BSBLDR502 Lead and Manage Effective Workplace Relationships Learning Material

What are your career aspirations in the short term and longer term

Performance appraisal form

What professional development activities/opportunities (e.g. training, special assignments, etc.) would you like to pursue during the next appraisal cycle that would enhance your job performance? Please detail how these would benefit your job performance.

How would you rate your overall performance to date? (Please use the performance scale above)

How would you rate your job satisfaction? (Please indicate on the scale)
LOW MEDIUM HIGH
Reasons for your comments and suggestions for improvement (if applicable):
Manager to complete
The team member performs their key roles and responsibilities outlined in their position description and have met all KPI’s for their role (if specified). Assessment:
Performance scale rating:
Comments:
The team member has learnt and demonstrates a clear understanding of ABCD procedures and practices.
Assessment:
Performance scale rating:
Comments:
Team member’s greatest strength or area of contribution to the company this year? Assessment:
Performance scale rating:
Comments:
Team member approach to completing tasks:
Cooperation:
Attendance and Punctuality:
Initiative:
Dependability:
Attitude:
Judgment:
Communications (written or oral; e.g. keeping people informed, conveying information, maintaining written information that may be needed, etc.):
Productivity:
Interpersonal Relationships:
Organisational and time management skills:
Safety (e.g. performs tasks in a safe manner and looks after the safety of others):
Overall assessment:
Both manager and team member to complete at the meeting
Agreed action plan and performance goals for the next 12 months:

Performance appraisal form
Agreed learning and development needs next 12 months (no more than top three priorities):

Overall comments – manager:
Overall Comments – team member:
Signed (team member):
(I have read and discussed this evaluation with my manager, and I understand its contents. My signature means that I have been advised of my performance status and does not necessarily imply that I agree with either the appraisal or the contents.)
Date of Evaluation:
Signed (manager) Evaluation date:

The below case study provides an example on communicating responsibilities, and a strategy for addressing performance
. Case study - communicating responsibilities
Sam is a shift supervisor at Organics Café and Catering. The company has downsized from 70 to 30 staff, due to reduced profits and a loss of customer traffic over the past 6 months. This has resulted in low staff morale and poor work relationships.
All staff have recently returned to work from the Christmas break and Sam wants to communicate with the team, on how company policy and procedures can help to support relationships at work. He thinks this will help to improve the work environment and staff relationships.
He has prepared a script to make sure all-important points are covered and professional language is used.
‘Following the recent changes at Organics Café and Catering, I would like to bring everyone together and take the opportunity to highlight the value of Organics’ policies and procedures. These documents contain a lot of useful information on how our jobs are much more productive and enjoyable when our work relationships are strong.
There is an emphasis on interpersonal skills, which helps us to talk with ease to a variety of people with differing backgrounds and at a wide range of levels. When we communicate with staff or customers, we should be confident, eloquent and adaptable to suit different situations. Each individual is different, and you may have to be a chameleon when it comes to communicating. Altering your style to suit the style of communication to mirror that of the person you are talking to is a good way to build a relationship with them.
When there are misunderstandings and disputes between team members, clear communication can help. Communication to other staff and customers should be clear and consistent.
On behalf of management, we will make a considered effort to listen to employees’ views about, to provide some helpful insights into how problems can be rectified. We would like to promote cultural awareness and support services as our café is located in an area with much diversity.
I would like to request that every staff member takes the time to look over our company policies and procedures outside this meeting. Understanding these will help to streamline solutions and ensure fair processes are the same for each employee. All of these strategies are in place to support the development of effective relationships at Organics Café and Catering.’
To assist Sam in achieving the direction he has set out to improve communications, the following table was put together so that he could systematically manage information.
Goals to address non-performance areas Procedures to address nonperformance areas
Job description Clearly define rights and responsibilities HR to complete formal evaluation of job descriptions, to address leadership skills and career development.
Managers consult with each team member on changes to job description.
Key performance indicators
(KPIs) Include KPIs related to compliance of equal opportunity and diversity policies HR to assess effectiveness of current KPI process.
HR to work with managers to adjust KPIs to include equal opportunity and diversity training for all staff.

Career development Assess career pathways and internal promotions. Increase awareness and formalisation of long-term career and skill development opportunities.
Managers to communicate bulletin in
newsletter/intranet/boards/emails for all internal vacancies.

1.2 Develop and/or implement consultation processes to ensure that employees have the opportunity to contribute to issues related to their work role
Hint
This content may help you with Activity two of your written assessment.
A consultation process is where employees and decision-makers talk about work related issues and problems. Decisionmakers should listen to employees’ views about issues as they may provide some helpful insights into how problems can be rectified.
Employers or decision-makers should provide employees with a plan of what they wish to discuss and how they intend to come to a decision. For example, what factors influence a decision? There may be legislation issues, budget considerations or time restraints that need to be considered.
A consultation process can be implemented in several ways. See the following examples.
• A diary, whiteboard or suggestion box used by staff to report issues of concern.
• Formal meetings with agendas, minutes and action plans.
• Informal meetings with notes.
• Involving personnel in decisions.
• Regular staff meetings.
• Seeking staff suggestions for content of policies.
• Workshops to specifically address issues.
• Employee performance reviews.
• Surveys or questionnaires that invite staff feedback e.g. employee satisfaction surveys.
You should refer to your organisation’s policies and procedures for consultation with staff when deciding upon a method to use. Some of the above methods are expanded on below.

1.2.1 Employee satisfaction surveys
Employee satisfaction surveys allow employees to express their feelings and opinions about aspects of the workplace. They may ask opinions on:
• breaks, e.g. their regularity
• opportunities, e.g. career development
• pay, e.g. rises in pay
• working conditions and environment, e.g. safety, resources, support
Tips for creating an employee satisfaction survey
• You need to create a method for analysing the answers; a scale is good for this, e.g. agree, neutral, disagree.
• Keep the surveys anonymous so that employees do not have any inhibitions about writing negative points or criticism.
• Employee surveys may also contain a comments box for employees to write their thoughts and opinions without being restricted to the confines of the questionnaire.
• You may like to send out newsletters together with the satisfaction surveys that show the opinions from last year as an example of how problems can be overcome and how the organisation uses employee input.
1.2.2 Meetings
Informal meetings are a great opportunity to discuss issues with staff and just generally keep staff informed about dayto-day activities.
Formal meetings are highly organised with pre-planned topics for discussion. They are often headed by a senior member of staff or chairperson, planned for a set time and may have an agenda with a formal schedule.
The purpose of a formal meeting is to discuss the set topics and make decisions regarding them that are in line with set objectives. This may mean that there will be a limit as to the number of people that can attend. All departments should be represented and, usually, there will be a spokesperson or manager nominated from each department to represent the views of each work area.
Conducting a meeting
When conducting a meeting, either formal or informal, one important factor to consider is the structure. A meeting should have a sensible structure to help team members engage.
Example
Here is an example of how you could structure your meeting.
• Introduction outlining aims and objectives including topics of discussion.
• Individual responsibilities and accountabilities.
• Teams and departments involved.
• How roles and teams interrelate.
• Issues/topics open for discussion in detail.
Example
• Conclusion and summary – these enable you to answer any queries and provide a last motivational boost.
Presentation methods
You may like to use a couple of different methods to help team members engage and to ensure that you have covered all the details. A few methods are explained below.
• Small teams may benefit from an informal presentation method, e.g. a group circle.
• Slides provide an on-screen method and can sometimes be better than simply speaking, as they provide a visual stimulus.
• Written communication can help to expand on points in the presentation and give staff something to refer to.
• Audio-visual media is a method that uses sound and images, e.g. a video recording. It can be very engaging so you could consider it for communicating with team members during the conclusion to a meeting.

Case study - using meetings and presentations productively
This tech savvy organisation demonstrated low levels of staff engagement largely due to a lack of clarity over the company's goals and long-term direction. In short, the company had a low corporate profile and image among its own staff; there was little for them to identify with.
A consultation process was set up to establish how a taskforce might go about sharpening up the brand image.
• HR ran a workshop with the executive team to determine their thoughts on the vision of the company.
• Managers surveyed external stakeholders to provide insights into the attractiveness of the business.
1.3 Facilitate feedback to employees on outcomes of consultation processes

Hint
This content may help you with Activity 2 of the written assessment.
Employees should be informed about the outcomes of the consultation process in good time to prepare them for implementation or changes.
The outcomes vary, depending on what was discussed during the consultation process, including:
• no changes
• changes to procedures
• additional training
• alterations to time frame/schedule
• changes to facilities or other environmental conditions
• withdrawal of funding.
Whatever the outcomes of the consultation, you will need to communicate it to staff in an appropriate manner that explains why that decision has been made. There are bound to be disagreements with the outcomes, and you must remember that the organisation cannot please everybody. The communication may take many forms, such as a:
• report
• presentation
• newsletter
• group meeting/seminar
• one-to-one meeting
• email.
It is up to you to decide which of the above methods of communication is the most suitable for each case. Organisations will differ in their expectations and each case will be different.
Whichever method is chosen, the communication should go into detail and provide evidence, where possible, to support decisions. It should be worded carefully so that staff members do not think that the organisation has not listened or has disregarded what they have had to say.
1.3.1 Business improvement process
It is useful to have a business improvement process (or issue resolution policy and procedure).
This process is designed to give your employees a procedure to follow to make suggestions for business improvements. The business improvement process should be supported with a business improvement policy. The policy outlines what business improvements can be suggested and how to make such suggestions.
Example
You have noticed the process for purchasing uniforms is confusing new staff. You can make some suggestions to improve this process by completing a Business Improvement form.
See the Business improvement form below.
Business improvement form
Improvement:
Current practice
Suggested improvement
Impact
Stakeholders
Stakeholder feedback *
Cost
Saving
Implementation suggestions
Review process:
Improvement reviewed by
Outcome
Authorisation
*Your suggestion must be supported by two stakeholders prior to submission.

1.4 Develop and/or implement processes to ensure that issues raised are resolved promptly or referred to relevant personnel

Hint
This content may help you with Activity 3 of your written assessment.
There are many possible workplace issues you may face as a leader at your organisation. It is therefore important you and your colleagues know exactly how to handle each as it arises. This is the purpose of policies and procedures. Policies and procedures can inform staff of the sequence of steps they need to take to resolve an issue. Organisations implement procedures to achieve several goals listed below.
• Support and deliver the requirements of legislation, codes of practice, and standards.
• Enforce the organisation’s values.
• Enable uniformity and consistency across the organisation.
• Provide direction to both employees and management.
• Demonstrate the organisation’s professionalism and efficiency.
• Provide guidance in a time of emergency, or when experiencing a problem.
• Foster stability and continuity.
• Assist in assessing performance and establishing accountability.
• Clarify functions and responsibilities.
The problems you face can be large or small, simple or complex, and easy or difficult. A good problem-solving process can be used in all circumstances. There are four basic steps in solving a problem.

Defining the problem: It is essential that the cause of the problem is established. There are tools you can use to help identify the cause.
Generating alternatives: Once the cause of the problem has been identified we can work on generating alternatives. You can enlist the help of others and brainstorm possible solutions. Brainstorming allows the creative generation of ideas, which can be expanded and evaluated in the next stage. The concept here is just to get creative and build a list of possible solution alternatives.
Evaluating and selecting alternatives: In this step you are looking for a systematic approach to identifying the most effective solution. A logical and ordered process can assist you in making sure you have thought about the problem and the impact of the solution. You need to investigate the impact of the decision and consult with people who will be affected by the change. Ask ‘What if?’ questions. Seek specialist advice when needed.
Implementing the solution: Once the decision has been reached, you can move on to implement the solution. Review your organisational policy and procedures to ensure you work within your organisational obligations. Plan the implementation. Consider communication, training and support structures.
There may be staff that deal with certain issues (e.g. grievance) within your organisation. If this is the case, then you should refer to them for advice or pass the issue over entirely to them to be dealt with. If your organisation is large, then you may not know who the appropriate person is.
To find out who you need to contact you might be able to:
• search the database
• use the organisational website
• look for a contact within policy or procedures
• use an organisational chart
• use a roles and responsibilities chart or specifications
• ask colleagues.
1.4.1 Organisation charts
An organisation chart can also be useful to identify the hierarchy of the organisation. An organisation chart can be as simple or as complex as needed. It may also have photographs of the individuals under each job title for ease of recognition.

1.4.2 Root cause analysis
A root cause analysis is a process you can follow in order to identify the root cause of a problem. If the identified problem is indeed the root cause, removing it from the equation would mean that the problem never occurred. You can identify the root cause of a problem and take action to tackle this, which should mean that the problem can be resolved and avoided again in the future.
Root cause analysis can be done in several forms, including:
• Ishikawa/fish bone diagrams
• table
• mind maps • flow charts
• no real format.
An example root cause analysis is below.

In the above example, you can trace the root cause of the problem to a lack of structure and responsibility. By designing and implementing a rota system and assigning responsibility to certain individuals on certain days, you can hold this person accountable and thus eradicate the problem.
A root cause analysis can be applied to many different situations and scenarios and can be very useful for identifying and resolving problems.
1.4.3 Solving the problem
You or your colleagues should investigate what you could do to help overcome problems and follow the correct procedure. There may be various solutions, depending on the situation. Examples can include:
• additional training
• sourcing funding for improvements
• engaging specialist advice
• counselling
• changing procedures.
All solutions need to meet with legislative requirements. Legislation, codes of practice and best practices should guide you in your approach to implementing solutions.

1.4.4 External Resources
All solutions need to meet with legislative requirements. Legislation, codes of practice and best practices should guide you in your approach to implementing solutions.
The Fair Work Act 2009 provides direction for management of workplace relations. It also has information on handling bullying and protects workers from unfair dismissal. Employees can lodge an application to stop bullying and for unfair dismissal with the Fair Work Commission. Employers could respond to applications of dismissal and commissioners will decide if a jurisdiction hearing is necessary.
To learn about employment issues, disputes and dismissal visit: Fairwork resolving-issues-disputes-and-dismissals

Click to complete the BSBLDR502 Quiz 1 in the LMS.

2 Establish systems to develop trust and confidence
2.1 Establish and/or implement policies to ensure that the organisation’s cultural diversity and ethical values are adhered to
Hint
This content may help you with Activity 1 & 3 of your practical assessment.
A culturally diverse organisation represents people from all sections of society within an organisation. People from culturally diverse backgrounds can bring enormous strengths to an organisation. These talents, skills, ranges of expertise and relationships can increase staff confidence and improve client service.
For this to occur, the organisation must ensure work practices consider the needs of clients and employees from diverse backgrounds and provide training and encouragement to staff.
A diverse workforce comprises of people from a wide range of backgrounds, including:
• people with disabilities
• women
• indigenous Australians
• overseas workers
• mature workers
• trainees
• people from different cultural backgrounds.

All teams, no matter what size, will benefit from having a framework in place to govern their approach to how the workplace will implement and adhere to cultural diversity.
The framework chosen by each organisation can vary, but may consist of the following:
• Policies around Internal and external accountability requirements
• Processes to ensure best practice guidelines for recruiting
• Policies and processes that adhere to codes of ethics and application of Acts • Processes that encourage evaluation and review

2.1.1 Internal and external accountability requirements
It is important to establish lines of accountability when establishing or implementing policies. Accountability is about responsibility and who is responsible for certain actions. Internal accountability is accountability within the organisation: what the organisation does to ensure that they are accountable for their actions, e.g. how they develop procedures for improvements such as managing complaints.
There should be a clear organisational structure with defined roles so that members understand who to contact about specific issues. External accountability helps ensure organisations are regulated and abide by:
• standards
• codes of practice
• best practice guidelines.
Organisations should have policies in place to ensure they are not biased in any way to any culture. These policies should try and help under-represented people feel comfortable working at, and have a fair chance of representation in, an organisation.
Policies and procedures may relate to the duties below.
• Legal duties including promoting equal opportunity, good relationships between different cultures and eradicating discrimination.
• Other duties or principles to educate staff, so that they can respond to situations where cultural knowledge or sensitivity is required. Promote cultural activities and cultural support services where possible.

Case study – Northern Territory’s first multicultural policy (MP)
The Northern Territory has introduced guidelines as a reference or tool for agencies in the implementation of their first multicultural policy.
The main principles include:
• valuing diversity
• fair access
• encouraging participation and mutual respect.
Some key points from the document are below.
• They have stated that it is every government agency’s responsibility to implement the principles set out in the first multicultural policy.
• Adopting flexible approaches in response to client needs (rather than a ‘one size fits all’ approach where exactly the same service is provided to all clients irrespective of their needs).
• Developing and implementing policies that are culturally inclusive (making sure that policies, programs and services are responsive to cultural and linguistic differences and that they meet the needs of clients regardless of their background).
• Agencies can determine performance measures relevant to MP-related outcomes and strategies and articulate them in strategic and operational plans.
• Communication through developing multi-pronged communication strategies (e.g. young people in one community may use different channels of communication to young people in another).
• Making effective use of diversity in the workplace means taking advantage of the assets which a culturally diverse workforce may offer. These include language skills, cultural knowledge, networks and fresh approaches to problem solving linked to different perspectives and experiences.
For more information on this topic visit: Multicultural Policy
2.1.2 Best practice guidelines for recruiting
There should be procedures in place for hiring staff to encourage applicants from culturally diverse backgrounds.
Best practice guidelines for recruiting cover the areas to follow.
• Developing selection criteria; e.g. ensuring there are no unjustifiable English language qualifications in the criteria.
• Advertising; e.g. using a wide range of media such as ethnic media, community groups, trade journals, etc.
• Shortlisting; e.g. being consistent and ensuring that you record your decision and why it was made.
• Application forms; e.g. not including unrelated or intrusive questions.
• Testing; e.g. checking for bias and indirect discrimination such as asking for qualifications that may discriminate against mature people or experience from apprentices.
• Interviewing; e.g. checking to see if interviewees need any special arrangements for the interview such as a translator or lift access.
• Referee reports; e.g. creating a template for referees to ensure standardised questions.
• Making the decision; e.g. using a ranking system for consistency and fairness.
• Medical examinations; e.g. any examination should relate specifically to the job and examiners should be provided with a copy of the job description.
These guidelines can be found here in more detail: Human Rights Australia best practice guidelines and the Australian Human Rights Commission for a quick guide to discrimination law
https://www.humanrights.gov.au/education/employers/quick-guide-discrimination-law
Policies must abide by any legislation in place to protect people and promote cultural diversity and ethical behaviour in organisations. It is a criminal offence to discriminate against people because of their sex, race, disability or age according to the following legislation:
• Sex Discrimination Act 1984
• Racial Discrimination Act 1975
• Disability Discrimination Act 1992
• Age Discrimination Act 2004.
• Equal Employment Opportunities Act 1987
Refer to Appendix A: Legislation in Australian Business for more information
2.1.3 Code of ethics
Different sectors have different codes of ethics and professional conduct to follow. You should ensure you are familiar with these and can access them to refer to when you are unsure of your position.
Business ethics are the moral principles that govern an organisation to ensure corporate responsibility, quality assurance and customer satisfaction. When combined, a code of conduct and business ethics defines the morality of an organisation and sets the standard for the behaviour and work ethic of its members. All members of the organisation are given equal opportunities and treated equally and fairly, regardless of any differences.
A code of conduct and business ethics policy is normally a written document that can be easily accessed by all members of the organisation. It should form part of the induction process for all new employees and be used as refresher training for existing employees at regular intervals.
A code of conduct and business ethics policy must be enforced consistently if it is to have any effect or if it is going to be valued by those it governs. If employees who breach the code in any way are not dealt with accordingly, other employees will have no faith in the system, and it may lead to increased unethical behaviour. It is particularly important to ensure that unethical behaviour is addressed and dealt with appropriately and thoroughly.

Putting it into practice

Policy and Procedure for Cultural Diversity Policy

Scenario: You’re the General Manager at “Little Pear Juice Company”. The CEO has provided you with the updated Cultural Diversity Policy to have a look at.

LITTLE PEAR – Cultural Diversity Policy
Policy aim Our systems and processes need to enable our commitment to how individuals are acknowledged, feel valued and included.
Practices include and are not limited to:
• Code of Conduct: a diverse and inclusive culture can only flourish in an environment that does not tolerate discrimination, harassment, vilification and victimisation. The Little Pear Juice Code of Conduct specifically addresses our expectations of all our employees in how they conduct themselves.
• Recruitment: we aim to recruit from as wide a talent pool as possible. Our Recruitment Policy expects all recruitment practices are free of bias including advertising, resume screening, short list compilation and interview panels.
• Talent & Succession Planning: as we identify talent for development and future roles, we review for gender balance and check for any potential broader bias. We aim to develop an extensive pool of talent for future senior management and executive positions.
• Performance and Remuneration: Annually at the remuneration review period we check that the Remuneration Policy is upheld. Every two years we undertake a detailed pay equity review by gender.
Objectives Flexibility: we believe that flexible working arrangements and flexible careers are business enablers. We believe that flexibility is not gender specific and should support all our people at all levels of the organisation and at different times throughout their career;
Gender Equality: we believe that Little Pear Juice should expect gender balance at all levels of the organisation. This aspiration is supported through clear expectations, guidelines and systems that will reduce the risk of bias. We set gender equality objectives to assist us in achieving our aspiration; and
Inclusive Leadership: we expect our leaders to understand and demonstrate the business case for a more diverse and inclusive culture. Our leaders are supported to manage unconscious bias, role model inclusive practice and challenge unconscious assumptions that may either undermine equitable decision making or may exclude others. Our leaders are supported to encourage an inclusive workplace and diversity of thought regardless of gender, age, disability, martial or family status, ethnicity, religious or cultural background, sexual orientation or any other area of potential difference.
Role &
Responsibilities This policy is applicable to all staff.
All staff are expected to adhere to and promote the aims of this policy.
Review Process This policy will be reviewed annually by the Human Resources Department

If you had to roll this policy out, you would also need a procedure to follow. Below is an example of a procedure that would allow you to implement the policy.
Writing a procedure streamlines the information that staff need to understand about the process that needs explanation. In short, a procedure is the ‘official’ set of instructions to be followed to perform a particular action.

LITTLE PEAR – Cultural Diversity Policy Implementation Procedure
Step 1 Communicate policy to all employees and stakeholders. Summarise guiding principles, including compliance of policy with Acts and regulations, and explain clearly.
Step 2 Implement best practice guidelines for recruiting, i.e. include EEO and diversity in all processes, and develop clear, fair and consistent selection criteria, interviews and testing.
Step 3 Plan for future roles by reviewing for gender balance and check for any potential broader bias.
Step 4 Annually at the remuneration review period check that the Remuneration Policy is upheld. Every two years undertake a detailed pay equity review by gender.
Step 5 Ensure responsibilities of stakeholders are clear and agreed to:
• The Human Resources department has responsibility for the administration, monitoring and ongoing review of this policy.
• Management, employees, contractors and consultants have responsibility for understanding and adhering to the terms of this policy.
Step 6 Ensure HR monitor, review and report (at least annually) to the CEO and Executive on progress with this policy.

2.2 Gain and maintain the trust and confidence of colleagues and external contacts through professional conduct
Hint
This content may help you Activity 2 of the practical assessment.

Building relationships and establishing rapport is an important part of managing a team. By making people feel valued and building trust you can help to improve performance.
See below, ways to establish rapport.
• Try and find something you have in common.
• Use positive, confident and co-operative language.
• Be interested in what people are saying and ask questions to demonstrate this.
• Interpret non-verbal and verbal messages and react accordingly or mirror their body language.
• Adapt your use of language, verbal or non-verbal – try to be accommodating and adapt your style.
• Be aware of cultural differences and that communities have different euphemisms and accents, which you should bear in mind when speaking. English can potentially be a second language and some words, terms and phrases may be offensive.
Here is a useful link for Building-rapport
2.2.1 Professional behaviour
A professional code of conduct is a document laid out by an organisation or professional body in which expectations for the behaviour, responsibilities and actions of its members are clearly stated. It provides a professional framework for workers to work around and incorporates values and attitudes upheld by a specific industry.
Professional behaviour includes demonstrating the following behaviours.
• Respect: Respect confidentiality and privacy; do not harass, discriminate or use offensive language; respect and tolerate cultural and individual differences.
• Integrity: Acknowledging mistakes; not mislead people; not abusing privileges.
• Honesty: Be truthful in all aspects of communication, keep accurate records.
• Conscientiousness: taking action based on your values and principles; applying yourself to your role and responsibilities
• Self-awareness: Knowing one’s own strengths, talents and abilities. Be aware of your limitations.
• Avoiding conflict of interest: Disclosing financial interests which could impact on your decisions, such as ownership of shares in a company you could potentially be awarding contracts to.
• Responsibility for others: Showing due diligence and care for others; report serious breaches of conduct.
• Cooperation: working together for a common purpose; assisting others to achieve desired outcomes.
Building trust and respect
Creating an environment of trust with co-workers involves much personal effort and you must monitor your working practices and behaviours. Ensure you always communicate clearly and in a timely manner and work well with team members to support the whole team.
Ask questions to understand the outcome you and the team are trying to achieve and show understanding that you are listening. At times you have to say ‘no’ if you are unable to deliver on a commitment. While it is good to have a can-do attitude, if you are unable to complete requests because of lack of knowledge or skills, people will be less likely to trust you with other tasks.
Always consider the impact of your behaviour and actions on others and show empathy for other. Try putting yourself in another person’s position and understand their point of view.
Show respect for other co-workers’ opinions and listen fully to their point of view; all opinions should be respected until an action is found. Always keep promises and honour commitments. Here is a useful link: Increasing-empathy-and-trust

Click to complete the BSBLDR502 Quiz 2 in the LMS.
Note: This quiz won’t be available until you have completed the previous quiz.

2.3 Adjust own interpersonal communication styles to meet the organisation’s cultural diversity and ethical environment and guide and support the work team in their personal adjustment process
Hint
This content may help you with Activity 1 of your written assessment.
This content may help you Activity 2 & 3 of the practical assessment.

Organisations need to consider the diversity of their employees’ values, beliefs and cultural expectations. To work effectively with culturally diverse colleagues, the following knowledge and skills are valuable.
• Be aware of your own cultural background/experiences, attitudes, values, and biases that might influence your ability to work with colleagues from diverse cultural populations. It is essential that you correct any prejudices and biases you may have regarding different cultural groups.
• Educate yourself wherever possible to enhance your understanding and to address the needs of a culturally diverse workplace. This may involve learning about cultural, social, psychological, political, economic, and historical material specific to the particular ethnic group in question.
• Recognise ethnicity and culture may have an impact on an employee’s behaviour.
• Assist fellow workers to become aware of their own cultural values and norms and facilitate discovery of ways they can apply this awareness to their own lives and to society at large, as well as within the organisation.
• Respect the employee’s religious and/or spiritual beliefs and values.
• Work to eliminate biases, prejudices, and discriminatory practices in the workplace.
• Provide information in a language everyone can understand.
• Provide information in writing, along with oral explanations.
2.3.1 Building relationships on cultural diversity
Building relationships based on cultural diversity requires understanding and respect for cultural differences at individual and organisational levels. Cultural bias is often learnt through socialisation and being unaware of personal bias may lead to discrimination, misunderstandings and conflicts that affect work relationships and service delivery.
Interpersonal skills involve communicating effectively with different people. If you have good interpersonal skills, you are usually able to talk with ease to a variety of people with differing backgrounds and at a wide range of levels. Your communication is confident, eloquent and adaptable to suit different situations.
Each individual is different, and you may have to be a chameleon when it comes to communicating. Altering your style to suit the style of communication to mirror that of the person you are talking to is a good way to build a relationship with them. For example, depending on the country there may be differences in meaning associated with:
• pauses
• gestures
• bargaining
• eye contact
• length of response
• pitch and tone of voice.
2.3.2 The Lewis model of cultural types
Different cultures attach varying meaning to language, both verbal and non-verbal. You need to be aware of the language styles and meanings behind things like gestures, so as to not be misinterpreted, or to misinterpret the communication styles of others.

The Lewis model represents nations on a scale of business types.

2.3.3 Models of communication
The following table looks at communication by splitting it into three categories: passive, assertive, and aggressive.
Communication types Passive Assertive Aggressive
Characteristics Compliant
Refrains from talking
Puts themselves down
Praises others Polite
Clear communication
Balanced
Respectful Sarcastic
Superior
Interrupts
Critical
Believes Other people are more important Both parties are equal They are more important than others
Body language Refrains from eye contact
Stooping or fidgety
Tight and clammy Friendly eye contact
Relaxed and open
Makes appropriate hand gestures Staring with narrow eyes
Stands tall, head up and hands on hips
Points fingers or clenches fists
Consequences Gives in to other people
Miserable Builds good relationships with others and is happy to compromise Upsets themselves and other people and feels angry
By being conscious of how you communicate with people, you can alter your communication style to suit the situation and the receiver’s needs. It is always a good idea to personalise your communication and try to relate to people either on a personal level or business level.
Another model of communication splits communicators into four types that work in business scenarios. The four types are covered below.
• Controller – they like the facts and are task-orientated and want information that is to the point.
• Promoter – they are sociable and enjoy or expect a get-to-know-you conversation before getting down to business.
• Supporter – they like to hear new ideas, are patient, balanced and adjust to change well.
• Analyser – they like to hear every detail before making a decision, enjoy debating and like to see charts and graphs with in-depth explanations.

2.3.4 Supporting the work team
You can help team members to identify their communication styles and the communications styles of others in the team through a workshop or training day. This could teach team members about the characteristics of different communication styles and the models of communication employed by various cultures, to open their minds to the various possibilities and situations they could find themselves in.
This helps employees to see past their expectations of certain groups, and see everyone as individuals, while also getting them to think about the cultural differences in the workplace.
Support team members through these suggested activities.
• Conduct a workshop or training day – these could involve practicing communicating with each other in roleplay scenarios.
• Create a questionnaire that helps team members identify their communication style.
• Get team members to think about positive and negative communication.
• Brainstorm opportunities for improving communication procedures.
• Conduct one-to-one sessions for team members who need to discuss cultural issues further.
2.4 Adapting your personal communication style
Each person’s communication style is a unique combination of their own innate skills and those learnt both formally and through experience.
Guidance on communicating with other styles
Communicating with a Driver/Action oriented person:
• Focus on the result first; state the conclusion at the outset.
• State your best recommendation; do not offer many alternatives.
• Be as brief as possible.
• Emphasise the practicality of your ideas.
• Use visual aids.
Communicating with a Process/Analytical oriented person:
• Be precise; state the facts.
• Organise your discussions in a logical order:
a. Background
b. Present situation
c. Outcome
d. Break down your recommendations.
e. Include options and alternatives with pros and cons.
• Do not rush a process-oriented person.
• Outline your proposal.

Communicating with a People /Amiable oriented person:
• Allow for small talk; do not start the discussion right away.
• Stress the relationship between your proposal and the people concerned. Show how the ideas worked well in the past.
• Indicate support from well-respected people.
• Use an informal writing style.

Communicating with an Idea/Expressive oriented person:
• Allow enough time for discussion.
• Do not get impatient when he or she goes off on tangents.
• Try to relate the discussed topic to a broader concept or idea.
• Stress the uniqueness of the idea or topic at hand.
• Emphasise future value or relate the impact of the idea to the future.
• If writing, try to stress the key concepts that underlie your recommendation at the outset.
• Start with an overall statement and work toward the particulars.

Click to complete the BSBLDR502 Quiz 3 in the LMS.
Note: This quiz won’t be available until you have completed the previous quiz.

3 Manage the development and maintenance of networks and relationships
3.1 Use networks to build workplace relationships providing identifiable outcomes for the team and the organisation

Hint
This content may help you with Activity 4 of your written assessment.
Networking is used by organisations to develop contacts within industry. Face-to-face networking involves gatherings of people or organised meetings, but it is not the only option. Other methods can be used to network: for example, business networking websites, phone or email.
By making connections, and building mutually beneficial relationships with people, you can promote not only your organisation but yourself. Networking is often used as part of a marketing strategy to gain access to an ever-increasing pool of clients or knowledge. Networking helps to:
• learn more about your industry
• provide career opportunities
• build business contacts
• develop mutually rewarding relationships
• gain access to knowledge
• make people feel part of a community.

Networking can seem like a daunting task; however, it has been identified that if leaders are able to identify why they are networking they can greatly affect the outcome of their networking and help others to engage in the task.

The first step is to recognise which form of networking is needed. Managers who think they are adept at networking are often operating only at the operational or personal level. Effective leaders learn to employ networks for strategic purposes.

The Three Forms of Networking

Operational Personal Strategic
Purpose Getting work done efficiently; maintaining capacities and functions required of the group Enhancing personal and professional development; providing referrals to useful information and contacts Figuring out future priorities and challenges; getting stakeholder support for them.
Location and temporal orientation Contacts are mostly internal and orientated toward current demand Contacts are mostly external and oriented toward current interest and future potential
interests Contacts are internal and external and oriented toward the future
Players and recruitment Key contacts are
relatively
nondiscretionary; they are prescribed mostly by the tasks and organizational structure, so it is very clear who is relevant. Key contacts are relatively discretionary; it is not always clear who is relevant. Key contacts follow from the strategic context and the organisational environment, but specific membership is
discretionary; it is not always clear who is relevant.
Network attributes and key behaviours Depth: building strong working relationships Breadth: reaching out to
contacts who can make referrals Leverage: creating insideoutside links

Source: Harvard Business Review “How Leaders Create and Use Networks”
Operational Networking
These are the people that can help managers do their jobs. They are not only direct reports and superiors but also peers within an operational unit, other internal players with the power to block or support a project, and key outsiders such as suppliers, distributors, and customers. The purpose of this type of networking is to ensure coordination and cooperation among people who must know and trust one another in order to accomplish their immediate tasks.
Personal Networking
Once managers feel comfortable with their operational networks, they tend to focus next on kindred spirits outside their organizations. Through professional associations, alumni groups, clubs, and personal interest communities, managers gain new perspectives that allow them to advance in their careers. This is what we mean by personal networking. These contacts provide important referrals, information, and, often, developmental support such as coaching and mentoring.
Strategic Networking
When managers begin the delicate transition from functional manager to business leader, they must start to concern themselves with broad strategic issues. Lateral and vertical relationships with other functional and business unit managers—all people outside their immediate control—become a lifeline for figuring out how their own contributions fit into the big picture. Thus, strategic networking plugs the aspiring leader into a set of relationships and information sources that collectively embody the power to achieve personal and organizational goals.
3.1.1 Helping staff to network
Some members of the team may not be familiar with networking and what can be achieved by it. You should try to encourage and support them in their efforts. Help staff to start networking by:
• providing a short course or workshop
• provide mentors for staff members
• use role-play to develop confidence in face-to-face networking
• give a presentation on the benefits of networking
• host a networking event
• give team members a factsheet with helpful places to start, such as websites that they can join.
Example: Networking organisation – LinkedIn
2003 – In late 2002, Reid Garrett Hoffman recruits a team of old colleagues from SocialNet and PayPal to work on a new idea. Six months later, LinkedIn launches. Growth is slow at first –as few as 20 sign-ups.
2004 – Growth accelerates with the introduction of address book uploads in 2003.
Example: Networking organisation – LinkedIn
2005 – LinkedIn introduces its first business lines: ‘Jobs and Subscriptions’. The company also moves into its fourth office in three years.
2006 – With the launch of public profiles, LinkedIn begins to stake its claim as the professional profile of record. In 2006, the company achieves profitability, and core features like Recommendations and People You May Know are introduced.
2007 – After four years as CEO, Reid steps aside to run product and brings in Dan Nye to lead the company.
2008 – LinkedIn becomes a truly global company, opening its first international office in London and launching Spanish and French language versions of the site.
2009 – Jeff Weiner joins LinkedIn first as President, then CEO, and brings focus and clarity to LinkedIn's mission, values, and strategic priorities.
2010 – The company shifts into to hyper-growth! By the end of the year, LinkedIn has 90 million members and nearly 1,000 employees in 10 offices around the world.
2011 – LinkedIn celebrates its eighth anniversary, becomes a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange, and hosts a town hall meeting with the President of the United States. So, what’s the next play?
2012 – Project Inversion and a completely re-architected site enabled an unprecedented pace of product innovation and transformation — of both the site and the company – which focused on three concepts: simplify, grow, every day.
2013 – By the end of their first decade, the company has reached 225 million members, and is growing at more than two members per second.
2014 – Beginning the next decade of LinkedIn, the company seeks to create a map of the digital economy, its participants, and every facet of opportunity linking these nodes together.

3.1.2 Tips for networking
Introductions
Introductions are important and allow you to make a good first impression of yourself and your organisation. You should look people in the eye, smile and introduce yourself politely. Body language is important, and you should try to keep it ‘open’ by standing with your feet slightly apart and palms facing out.
Your ability to listen is also important and immediately tells the speaker that you are interested in what they have to say; it makes a good impression. Give feedback to the speaker such as ‘mmm’ (nodding in agreement) or make an interesting comment on what they have said. Try to be positive and assertive with your comments.

Tips for introductions
• Prepare conversation starters; for example, ‘How did you get into this field/industry?’ or ‘What are the major issues in your area at the moment?’
• Engage in small talk.
• Try to remember people’s names.
• Ask thought-provoking questions that will encourage light debate.
• Politely interrupt a group by joining their conversation at an appropriate pause.
• At the end of an introduction give out a business card/ask for a card.
• Follow up with an email, call or note.
3.1.3 Maintaining the relationship
It is important to think about how you can help to maintain the relationships you build after the introduction stage and exchange of business cards. It is no good to simply create a list of contacts that you do not engage with. You need to try and sustain the relationship if you want to be remembered; this takes time, tact and tenacity. Below are some ideas for maintaining relationships.
• Give praise if they achieve something – send congratulations.
• Recognise other dates such as birthday, anniversary, etc.
• Invite to lunches or events.
• Remember their names.
• Get up to date with trends in your industry and use as a topic of conversation.
• Connect other people.
• Start a newsletter.
• Offer to help at networking events.
3.2 Conduct ongoing planning to ensure that effective internal and external workplace relationships are developed and maintained
Ongoing planning can ensure that you are meeting your objectives. You should make it procedure to monitor this plan so that you can be sure you are on track and can make the most of business opportunities. The first questions you should ask are listed below.
• What are your objectives?
• Do you have any targets you need to consider as part of these objectives?
• What are your priority areas?
• How are you measuring effective workplace relationships?
• What are the methods used to develop and maintain workplace relationships?
Objectives
An objective is an aim or goal to be achieved by implementing the plan. You may have more than one objective.
Objectives are written in statement form and describe what the plan is aiming for. They should not be ambiguous but be well thought out – so that you can make conclusions and evaluations to determine the success of the plan.
Objectives should lead to outcomes. For example, introduce yourself to five new people and get their contact details at this months’ networking event.
Targets
Targets can help you achieve objectives. You might, for example, have an objective for your organisation able to be fulfilled through the individual daily or weekly targets that you set employees or departments.
Priority areas
This involves assessing staff competencies for developing and maintaining relationships. Using data collected from managers (e.g. through feedback, questionnaires, employee performance reviews and self-assessments) you can discover information about your employees and their success or otherwise at developing and maintaining relationships.
For example, you may find staff members are struggling to make connections because they have under-developed communication skills. You may find that staff members have no problem finding contacts and introducing themselves but cannot seem to maintain the relationships. These types of problems can be resolved through additional training and support and should therefore be made a priority.
3.2.1 Network relationships
How are you measuring effective relationships? This means what criteria you are referring to when you say ‘effective’.
An effective relationship may mean one that results in a successful exchange of knowledge, new contacts, partnerships between organisations, or job opportunities; or it could simply mean relationships that you are able to maintain for a period of time. You should be clear about what you mean by effective relationship.

Methods used to develop and maintain relationships
There are a variety of methods that you can use to develop and maintain relationships. Some of these are more appropriate for internal relationships and others for external relationships.
Internal
• Regular meetings, e.g. daily or weekly.
• Team building exercises.
• Conferences.
• Social media/business network sites.
• Announcements.
• Newsletters.
• Staff email.
• Events, e.g. parties, award ceremonies and lunches.
• Activity days, e.g. volunteering in the community, charity days and casual dress days. External
• Networking events.
• Trade shows.
• Functions, e.g. charity functions.
• Conferences.
• Business network sites.
• Lunch meetings.
• Email.
• Telephone.

10 Tips for building strong professional relationships
Tip 1 -
Congratulate them When a connection is promoted or changes profession, send a congratulatory note and inquire about the change. Use the opportunity to catch up on other matters and provide an update on your own status.
Tip 2 - Provide professional leads When you hear of something, let appropriate people in your network know. Think beyond jobs and referrals to everything from committees, board positions, speaking opportunities, writing assignments, and special projects. Offer to provide an introduction if you’re comfortable doing so.
Tip 3 - Mail something Everything is electronic now, except when it’s not – and then it stands out. To get someone’s attention, handwrite a note and mail it to them. Finished a good book or interesting magazine that you think a contact would love? Mail it to the person with a note expressing why you’re sending it.
Tip 4 - Ask their opinion Your contacts are in your network for a reason, so remember to take advantage of their knowledge and experience. While taking care not to contact people too much, reach out when you have a need and you know your contact can assist. Inquire about other matters during the exchange and thank your contact for helping out.
Tip 5 - Meet in person Remember to meet local contacts for beverages or lunch periodically. For remote connections, this may not be possible, but if you travel, try and meet on the occasions when you’re both in the same city.
Tip 6 - Send links but personalise See a link that one of your contacts might appreciate? Send it but explain why the link made you think of your contact and how you thought it would be useful. Remember not to send too many links to the same person.
Tip 7 -
Introductions Chances are, many of your connections could help each other out if only they were connected. When you feel an introduction would be beneficial and both parties have agreed, introduce two of your connections to each other.
Tip 8 - Check in Don’t have an explicit reason to reach out to a connection? Send a short note to check in and inquire about professional developments. Provide a brief update about yourself and thank the person for being part of your professional network.
Tip 9 - Reintroduce yourself The truth is, we connect with so many people on networks like LinkedIn that for some people we can’t remember why or when we connected. Perform periodic network housekeeping and reach out to these contacts, conceding that losing touch is sometimes inevitable, but that you’re interested in what’s new with them.
Tip 10 - Let them breathe Wine connoisseurs like Miles from ‘Sideways’ will tell you that letting wine breathe will bring out its true aromas and flavours. This is due to aeration and the warming of wine from the surrounding air. Professional networks, like wine, also need time and air to flourish. Take care to nurture your network and give the people in it the space and room they need to breathe.
For more information on this topic: 10-tips-for-appreciating-your-network-contacts
3.2.2 Tools to help you plan
You need to keep track of your workforce and their networking opportunities; also, you need to plan events, conferences and other one-off days around your regular meetings and get-togethers. You may need the assistance of a wide range of tools to help you manage your time and remind staff of upcoming activities and opportunities. To help you plan you could use tools such as:
• calendars
• schedules of events
• timelines
• diaries (electronic or paper)
• spreadsheets
• charts.
Planning skills are essential skills for the successful implementation of any strategy. You need the following skills to plan effectively.
• Accurately estimate time and effort required to complete a task.
• Identify and organise systems and resources.
• Organise your own time schedule to carry out your responsibilities.
• Ensure you have adequate preparation time for meetings/deadlines.
• Develop schedules and timelines.
• Establish a measurement method to monitor your milestones.
• Prioritise tasks and responsibilities.
An action plan can be used to systemise your approach.
Example Action Plan:
Objectives Long-term strategy (how to ensure it is ongoing) Time and resources required Who is responsible? How is success measured? Priority
Internal networks Quarterly Newsletter to advise teams on new research and thoughts on
Diversity, Inclusion and Leadership Link to internal events and encourage others to share research and stories HR person allocated time to research and write up HR department
Social event – department/ operations manager Interaction and trust between employees
Feedback from social events 3 Team building exercise
4 Social events
External networks Networking events to broaden understanding of strategic issues affecting future business plans At each event connect with two people to contact at regular intervals over the next 12 months minimum Allocate time in and outside work hours to attend events and to follow up with new contacts Operations
Manager Future priorities are dealt with before issues arise 1. Networking event
2. Follow up with new contacts

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4 Manage difficulties to achieve positive outcomes
4.1 Develop and/or implement strategies to ensure that difficulties in workplace relationships are identified and resolved
Hint
This content may help you with Activity 5 of your written assessment.
It may be a good idea to assess whether there are likely difficulties that could have an impact on work as it progresses. You should hold meetings with groups and individuals to gauge their happiness in their position and the working environment. You should also look at evidence of difficulties. For example, through:
• management observation
• performance documents
• complaints forms
• disciplinary forms
• feedback and references
• attendance and quality of work.
This, together with feedback from the team member in question, will help to identify potential difficulties or conflicts.
4.1.1 Resolving issues
It is important when trying to resolve issues that you have a variety of options for communicating. Discussing issues is one of the most important steps to take when confronting issues to do with workplace relationships.
You can do this by providing opportunities for discussion and feedback, using these suggested methods.

Additional communication training may be needed for team members to help them become better communicators and prevent misunderstandings that lead to workplace conflicts.
You could give out fact sheets on communicating with clarity, organise team building exercises and other training.
4.1.2 Ongoing development and training
You should identify, plan and implement ongoing development and training of project team members so that you can support personnel and project performance. Identifying areas that personnel need additional help with and having ongoing support in place helps to improve project performance.
Types of training include:
• action learning sets
• coaching and mentoring
• team building
• on-the-job training
• external training
• self-directed learning.
You may be able to give the individual(s) concerned a choice of development opportunities so that they can decide which best suits them. Alternatively, it may be necessary for you to choose the best method to suit the time and budget of the organisation.
Team building activities
Team building and group activities can help to create bonds between team members and remove hostility. They can also help team members develop a skill (e.g. problem-solving skills) or get to know each other, becoming more motivated or adaptable.
Team building activities can be performed internally or externally and can be as simple as small group exercises held in a conference room or more adventurous outdoor pursuits. To be most effective they should be held regularly, e.g. weekly or monthly.
Action learning sets
An action learning set is a small group of peers who come together with a learning facilitator to discuss work issues. The group will meet a few times a year and get the chance to report on various issues they are dealing with. After reporting, the other members have a chance to ask questions to open up the problem or situation and help to analyse it. Each member then gets the chance to discuss what they have learned from the session. The members take what they have learned and apply it to the workplace.
4.1.3 Coaching
‘A good coach is someone who will get you to do something you don’t want to do; that you have to do; in order to reach your goals.’
Coaching is a useful way of developing an employee’s skills and abilities and improving their performance.
A coaching session takes place between a coach and the coachee and focusses on helping the coachee discover answers for themselves. People are more likely to engage with solutions that they come up with themselves, rather than those that are forced upon them.
Most formal professional coaching is carried out by qualified people who work with clients to improve their effectiveness and performance and help them to reach their full potential.
Foundation for coaching
Coaching is founded on confidentiality and trust. The coachee must be able to speak about all aspects of an issue or a challenge with their coach. Coaching should be something all managers do with their teams. It can help to improve work performance and deal with issues before they become larger problems.
Solution focused coaching
This approach places primary emphasis on assisting your client to define a desired future state (where or what they want to be) and constructs a pathway with the emphasis on assisting them to define the desired future state. This approach looks to identify a way of thinking and acting that allows the coachee to reach their goal.
The following YouTube clip provides a good explanation of solution focused coaching: Solution focused coaching Team coaching
Team coaching is designed to help people understand how to work better with others. It is a good method to improve working relationships and reduce conflict. When team coaching, you focus on interpersonal skills and interactions rather than the development of an individual.
A good place to start with team coaching is to understand the dynamics of the team. Individuals have different styles of working and communicating; when we encounter someone different to us, we may be frustrated and fail to recognise the other person’s strengths.
Personality and behavioural assessments are great tools for improving a team’s understanding of its own dynamics, and why people react the way they do. By understanding others, they can improve how they relate to each other, being more tolerant and understanding of each other’s needs and abilities.
Myers-Briggs is an excellent tool for uncovering individual patterns in things such as communication and conflict resolution.
As a coach, your role is to bring team members together and to encourage effective teamwork. It is good practice to establish behaviour expectations; a team charter is an effective way to do this.
Effective working relationships are built by understanding team members’ needs, preferences, and styles of work. By helping people understand their own styles and appreciate the different styles of others, you can work with them to change their behaviours and use everyone’s strengths.
The GROW Model
There are many coaching models. GROW is one model a coach can use.
Goal Current reality Options (or obstacles) Will (or way forward)
This model was originally developed in 1980s by performance coach Sir John Whitmore, although it has been further developed by others, including Graham Alexander.
A good way to think about GROW is to think about how you would plan a journey. First, you decide where you would like to go (goal); then you look at where you are now (current reality); then you explore your options (consider obstacles, such as money, time, etc.); and finally, you commit to your journey.
This is the process the coach would take the coachee through, the coach acting as the facilitator of the process.
The two most important skills for a coach are to:
• ask good questions
• actively listen.

4.1.4 Mentoring
Using your knowledge and experience to help others
By mentoring in the workplace, you can help people increase their effectiveness, advance their careers, and create a more productive organisation. Being a mentor can be very rewarding.
Benefits of mentoring
Mentoring is based on the relationship between two people: the ‘mentor’ and the ‘mentee’. As a mentor, you pass on valuable skills, knowledge and experiences to your mentee.
Mentoring is designed to help the mentee feel more confident and supported. Mentees should, through the mentor process, develop a clearer sense of what they want to achieve in their careers and personal lives.
For an organisation, mentoring is a good way of efficiently transferring valuable competencies from one person to another. This increases the organisations knowledge base, helps to build strong working teams, and can be utilised in a succession planning strategy.
Developmental mentoring: is where the mentor is helping the mentee develop new skills and abilities. The mentor is to guide the mentee and help them grow.
Sponsorship mentoring: is where the mentor is more of a career influencer than guide. The mentor really drives the mentee’s progress, opening doors for the mentee to gain opportunities, and influencing others to help the mentee to advance.
Skills for mentoring
To be an effective mentor you need to develop these characteristics.
• Have the desire to mentor – you must be willing to spend time helping the mentee.
• Be a role model for continual personal and professional growth – you need to demonstrate to the mentee that learning, and development never ceases.
• Be confident – we are not talking about having a big ego, rather being confident in your abilities to apply critical thinking and able to challenge your mentee to do the same.
• Ask the right questions – good mentors ask their mentees questions that make them think! Then they support the mentee as they seek to find the answers. The goal is to guide the mentee to a path that allows them to find the answer or reach a conclusion.
• Listen actively – watch your mentee carefully, read body language and recognise what topics your mentee finds difficult. Be patient and willing to listen fully, without judgement.
• Provide feedback – show the mentee that you have listened and provide them with feedback giving them an alternative perspective on their thoughts.
Mentoring is about transferring information, competence, and experience to mentees, so that they build confidence. You need to be:
Able to relate to the person being mentored Encouraging
Supportive Nurturing

Verbal communication skills
• Using active listening techniques, e.g. clarifying by summarising.
• Controlling your tone of voice and body language, e.g. remain calm and demonstrate understanding. Talk slowly and look interested by maintaining eye-contact and expression of concern, but don’t fold arms.
• Interpreting non-verbal and verbal messages, e.g. resistance.
• Your use of language, verbal or non-verbal – try to be accommodating and adapt your style.
• Questioning to clarify and confirm understanding.
• Using language and concepts appropriate to cultural differences. Different cultures and communities have different euphemisms and accents, which you should bear in mind when speaking. English can potentially be a second language and some words, terms and phrases may be offensive.
Tips for written communication
• Understand the purpose of your communication.
• Know your audience and their level of understanding/expertise.
• Structure your writing – beginning/introduction, middle/main body, and end/summary/sign off.
• Understand different formats and their traits, e.g. letters, presentations, emails.
• Choose the correct level of formality.

Case Study
In the marketing and sales group of a large hotel there had been growing interpersonal conflict between team members. The Human Resources Manager and the Hotel Manager had concerns relating to work culture, values and conduct and felt these were impacting negatively on the team, on other teams in the Hotel, and on client reputation.
The team comprised some new and some long-standing members and there appeared to be different expectations, varying levels of cooperation and quality of working relationships between team members. Symptoms included interpersonal conflict, complaints about behaviours, and concerns about customer service, team reputation, and the overall performance of team. Team members cited personality clashes and difficulties with varying professional standards and working relationships.
The following strategies were put into place to resolve the issues at hand:
Agreed Strategies:
1. Provide opportunities for Human Resources Manager and the Hotel Manager to discuss the issues raised:
Meetings – invite the Human Resources Manager and the Hotel Manager to come together to discuss their progress, solve issues and present information
2. Provide opportunities for staff to discuss the issues raised:
Action learning sets put together - a small group of peers are to come together with a learning facilitator to discuss work issues. The group will meet a few times a year and get the chance to report on various issues they are dealing with. After reporting, the other members have a chance to ask questions to open up the problem or situation and help to analyse it. Each member then gets the chance to discuss what they have learned from the session. The members take what they have learned and apply it to the workplace.
Drop-in sessions – involve one or more people who are seeking support, advice, a quick word with a manager (there is usually a set time for drop-in sessions, e.g. a manager will set 30 minutes aside every Tuesday to answer questions and discuss issues)

4.2 Establish processes and systems to ensure that conflict is identified and managed constructively in accordance with the organisation’s policies and procedures

Hint
This content may help you in Activity 5 of your written assessment.
Working in a team will almost always present conflicts. You should aim to identify these as early as possible to ensure that they do not make too much of an impact on the goals of the team, or on team morale.
Conflicts occur because of a variety of factors, including:
• clash of personality • differing opinions
• claims to authority.
4.2.1 Inter-project and intra-project resource conflict
Inter-group conflict is conflict arising between two or more groups, whereas intra-group conflict is a conflict that arises between individuals in the same group.
Types of conflict
• Superiority – can occur when a team member or group thinks that they have superior qualifications, ability or experience.
• Vulnerability – this is where team members are afraid about their future due to resource issues, especially if resource management includes moving projects a lot.
• Task conflicts – can occur when people have different opinions on issues related to the project.
• Personal conflicts – can occur when people’s personalities clash and can result in negative emotional response, e.g. shouting/arguing.
• Knowledge sharing conflicts – can be a result of other types of conflict, e.g. superiority or personal conflict, or could be a result of poor communication and knowledge transfer between multiple projects.
4.2.2 Managing conflict
When dealing with conflict in the workplace there are some general principles that you can practice that may be found in your organisation’s dispute-resolution processes.
General principles for managing conflict are described below.
• Listen to both parties to understand what has caused the dispute.
• Treat each party equally and remain impartial.
• Get the parties together to talk about their issues.
• Present each viewpoint and talk through the conflict with each party, acting as a moderator for the conversation.
• Avoid ‘agree to disagree’ resolution; try to think about procedures you can follow along with other solutions.
• Document discussions and follow formal procedure for disputes (these may include disciplinary action if serious).
4.2.3 Dispute resolution
Serious conflicts should be resolved according to dispute resolution processes that are in place at your organisation. Dispute resolution refers to the processes by which disputes are brought to an end. This can occur in the situations presented below.
• A negotiated outcome, where parties concerned sort things out themselves.
• A mediated outcome, where the parties use the services of an independent mediator to help them arrive at their own agreement.
• An arbitrated or adjudicated outcome, where an independent arbitrator or court determines how the dispute is to be resolved and makes a binding decision or order to this effect.
Dispute-resolution processes may include:
• documented organisational policies and procedures • industry agreements
• relevant legislation and regulations, e.g. discrimination legislation.

Fairwork Australia provides a Best Practice guide to dispute resolution, available here:
https://www.fairwork.gov.au/how-we-will-help/templates-and-guides/best-practice-guides/effective-disputeresolution 

Refer to Appendix A: Legislation in Australian Business for more information
4.2.4 Bullying in the workplace
Any discrimination should be treated very seriously, as should workplace bullying. There is no specific legislation relating to bullying in the workplace (it is not unlawful unless people are discriminating against others on grounds of sex, race, disability or age). However, under workplace health and safety legislation employers have a duty to reduce the likelihood of bullying as it affects an employee’s state of physical or mental health.
The Fair Work Act 2009 also has information on bullying and protects workers from unfair dismissal. Employees can lodge an application to stop bullying and for unfair dismissal with the Fair Work Commission. Employers have the opportunity to respond to applications of dismissal, and commissioners will decide if a jurisdiction hearing is necessary.
4.3 Provide guidance, counselling and support to assist co-workers in resolving their work difficulties

Hint
This content may help you with Activity 5 of the written assessment.
This content may help you Activity 3 of the practical assessment.
Providing guidance involves leadership. To lead a team successfully you need to demonstrate strong leadership skills. ‘Counselling at work is to help people identify the causes of problems that may be affecting their performance.
‘The employer/manager should not feel that they must identify and solve the causes of personal problems such as depression, alcoholism or marital problems for an employee. If personal problems do become apparent, it is important that employers refer the employee to the appropriate experts.’
The checklist below should be helpful in helping to resolve work difficulties.
Do’s Don’ts
Give the employee recognition
Provide a warm atmosphere of communication
Encourage the employee to gain insight into the problem
Give the employee a clear picture of their strengths and weaknesses
Encourage the employee to bring out any conflicts, personal problems and ideas
Suggest positive steps to rationalise the problem or improve performance
Create a desire with the employee to change. Build a level of support that is conducive to both friendliness and efficiency Don’t assume the role of a parent scolding a child
Don’t moralise
Don’t threaten the employee with the likely consequences if they don’t get their act together
Don’t get into an argument
Don’t cut off an employee’s comments
Don’t give the employee false hope
Don’t expect a dramatic change in the employee because of one counselling session

Leadership skills include:
• ability to inspire
• expertise
• confidence
• empathy.
You should aim to be as approachable as possible, make time for people, learn their names and engage with team members regularly to help them gain trust, which is important for confiding information.
Fairwork Australia has developed this guide to difficult conversations in the workplace.

managers-guide-to-d ifficult-conversations-i

4.3.1 Counselling
Counselling involves one-to-one discussions with a professional to help a person overcome personal problems that are impacting on their work. Counselling is offered by employers to help prevent personal problems become a disciplinary issue. However, sometimes people are referred to counsellors as part of disciplinary action.
Counsellors can help with:
• stress
• bullying
• depression
• alcohol or drug abuse.
Employers should promote healthy living and work practices. These may include access to a gym, healthy eating options in the cafeteria, relaxation classes and ergonomic solutions.
4.3.2 Confidentiality
Personal information should be protected and only disclosed professionally. The only situation where this private information can be disclosed is when there is a serious threat or risk of injury to the individual or others. The individual may choose to disclose their information, but it must be their choice.
Organisation policy on confidentiality may relate to:
• access to records
• carriage and storage of records
• collection and use of a client’s personal and health information
• destruction of records
• release of information.
Ways to ensure confidential information is kept safe include:
• keeping it in locked filing cabinets
• keeping it away from unauthorised people
• keeping it in locked rooms
• having it password protected on computers • refraining from naming clients in public discussion
• discussing things in soundproof rooms.

4.4 Develop and implement actions plan to address identified difficulties
Hint
This content may help you with Activity 4 of your practical assessment.
Your action plan should state your overall objective and demonstrate how you plan to achieve this objective. An action plan helps you to ensure that you have covered everything so that you have a firm idea of what it is you want to achieve and how you can put it into practice, through step by step instructions.
Even small objectives can benefit from planning as it is easy to miss something. Action plans save time in the long run as you just have to follow the steps instead of stopping at each stage to think about the next problem.
Objective Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Time-based
What you want to achieve What?
Why?
When?
Where?
Who? How much? How many?
How often? Can you realistically achieve it? Does it relate to what you want to achieve now? By when?
An example is provided below.
Objective Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Time-based
Overcome mild depression
Finish a course of counselling, to help overcome depression and improve my work Once a week, for an hour Yes, the counselling office is located at work and the session starts after work every Thursday It is focused on why I am low and how it is impacting on my work and home life The course finishes in twelve weeks and after this period I will be reassessed
Depending on what you are planning for, your action plan may also include:
• milestones
• timelines
• costing for each tactic
• priorities
• people responsible.
4.4.1 Milestones
Milestones are significant points of reference and occur after a certain number of tasks have been completed.
Responsibility for milestones
You should also think about the responsibilities surrounding different milestones.
• What should each team or team member be doing at the point of milestone achievement?
• Do you know each individual responsible for tasks leading to a complete milestone? (And if not, can you find out?)
• What are the procedures for this?
• What does the milestone mean for the end goal?
• Who is accountable for the milestone?
4.4.2 Timelines
You may have timelines for the tasks and a completion date for each milestone and the end goal. Timelines are really useful for visualising the information and putting it into context: you can see where you are, what you should have already completed, and what the next steps to be completed are. This is much better than a simple list of dates and makes is less easy to miss things.
An example of a simplified version of a timeline can be found below:

4.4.3 Costing
The costing depends largely on what it is you are aiming to achieve. It should incorporate all the individual expenses involved in achieving your goal, e.g. staff training, the use of counselling or other dispute resolution services. Time should also play a part here as wages are one major costing to take into account.
How long will the objective take to achieve, how many people will you need to achieve it and at what level? Any additional resources should also be a factor, including external resources, e.g. external consultants; and materials such as stationary, computer equipment or new software, etc.
4.4.4 Priorities
When managing time and deciding on priorities, one technique is to divide your priorities into categories relating to their urgency and importance.
Eisenhower’s decision principle

In order to divide your priorities up like the above model, you need to understand the difference between urgent and important. Urgent tasks are those that need to be done immediately, with immediate consequences if they are not.
Important tasks are those that lead to outcomes that achieve goals, which may be personal or professional goals.
From the above matrix you can see the order of priorities is:
• urgent and important tasks (e.g. crisis situations or important deadlines)
• not urgent but important (e.g. relationship building, professional development)
• urgent and not important (e.g. interruptions to other tasks, such as unimportant emails or telephone calls)
• not urgent and not important (e.g. junk mail, gossip).
4.4.5 People responsible
You should plan who you need to help achieve the goal, how many people and at what level, or what expertise is needed.
You may want to think about what type of responsibility each person involved with the goal has. To do this you can use a RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consult, Inform) chart. This helps to visualise the different relationships individuals have with the project tasks.
RACI CHART Team member
Activity Tom Chloe Vicky Emily Hilary
Create plan I I I R A
Research external resources C C R A I
Submit change request C R R A I
Review R I I C A

Key:
Responsible = R
Accountable = A
Consult = C
Inform = I
Your action plan should now be ready for implementation. You need to consult it regularly to monitor your progress and achievement.

Putting it into practice

Remember our Case Study about the marketing and sales group of a large hotel where there had been growing interpersonal conflict between team members?
The following strategies were put into place to resolve the issues at hand:
Agreed Strategies:
1. Provide opportunities for Human Resources Manager and the Hotel Manager to discuss the issues raised:
Meetings – invite the Human Resources Manager and the Hotel Manager to come together to discuss their progress, solve issues and present information
2. Provide opportunities for staff to discuss the issues raised:
Action learning sets put together - a small group of peers are to come together with a learning facilitator to discuss work issues. The group will meet a few times a year and get the chance to report on various issues they are dealing with. After reporting, the other members have a chance to ask questions to open up the problem or situation and help to analyse it. Each member then gets the chance to discuss what they have learned from the session. The members take what they have learned and apply it to the workplace.
Drop-in sessions – involve one or more people who are seeking support, advice, a quick word with a manager (there is usually a set time for drop-in sessions, e.g. a manager will set 30 minutes aside every Tuesday to answer questions and discuss issues)

To turn these strategies into an action plan the following table represents how it may be done:

Action plan
Objective Specific Costing/
Resources Milestones/
Success points Responsibilities Timeline/Priority
What you want to achieve What? Why? When? Where? Who? How much? How many? How often? What to provide to make this happen? How to know the objective is progressing successfully? Who is accountable for this? How long to complete? What priority is this action?
Provide opportunities for Human Resources Manager and the Hotel Manager to discuss the issues raised: Meetings – invite the
Human Resources
Manager and the Hotel Manager to come together to discuss their progress, solve issues and present information TBA
Both managers make the time to attend and constructively participate in all meetings CEO Mentor/coach relationship – within 3 months
Priority - 2
Provide opportunities for staff to discuss the issues raised: Action learning sets put together to discuss work issues. The group will get the chance to report on various issues they are dealing with. After reporting, the other members have a chance to ask questions to open up the problem or situation and help to analyse it. Each member then gets the chance to discuss what they have learned from the session. The members take what they have learned and apply it to the workplace.
4 sessions conducted over the next 12 months Learning facilitator from another department
Members of action learning set team apply lessons to own work area.

These lessons are taken up and applied to others within the department
Small group of peers from each department – to be chosen by management

4 times over 12-month period
Priority – 1

Send an email to implement the first priority

It’s important to use the tips above to ensure the message is well received and stakeholders feel comfortable to ask questions. How would you write the email? Below is an example of an email you could write to get the results you need.

Send
 To Action Learning Set Members
Subject Action Learning Set Implementation

Hi Team,
You have been chosen to be part of an Action learning set which has been put together to discuss work issues. The group will get the chance to report on various issues they are dealing with. After reporting, the other members have a chance to ask questions to open up the problem or situation and help to analyse it. Each member then gets the chance to discuss what they have learned from the session. The members take what they have learned and apply it to the workplace.

You will soon be sent calendar invites for the 4 sessions to be conducted this year.

Tony Hannigan will be the facilitator of these sessions, so please feel free to contact her should you have any queries.

Regards
Lucy Chau
Human Resources Manager

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Appendix A: Legislation in Australian Business
This section is intended to provide an introduction to commonly used legislative and regulatory instruments that impact on businesses in Australia. The legislation referred to below is by no means exhaustive, but its relevance to compliance requirements is imperative. The information provided here is not to be used as a means of providing legal advice to others. The document is intended to provide general legislative and regulatory compliance guidelines relating to business activities. The document is to be used as a starting point for your own research into a particular issue. In today’s business environment private organisations, irrespective of their business structure, as well as public sector agencies are bound by the compliance requirements impacting on their operations. You must remember Australian businesses are obligated to comply with a range of laws.
Legal compliance is mandatory in all business organisations. Non-compliance is not tolerated. Ignorance of the law is no excuse!
Legislation is a set of rules, regulations or guidelines passed by an Act of parliament (state, or Commonwealth).
Regulations support legislation and set out standards, procedures and guidelines in the compliance of the legislation. These rules and guidelines assist organisations in properly carrying out compliance requirements as per the relevant legislation.
Standards are usually in the form of codes of practice and relevant industry standards. Standards apply to both private organisations and public sector agencies and departments. It must be noted - standards are not law as such but noncompliance of the prescribed standards and codes of practice will be evidence in itself of a breach of the legislation and regulations and expose the person or organisation to potential liability.
General Consumer Protection Laws
The Australian Consumer Law gives effect to the most significant and extensive consumer law reforms in Australia since 1974. It commenced on 1 January 2011 and provides a single, national consumer law implemented through the laws of the Commonwealth (including the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth), to be renamed the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)) and of each state and territory. Federal Consumer laws govern how businesses interact with their suppliers, customers and other businesses. They also outline the legal rights of businesses and business owners when potential legal issues arise.
Legislation impacts on business operations
Managers need to be aware of legislation relevant to their particular managerial functions and industry. Employers and managers are required to understand legal compliance issues within their respective organisations and be able to carry out compliance at all times as part of the management process.
Managers are both professionally and legally accountable for their conduct and work practices within their areas of responsibility. Both the common law and statutory provisions are legally binding on managers when conducting business operations. Managers are therefore required to comply with the legislative and regulatory provisions that impinge on their particular business operation(s). A failure on the part of the manager or business owner to comply with legislative requirements will subject him or her to potential liability. This liability will also extend to the organisation itself. Depending on the nature of the liability, the manager or business owner may well be liable to civil action and or criminal prosecution. An example of this would be were the manager or business owner is found to have been negligent in the workplace under the respective workplace legislation. The business owner may well face a negligence claim as well as a potential criminal prosecution. Liability would also extend to the organisation, if the organisation is a corporation registered under the Corporation Act (Cth). In the case of a partnership structure, each of the partners would be liable.
Remember government regulations and legislation are dynamic and change often. It is your responsibility to remain up to date.
Access to state and Commonwealth Acts and Regulations can be found online at a number of sources. Useful internet sites are:
Business.gov.au , ComLaw, Freedom-of-information, Fair work, Comcare
Often federal legislation is different to that of each state, make sure you are compliant with the correct legislation. If you are not sure, check!
Issue Legislation Details
Affirmative action Equal Employment Opportunity
(Commonwealth Authorities) Act 1987
Anti-bullying Fair Work Act 2009
Work Health and Safety Act 2011 People who believe they're being bullied in the workplace can apply to the Fair Work Commission for help in resolving the issue. Bullying occurs when a person or group of people, repeatedly behave unreasonably towards a worker. The behaviour also has to be deemed a risk to the worker's health or safety.
Antidiscrimination Anti-discrimination is covered under the following federal legislation:
Age Discrimination Act 2004 (Cth)
Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth)
Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth)
Sex Discrimination Act 19Fair Work Act
2009 (Cth)
Disability Discrimination and Other Human
Rights Legislation Amendment Act 2009
(Cth)
Australian Human Rights Commission Act
1986 (Cth)
Racial Discrimination Amendment Act 1980 (Cth)
Equal Employment Opportunity
(Commonwealth Authorities) Act 1987
State and territory legislation follows federal Acts. For example:
Anti-Discrimination Act 1990 (QLD) Together, they prohibit discrimination on the basis of: gender, sexual preference, political opinion, trade union activities, colour, race and ethnicity, social origin, religion, nationality, family responsibility, irrelevant medical record, irrelevant criminal history, age, marital status, carer status, parental status, breastfeeding, disability or pregnancy.
Managers need to ensure that performance-management processes do not contravene anti-discrimination legislation. A manager can be seen to discriminate against employees when they treat those with a particular attribute (i.e. age, gender, parental status, disability) less favourably than employees without that attribute or with a different attribute. Employers and managers are also considered to be acting in a discriminatory manner if they impose an employment condition that:
• an employee with a particular attribute cannot comply with
• a higher percentage of people without an attribute can comply with
• a higher percentage of people with a different attribute can comply with
• is universally applied and that people with an impairment or a disability cannot meet
• is unreasonable.
Competition laws/
Consumer
laws
Product
liability
regulation Australian Consumer Law (ACL). The standards are enforced by the ACCC Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. The regulator for Australian consumer protection legislation in Australia - Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) Provides regulations on unfair contract terms, consumer rights guarantees, product safety laws, unsolicited consumer agreements, lay-by agreements and penalties, and other areas. Further information see Australian Consumer Law: Legislative and Governance Forum on Consumer Affairs.
Copyright Copyright Act 1968
Federal legislation applicable throughout Australia. The copyright law of Australia defines legally enforceable rights of intellectual property which includes creators of creative and artistic works.
Employee
rehabilitation and compensation Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRC Act) (Cth).
Workers Compensation and Rehabilitation
Act 2003 (Qld) Worker Compensation Act
1987 (NSW)

Workplace Injury, Rehabilitation and
Compensation Act 2013(VIC) The SRC Act 1988 covers:
• Commonwealth and ACT public servants
• employees of Commonwealth and ACT statutory authorities and corporations
• Australian Defence Force members for injuries before 1 July 2004
• employees of corporations with a licence to self-insure under the SRC Act
• the SRC Act provides rehabilitation and workers’ compensation to employees covered by the scheme for a work related injury

Issue Legislation Details
• QLD legislation established a workers compensation scheme for Queensland which provides benefits for workers who sustain injury in their employment, and also for dependants if an injury results in the workers death.
Employment
contracts
See also independent contractors This comes under the general law of contract and determines the legal relationship between employers and employees, and sets out the terms and conditions of employment. Employment law is also governed by the Fair Work Act (Cth).

Note: many of the legal requirements mentioned here also refer to employment relations under the Fair Work Act 2009 Particular issues covered include:
• codes of conduct that employees are required to comply with
• contractual requirements for both employers and employees under a contract of employment
• organisational policies that employees need to observe, these requirements are generally set out by Human Resource Management Department
• the grounds upon which an employer can terminate without notice
• period of notice an employee needs to be given when employment is terminated with notice
• how and when an employee’s performance will be appraised or reviewed
• how the employee will be remunerated for their work
• The Act set out the rights and obligations of employers and employees, and the legal nature of the contract, i.e. is it based around an award or industrial agreement? Or a separate individual contract governed by common law. The Act imposes duties on employees and employers. These duties are analogous to the conditions stipulated in a common law contract of employment. A contract of employment is to be distinguished from a contract for employment (Independent contractor).
Environmental
Australian, state and territory governments, and local governments jointly administer environmental protection. There are many pieces of legislation which apply, check which one applies in your situation. The following are some examples:
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth)
Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011 (Qld)
Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Qld)
Nature Conservation Act 1992 (Qld) Queensland Heritage Act 1992
Sustainable Planning Act 2009 (Qld) Federal legislation governs the process of assessment and approval of national environmental and cultural concerns.
State and territory environmental protection legislation applies to specific business activities.
For further information, see business.gov.au: Environmental legislation.

Issue Legislation Details
Ethical principles There is no specific legislation that deals with ethical standards and conduct. However in terms of legislation governing the public service sector there are laws that apply. E.g. the Public Sector Ethics Act 1994 applies to Queensland Public Service.
No specific legislation exist that applies to relevant industry delete this. The following legislation impacts on ethical behaviour and conduct in general.
Crime and Corruption Act 2001 (Qld)
Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010 (Qld) Standards detail the kind of behaviour a company or person with sound ethics should and should not engage in. These standards are normally contained in the Human Resource manual of each organisation. (Look at the HR manual at your workplace).
Unethical actions will destroy trust and credibility.
Ethical principles include: honesty, integrity, promise keeping, loyalty, fairness, caring, respect for others, legality, commitment to excellence, leadership, reputation, accountability and avoiding conflicts of interest. Ethical principles and considerations are generally dealt with by separate pieces of legislation depending on the legal matter involved.
Common Law has implications as well with regard to Ethical considerations. As always seek legal advice for your specific issue.
Each business should have relevant HR policy and procedures covering this for their practices.
Freedom of information Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) The FOI Act provides a legally enforceable right of access to government documents. It applies to Australian Government ministers and most agencies, although the obligations of agencies and ministers are different.
FOI allows individuals to see what information government holds about them, and to seek correction of that information if they consider it wrong or misleading.
Human rights The Australian Human Rights Commission
Act 1986 (Cth) Australia is a signatory to Treaties and Conventions dealing with Human rights which legally binds Australia to Human Rights Laws.
Independent contractors
See also employment contracts Before entering into a contract, determine whether someone is classified as an independent contractor or an employee. This will determine the rights and responsibilities of each party. Independent contractors are self-employed and provide a service to a business.
They negotiate their own payments and work arrangements, and can work for a range of clients at any given time. Indpendant contractors are required to take out their own private superannaution, workers compensation, and in many cases professional indemnity insurance.
Industrial relations legislation Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) The current Commonwealth legislation is a principal Law that governs Industrial relations in Australia.
The Act deals with workplace disputes, unfair dismissal, and antidiscrimination. Allows workplace disputes to be settled by enterprise bargaining between employers and unions in the workplace. If the dispute is not able to be settled, it then goes to Fair Work Ombudsman and Fair Work Commission. The QLD legislation -Industrial Relations Act 1999 (QLD) governs public service employees as well statutory authorities such as City Council employees. This group of employees do not fall within the ambit of the Commonwealth legislation.
National
Employment
Standards
(NES) Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) section 61 The National Employment Standards (NES) are 10 minimum employment entitlements that have to be provided to all employees.
The national minimum wage and the NES make up the minimum entitlements for employees in Australia. An award, employment contract, enterprise agreement or other registered agreement can't provide for conditions that are less than the national minimum wage or the NES. They can’t exclude the NES.
All employees in the national workplace relations system are covered by the NES regardless of the award, registered agreement or employment contract that applies.
National-employment-standards

Issue Legislation Details
Privacy Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)
You must be aware of your obligations under the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
Australia has national privacy legislation, overseen by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). This regulates how businesses collect, access, and store personal information and communication. There are specific requirements for the management of sensitive information e.g. medical records.
Legislation applies to a number of different activities and sectors. Australian states and territories also have individual privacy laws that may apply in the workplace and affect business in each jurisdiction. A new set of privacy principles was introduced in March 2014. The principles cover how a business handles personal information, including the:
handling and processing of personal information use of personal information for direct marketing disclosure of personal information to people overseas.
Racial discrimination Racial Discrimination Act 1975
Sex
discrimination Sex Discrimination Act 1984
Trade practices Australian Consumer Law (Trade Practices
Amendment (Australian Consumer Law) Act
(No. 1) 2010; Trade Practices Amendment
(Australian Consumer Law) Act (No. 2)
2010) From 1 January 2011, Australian Consumer Law reforms introduced a new regulatory environment for competition and consumer protection laws in Australia. The Competition and Consumer Act 2010 replaces the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) (TPA). All references to ’TPA‘ refer to provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act (from 1 January 2011) and the former Trade Practices Act (up to 31 December 2010). See Competition laws and
Competition Laws in this table for more information. Competition and
Consumer Act 2010
Unfair dismissal Or unlawful dismissal The primary piece of legislation relating to unfair and unlawful dismissal is Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). Under this legislation, employees can claim their dismissal was harsh, unjust or unreasonable, not a case of genuine redundancy or the dismissal was not consistent with the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code.
Work health and safety Work Health and Safety Act 2011(QLD)
Some states still use their own occupational health and safety (OH&S) laws, so be sure to check with your state as to the particular areas you need to comply with.
Under health and safety legislation, employers have a duty to ensure that employees' working environments are safe and pose no threats to their health and wellbeing. Under this legislation, risks to health and safety also includes bullying and violence in the workplace. Bullying can be defined as repeated, unreasonable behaviour directed at employees that poses risk to health and safety. Management needs to ensure that in carrying out their duties, their behaviour cannot be construed as bullying. Particularly relevant when addressing poor employee performance. They should be careful not to:
• verbally abuse employees, exclude or isolate employees
• set employees impossible tasks or assignments
• harass employees, psychologically or otherwise, or intimidate employees
• intentionally withhold information vital for effective work performance
• assign meaningless tasks to employees are not job related.
Workplace diversity This federal and state legislation covers workplace diversity and equal opportunity in Australia:
Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth)
Age Discrimination Act 2004(Cth)
Sex Discrimination Act 1984(Cth)
Racial Discrimination Act 1975(Cth)
Racial Hatred Act 1995(Cth)
Disability Discrimination Act 1992(Cth)
Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (Act)
Fair Work Act 2009(Cth)
Equal Employment Opportunity (Commonwealth Authorities) Act 1987
Issue Legislation Details
State-based anti-discrimination and WHS laws
Remember you need to be aware of your own responsibilities. Legislation changes, keep up to date. Non-compliance is not tolerated and ignorance of the law is no excuse!