HR Professionals Knowledge And Skills - Marks & Spencer

P.1. Determine appropriate and professional knowledge and skills and behaviours that are required by HR professionals.

There are number of departments and job post in the organisation, but human resource department is the key of organisation success as well as smooth functioning. It is very important to have appropriate skill, knowledge and behaviour within HR professionals. This is because the functions of HR are not only limited to a single activity but they have to handle multitasking activity and functions. HR managers of the company deal with all the issues as well as problems related to performance management of employees, development of firm, compensation, training and many other activities of company (Caligiuri, P. and Lundby, K., 2015). The HR team of Marks & Spencer is very skilled, efficient and knowledgeable as they are dealing with all important affairs of the company as well as help in achieving the desire goals and objectives of company.

Here are the following skills, behaviour and knowledge which are very necessary to have in HR professionals or managers in the Marks and Spencer-

SKILLS

Active Listening- This is also one of the most important skill that are required by the HR professional. They should have to give full attention to what people are saying and taking time in order to understand the points being made.

Speaking Ability- This skill is the key attribute that is very important for HR to have as without this skill, he/she will not call as professional HR. The Marks and Spencer issues and problems cannot be solving if HR managers does not have speaking ability (West and et.al., 2014). In addition to this, HR should have ability to speak in front of crowd.

Coordination- This is another skill of HR which is also very essential in the adjusting actions in relation to others action in a systematic manner. Coordination makes the work fast and efficient within Marks and Spencer.

Communication- This skill is the backbone of HR mangers. It is very essential that each and every small or big information should be communicated effectively and properly to all employees so that miscommunication does not arise in Marks and Spencer (Serrat, 2017).

KNOWLEDGE

Human Resources and Personnel- This is the key knowledge which is very important for HR managers or professionals. They should know the actual procedure of recruitment, election, compensation, benefits, training, employee's relations, negotiation as well as the personnel systems of information.

Management and Administration- This is another important that is very important to have in HR managers or professionals at Marks and Spencer about the complete knowledge of principles of business and management. This involve strategic planning, resource allocation, leadership technique etc.

English Language- In today's era, English is very important in the organisation. HR professional should have complete knowledge of English and fluency in speaking (George and et.al., 2017).Law and Legislation- This is also one the most important thing that HR should know. It is very essential that HR managers of Marks and Spencer should have complete knowledge of laws and legislation such as labour law, wages law, health and safety act etc.

BEHAVIOUR

Adaptability and Flexibility- To become a professional HR or to have professional in the personality or behaviour, it is very important that HR should have the behaviour and attitude of adaptability and flexibility in their nature. HR manager of Marks and Spencer should be consenting to listening as well as learning both and to accept the changing priorities and working requirements.

Adding Value- Actively engage in the broad business, as appropriate, and look to provide information that positively contributes to influencing business decisions. Continually strive to improve own working processes as well as organisation too (Kislov and et.al., 2014). 

 Integrity and Ethics- Integrity and ethics is also one of the most important behaviour that need to have in personality and attitude of HR. HR of Marks and Spencer should be honest and trust in their behaviour. They must give respect to all employees working in the organisation. They should speak in very nicely.

Get online assignment help in Australia for college students

P.2 Analyse a completed personal skills audit and develop and Professional development plan.

 HR managers are the core people of the company. It is very essential to determine the skills of HR in order to identify the key strength and weaknesses of my own work so that I can become one of the best HR manager in Marks and Spencer. In order to identify the skills and weaknesses, personal audit is the best way (Bedwell, Fiore and Salas, 2014).

Therefore, I use SWOT analysis tool in order to determine the key strength weaknesses, opportunities and threat at Marks and Spencer.

STRENGTH I have the skill of active listing as I give full attention to what people are saying and I also take my time in order to understand the points being made. I have good Speaking Ability as I used to solve issues and problems in the company very smartly and I also speak in front of crowd like in companies functions and meetings.  I am very Coordinative person as I adjust the actions in relation to others action in a systematic manner. It makes the work fast and efficient within organisation. I have complete knowledge of recruitment, election, compensation, benefits, training, employee's relations, negotiation.

OPPORTUNITIES  I have a good opportunity to become HR head of Marks and Spencer.  I also have to many opportunities of taking part in training and development programmes to raise the knowledge and skill.  Opportunity of enhancing the skills are also available at Marks and Spencer.

WEAKNESSES I am impatience person. Knowledge in computer is also less. I also get frustrated and not able to take right decision at right situation. Writing skill is not good.

THREAT Job of HR is very high pressured. Responsibilities are very huge. Politics is also present in Marks and Spencer which also put me back.

Personal Development Plan

SKILLS TO BE DEVELOPED	ACTIVITIES BY WHICH SKILLS ARE DEVELOPED	EVIDENCE	TIME DURATION
 Patience	By taking control on impulses and proceed calmly when any difficulties are arisen.	By taking feedbacks from friends, peers, seniors, employees etc.	1 month
Writing Skill	By taking complete knowledge of grammar, spelling and sentence formation.  Through external coaching. By reading the blogs and of content writers.	By giving trial to my teacher and through the result and feedbacks from friends, peers, seniors, employees.Â	1.5 months
 Knowledge in Computer	By attaining training organized within organisation. Through external coaching. By practising more on computer.	By giving trial to my teacher and through work outcomes.Â	2 months

P.3.Analyse the difference between organisational and individual learning, training and development.

It is fact that if any person wants to learn anything, he/she can grab the opportunities which are available in the organisation or from another place. There are ample of opportunities which are available such as individual learning and organisational learning. The skill of the person is enhanced by using the opportunities which are available. Marks and Spencer also provide great opportunities for their employees to develop and grow (DuBois and et.al., 2015).

Individual Learning- When any person or individual learn from his/her own experience is known as individual learning. This is a method of teaching in which content, technological instruction as well as pace of learning are based upon the abilities along with the interest of learner. Marks and Spencer organize training and development programmes which help employee to raise their skill and knowledge. Distance learning, Resource based learning, Computer based learning and Direct Private Knowledge leaning are the four main types of individual learning.

Organisational Leaning- When any person or individual learn from the organisation is called as organisational learning. In order to achieve the desire goals and objectives organisation provide training to employees. It is benefited for both employees and organisation.

Difference between organisational and individual learning

Organizational Leaning	Individual Leaning
Individual or person learn for his/her for the sake of company (West and et.al., 2014).	Individual or person learn for his/her own purpose.
It is short team learning.Â	It is long termed learning.

Training and Development

Training	Development
It is the process of learning in which a person get opportunity to develop skill, knowledge and competencies as per the demand of job.	It is educational process which is concerned with the overall development of the individual.Â
The goal is short term in training.	The goal of development is long termed.
Present condition or situation is focussed by training such as present skill, knowledge and behaviour.	In development, future of the individual is focused.
Job Oriented activity.	 Career Oriented activity.
The goal of training is to improve the performance of employees at workplace.	The goal of development is to prepare the employees for future (Katzenbach, and Smith, 2015).Â

P4 Analysing the need for continuous learning and professional development for driving sustainable business performance

At an individual level, continuous learning can be referred to as practices facilitated by person on daily basis for increasing their knowledge. Learning is very much important for both employees and organization. Continuous learning is needed by an individual for keeping themselves update with the latest business trend which will assist them in improving performance at workplace. It crucial for marks and Spencer organization for improving business performance. Strong continuous learning abilities are required for successfully adapting to changing life as well as work demand (Salas. and et.al., 2017). Continuous learning at workplace includes reviewing of experiences. It also involves examining of values, policies, assumption and practices. Continuous learning at individual level is needed for developing the core competencies as well as skills which are required for performing various activities at workplace. At a professional level, continuous learning is required for developing more skills for providing an appropriate response to changing environment. Continuous professional development help an individual in ensuring that a person capabilities keep pace with the current standards of others in the same field. It has enabled marks and Spencer organization to deliver professional services to their client. Continuous learning as well as professional development assist employees in making their significant contribution in driving firm towards success.

In context of marks and Spencer, business entity has made lot of investment on developing employees which has played important role in context of reducing the cost of recruiting new candidate. Continuous learning by employees has assisted an enterprise in catering to the changing need of business. It has helped in ensuring the employees' engagement in business activity which is very much crucial in context of maintaining business performance as well as accomplishment of desired objectives. Continuous learning as well as professional development opportunities provided by marks and Spencer has enabled workers to increase self confidence and it has helped business entity in increasing employee morale. In addition to this, continuous professional development plays an important role in enhancing the quality ODF an individual life (Shuffler, Diazgranados and Salas, 2018.). At level of organization, continuous learning is needed for driving firm towards success. Continuous learning also support business entity in gaining the competitive advantage in the market. It also supports firm in providing the high level of satisfaction to customers. Continuous learning also supports management in managing the various issues, challenges and risk in systematic manner. It supports management in reducing the employee turnover rate which further assist in maintaining the business performance. Human resource manager in marks and Spencer organization is required to ensure that the right information or learning has been transmitted to employees, as this factor can have negative effect on organizational performance. Continuous learning as well as professional development enables an individual to get satisfaction from their job.

Marks Spencer can utilize kobls learning cycle. As per the knob a personal starts to learn new things by actively participating in business activities. There are mainly phases involved in learning cycle these are concrete experience, active experimentation, abstract conceptualization and reflective observation. kobls states that learning includes the acquisition of concepts as well as abstracts which can be applied to different situation.

P5 Demonstrating understanding of the way high performance contributes to employee engagement as well as competitive advantage.

 High performing working in an organization often result into increase engagement. High performing workers encourage an organization for facilitating innovation and help business entity in gaining competitive advantage. It is very much important for human resource manager in marks and Spencer to develop the high performing culture, as this will help an enterprise in improving business performance. In addition to this, it will also support an organization in increasing productivity as well as profitability (Albrecht and et.al., 2015. ). High performing culture at workplace will support management in ensuring the engagement of employees in business activities. It will also support manager in encouraging other people to improve their performance and increase their participation in various activities. Marks and Spencer provides fair wages , training and learning opportunities to its employees which has provided them satisfaction which is very much important for maintaining an effective culture at workplace.

It is required by human resource manager in marks and Spencer organization to develop an effective reward system, as this strategy will assist management in maintaining high working environment. It will also support manager in motivating employees to make their significant contribution in driving an organization towards success. In addition to this high performing culture within an enterprise motivates workers to develop creative thinking as well as inspires them, to share their ideas which can be utilized by marks and Spencer in resolving various issues or for expanding business. High performing culture in marks and Spencer has aid firm in reducing operating cost. It has enabled management to ensure an effective as well as efficient utilization of business resources. High performing performance culture has helped marks and Spencer organization in retaining the existing employees and has help business entity in attracting new talented workers. It has also helped marks and Spencer organization in increasing productivity as well as profitability. High performing environment promotes innovation which assist an enterprise in gaining competitive advantage.

P6 Evaluating the different approaches to performance management and demonstrating the way they support high performance culture as well as commitment

Performance management can be defined as procedure of measuring or analysis the contribution made by an individual in achievement of objectives by firm. There are several approaches which can be utilized by manager or leader in Marks and Spencer for measuring the performance of employees. Every performance appraisal approach has uniwue characterstics as well as suitability. It is very crucial for human resource manager in marks and Spencer to select an appropriate approach for performance measurement, as this factor might have direct as well as significant effect on employee's behavior at workplace. Utilization of an appropriate performance management techniques supports management in making right decisions related to the terminating or retaining employee (Sessa and London, 2015. ). The different approaches to performance management are:

Comparative approach : This performance management approach is the best suitable for measuring performance of an individual in a group. In comparative approach, manager give rank to workers performance in comparison top other people in a team. Graphic rating scale, paired comparison, forced distribution are some technique which can be utilized for measuring performance using comparative approach. Limitation of this approach is that it can only be utilized with a small group of employees with similar job profiles. Advantage of comparative approach is that it helps in ensuring rewards are given to top performers.

Attribute approach: The different parameters such as problem solving skill, communication , team work, creativity etc are set for measuring performance of person. In this approach manager using the rate workers in a scale of 1 to 5. Disadvantage of this approach is that there are high chances of biases by manager. Advantage of this approach is that it is accurate at identifying only the best and the worst performers.

Behavioral approach : It is considered to be as a traditional approach to performance management. In this approach, employees performance is measured in terms of their attitude during the time of task. The personal observation technique is utilized by manager in marks and Spencer for analyzing the behavior of worker.

Result approach: In this approach , employees performance are measured in terms of result produced by them. It is considered to be as an effective approach for encouraging workers to improve productivity.

Quality approach: This approach emphasizes on improving customer satisfaction by reducing errors and achieving continuous service improvisation. In this approach, workers performance are measured on the basis of quality of their work.

It is required by manager or leader in marks and Spencer to provide regular guidance, instruction and feedback to customers, as this will assist them, in ensuring completion of task in systematic manner (Anitha, 2014). In addition to this, it will also enable employees to identify the area as well as need for improvement.

CONCLUSION

It has been concluded from the assignment that at organization level continuous learning is important in order to drive firm towards success. Study has also concluded that continuous learning at individual level is crucial for fostering career growth. It has been concluded from the assignment that human resource manager in an organization has specialized knowledge about the field and they also have good communication as leadership qualities which makes them different from other people at workplace. Project has also concluded that selection of suitable performance appraisal approach is very much important, as this factor have direct effect on workers' behavior.

There are various strategies have been suggested in the report which can be suited by manager in an enterprise for engaging workers. The different approaches to performance appraisal have been recommended which can be utilized for analyzing the contribution made by an individual in specific activity.

You may also like to read :

Managing Human Resources