Managing a team s personal development performance

Transcription

1 19. 2and Managing a team s personal development performance This topic guide will give you some of the skills you need to manage, schedule and monitor work within the workforce. If you have some responsibility for a workforce, communication of personal targets and the monitoring of performance are fundamental to the success or failure of a project. This topic guide is also related to Unit 2: Managing the development of self and others and Unit 36: Developing working relationships. The activities within this topic guide are designed to support the NVQ but also knowledge units 15, 59 and 60. This topic guide will cover: managing the personal development of a team managing problems in the workplace the power of feedback. 1

2 1 Managing the personal development of a team You have already looked at certain aspects of this topic in your Unit 2 studies but how much progress have you made? Links This portfolio activity is also linked to NVQ Unit 36: AC ; HNC Unit 59: LO3. Portfolio activity (3.1) 1 Do all of the team members that you line manage have a personal development plan? 2 Do they all have a planned review date in their diaries? If the answer to either of these questions is no, make sure that you complete the relevant actions. Agree personal development aims and objectives with colleagues Personal development is one aspect of improving the personal performance of a team or team member. For each team, the requirements will change as projects develop, move on or grow. The process of changing team skills is therefore a continuous journey that needs to be reviewed, planned and formally managed. A start point needs to be agreed with each team member, and points at which achievement can be noted. If necessary, these can be reviewed, changed and documented to take account of any changes the business requires, as well as the individual. Link This portfolio activity is also linked to HNC Unit 59: LO3. Portfolio activity (3.2) Look at the projects you are currently involved in and choose one team member to work with. Determine if the individual s personal development plan matches the changing requirements of the project. Review with the team member, and change and document any requirements for new or altered personal development. Allow the team member some time to personally reflect on their plan and give feedback to you. If there are no changes required, document that the review took place. Review, reflect and record personal development aims and objectives Personal development is only effective if it is fit for purpose and meets the needs of the individual and the organisation that is funding it. Personal development in part will keep an employee enthused and motivated but its main focus is to make sure the corporation is able to deliver its targets. The effectiveness of personal development needs to be monitored and measured against targets and this can only be effective if it is recorded and reviewed on a regular basis. This is also the case with personal performance targets, covered later in this unit. Link This portfolio activity is aso linked to HNC Unit 59: AC Portfolio activity ( ) Using the personal development plan (PDP) of a team member in a current project, identify one action and then review the success or shortfalls in achieving it. Answer the questions below. How do you know the PDP action has been achieved? How could the plan have been improved? What else could you do to ensure the team member acquires the new skill or experience? What is the first opportunity for this new skill or experience to be shared with the team? How has the achievement of this PDP action been recorded or evidenced? 2

3 2 Managing problems in the workplace Conflicts at work Conflict resolution will always be required in all walks of life. The ability to steer around conflict but still negotiate the desired result for your organisation is a highly desirable skill. Conflict can sometimes be unavoidable if both the interested parties ideas of an acceptable solution are poles apart. Careful consideration and a reasoned approach will win out in the end but it may take time. Patience and careful planning will help resolve difficult situations. Remember, always stay calm and avoid raised voices. Conflicts will often flare up from what seems like nowhere or they may have been brewing for a while. Avoiding an issue will not make it go away face it and be prepared to negotiate your points until an acceptable common ground can be found. Some issues will need to be resolved with extra assistance, for example from others within your organisation, outside neutral parties, or professionals such as lawyers, arbitrators or an ombudsman such as ACAS. Disputes can escalate very quickly, so quick acknowledgement and action is required. Failure to resolve issues will lead to a lack of trust and respect, and will ultimately tarnish any future business or professional relationship. Disputes with suppliers can be particularly costly and inconvenient. Case study: Resolving conflict A UK-based company has won a contract to supply a green solution for a new housing development in northern France. A local supplier is contracted to supply the main products and a deposit is negotiated to initiate the design and manufacture. The specialist installer changes the specification due to unforeseen local planning changes but the bespoke products have been designed and considerable money has been invested in setting up the manufacturing process and in the equipment. A lengthy and complex dispute is now a real possibility and mediation is sought to avoid further legal costs. Middle ground is negotiated on the contract and a suitable green solution is installed to the satisfaction of the stakeholders. The contract is able to complete within time, and trust and goodwill are maintained between both the parties involved. Conflicts due to company restructure Conflicts are not always just between two people in the workplace; they could be between the company management and staff. Company mergers and takeovers are one source of unrest and conflict in the workplace. Two similar companies or departments can join and then remove whole layers of employees. There are rules and regulations covered by the UK labour law that protect staff whose business is being transferred to another business. Links This portfolio activity also links to NVQ Unit 36: AC 1.4, 2.3, 3.1, 3.4; HNC Unit 59: LO4. Portfolio activity (1.4, 2.4) Go online and research Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations or TUPE for short. Summarise your rights as a UK company employee. For extra information, look at the ACAS website: 3

4 Dealing with conflicts There are many ways to deal with conflicts, ranging from ignoring them to full-on confrontation! No one wants to be involved in intense conflict at the start of a promising career, so here are a few options to consider. Discuss the situation with a peer who is not directly involved and get some unbiased views or opinions on the dispute consider them, do not simply dismiss them, as you may have missed a key piece of information. Try to put yourself in the other person s shoes as far as possible, look at it from their perspective to see their reasoning. Write down some notes, for and against each point of view. Ask for someone neutral to mediate. Ask a manager to get involved and sort out the dispute. Remember, this may not be personal, it may just be business, so keep it in perspective. Try to isolate the contentious point by discussing the issues calmly and listening. Always talk, never shout. If it looks like the situation is deteriorating beyond your control, you can always walk away, regroup, think about it and come back another time. Remember, most disputes can be resolved but not all parties can be completely happy all the time. These situations change and adapt, and relationships have to be worked on continuously. Some rules for consideration are shown in Figure Keep calm Keep an open mind Talk about it, do not shout about it Keep calm! Figure : Even though it can be difficult, try to keep the heat out of any discussions. Links The portfolio activity is also linked to NVQ Unit , , 3.1, 3.2; HNC Unit 59: LO4. Portfolio activity ( ) Use the internet to research alternative dispute resolution and write a short report on your findings. The website below could be helpful: If your organisation is involved in European contracts with suppliers, find out what advice is available for alternative dispute resolution by visiting the UK European Consumer Centre website at: Activity What does TUPE say about your employment rights? What is arbitration? What is conciliation? What is mediation? What strategies can you use to stay calm when dealing with a workplace conflict? 4

5 Other work-based problems Some problems can occur that may not involve conflict initially. These issues include: technical problems faults that cannot be traced missing parts staff shortages lack of training specialists not being available a shortfall on ordered materials measurements not being correct a specification not being correct not enough time being allowed a customer changing their mind. Careful planning can solve a lot of these problems, as well as detailed project management using techniques such as critical path analysis that builds contingency into the project as far as is practical. Of course there is nothing better than experience and extensive local knowledge to solve problems. This will be gained over time and by working with the right kind of experienced colleagues. Risk management A risk is any area of uncertainty that could jeopardise what you are trying to achieve. The process of risk management is identifying as many of these potential problems as you can and then working out a way around them. This could involve planning different approaches to solving a problem by putting in extra money, resources or time. Whichever approach you take, risk management is a way of identifying problems before they happen and putting in place a control procedure so that damage is minimised. Portfolio activity (5.2) Think about a current project and list the potential problems that could occur. Describe the possible solutions or contingency plans that could be prepared to prevent them occurring. Discuss these potential issues with your team or manager and decide on the best course of action. 3 The power of feedback Feedback can be taken the wrong way if it is given in the wrong context or form. It can also be unfamiliar in some organisations, while in others it is embraced. Feedback can be seen as being told off or getting blamed for something in other words, something very negative. Feedback can be used to tell someone about something that has gone wrong but it should be about much more than this: it is the only way of knowing if you as a team are doing what you are paid to do. Feedback is also a way of finding out from all the stakeholders if there are more efficient ways of doing things that you as a manager had not considered. Everyone has an opinion and there is a time and a place to collect all this potentially valuable information. 5

6 Portfolio activity ( ) Call a project review meeting and agree that all you will do is give a guidance framework for discussion and take notes. The team is to discuss a project that has recently been completed and answer the following questions. What went right? What went wrong? What could we improve upon? What could we do differently next time? What have we as individuals learned from the project? Ask the team members to note down their own personal actions and bring them to their next personal performance review sessions or personal development meetings. Individual performance There will be many occasions when individual feedback is required. A project will have specific requirements and specific jobs will need to be completed by individuals. This will need to be monitored continuously if the project is to stay on track and within budget. A formal meeting may be required to run through a project s requirements and the individual s role in that project. If the team member is not completing work to the required standard there could be several reasons that need to be discussed and managed. If there is a culture of trust within an organisation this can be a very positive exercise that the team member can grow from. Other organisations can face different issues when addressing an individual s performance. If an individual is not performing to the required standard then development is clearly needed (or in a worst-case scenario, they may need to be replaced or have their role changed so that the organisation s needs are met). Either way, the review and actions will need to take place sooner rather than later so project timescales are not jeopardised. Remember, feedback should not be seen as a negative thing but as an opportunity to improve. If individual performance is put in these terms at the beginning of any project, providing and receiving feedback will probably be a much more positive experience. Continuous improvement In all projects it is a good idea to look for ways to improve what you are doing. This will give you competitive advantage, improve efficiency and increase business if carefully managed. Improvements in the way things are done can be identified through different sources, including: project reviews project monitoring individual staff input management customer feedback team meetings. Constructive suggestions from the workforce can be the most valuable form of feedback. This is because the workforce which carries out the tasks and activities will have a day-to-day interest in the work and may have more of an insight. 6

7 Learn from your mistakes An effective way to learn is actually to make the odd mistake. Do not be afraid to make mistakes; treat them as learning opportunities. However, mistakes are not something that you want on site where health and safety is concerned. There may be different management strategies that could be trialled, such as using new products and services. The workforce on the task may well be the best source of feedback, so it is always a good idea to encourage honest discussion it could save money and generate new business. Project reviews and team meetings Although continuous improvement should always be striven for within the project life cycle, there are generally two stages at the end of the project that can formally identify improvements. These are: closing a project (stage 4 in PRINCE2) benefits realisation (stage 5 in PRINCE2). When these last two stages of a project are reached, there is an opportunity to reflect on the lessons learned and also hold a post-project review. All the interested stakeholders will have an input at this stage. During the project, all project staff who attend the regular team meetings will have an input in continuous development. Portfolio activity (6.3, 6.4) Review a project that is coming to an end with a member of staff and reflect with the staff member on their performance in relation to the aims and objectives of the project. Use the following template as a starting point. Key performance target or indicator Achieved fully or in part? Give detail of performance What went right? What could be improved/done even better? SMART targets/ actions Date for completion Target 1 Target 2 Target 3 Target 4 Activity Do you have the following planned and in your diary: project review team meetings? 7

8 Checklist At the end of this topic guide you should be familiar with: agreeing and managing the development needs of a team the principles of managing problems in the workplace managing and making use of feedback. Further reading and resources NB: to view the CIPD resources, you will need to register for a free CIPD website account. Acknowledgements The publisher would like to thank the following for their kind permission to reproduce their photographs: Veer/Corbis: George Burba (1) All other images Pearson Education Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders and we apologise in advance for any unintentional omissions. We would be pleased to insert the appropriate acknowledgement in any subsequent edition of this publication. About the author Andy Jeffery began his career as an engineering apprentice with BT Corporate Clients. He then won a scholarship to University College London, completing an Honours degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering before becoming a chartered engineer. Andy then worked in industry for some years as an engineering consultant, systems engineer and senior manager. During this time Andy gained experience and knowledge in a number of engineering and management disciplines, working with large companies implementing technical solutions worldwide. Andy has also trained as a life coach, and has retrained engineers and managers during company restructures. He has also trained as a teacher, subject learning coach, assessor and internal quality assessor in further education. Aside from engineering, Andy is a qualified ski instructor and martial arts instructor. Andy currently teaches maths, science and electrical engineering at Oaklands College, Hertfordshire. He also works as a qualification, exam and systems consultant for City & Guilds. Andy has published a number of technical resources for the industry to assist students and tutors, including co-writing the Level 2/3 Diploma in Electrical Installations (Buildings and Structures) resources, published by Pearson. 8