Communication: Problem solving requires transparent communication where
everyone is sharing the views, ideas or solutions to solve the problem. As Timbacourt is
opening a new flagship store, the communication between top management and the lower
level of management should be transparent and effective. Open-minded People: Problem solving is about working of people together in order to
solve the problem so that organization can perform better (Tomé, 2007). Therefore, if
people are closed-minded then solving a problem becomes difficult in an organization.
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 Responsiveness of Work: Consumers are the king of business. So, it is better to mutually
work with consumers with regard to solve the problems and to offer alternatives to solve
the problems that satisfy wants and needs of customers in an effective manner. Feedback from colleges: It helps Timbacourt to know about the strengths and weaknesses
which it has (De Guzman and Choi, 2013). Feedback helps company to perform better
and to get improved in the field where they are lacking.
 Brainstorming: Brainstorming is an effective solution to avoid the work based problems.
In the brainstorming session, management and staff collaboratively promotes their ideas
or solution for the problem. Premier Product often features the brainstorming strategy or
solution to provide workable solution at the workplace.
2.2 Communicating in a variety of styles and appropriate manner at various levels
Communication is very important for an organizational success. Employability skill is
mostly related to communication. For a job practice, four most important issues to all job
practices are:
 To read
 To write
 To speak
 To listen
Nowadays, technology is a very crucial element of communication (Bridgstock, 2005).
Basically, communication is not an easy task and has a lot of levels to overcome. Clear
communication channel is required at all stages of Timbacourt’s performance. Employees can
keep proper communication with consumers such as convey message, wishing on special
occasions and many more by using proper communication channel. This will help company to
gain more profit and to create a good image in the minds of customers. Language barrier is also
the main issue in company. To remove the language barrier, English language is considered as
the universal language which can be understood by anyone and any country.
2.3 Effective time-management strategies
Time management is very essential in Timbacourt. Especially, in employability skills,
effective time management is necessary (Cairns, 2007). Effective time management can be
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identified by using some tools so that the work that is done at Timbacourt would become easy.
Effective time management strategies are: Prioritization of task: Prioritizing skills are the ability to see which tasks are more
important to give more attention, energy, and time to these tasks. With the help of rating
or prioritizing, employees can rate the urgency of work or task. So, the most important
task needs to be done by the manager to achieve the objective of premier product. Get Help From Experts: Employees need not to manage the time by their own as they can
take the help from experts which can give expert advice and tips to make an effective use
of time. This will help the employees to do their work effectually and efficiently. Time distraction: It refers to stay away from distractions especially when employee is
trying to focus on the tasks that are the part of big projects or urgent deadlines to meet
(Kazilan, Hamzah and Bakar, 2009).
 Focus on Quality: Learning managing time does not mean that employees have to reduce
their efficiency in work so as to complete it on time. Focus on quality and achieving
exceptional results will help company to perform better. Completing a job while focusing
on quality will actually save Timbacourt’s time and efforts so that the chances of errors
would be less.
TASK 3
3.1 Roles that people play in a team and the way in which they can work together to achieve the
shared goals Shaper Role: The shaper role is performed by people who are dynamic and who are ready
to take the challenges (Tonkin and et.al., 2004). Shapers maintain a positive mental
attitude and strive to find the best ways to overcome challenges that are being faced by
the team. They help other team members to get motivated towards the work. Implementer Role: The implementer role in a team is played by those who actually do
things in a team. They are practical, efficient and well-organized. Implementers turn the
team's ideas and thoughts into actual plans. They are rigid and slow to accept the
changes.
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 Finisher Role: They are regarded as perfectionists because they are the one who detect
errors or omissions. Timely checking of errors will help the firm to overcome with errors
easily.
 Coordinator Role: Coordinators are mature and confident in nature and possess great
listening skill (Boden and Nedeva, 2010). They guide the activities of a team and are
good at delegating duties.
An individual will definitely take more time to perform the task because all the
responsibilities are in the hands of one person. When employees work together, they start helping
each other and responsibilities are shared among them. Thus, it reduces the work load and work
pressure from employees. Every team member is assigned with one or the other responsibility
according to their specialization, level of interest and thus, the output is much more efficient and
faster.
3.2 Analyzing team dynamics
A team is formed to bring the best output. Team dynamics is necessary in team success.
There are various difficulties in maintaining a team. Each and every member of a team has to be
cautious about the team formation (Jackson, 2014). In a team, there are several tasks which are
assigned to different team members according to their efficiency or interest. Supervisor needs to
have a close check on members so that the work can be done properly.
Team members are required to see obstacles in the job and to work together for solving
this. It is the first and foremost responsibility of team members to take into account the aspect of
dealing properly with others and to do less argument with the team members Teamwork is
crucial because of its decentralization policy. Here, everyone separated their side of work and do
it with the proper expertise. In group dynamics, one better understands the goal of team and does
his level best to achieve the final objective. Team dynamic has a major impact on: Company's reputation: The team dynamic at the workplace will positively impact in
building high reputation of Premier Product in the competitive market (Mason, Williams
and Cranmer, 2006). Team dynamics helps to improve the team performance in attaining
their market customer’s needs that ultimately increases their goodwill in the market.
 Profitability of the company: Team dynamics at the workplace of Premier Product will
also have an impact on the profitability of company. Positive behaviour at the workplace
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will lead to attend the customers effectively. Hence, this will increase their sales and
would help in attaining profitability as well.
3.3 Alternative ways to complete the tasks and to achieve goals
There are several ways to complete the task and to achieve the team goals in Premier
Product. The firm may adopt the following techniques like:
 To complete the assigned role, employees of Premier Product must break down the tasks
among their sub members or team members (O'Neil, 2014). With the help of this, it may
not take long time to complete the task. Planning and dividing tasks among the group
members is an effective way to complete the tasks and to achieve the team goals.
Dividing the work or working as a team helps the firm to complete their performance on
time.
 Scheduling the activities that have to be done in the day helps employees to become
focused towards their work. This will help them to identify important activities that have
to be completed on time to achieve the team goals effectively and efficiently.
TASK 4
4.1 Tools and methods for developing solutions to problems
Managerial parties are required to consider work issues in order to resolve them in
effective manner in order to develop better work environment. There are several methods for
developing effective solution to the problems if it arises in Timbacourt while they are opening a
new flagship store. It includes:
It is essential for Timbacourt to recruit skilled and qualified employees in order to
expand their operations. For this aspect, management of organization is required to understand
job requirements of that role. On the basis of this needs, various options can be used for the
purpose of selection such as interview, advertisement agencies and internal transfers. In addition
to this, there are certain criteria which can be used by the company in order to heir the best man
for its new venture.
For this aspect, organization can make use telephonic interview in order to examine the
communication skills of the applicants, as sometimes by posting ads in the paper it happens that
the company receives any unwanted application so by taking telephonic interview the company
can select the deserving and non- deserving candidate and after that can call them for intervie. In
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addition to this, organization can also make use of techniques such as conducting psychological
test, written test, making them write case studies to select qualified individual for the job.
4.2 Appropriate strategy for resolving a particular problem
Timbacourt is an online business that deals in selling high end fashion clothes for both
men and women (Mott, Noor and Aziz, 2006). Although, company operates their business
through online, they face certain issues and problems with that. The common problem arises in
the online shopping is that the information provided by customers is not confidential. There are
four plans of actions that help online business of Timbacourt to resolve the problem of
confidentiality. It includes:
 Understanding the problem: In Timbacourt, to solve a particular problem, manager
has to understand the problem first (Kazilan, Hamzah and Bakar, 2009).
Understanding means finding out the type and depth of problem. Here, the identified
problem says that customer information is not confidential.
 Setting plan: The next step is to set plan for solving the problem. Planning is deciding
in advance what is to be done so that the information provided by customers can be
kept confidential. Organization should develop some tools and techniques to solve the
problem.
 Implementation: At this stage, those who are assigned with responsibility will
implement the plan that was decided in previous step in Timbacourt (Butterwick and
Benjamin, 2006). From several alternatives, best option should be selected to get the
best possible output in relation to situation.
 Evaluation: After getting the final results, finding out whether there are any defects or
not comes into consideration. If any defects will be found then the measures that
Timbacourt needs to take to resolve the problem of confidentiality will be taken.
4.3 Potential impact on the business of implementing strategy
Implementing the strategies in Timbacourt can have positive as well as negative impact
on their business performance (Guzman and Choi, 2013). Management of organization is
required to consider this impact while opening an online retails business on its already
established retails stores. Sale and the frequency of the company can be increased if they expand
their business by online retail store. Implementing the strategy will help Timbacourt to capture
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the attention of more customers. As it is an apparel company for both men and women, so, if the
customers feel comfortable and free to provide personal information to company then the profit
margin of Timbacourt will increase. The problem of confidentiality will be removed and more
customers are attracted towards the brand. However, there will be increase in cost because
company will be required to develop new infrastructure. Implementing the strategies in a proper
way helps company to achieve high profit and ability to stand in the competition against
competitors. However, Many customers are not comfortable to share their banking information
as a fear of hacking.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it is being concluded that every employee who is performing the
job in company needs certain set of responsibilities and objectives so that they can properly carry
out the task. The report also concluded that there is a variety of communication style to convey
the information or message at various levels. The study also suggested many ways so that
individuals in the group can complete the task and can achieve the shared objectives as well.
Furthermore, strategies of an effective time-management which will help Timbacourt to achieve
its goals effectively and efficiently are discussed. Lastly, the report also concluded the strategies
for solving the problem like confidentiality of customer information which will help Timbacourt
to increase their market profit.
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