- Explain the relationship between Human Resources (HR) functions and other business functions
Human resources have a more strategic and defined role in organisations. Human resources functions include the selection and recruitment of staff, it also incorporates the training and development of all employees in a company or organisation. They organise the recruitment of the employees who are suitable, have the right experience, skills and capability for the job role. Management of employee personal records, performance reviews, record keeping and general compliance with employment laws are also the responsibility of human resource functions.
Human resources functions are responsible for promoting positive and effective employee relations which can include the effective management of grievances, settlement of disputes and industrial relations. They are also responsible for dealings regarding employees such as benefits, compensation and general employee relationships. They promote a supportive and advisory relationship, provide information, advice and guidance on all issues relating to the employment. Human resources functions are also concerned with the safety and wellbeing of the workforce. This includes appraisals, compliance with organisational policies and procedures, staff retention and staff motivation.
Other business functions include the promotion of production and quality of a business or organisation. The business functions can also include research and development, sales, expansion, marketing and growth of a company or organisation. This could also incorporate administration, budgeting, finance and audits within the organisation.
Leaders in human resources need to convince executive leadership teams that investing in human capital is one of the best and most important resources. As the workforce is a vital part of any organisation and can form the backbone of a business. The workforce will be a valuable asset that must be effective and productive for a company or organisation.
- Explain the purpose and process of workforce planning
Work force planning is a process that relates to human resources, and it involves identifying and addressing the gaps between the existing human resource requirements or needs and the requirements in the future. This is based on organisational strategy and the purpose is by presenting a workforce plan with a strategy to make sure that the right number of skills are available for the business as a continuous process. The purpose for workforce planning is to ensure that human resources are continuously proactive as this will help provide and manage skills, avoid any problems or issues and able to evaluate and identify sources for arranging talents and skills but also to maintain the balance of demand and supply at minimum cost. Workforce planning can include an audit of skills, job design, talent management career planning and succession planning.
The purpose of workforce planning also involves ensuring that the workforce can deliver short and long-term organisational objectives and that the organisation can maintain and develop its workforce. Staffing decisions will be made with strategic and operational goals in mind.
- Explain how employment law affects an organisation’s HR and business policies and practices
Employment laws can widely effect an organisations human resources and business policy and procedures as these laws can affect topics, that involve storing records, employees DBS checks data protection, the data act 2010 and some places will also reimburse mileage requirements.
Employment legislation will impact on an organisation’s human resource and business policy and practices in many ways. Examples include employee wages and the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, which regulates workers who are over 16 years old and their legal right to receive a minimum hourly rate of pay. The Equality Act 2010: details the nine personal characteristics protected by law and the consequences of not complying which is regarded as unlawful. With regards, to workers’ health and safety, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 covers work-related health and safety. It details an employer’s responsibility for the health and safety of all their workers and the action that is needed to be taken to protect health and safety of the workforce. The Employment Rights Act 1996 describes the statutory employment rights of workers and employees. This can include a employment contract, unfair dismissal, dismissal notice period, redundancy provision and the protection of wages which can include time off work for public duties such as Jury service.
The Flexible Working Regulations 2014 covers employees’ rights to flexible working arrangements. When requested, employers should take a request for flexible working into consideration.
Employment laws have an impact on an organisation’s policies and procedures. Every organisation should have clear recruitment and selection processes and policies that comply with the legal requirements. These processes and policies should cover the issues of pay, terms of employment contract, working hours, employee entitlements, disciplinary and grievance procedures. There should be information for the workforce to be able to understand their legal rights and responsibilities and these should be clearly conveyed. This could be in the form of a staff or employee handbook and expected code of conduct. There should also be policies and procedures for equality, diversity and inclusion and also health and safety that is regarded as part of the responsibilities and code of conduct.
1.4 Evaluate the implications for an organisation of utilising different types of employment contracts
A contract of employment is essentially an agreement between the employer and the employee. It should have the purpose of outlining the specific terms and conditions of employment. This can be either verbal or in writing and it can be regarded as forming the basis of the employment relationship between employer and employee.
The implications of different types of employment contract can mean that there are different outcomes or considerations for the employer, depending on the type of contract. With a full time contract, this involves a set amount of working hours and terms and conditions including the minimum hours set by the employer, which is normally 35 hours or more a week. A full time contract is also usually covered by employment laws and implies a permanent employment type. A full time contract can also be beneficial for staff retention and be more attractive to loyal and committed employees. It is also more difficult to terminate if things go wrong.
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In contrast, a part time contract incorporates working less hours than full time. A part time contract is also covered by employment laws, as with a full time contract. As with a full time contract, it can help to retain valued employees. With this type of contract there may be additional administration and induction costs. Part time contracts could also affect the organisation negatively as there could be a potential lack of continuity in staffing and work activities. The lack of continuity could potentially cause some communication problems and a lack of fluidity in the workforce and with the meeting of work objectives. Depending on the type of employment this could impact on interpersonal skills and relationships with customers and clients.
Another type of contract is a fixed term contract, which only lasts for only a certain length of time. This could be agreed in advance and end when a specific task is completed or when a specific event takes place. It could also end when a work objective has been met or completed. This type of contract can be useful to cover set projects or periods of time. A fixed term contract can be expensive to terminate if the notice arrangements are not clearly set out in the contract and fully understood by the employee. There may also be a limit on the time of a fixed term contract.
A zero hours contracts can usually be used for ‘on call’ work or on demand work. This is when employees are asked to work when needed by the company or organisation. In these cases the employees do not have to work when asked if they do not want to. This kind of contract can be more cost-effective for specific duties and tasks and could be an alternative to using an agency to hire workers. The employer will still be held responsible for employee health and safety. Zero hours contracts can be beneficial to businesses and organisations as they can be regarded as more cost effective. However, as with part time contracts, there may be less continuity of staff.
A contract with an agency whereby agency staff are taken on as workers rather than regular employees means that the employment contract is with the employment agency not the company or organisation itself. This can reduce administration with recruitment and termination of contracts, as it is the responsibility of the agency. It can be beneficial to a company or organisation as there can be flexibility to increase or decrease staff at short notice and have availability of staff. As the agency is responsible for compliance with working regulations; this reduces the responsibility of the company or organisation. It can be potentially more expensive than hiring employees within the organisation, as the agency may charge extra fees.
Another option is that of using contractors. Contractors are self-employed; and not generally covered by employment legislation. The company or organisation is still responsible for health and safety issues. Contractors can be beneficial for specific project-type work but may cost the company or organisation more in the long run.
1.5 Evaluate the implications for an individual of different types of employment contracts
There are many different contracts for employment and all these different contracts are devised to show what arrangements the business has made with an employee and also whether the contract is suitable for the business.
Full time contracts are usually the most reliable and are usually the cornerstone of a business. A full-time contract will contain details such as hourly pay, working hours, holiday entitlements, position in the business and any other aspects of the employee’s work arranges. A full-time contract can either be basic or complicated depending on the wok objective. A full time contract can provide access to full range of employment benefits such as staff discounts, health insurance, company cars etc. They can also offer potential job satisfaction and greater career and personal development opportunities.
Part time – Staff who are given a part time contract usually have a similar contract to a full-time contract, although a part time contract should be very specific about the hourly pay and working hours. A part time contract should also contain the employees holiday entitlement for a part time staff member that meets the relevant statutory requirements. Full time and part time contracts must have the same terms and conditions of employment and provide the same employment rights despite being employed to work part time. Part time contracts can offer greater employment flexibility and potentially better work life balance.
Directors service agreement- Individuals that are given a director’s service agreement is a heavy-duty employment contract that is very detailed. This employment contract will contain the directors scope and extent of his/her duties and details of how the individual should behave within the business. Directors contracts are usually very specific and detailed documents. The directors contract would usually contain restrictive covenants and thorough confidentiality requirements as usually the director of a company/business would have access to the business/company’s financial information.
Fixed term contracts are often used for temporary employees, whereby the duration of the contract can vary in length, from a couple of weeks to a few years. Fixed-term contracts offer the same employment rights as full-time permanent staff. Employees on a fixed term contract would only probably require more basic set of terms and conditions but if the employee remained working for a year or more the contract may need to be changed, especially if they are undertaking specific projects. A fixed term contract offers an individual employee flexibility in their commitment to work. There may be rights to become a permanent employee, if the contract is renewed over a number of years.
Zero hours contracts can mean that the employer requires the employee to work but there is no guarantee that there will be work available. This means that the employer could contact the employee to work as and when the business/company requires them to. The employee is entitled to the same basic terms of employment as part or full-time employees. The downside could be that there is no guaranteed level of regular earnings, which may be difficult for individual employees. This could then also cause difficulty in managing work life balance.
Casual working contract – employees with a casual work contract are known more as workers than an employee. A casual work contract means that the contract or work may not be permanent and the individual who has this type of contract may be only be employed for seasonal work. A causal work contract is not the same as a zero-hour contract as again as they are classed as a worker, which means they have less employment rights, so they may not qualify for statutory sick pay or maternity pay.
Working for an agency can provide an employee with the same rights to pay and most benefits after working for a period of 12 weeks. Agency employees may be entitled to the same basic terms and conditions as direct employees. There may be more employment flexibility which can suit some individuals better, depending on their individual circumstances.
Consultancy agreement – Individuals with a consultancy agreement are used when the company or organisation requires the services of an individual who will not be employed. This means the individual who has this agreement will be classed as self-employed. A consultancy agreement can come in many forms such as a large detailed contract or just a letter. If the individual does not have a consultancy agreement the individual may assume that they are employed and that they have employment rights just like everyone else. This could include the right to claim unfair dismissal which could cost the company or organisation and could cause a situation if the company engages the consultant and problems arise.
A contractor may not be entitled to the same rights as regular employees. They are able to demand a higher rate of pay due to the specialist nature of work and they can benefit from employment flexibility.
Learning Outcome 3-Understand team building and dynamics
3.1 Explain the difference between a group and a team
A team is where a group of individuals work together and help to all achieve the same goal/outcome, a group is when lots of individuals are just together but work alone as an individual with their own goals, tasks and projects.
For example, at work if many individual staff members are asked to complete a task by the end of the day of doing room displays the staff will work together as a team, communicating and helping each other to complete the room displays, how they are going to do this and who is going to do what etc. If many individuals are all just in the same room as a collection then then are known as a group.
Another example could be at a SENCO meeting all the individual staff from different nurseries that are the SENCO will come and work together as a team to help each other and communicate their goals, achievements, projects and support they need to help, but going to the meeting and sitting around a table with a few other individuals from other nurseries and not communicating or supporting others, but working alone on your own goals, achievements and steps this is what is known as a group.
A team is where a group of individuals work together and help to all achieve the same goal or outcome. A team is an organised group of people who work together cooperatively and collaboratively. The coordinate their efforts to the same purpose and work towards achieving shared goals. All team members share joint accountability, mutual trust and respect, and work to achieve shared goals. In a team there tends to be a common team purpose where individual team members’ talents are put together to achieve a common purpose or goal.
A group is when lots of individuals are just together but work alone as an individual with their own goals, tasks and projects. A group is a collection of individual people who can be considered together for a purpose. All the people in the group coordinate with each other, have individual responsibilities and roles but coordinate their efforts collectively. Each person in the group works independently but does not always work towards a specific goal.
3.2 Outline the characteristics of an effective team
There are many characteristics that can make an effective team work such as:
Shared values- Making sure all staff within the team should have and share similar values with the rest of the group such as commitment to tasks, mutual support and integrity.
Identity- Every team should always have the obvious of an identity such as name, budget, uniform, meeting point/place, colour scheme, logo and budget etc.
Complementary roles- its effective to make sure that everyone in the team should have a specific complementary role as if too many individuals have the same or similar role this can reduce the team’s effectiveness.
Complementary skills- within a team everyone has their own set of skills that will be different from others, this means that everyone within the team is able to work together to get the task/job done to a high standard. All individual’s skills should be recognised, used to their best and valued as no individual should feel eft out.
Leadership- in every team there is always leadership but not all teams have a leader, some teams are able to be self-managing, but no matter if there is a leader or not all individuals should be aware of this and work together as a team so that everyone is valued.
Celebration- after a team has completed the task/goal it’s good for the team to celebrate their achievement together as a team. By celebrating together, it helps the individuals to bond and reaffirm the teams culture and identity.
Clear formal roles and responsibilities- Everyone within the team will know their own role and responsibility and who’s doing what, which includes formal roles or part of working as a team to complete a task. Each individual will be held accountable for their role and responsibilities and would contribute towards it.
Common goal, vision and purpose- Being part of a team means that your part of it to help achieve a goal or outcome, although some teams are more informal as they can be built around commonalities which could be friendship or values etc. The three commonalities are part of being in team which are commonality of journey, commonality of destination and commonality of state which means: Journey- Some individuals with the team will want to just share and be a part of the journey. Destination- Individuals within the team will want to finish or complete the task or goal. State- some individuals may just enjoy working with others and may want to be within a team and do something which is a state of mind or their commonalities of attitude.
Agreed and clear rules- When working as a team all individuals will come to an agreement of rules that everyone in the team must follow. The rules could include how to deal with situations and conflict within the team and how everyone in the team is going to communicate or make decisions and agree together.
Other characteristics of an effective team include having a clear sense of purpose and where members of the team have clear roles and responsibilities. The members of the team have clear lines of authority and decision making, and this is understood and accepted by the other members of the team. All individual team members are respected and all have the same opportunity to contribute towards the team and the organisational goals and priorities. They are accepted and recognised for their individuality and diversity. All team members have good interpersonal skills and show respect for each other and for individuals. Individual team members are appreciated for their personal traits, contributions, abilities and contributions. Success and diversity is shared and celebrated, regardless of whether a team member is trained or skilled and efforts are recognised.
There should be the formation of group norms set for working together, so that all team members have the same norms, goals, expectations and understanding of their responsibilities, roles and work ethic. Team members should be supportive of each other and promote good communication and working relationships. Conflict should be managed effectively so that it does not impact negatively on the team as a whole or in general.
3.3 Explain the techniques of building a team
When building a team, you need to make sure individuals are aware of their job role and responsibilities and if so, who’s taking leadership and who’s accountable for each task. There needs to be clear lines of responsibility and authority. Individuals must be aware of what task needs to be achieved, when and how they are going to accomplish this. Team members should have the required skills to be able to carry out tasks and duties effectively. To build a team you need to gain each individual trust and loyalty, making them feel part of the team so that individuals do not feel fearful of people in leadership roles. The leader should clarify the purpose and set clear goals where team members work towards common goals which are clearly communicated and agreed.
There are many techniques to help build a team such as valuable ideas, which means when working in a team you must take individuals’ ideas in to consideration and value them. Support and access to resources support to team members should be given as needed. A team leader should be proactive with consistent feedback which can help to keep team performance on track and keep team members motivated and valued.
Resolve small disputes: as a team leader, you should always act as a role model but also as a harmonising influence. To do this you should try and mediate or try and resolve any small minor disputes, so that the team can continue to progress and work together towards completing goals and tasks. A team leader should encourage the team to deal with challenges without complaining he or she should lead by example and deal with interpersonal conflicts swiftly and appropriately.
Being a role model: As a team leader, it is expected of you to be the role model towards others and by doing this you should take into consideration of other people’s feelings/moods by trying to be considerate and sensitive. He or she should also encourage team members to support each other and foster good work ethics and mutual respect amongst the team.
Communication: there should always be good communication within a team and to do this you must make sure when communicating you are clear and specific about what you need to be completed and successful.
Sharing information: As a team, all individuals should be opening to sharing information and ideas across to each other within the team. The team leader should also explain to individuals how much you value everyone in the team, there contribution and show them how working together as a team with all our own ideas and information shared will help everyone to reach the final stage of the goal.
Cooperation and trust: To work as a team you need cooperation and trust from everyone within the group. As everyone in the team begins to get to know each other and build trust and bonds, you as a team leader should observe closely how well the team is able to work together as part of a team and whilst doing this you should help to improve individuals trust, communication skills and cooperation.
Alleviate communication skills: Again, as a team leader you need to be a role model to others when it comes to communicating, which means you need to be open to communication from others such as concerns, comments or suggestions, to do this you could speak to individuals asking questions and offering support where ever needed. To alleviate communication, you must remember communication is a basic and important skill when working in a team.
Solutions: to help resolve disputes you could take the lead by giving individuals within the team group activities such as problem-solving tasks, which will help the team to work on finding and learning how to resolve solutions themselves.
Set out clear ideas: when you need a team to work together to complete a task or goal you must set/lay out what standards you expect as the final goal/accomplishment, you need to make sure the team is aware of the time frame they should complete the task in and to make sure that individuals in the team are defiantly aware of their individual responsibilities.
Evaluating and establishing: To help make individuals feel valued and part of a team it’s good to communicate with individuals on their team performance and team values, that way you can discuss the employee’s achievements and difficulties and how they feel their performance is going. When communicating with the staff in your team you should communicate their standards of performance in teamwork such as asking about what ‘success’ means to themselves and to help live up to your stated values what actions do they think they could take.
Setting rules: When working towards goals or target rules should be set. The rules should be made and agreed by everyone within the team and everyone should commit to them as a team and as themselves. By having rules set and agreed this will help with the success and efficiently of working towards the targets/goals. The rules should be simple but specific.
Listening and debates: some individuals may feel afraid to not agree with another individual and this can lead to some individuals feeling fearful and making positive/negative decisions. As a team leader, it’s good to try and encourage brainstorming and creativity as it will help encourage the team to go onto more positive outcomes.
Making agreements: when looking to complete tasks/goals you should always prepare and plan head with a plan of action, solving problems and setting objectives. As this is much quicker than all the team agreeing to it. By doing this it helps the teams productivity to become better as they feel secure, which helps everyone make better decisions with the commitment of work.
Methods of establishing consensus: As a team leader, you should plan to hold a meeting so that you and the team can debate any cons and pros of the proposal, deliver reports or make research comities to investigate issues.
Set parameters of agreement building sessions: When the individuals within a team aren’t successfully meeting their achieving goals or tasks the team may end up feeling frustrated. When this happens the team leader should plan and discuss in the meeting specific time limits, and the work everyone is doing within the team and agreements. When doing this it may be a good idea to be very sensitive towards the individuals in the team and to be careful of anyone who are making false agreements. The team leader should acknowledge and reward team members, showing recognition for good performance and reward team members in line with organisational policy and individual preference. Success should be celebrated as part of team culture and team members are encouraged to reflect on accomplishments and also on lessons learned. There should be a positive focus on success.
3.4 Explain techniques to motivate team members
It’s always good to try and motivate individuals as it helps the team to continue to progress in being productive and efficient, there are many ways you could do this which include:
Traditional bonding days or evenings out can help to encourage and motivate team members. As a leader you could invite the team to go out for lunch or an evening activity such as bowling or bingo etc. Activities like this will help the team to let their hair down and will help encourage the team to bond, build trust and foster relationships. This will also help the team’s mood to become more positive and build up team spirit.
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Training: By offering staff training days and other training opportunities it will help them to feel more valued in the company as it shows you as the employer are willing to invest in the business and staff. When team members go on training they are able to learn new things and they can share their new insights or knowledge gained with others. This could result in employees being more engaged in the working environment and gaining more job satisfaction and improved employee confidence.
Praise in public: As a leader or part of management you should always praise others especially in public or in front of other staff, that way staff will think you have observed and seen the hard work they have been putting in. The individual getting praised in front of other staff will feel more confident, as it can boost their self-esteem.
Increasing responsibilities: to make staff feel more motivated and to improve their confidence you could improve or update their job title and provide extra responsibilities, praise and rewards, if you feel that the staff member deserves or has earned more recognition.
Leadership and integrity: being a leader or part of management means that you should always lay out clear and simple objectives for the team that way the staff have something to work towards like a goal or task achievement so that they don’t feel unmotivated. The leader should match the scope of the work to individual’s capabilities and strengths. The team leader should provide work that is meaningful and challenging and also clarify the value and contribution of work to organisational goals. By setting out tasks and objectives staff will feel like they have structure and are reassured that they are in line. The team leader should build up team morale and cohesiveness and show respect for the members of the team by creating a working environment that promotes respect of team members’ values and beliefs. It can also be beneficial to engage team members in decision making: and promote collaborative decision making, as this can also help team members feel appreciated and valued. The provision of competitive remuneration packages can promote staff stability, dedication and job satisfaction.
3.5 Explain the importance of communicating targets and objectives to a team
Communicating targets and objects to a team is very important as without planning, arranging and using strategies this can be very pointless, unpredictable, less effective and can leave the team feeling unsure of what they are supposed to be doing. For example, if I just told a team of nursery practitioners they are to take the children out for a day trip without any plans, strategies or arrangements, the staff are going to be unsure of where to take the children and be less positive and productive, compared to what is expected of them. It also encourages feedback, promotes communication, openness and trust between management and employees. It can also support fairness and transparency in performance management.
Communicating targets and objectives to a team can help to create a shared vision and it can help the work to proceed smoothly and efficiently. By providing a clear set of expectations, targets and objectives all employees gain a better understanding of their role and responsibilities within the team. It can also help to build confidence among team members, promote a positive work ethos and cooperation and collaboration.
When you communicate to the team the targets and objects you must first plan head, be prepared for changes and make the arrangements needed. For example, if I was planning for the team to take the children out for a day trip I would already make sure risk assessments are filled in and checked, ratio of adult to child is in place, transport for the team and children is suitable, safe and booked correctly for the staff and children. I would ensure that all parents and carers have signed a consent form for their child to come on the day trip etc. Once all plans are in place I would then sit and hold a meeting with the team to communicate everything to them of what’s going to happen, what is expected of them. I would organise the finance of the day out and resources needed etc. When discussing this with the team I would communicate this very in a clearly detailed, specific but simple and easy to understand way. After doing this I would then ask the staff if they have any questions, queries or concerns about what’s going to happen and confirm that they all understand. By doing this I have made sure the whole team knows what will be happening on the day and what is to be expected etc. By doing this the day trip with the children will be very productive and effective, leaving the staff feeling positive and reassured that they know what’s going on.
3.6 Examine theories of team development
The first theory of team development was by a Dr called Bruce Tuckman which he started in 1965-1970’s. This theory was called the forming storming norming performing team – a development model which includes 5 stages, although the fifth stage did not exist until 1977. The first four stages are about a group that work through an order sequence of making decisions. The fifth stage is all about how Dr Bruce Tuckerman reviewed his studies and wrote a new extra study. All five stages are about professional relationships and task behaviours. Tuckman’s theory is concerned with the link between the relationships in the group and the focus on the task The five stages are:
Forming: This is where the individual in the group gets to know about each other and the allocated tasks. The individuals in this group are unsure on the objectives and not involved or part of a team. There is no shared understanding of tasks and objectives. Although there is a leadership strategy, the individual roles are not yet developed and there is little consideration for others’ views or values.
Storming: The team gets to know each other and potential arguments and disagreements may make it harder to work as a group, stay positive and cohesive. As part of the storming stage the team will experience conflicts, arguments, resentment, disagreement, anger, competition, inconsistency, hidden agendas, lack of cohesion and confrontation. Part of the storming stage would be a leadership strategy which would benefit the team by acting as a role model or guide to help get the team through trying to come to agreements and to help have less conflicts. The team becomes more inward looking; and there is more concern for the values, views and problems of others in the team.
Norming: Team members make explicit and implicit rules about how the team will work towards achieving the goal. The rules will include reviewing and establishing objectives, clarification of purpose, questioning performance, confirming or changing roles, looking at weaknesses and strengths, valuing people more, listening and assertiveness. Part of the norming stage is a leadership strategy which would be to support the individuals in the team and empower the group but also communicating and building confidence and trust with the team by asking for their feedback.
Performing: The performing stage includes looking at the team’s confidence, relationships, flexibility, pride, initiative, learning and creativity. Throughout the performing stage all team members will come to a final solution and will be able to put the solution in place that will be able to solve any issues. Leadership decided by situations, not protocol and basic principles and social aspects of the organisation’s decisions are considered.
Adjourning: At this final stage, the team separates in a break phase. This last and final stage was introduced after reviewing the first four stages in 1977. In the adjourning stage the team leader or manager should change into a supportive character to increase the initiative.
Another theory is by Reid Gibbs which started in 1994, known as Gibbs model of group development via trust formation. Gibbs came up with this theory after setting out a tool that helped discover what was blocking a team’s progress. The tool Reid came up with is not in any correct order, and the concern will depend on the team’s difficulties. Gibbs’ tool is designed to help to understand and support a team where progress is blocked.
Dr Meredith Belbin examined the different roles in a team. Belbin’s nine team roles theory includes the identification of people’s behavioural strengths and weaknesses in the workplace which helps to provide a balanced team. This incorporates the contributions and allowable weaknesses of each role. The nine elements of team roles are plants – they are a source of original ideas, who provide suggestions and proposals which may be unconventional. Then there are resource investigators who bring ideas and information to the team. Monitor-evaluators are team members who are logical and impartial, have an objective view although can be critical. The coordinators are the team members who clarify the group objectives, establish priorities and who also promote decision making. They see potential over delegation of other team members. Then there are implementers who turn decisions and strategies into defined and manageable tasks. These members of the team are often efficient, disciplined and can take a perfectionist stance and who may be inflexible in their approach. The completer-finishers are conscientious members of the team. They pay attention to detail and are reliable and can deliver on time These team members can be reluctant to delegate as they need to do things themselves and have a tendency to worry. Then there are the team workers who cooperate and can be diplomatic but also indecisive. The shapers are team members who provide focus to the team effort. The demonstrate a drive to overcome obstacles and can sometimes be argumentative. Specialists have in-depth knowledge of a key area and are often narrowly focused members of a team.
A further theory is Honey’s five team roles which is based on Belbin’s nine team roles. These roles include a leader who ensures that the team has clear objectives and who ensures all team members are involved and committed. There is a role of challenger who challenges and questions the effectiveness of a team and who strives to make improvement and results. There is a doer, who is a team member who is committed to action and carries out practical duties. The role of thinker involves someone who generates ideas, solves problems and considers other people’s ideas. The role of supporter identifies a team member who eases tension and who strives to maintain harmony in a team.
3.7 Explain common causes of conflict within a team
Conflict within a team can happen for many different reasons. When conflict occurs, the team may begin to grow apart and become divided. When this happens, the team will lose focus towards the set objectives or goals. Conflicts in a team may happen because individuals have different views of how other individuals within the team work or how other individuals perceive their work. Other reasons individuals will have a conflict within the team could include challenging goals, when individuals within the team focus and compete on their own goals this can weaken the pursuit of the other individual. It can also be when a team member misinterprets their job responsibilities if they do not understand or misinterpret their roles and responsibilities within their specific job role. Conflict could also arise from when individuals in the team misinterpret or don’t have enough information on the business needs. Interdependence can also cause conflict when there is too much dependency on individuals to complete the work. Conflict may also be brought about due to faulty feedback mechanism, when individual staff miss regular feedback from others. A system appraisal for performance may also bring on conflict. Performance appraisal meetings are held to praise staff on their individual performance instead of performance as a team and this could cause problems. There could also be a conflict of interest, which could be between individuals within the team.
Differences about approaches and disagreements about strategies for achieving goals as a team can cause conflict, as well as differences about accomplishment. Staff members within a team may have disagreements about how they can implement strategies for achieving the goal or work objectives.
Non- existence focus could be another reason for conflict, when individuals in the team lack focus on goals and achievements as a mutual commitment. If planning or communication is poor, members in the team will be unsure of their roles and responsibilities, job role and terms of task or work division. This could lead to misunderstandings. There could also be a blaming culture where individuals blame each other if they have not met targets, completed work or missed goals etc. Individuals failing to act or work together as a team, acting or showing a self-centred attitude may also bring on conflict as well as individuals from the team who seek individual recognition and not team recognition. Some individuals in the team have limited knowledge of values and principles which can cause difficulties within the team. Staff from the team worry that they will fail as an individual or as a team, and some people could blame others for failing or they try and hide mistakes and errors. Competition or rivalry could be a further cause of conflict, so that instead of collaboration, competitiveness could lead to anti-productive behaviour.
Bell and Hart’s eight causes of conflict include conflicting issues, including resources, perceptions, outcomes, goals, pressures, roles, people’s personal values and unpredictable policies which could all cause conflict within a team.
Non-Compliance with Rules and Policies may also lead to conflict within a team. Personal non-compliance or disregard for company policy by certain team members which could include discriminatory behaviour, unacceptable language, poor attendance and timekeeping can become the cause for conflict among team members.
3.8 Explain techniques to manage conflict within a team
Sometimes there may be some conflict within a team. This can be a good thing sometimes as it brings opportunities to share ideas and thoughts and suggestions which may have not been imagined before. With a good team leader or management the conflict can be resolved quickly and be openly discussed to come to a conclusion. If there are no conflicts at all within a team, this may not be a good thing as it may mean the individuals in the team may fear voicing their own opinion.
A few techniques to help manage conflict could be to be aware that conflict can happen in a team now and then and, as the team leader, you need to know what to expect, be aware that it may happen and be prepared to resolve it, especially if you think there may be some individuals from the team who may disagree with one another.
As a team leader, you should learn about negative conflicts, if within the team the conflict is unable to be solved, and there is no conclusion, the team leader should try not to put themselves in either positions of the ‘victim’ or as the ‘bad guy’ but the leader should try and recognise this within the team.
Before starting a task to complete or putting the team to work towards a goal, the team leader should arrange a meeting with the group to discuss the ground rules whilst working together and if there are any conflicts in the future how will they be dealt with. The team needs to understand and be made aware of what will happen when there is conflict and if any individual disagrees with anyone’s ideas it will not be dismissed no matter what their opinion.
When being the leader of a team if you see or hear conflict it should be stopped immediately so it does not continue. There should be a meeting held with the team so that if any issues arise they need to be dealt with there and then. It should not to be left until the next meeting, even if the team individuals disagree, as it can help everyone as they all get to share their own opinion.
When there is a conflict it is important to get the whole story and everyone involved, including their opinions. By getting all the details, the team leader can quickly deal with the conflict and try to resolve it as soon as possible, as conflict can happen due to miscommunication or misunderstanding. If this can’t be done in a meeting with all the group then a separate meeting with just the individuals from the team involved can be arranged to discuss and come to a resolution.
When listening to both sides of the story it is important not to pick sides, agree or disagree with one side of the story. After hearing everything you should discuss the pros and cons of both stories so that the other individuals involved can reflect the other persons view. If you do take a side by agreeing or disagreeing, this can only make the conflict worse. As an outcome of the conflict you could suggest a compromise between the people involved, they could share their ideas and work out a combination of how they can resolve the conflict and continue working as team.
When discussing ideas and suggestions with a team its always best never to try and change an individual, as every person has their own ideas, suggestions and forms of expressions, which shared, can bring everyone together to make a strong team. If you attempt to try and change an individual they could end up resenting you which could make things worse.
As a team leader, it can also be suggested to let the team manage the conflict themselves and potentially allowing the conflict to run its course. If intervention is needed, the team leader must deal with the situation quickly in order to protect employees, or possibly remove disruptive employees. It may be that the team members and team leader are able to agree a solution and all parties involved agree to follow through the solution. This could be following one-to-one or group discussions and the positions of all involved team members and the facts are established and clarified. A resolution should be reached and also a follow-up considered.
In dealing with team conflict it may be necessary to make use of official processes such as formal disciplinary procedures. The disciplinary processes must be explained to the employees concerned. The conflict situation should be investigated by the team leader and if necessary the matter may need to passed on to senior management.
Learning Outcome 6- Understand reward and recognition
6.1 Describe the components of ‘total reward’
Total reward can be described as a strategy that brings together both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. To keep employees as high performers all managers, businesses and companies need to be able to offer good pay rates that reflects on the company and business environment itself. To also keep good employees on board you could use the total rewards system to help offer encouragement to continue working for the company or business such as:
You could offer compensation to individuals as this will make the individual feel motivated to exceed their expectations of being a high performer and feeling confident in this. The compensation can be a base pay or minimum wage but this can be turned into long term incentive pay or short-term incentive pay, this can work into the pay/wage system.
As part of the ‘total reward’ all individuals need to feel part of the team and should know that their work is recognised and appreciated by the business or company, as this helps the company to achieve and complete their goals. Recognition to individuals should be given as feedback regularly and this can be done in meetings, supervisions or appraisals etc. There could also be service awards or employee of the month awards, which can be motivating.
As part of the legal requirement for all employees all individuals are entitled to annual leave, bereavement leave and sickness and absence leave but by offering a good benefit package this can help make you different form other companies and can be part of the ‘total reward’.
You could include a work/life balance as part of the ‘total reward’ this is where all staff who work for the business or company should have a healthy and flexible balance between working and having a life, to do this as the employer you should try and be as flexible as possible when it comes to arranging shifts for staff to work. By doing this it will improve the balance and the staff will feel much happier and maybe even less tired. As the employer, you could also offer counselling to help individuals with their work/life balance and a plan for retirement or even offer investment options.
When working with a company or business it’s always good to help individuals to develop their opportunities, to do this you can help the individual with working towards goals for growth and development, be able to provide resources, training, courses and books etc. Helping individuals to work towards development opportunities will bring out the best in staff and the main reason people leave their job is because of the lack of development such as training, courses and resources etc. Other incentives or components of ‘total reward’ other than good rates of pay, benefits such as health and welfare benefits could include employee profit sharing and restricted stock schemes, health and wellbeing support and a variety of community involvement schemes.
6.2 Analyse the relationship between motivation and reward
When analysing the relationship between motivation and reward, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory can be considered. This theory incorporates the idea that employees can be motivated by satisfied needs, which are essentially needs that are organised in a hierarchy including physiological, safety, love and belonging, self-esteem and self–actualisation. In this hierarchy of needs the lower-order needs need to be satisfied before the higher order needs.
The relationship between motivation and reward, according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory implies that the lower-order needs need to be met and that the needs higher up in the hierarchy become more important as the lower level needs are fulfilled. With regards to pay, junior and lower paid staff can initially be motivated by higher monetary rewards. These rewards become relatively less important as the employees gradually earn more and receive higher salaries. The other rewards, which can be classed as intrinsic rewards become more effective. These rewards are not financial rewards but could include status and responsibilities.
Frederick Herzberg proposed a theory of motivation that involved two elements, also known as the Two Factors Theory. The first factor involves motivator factors which include recognition and status, opportunity for promotion with increasing responsibility, stimulating work and a sense of achievement. The other factor are hygiene factors which include good working conditions, safety conditions, job security, relationship with manager and colleagues and wages, salaries and other benefits. The motivator factors affect job satisfaction and the hygiene factors also affect job dissatisfaction. Both sets of factors must be addressed to motivate staff. Herzberg suggested that without the hygiene factors, employees will become dissatisfied but that at the same time, the basic hygiene factors would remove dissatisfaction but would not necessarily bring on motivation.
According to Herzberg’s theory a financial reward would only act as a temporary motivator. Employees will quickly become demotivated and recognition for their achievement, responsibility and growth or advancement are more effective motivators for employees.
6.3 Explain different types of pay structures
There are different types of pay structures within an organisation. The various pay and benefits structures can impact on the morale and productivity of the workforce and therefore on the efficiency of an organisation in general. Pay structures should be clear and simple to follow so that employees understand how they are affected. There are narrow-graded pay structures whereby large number of grades with jobs of broadly equivalent worth are categorised in each of the grades. This kind of pay structure supports progression through service increments.
Another type of pay structure is known as broad-graded pay structures. There are fewer grades but there is greater scope for individual employees to progress along a pay grade within the organisation.
A further type of pay structure is broadbanding which involves a small number of pay band. With this pay structure there is greater pay flexibility than with other traditional graded structures.
Another pay structure involves pay spines which are similar to narrow-graded pay structures. There are long grading structures based on a series of incremental points. This type of pay structure allows for service-related pay progression.
There are also career grade structures where there is more emphasis on career paths and career progression for employees. A career family pay structure consists of a single graded structure. Each grade has been divided into different categories, for example finance, administration, marketing and ITC.
6.4 Explain the risks involved in the management of reward schemes
There are different types of reward schemes and each of these has different types of risk factors. Extrinsic rewards can be in the form of direct financial payments or indirect financial payments. They could be in the form of other benefits, incentive programmes or improved working conditions.
Intrinsic rewards on the other hand are different and could involve recognition, empowerment or role development. Intrinsic rewards relate to satisfaction from the actual job performance which can result in personal fulfilment and also a sense of contribution to society.
The different types of risks that can be associated with management of reward schemes could include strategic risk which could involve the reward strategy not being in line with the organisation’s goals; or the inability to attract and retain the right employees This kind of risk generates adverse publicity; and can also conflict with other HR policies.
Behavioural risk can include the misalignment of reward strategy to employee needs and behaviours. This results in not engaging or motivating employees. In this instance, rewards may be inappropriate and can generate unproductive organisational activity and behaviour This can then create division among employees which will have a negative impact on the organisation.
There could be a financial risk to the organisation. The outcome may be poor value for money which could end up resulting in reduced profitability. The organisation may have difficulty in meeting the reward payments.
There could also be operational risk to the organisation. There could be poor implementation or inefficiency or inaccuracy of the system. This risk could impact negatively on or result in a failure of reward systems and general reward processes.
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