5co03 Assignment Example

This unit explores the application of core professional behaviours, such as ethical practice, courage, and inclusivity, in building positive working relationships and supporting employee voice and well-being. It examines how the development and mastery of new professional behaviours and practices can enhance performance.

Task 1

This task requires you to evaluate the importance of professional and ethical behaviours for a people practitioner and the values that underpin the people practice profession. To complete the task, provide a written response to each of the questions below, incorporating academic theory and practical examples to elaborate on your points and illustrate key concepts.

Assessment Questions

AC 1.1 With reference to CIPD Profession Map, appraise what it means to be a ‘people professional’.

• Explain the types of activities a people professional performs and how they should align their behaviour with the core behaviours outlined in the CIPD Profession Map.
• Evaluate the importance of a people professional adhering to these behaviours, discussing the benefits of compliance and the potential consequences of non-compliance.

Example:

To be a professional means that one must have met all the standards set out by the CIPD profession map (CIPD, 2023). The aforementioned implies that one must demonstrate a specific professional value, such as principle-led. This implies that people professionals should work towards demonstrating a high level of professionalism as ambassadors of people professionals. For instance, they should always pursue constructive development and improvement and leverage their expertise to create meaningful work for individuals while creating value for the organisation (CIPD, 2023). In addition, people professionals should be evidence-based. As a result, they should only make decisions informed by behavioural science and academic research, organisational data, and people practitioner expertise rather than intuition. This reduces errors and improves efficiency.

AC 1.2: Recognise how personal and ethical values can be applied in the context of people practice

• Define the term “ethical values.”
• Discuss why it is important for people professionals to act in accordance with these values, such as equality, valuing others, and fairness.
• Provide two examples from the workplace where ethical values have been applied in a people practice context.

Example:

Ethical values can be defined as fundamental principles and standards that guide the behaviour, decisions, and actions of people professionals in their interactions with stakeholders such as employees, shareholders, and the organisation (CIPD, 2022). 

Ethical values are important in the work of a people’s practice context for various reasons, a practitioner for various reasons. For example, ethical values assist in building employee trust and engagement. This is because they create an atmosphere of fairness in the workplace (Schroeder et al., 2019). As a result, employees are more likely to seek assistance and communicate their concerns.

Ethical values also help to ensure legal compliance in the organisation. This is with regard to employment regulations such as the Equality Act of 2010 that make it illegal to discriminate against employees. This also helps in preventing the risk of employee claims in the employment tribunal and legal, financial and reputational costs that may arise. Moreover, ethical values help in creating a positive workplace culture where employees are treated with respect and dignity; this improves their job satisfaction, motivation and performance. Some of the ethical values that may be applied in people’s practice context include respect, fairness and equity.

AC 1.3: Consider the importance of people professionals contributing to discussions in an informed, clear and confident way to influence others.

• Explain why it is important for people professionals to influence others and ensure the ‘people practise voice’ is heard.
• Provide an explanation of three methods that people practitioners can use to influence others: one for being informed, one for being clear, and one for being confident. Examples include making an evidence-based argument, using facts and data to support contributions, adjusting volume, tone, and pace, summarising and checking understanding, and speaking up courageously.

Example:

It is important for people professionals to be able to influence others through informed, clear and confident communication. The aforementioned is important and ensures people professionals articulate the importance of human resource practices aligning with organisational goals and objectives and how the people profession can help to achieve this (Harper, 2023). This ensures that human resources is perceived as a valuable contributor to organisational success. In addition, effective communication can have a positive impact on employee engagement. When people professionals communicate human resource policies and practices, such as available development opportunities and rewards, employees become better informed and are likely to be motivated (CIPD, 2023a). Furthermore, effective communication by people professionals is a valuable skill when managing organisational change. This is because they assist organisations in providing a better understanding of new processes and structures and how to adapt to them. This reduces resistance and helps in establishing buy-in.

AC 1.4: Recognise when and how you would raise matters which conflict with ethical values or legislation.

a) where you consider something to be unethical (whether or not it is illegal), 

b) where you believe something contravenes legislation.

• Provide an explanation of different situations where you would raise an issue of concern with a manager or other authority, including the steps you would follow in the process, for the following two areas:

a) When you consider something to be unethical (whether or not it is illegal) 

b) When you believe something contravenes legislation

• Examples could relate to discrimination, harassment, or unfair dismissal processes. Include references to organisational policies, whistleblowing procedures, CIPD values, and the Code of Conduct.

Example:

Where you consider something to be unethical (whether or not it is illegal)

One of the unethical issues that I would raise with my manager at work is the neglect of employee health and safety. Notably, it is ethical for employers to ensure that employees are working in a safe working environment and have access to proper safety equipment and training.

The aforementioned not only demonstrates respect for all people’s dignity but also acts as a way of ensuring employees’ health and well-being are protected. Ultimately, this contributes to improved job satisfaction, productivity and loyalty.

In the event, there is an employee health and safety issue, such as poor hygiene and poorly maintained equipment. I would first investigate the issue and gather evidence to present to the manager. I would then consider what the organisation’s grievance procedure is before making a complaint. When invited to a hearing, I would explain to the manager the risk of neglecting employee health and safety at work, including accidents, poor health, disengagement and turnover. Similarly, I would explain the importance of ethical practice in the organisation, which includes treating individuals with dignity and recommend strategies for delivering training and improving the equipment for the manager’s consideration.

AC 2.1: Argue the human and business benefits of people feeling included, valued, and fairly treated at work linking to related theory.

• Discuss two theories or models, such as those by Daniel Pink’s 3 elements of motivation, McClelland’s 3 needs, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and David Rock- SCARF model, and explain what they suggest about the human and business benefits of employees feeling included, valued, and fairly treated.
• Conclude your discussion with a summary of your own views on these benefits. Consider examples such as job satisfaction, enhanced worker well-being, reduced sickness, and increased retention.

Example:

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, developed by Abraham Maslow, posits that individuals are motivated by specific five-tier human needs that can be depicted in the form of a pyramid (Hopper, 2020). These include physical needs at the bottom of the pyramid, safety needs, belongingness and love needs, esteem needs, and self-actualisation needs. Notably, Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs also provides an effective framework for understanding how employees are motivated in the workplace and how they can be supported to achieve them. 

For example, to support employees in achieving their physiological needs, people professionals can provide them with competitive salaries and benefits (Hopper, 2020). In addition, people professionals can fulfil employee’s safety needs by providing a safe working environment, job safety and protection from discrimination. 

From Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, employees working in organisations that support them in achieving their needs are satisfied and are more motivated and committed to the organisation, which improves their productivity.

AC 2.2: Discuss strategies for designing and ensuring inclusive people practices.

• Using a people practice initiative such as introducing flexible working as an example, discuss two ways in which a people professional can incorporate inclusivity at the design stage. This could include methods such as discussions, email and document exchanges, research, or consultation activities.
• Additionally, discuss two ways to evaluate inclusivity after the initiative is first implemented. This could involve gathering informal or formal feedback and consulting to assess how well the practice addresses and embraces diverse agendas and needs.

Example:

Building inclusivity into people practice initiatives at the design stage is an effective way of establishing buy-in and reducing the risk of stakeholder resistance. It also provides an opportunity to demonstrate to stakeholders that their feedback and ideas are valued and respected (Sands, 2022). Notably, inclusivity can be built into people practice initiatives at the design stage by engaging diverse stakeholders; the aforementioned may include employees, managers and senior leaders in multiple departments that are affected by the people practice initiatives. This ensures that their diverse perspectives and needs are considered. In addition, it is important to incorporate the feedback and suggestions derived from the diverse stakeholders to ensure the people practice initiative is responsive to the unique needs of each stakeholder. Furthermore, it is prudent to use inclusive language and communication. This includes the use of neutral gender terminologies and avoiding the use of jargon that may be considered to be exclusive. Furthermore, all materials relating to the people practice initiatives should be accessible to employees with unique needs, such as visual impairment. As a result, language translation, easy-to-read versions, braille and audio may be considered to improve inclusion.

Task 2

This task requires you to demonstrate your commitment to professional development and performance improvement. To complete the task, you will engage in reflection, and self-assessment, and consider feedback from others to identify your strengths, weaknesses, and areas for development. Based on this assessment, you will formulate a range of formal and/or informal activities to address your development needs and support your continuous growth.

Next, you will take a retrospective approach, reflecting on the impact of development activities you have undertaken in the past 12 months.

All five activities below must be completed.

Assessment Questions

AC 2.3: Reflect on your own approach to working inclusively and building positive working relationships with others.

• Reflect on your approach to working inclusively and building positive working relationships. This includes valuing people as individuals, recognizing the benefits of diversity, actively seeking and listening to diverse views and opinions, building trust, and providing appropriate support when needed. Discuss the methods you use in these areas and evaluate your effectiveness.
• You may refer to your self-assessment and feedback collected from others.

Example:

People professionals need to promote inclusion at work and contribute to building positive working relationships with others. Notably, my approach to working inclusively with others encompasses practicing self-awareness. I reflect on my biases, assumptions, and attitudes, including how my experiences and background impact my interactions with others. This helps me remain respectful in my interactions and be open-minded toward other people’s perspectives.

Furthermore, I maintain open lines of communication in my interactions with others. I am always honest in my communication and encourage others to share their ideas, opinions, and concerns without fearing retribution. This enables me to learn what their preferences are and also allows me to learn from diverse individuals with different backgrounds. 

AC 3.1: Explore how the role of a people professional is evolving and the  implications this has for continuing professional development

• Define Continuing Professional Development (CPD), highlighting characteristics of best practice.
• Explore how the role of a people professional is evolving, such as the shift from administrative tasks to strategic roles, increased focus on people and technology proficiency, emergence of new specialisations and job titles (e.g., Chief Happiness Officer, Chief Heart Officer, Lead People Data Scientist).
• Discuss how these changes impact your CPD, including the types of activities you engage in, the knowledge you require, and the technologies you need to learn.

Example:

The role of people professionals has significantly evolved in the last decades. The aforementioned has been influenced by changes to the business landscape, technological advancements, and shifts in workforce demographics. The aforementioned changes have also had a major impact on continuing professional development (Centre of CPD Excellence, 2023). 

AC 3.2: Assess your strengths, weaknesses and development areas based on self assessment and feedback from others.

This AC involves reflecting on your skills through self-assessment and feedback from others. The initial stage of your CPD should focus on understanding your past, recognizing your current position, and identifying your future goals.

• You are required to gather feedback from at least one other person regarding your behaviours aligned with the core behaviours from the CIPD Profession Map. This feedback must be documented and included as an appendix, clearly stating the person’s identity and their relationship to you.
• Evaluate your current strengths, weaknesses, and development needs based on your previous responses to sections 2.3 and 3.1, as well as the feedback you have gathered. Your assessment should incorporate an analysis of the feedback received, discussing how it has influenced your self-assessment.

Example:

Based on my self-assessment, working inclusively and valuing people are area of strength. My colleague noted that I am good at building positive working relationships with others by leveraging my values such as fairness, respect for others dignity, integrity and accountability. For example, when interacting with others, I respect their opinions and listen actively and with empathy when they present their concerns. Furthermore, I follow up to ensure that all individuals grievances are addressed justly and satisfactorily. 

AC 3.3: Formulate a range of formal and/or informal continuing professional development (CPD) activities to support your learning journey.

• Formulate three continuing professional development (CPD) activities, which can be either formal or informal, to support your learning journey based on your self-assessment.
• Provide a rationale for each development activity chosen. For example, if one of your identified needs is to enhance communication skills, your development activities might include watching a Ted Talk on effective communication and participating in coaching sessions.

Example:

I need to improve my communication skills. As a result, I will attend a communication training course provided by my organisation. In addition, I will need the organisation’s facilitation to attend the course through a flexible working schedule and access to the communication training. After attending the training, the success criteria will be the ability to express myself with clarity, confidence in my communication, conciseness, and use of appropriate tone and styles. I plan to achieve this by the end of December 2024.

I need to remain up-to-date with new trends in people’s practices. Due to changes in trends, technologies and business practices, I must keep myself knowledgeable about new developments in the profession, such as the use of technologies, diversity and inclusion and the use of artificial intelligence to improve human resource practice. I plan to achieve this need by attending workshops career fairs, and seminars relevant to the human resource profession. I will also conduct personal research in human resource databases, journals, and online websites and consult with experts continuously. My success criteria will be implementing proactive solutions to new people’s practice problems. My target for completion and reflection this year is the end of December 2024.

AC 3.4: Reflect on the impact of your continuing professional development activities on own behaviour and performance.

This AC involves reflecting on your CPD and its impact on you and those around you. Consider and document both the positive and negative effects. How did it influence you, your team, your colleagues, your customers, your stakeholders, the organisation, or your department?

Provide a reflective summary of three development activities undertaken over the past 12 months. Include the following details for each activity:

• Date of the activity
• Description of the activity completed
• Key learnings from the activity
• Impact of the activity on your behaviour and performance

Present your reflections in a format such as your own CPD record template (available in the resources area), edited to focus on the three selected activities, or utilise a report (or reports) from the CIPD ‘My CPD Reflections’ tool.

Example:

In January 2024, I attended a workshop on the impact of flexible working policies on employee wellbeing. I attended the workshop to learn how employee wellbeing is impacted by flexible working schedules and how I can implement the policy in my organisation. I learnt that employee wellbeing Transcends physical health and includes emotional, social, mental and financial health. I also learned that providing employees with flexible working schedules have a positive impact on their work life balance, reduces commute stress and provides them with increased job autonomy. Ultimately the aforementioned improves job satisfaction, motivation and retention. I will use this knowledge to implement a flexible working policy in my organisation particularity a remote working policy. This will ensure employees experience a greater balance between their personal and professional responsibilities hence improved wellbeing.

In June 2024, I implemented an employee boarding program. This followed a successful recruitment drive in 20222 and I was tasked with ensuring new employees are acclimated to the organisation’s culture and team and understand their roles, responsibilities and expectations. I began by explaining the organisation’s values, mission and culture to the new employees.  This is important in ensuring they align their efforts with organisational goals. I also introduced the new employees to other team members in the organisation. This experience positively impacted not only my active listening, leadership and mentorship skills but also employee engagement and motivation. This is because the new hires had a positive job experience. 

Reference

• Azulay, H. (2018). 7 Surefire Tricks for Being a More Engaging Communicator. [online] TalentGrow LLC: Leadership development, workplace communication workshops, team-building facilitation, and speaking. Available at: https://www.talentgrow.com/blog/engaging-communicator [Accessed 23 Jun. 2023].
• CIPD. (2022). CIPD | On this page. [online] Available at: https://www.cipd.org/en/knowledge/factsheets/ethics-role-hr-factsheet/#:~:text=Ethical%20practice%20is%20the%20application [Accessed 2 Sep. 2023].
• CIPD. (2023a). CIPD | Employee communication. [online] Available at: https://www.cipd.org/en/knowledge/factsheets/employee-communication/#:~:text=Employee%20communication%20is%20an%20essential [Accessed 2 Sep. 2023].
• CIPD. (2023b). CIPD | Explore the Profession Map. [online] Available at: https://www.cipd.org/en/the-people-profession/the-profession-map/explore-the-profession-map/ [Accessed 2 Sep. 2023].
• Cooks-Campbell, A. (2022). Communication is key in the workplace. Here’s how to improve | BetterUp. [online] www.betterup.com. Available at: https://www.betterup.com/blog/why-communication-is-key-to-workplace-and-how-to-improve-skills [Accessed 2 Sep. 2023].
• Exon, H. (2023). The Power of Intrinsic Motivation | Reward and Recognition. [online] The Team. Available at: https://theteam.co.uk/blog/the-power-of-intrinsic-motivation/ [Accessed 2 Sep. 2023].
• Gibson, E. (2022). Importance of making employees feel valued. [online] Reworking. Available at: https://reworking.com/importance-of-making-employees-feel-valued/#:~:text=Employees%20who%20feel%20that%20they [Accessed 2 Sep. 2023].
• Harper, J. (2023). Talk the Talk: The Importance of Effective Communication in HR Strategy. [online] The HR Digest. Available at: https://www.thehrdigest.com/talk-the-talk-the-importance-of-effective-communication-in-hr-strategy/ [Accessed 2 Sep. 2023].
• Niaz, A. (2020). Impact of Information Technology on Human Resource Management. [online] Profiles Asia Pacific. Available at: https://www.profilesasiapacific.com/2020/01/21/information-technology-hrm/ [Accessed 23 Jun. 2023].
• Centre of CPD Excellence. (2023). Recording Trainers CPD. [online] Available at: https://www.centreofcpdexcellence.com/recording-cpd#:~:text=There%20are%20two%20types%20of [Accessed 23 Jun. 2023].

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