Part (A) Plan and present workplace communication systemsPerformance objective

You will demonstrate the skills and knowledge required to plan communication systems.

(A thought kept in the brain is of no use unless and until it is shared with other individuals and rest of the world. The idea, no matter however brilliant it is, must come out for its successful implementation for it to benefit one and all. It is the prime responsibility of the individual to share his thoughts and ideas with others.

How is it possible? How can one share his ideas and thoughts?

The communication system enables the successful transmission of idea or any other important information among individuals. The person encodes his ideas into a sensible content which is now ready to be shared with everyone. He is commonly referred to as the sender and the other party who receives the information from him is called the receiver or the recipient. The free flow of information between the sender and the receiver takes place because of the communication system.

The flow of information can be between two individuals. The information can flow from the individual to a machine, from the machine to the individual and even between two machines.)

Assessment description

You will prepare a portfolio of communications planning documentation that includes a communications strategy and grievance procedure. You will also prepare and deliver a presentation to the senior management team on your plans for managing communications and consultation.

(Grievance Procedure:

A grievance is generally defined as a claim by an employee that he or she is adversely affected by the misinterpretation or misapplication of a written company policy. To address grievances, employers typically implement a grievance procedure.

A grievance procedure is a means of internal dispute resolution by which an employee may have his or her grievances addressed. Within a union environment, the processes will typically involve the employee, union representatives and members of the employer's management team. Most grievance processes will have certain general processes in common.

Step1: Grievances are brought to the employee's immediate supervisor. This may be either an informal process or the beginning of the formal process. Generally, there will be a requirement that the grievance be submitted in writing using a grievance form. Usually, the supervisor and the union representative will review the grievance to determine whether it is valid. Also, most grievance procedures will require that the submission occur within a specified timeframe following the event or incident.

Three possible outcomes may occur at this stage of the process:

• The supervisor and the union representative may determine that no valid grievance exists.
• The grievance may be resolved.
• The grievance may not be resolved to the employee's satisfaction, and it will move forward to the next step in the process.

Step 2: The next step typically involves the next level of supervisor in the company hierarchy. In most union environments, the employee will be represented by the union and is not present in the review process. A failure to resolve the grievance will lead to the next step in the grievance process.

Step 3: The third step in the process will lead to a review by a higher level of company management and potentially a higher-level union representative. Ultimately, the grievance may reach the highest levels as set.

Step 4: If the grievance remains unresolved through the highest levels of management within the company, an outside arbitrator may be called in to resolve the issue. Senior leaders from both sides are typically involved in the arbitration process.

An effective grievance procedure provides employees with a mechanism to resolve issues of concern. The grievance procedure may also help employers correct issues before they become serious issues or result in litigation.)

Scenario - JKL Industries

JKL Industries overview

JKL Industries is an Australian-owned company, selling forklifts, small trucks and spare parts to industry. They also have a division that leases forklifts and small trucks. The company's head office is in Sydney and has branches in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra.

Change

After 12 years in business, focusing on forklifts and small trucks, JKL Industries has negotiated the sales rights to a range of medium and large trucks from an overseas supplier. This opportunity will provide JKL Industries with an advantage over its competitors.

Sales results over the past five years have indicated strong growth in forklift and truck sales, which have averaged 10% sales growth per annum. The rental market has been in decline for the past three years due to the reduced costs of these vehicles and some taxation benefits to industries who purchase these vehicles.

Taking the sales rights opportunity will, however, entail some significant changes, including significant changes to the current organisational structure. The company will reposition itself to focus solely on retail sales and service and exit the rentals market.

In accordance with the organisation's values, JKL Industries intends to recruit from within the company and up-skill or re-skill existing employees presently working in rentals who wish to remain with the company.

Given the company's previous history of employee grievances over pay and conditions and current plans to restructure, JKL Industries has identified poor communications and an organisational climate of conflict as a risk to business goals.

Moving forward, the organisation intends to build and maintain a positive organisational culture, reduce risk and achieve organisational goals through:

developing an effective policy framework for managing internal communications and consultation, in accordance with organisational objectives, business ethics, and compliance requirements

communicating and building support for organisational initiatives and objectives

managing information flow to:

oprovide managers and employees with at-hand information to perform their work responsibilities

ocommunicate ideas for improvement (top-down and bottom-up)

ofacilitate feedback both to and from employees and management on relevant work performance and outcomes of consultation.

Communication and consultation issues

An internal management review of the organisation has uncovered the following issues:

A lack of an overarching approach to information management that helps to promote common understanding of team goals and organisational values and to build strategic relationships.

Slow responses to internal and external customer needs.

Slow and ineffective communication of and implementation of ideas for improved processes.

Ineffective or no use of modern communication technologies and social platforms.

Inconsistent application by managers of grievance procedures posing a risk to employee relations.

Poor sense of employee engagement, empowerment and accountability for work performance.

Poor general awareness of (and therefore poor support of) organisational goals, ethics, values.

Your role

You are a communications consultant. You have been engaged by JKL Industries to revise and update strategies and processes to manage communications and information flow within the organisation.

Note that the senior management team may be resistant to changes to communication strategies, policies and procedures. In particular, they are concerned that a new approach to communications may result in a less cohesive organisation.

You will need to ensure your communications strategy and processes address organisational issues, while using your highly developed interpersonal skills to engage and motivate the senior management team to embrace your proposed changes.

ProcedureCommunications planning portfolio

1.Review the scenario in Appendix 1 to answer

Particularly the background to the simulated organisation,

Current change issues,

Communication and consultation needs

Information about your role as Communications Consultant.

(Hints: Communication consultants:

Communications consultants may be hired to do a number of different tasks. Consultants may be employed to complete a specific project such as new website or annual report. They may also work on a more comprehensive project, such as branding, medial analysis and communications audits. Branding is a process a company or organization undertakes to define who they are; media analysis is a thorough review of how an organization or company is portrayed in the media; and a communications audit is a complete evaluation of a company's communications materials and their effectiveness.

A consultant contracted to do either of these tasks would be responsible for outlining their particular process, provide a work calendar detailing project deadlines, deliver a complete report of findings and make recommendations.

Communications consultants are utilized in many industries and in a variety of organizations and businesses large or small. In most cases, consultants will work with marketing or communications departments or with individuals directly responsible for a company's communications efforts. Depending on the size of the company and the scope of the project, a consultant may work with a team that has been designated specifically for the project the consultant was hired for. Or, in the case of a non-profit or a small business, a consultant might work directly for the president or CEO.

Companies are not going to hire a you as a communications consultant unless you have the background and skills needed. Consultants need to have enough related work experience and knowledge of the area they expect to work in. In order to provide accurate analysis on and thoughtful insight into an organization's issues or problems, consultants should be able to draw on personal expertise acquired throughout a professional career. If you are planning to consult, you should have at least 10 years of experience in the communications field.

Determining the rate of pay will vary depending on the type project (resources and staff needed), the type of organization (profit or non-profit) and the type of consultant you are. If you are a consultant with a large firm, the firm will decide on what the payment will be. If you are an independent consultant, you need to determine what your hourly rate is. In doing so, you need to determine time, resources, travel, etc. This will allow you to accurately estimate the amount you charge. Be aware that communications consulting, particularly if you are an independent contractor, is not going to be a high-paying field. Though communications and the important role it plays in a company's success is becoming more and more respected, it still is has a relatively moderate pay scale. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average pay scale for a full-time communications consultant is around $47,000.

2.Review JKL Industries simulated business documentation to answer.

What the organisation does?

How it does it?

What its goals and objectives are?

3.Develop a draft communications strategy for meeting organisational needs that includes:

a.two to three communications objectives

b.at least two different audiences, for example, senior management, work teams, or individual employees

c.at least two methods of communication

d.at least two provisions to facilitate bottom-up consultation (from employees to management);

(Hints: for example, consultation on employee health and safety, consultation on continuous improvement of work processes, consultation on employee conditions and pay, or consultation on job roles and performance expectations. )

4.Develop a short (less than one page) grievance procedure.

Specifications

You must submit:

oan issue description and communication strategies description

oa short grievance procedure.

Part B Scenario - JKL Industries with specific issues

Question 1:

An employee has complained to you that some members of your team have not made any effort to accommodate non-Christians in this year's Christmas celebrations. The employee feels excluded and disappointed that an opportunity to bring the team together has instead divided the team along religious lines.

How would you address the employee's complaint?

In your written response to the above question:

Describe at least two pieces of JKL Industries' policy or procedure that conflict with the team's behaviour towards the employee.

(Hints: code of ethics, anti-discrimination policy)

Describe how policies and processes can help to promote cultural diversity, ethical values and relationship-building.

(Hints: communicating values in effective ways to appeal to various audiences, promoting feedback and engagement, providing consistency of application across the organisation, building cultural understanding and sensitivity to others' needs between, for instance, functional teams, internal and external stakeholders to foster productive relationships and minimise conflict, promoting integration between various managerial processes, for example, employee relations and performance management.)

Describe any changes or additions you would make to JKL Industries' policies, processes or communications to further promote cultural diversity and ethical values.

(Hints: adding or amending policies, adding procedures to clarify application of policies, use of new technologies for communication and social engagement, design new processes for consultation on policy development or review with wider employee engagement)

Describe how you would approach the team and any suggestion you would make to resolve the issue fairly and consistent with organisational policy.

(Hints: meeting with the team or individuals, preparing the ground by reiterating/communicating policy and organisational values through an appropriate communications channel, ensuring permission to intervene, ensuring support for and input on the conflict resolution process, engaging a mediator, providing training or inviting the team to workshop ways to build team cohesion and tolerance of diversity.)

Question 2:

To respond to the issue described in question one, you have decided to meet with the team to directly address the behaviour.

How would you prepare for and approach this meeting?

In your written response to the above question:

Describe what potential problems you anticipate from the team.

(Hints: resistance, hostility, passive-aggression, avoidance, insincere acceptance)

Describe how you would confront the team with their unacceptable behaviour, while maintaining trust and avoiding the impression of taking sides.

(Hints: use of interpersonal skills such as active listening, group decision-making, and negotiation skills, use of open, non-threatening, warm body language, use of a collaborative approach to address issues, focus on the positive and avoid blaming, acknowledgement of conflict or potential for conflict - but focus on shared goals and vision, remaining non-judgemental, regulating strong, negative emotions, avoiding personalising the conflict by overtly taking sides creating winners and losers, focus on creating team solutions to team problems.)

Describe your standard or default communication style. What communication style would you consider adopting for this scenario?

(Hints: amiable, high responsiveness and low assertiveness collaborative.)

Describe a previous situation in which you adapted your communication style to meet the needs of others in the workplace or achieve a work goal.

Question 3:

As a manager new to the Brisbane area, you feel that you need to develop contacts with people internal to the organisation, such as managers, and external people, such as suppliers, business networks, managers' networks and mentors.

How would you approach networking to achieve goals?

In your written response to the above question:

Describe how networking with internal and external people could help you build positive relationships to achieve organisational and professional goals. What networking or networks would you suggest?

(Hints: getting the work done, through addressing gaps in knowledge or authority, networking with suppliers to lay groundwork for negotiating more favourable terms of trade, for instance, and build confidence through interpersonal skills, networking with customers or consumer groups to identify customer needs, develop sensitivity, and build trust, networking with industry groups to help identify trends, gain insights, benchmark organisational and team performance, networking with other professionals to benchmark personal performance and learn more effective practices, identify mentors and to feel a part of a professional community with shared vision, values and high standards, integrating networking with professional development and performance management (these being linked to individual, team and organisation-level goals).

Describe a situation in which you joined a network to achieve an organisational or professional development goal. Describe the network. How did you build stronger relationships within the network? What was the result of the networking for you and your organisation?

(Hints: the network, how they built stronger relationships within the network, the result of the networking for them and their organisation)

Part (C) Dispute resolution guidance session

Specifications

You must:

Submit an action plan.

Continue to scenario - JKL Industries

Role-play information: HR Business Partner

You are an HR Business Partner working in the JKL Industries Brisbane branch.

A peer manager (from Rentals) has made an appointment to come to you about an employee grievance.

Employee grievance

A rental employee of the Brisbane branch is concerned about plans to restructure the business. The employee is extremely angry and feels that they:

will definitely lose their job as a result of the restructure

will not be given the opportunity to retrain.

They would like to formally complain that their manager has not provided rental employees with opportunities to retrain.

In addition, the employee feels they must be underpaid because they know people in the same job in the same industry who are making much more. They don't understand the basis of their pay or conditions.

Finally, the employee is currently organising other rental and sales employees for a possible strike. They intend to pressure their union into supporting and publicising the strike.

You know that the Rentals Manager is very concerned about the impact of the grievance on team cohesion and, potentially, the goals and objectives of the organisation. You also suspect that the manager will be hurt or angry themselves, as they have indicated their sincere desire to improve employee relations within their team through better communication and relationship-building.

The trouble is that while the manager may have the best intentions, they are relatively inexperienced and may not be approaching the conflict with the most productive mindset. And they may not have all the conflict resolution tools, tactics and strategies that you are equipped with as a more experienced HR specialist.

(Hints: In your meeting with the Rentals Manager to provide guidance, lead the meeting through the following stages:

1.greeting the manager

2.listening to their side

3.responding to the manager appropriately

4.working with the manager to come up with viable solutions

5.documenting activities in an action plan.

You will also, as appropriate:

listen to the manager: understand the facts as they see them and understand their feelings

adopt an appropriate leadership/communication style

be reflective, regulate your emotions, and refrain from reacting

explain the facts as you understand them, including providing an explanation of the grievance policy, its benefit to the organisation, and the relevance of at least one piece of legislation

help the manager to understand reasons for the grievance

using your knowledge of dispute resolution, collaborate with the manager to determine a series of at least three activities to resolve the conflict with the employee and complete an action plan

offer to mediate in the dispute, if required, or help to provide assistance if it requires further escalation.)

identifying and resolving conflicts and other difficulties according to organisational policies and procedures, namely grievance procedures or code of ethics, understand the culture and dynamics of conflict, listened empathetically and responsively )

Given the company's industrial relations history and restructure plans, and history of conflict and mistrust, contributing to positive employee relationship-building through assisting managers will constitute a key measure of your value to the organisation.

Action/activity

Timeframe

Person/s responsible

Description of strategy/

tactic/rationale for action

Resources, if required

HR meeting with manager (rental)

HR Business Partner (you)