Lead And Manage Effective Workplace Relationships

Performance objective

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

Assessment description

Using the simulated business information provided, and in response to a scenario, you

will prepare a portfolio of communications planning documentation that includes a

communications strategy and grievance procedure. You will also prepare and deliver a

presentation to the senior management team on your plans for managing

communications and consultation.

Procedure

Part A: Communications planning portfolio

1. Review the scenario in Appendix 1, particularly the background to the simulated

organisation, current change issues, communication and consultation needs, and

information about your role as Communications Consultant.

2. Review JKL Industries simulated business documentation, including strategic plans

and operational plans. Note what the organisation does, how it does it, what its

goals and objectives are, and who its stakeholders and customers are.

 

 

Assessment Task 1 BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships

BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships 1st edition version: 1

© 2015 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd Page 2 of 6

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

includes:

a. two to three communications objectives

b. at least two different audiences, for example, senior management, work

teams, or individual employees

c. at least two methods of communication or media

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

to management); for example, consultation on employee health and safety,

consultation on continuous improvement of work processes, consultation on

employee conditions and pay, or consultation on job roles and performance

expectations.

Note: Ensure you also provide for management feedback on consultation

back to employees.

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

5. Submit your portfolio in accordance with quality specifications outlined below.

Part B: Presentation to the senior management team

Research, plan and deliver a 10–15 minute presentation to senior managers on your

proposed communications planning.

1. Prepare a business presentation in response to the scenario described in the

scenario. Determine and prepare to discuss:

a. Audience needs and relevant interpersonal skills you will need to deploy to

win support for your ideas.

b. Organisational needs:

i. internal strategic needs, goals and objectives

ii. external regulatory or legal requirements, such as for WHS

consultation, anti-discrimination or industrial relations

iii. business ethics requirements.

c. Your proposed approach to communications and consultation to meet

organisational and audience needs:

i. Prepare to explain your draft communications strategy, organisational

policies and procedures, and how such communications systems and

policies can support a coordinated approach to developing effective

work relationships.

2. Arrange a time and location to deliver your presentation to the senior management

team.

3. Deliver the presentation to the senior management team. Ensure you deliver your

presentation in accordance with deliverables and quality specifications outlined

below.

 

 

Assessment Task 1 BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships

BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships 1st edition version: 1

© 2015 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd Page 3 of 6

Specifications

You must:

● submit a communications planning portfolio that includes:

o a communications strategy

o a short grievance procedure.

● deliver a 10–15-minute presentation on your proposed communications strategy.

Your assessor will be looking for evidence of your ability to:

● provide leadership through your own behaviour including professional conduct that

promotes trust with a business audience

● explain how communications systems, policies and procedures can support the

development of effective work relationships

● explain how your communications strategy addresses legislative or regulatory

requirements

● interact with others through:

o building professional trust

o demonstrating high level support and facilitation skills and your ability to

engage and motivate others

● get the work done through:

o taking public responsibility for planning and sequencing complex tasks to

achieve organisational goals

o developing processes and plans for complex communication activities with

strategic importance

o analysing information to inform decisions about organisational

communications strategy

o identifying opportunities for improvement in communications

● develop processes to manage ideas and information including:

o communicating information to support others to achieve work responsibilities

o facilitating employees’ contributions to consultation on work issues

o providing feedback on the outcomes of consultations

o resolution of issues raised or referral to relevant personnel

● demonstrate writing skills through:

o researching and preparing plans and policies incorporating appropriate

vocabulary, grammatical structure and conventions.

 

 

 

Assessment Task 1 BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships

BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships 1st edition version: 1

© 2015 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd Page 4 of 6

Adjustment for distance-based learners

● No changes to the assessment procedure or specification are required.

● The presentation may be conducted via video or teleconferencing.

● Documentation may be submitted electronically.

● A follow-up interview may be required (at the discretion of the assessor).

 

 

 

Assessment Task 1 BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships

BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships 1st edition version: 1

© 2015 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd Page 5 of 6

Appendix 1: Scenario – JKL Industries

JKL Industries overview

JKL Industries is an Australian-owned company, selling forklifts, small trucks and spare

parts to industry. They also have a division that leases forklifts and small trucks.

The company’s head office is in Sydney and has branches in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth,

Adelaide and Canberra.

Change

After 12 years in business, focusing on forklifts and small trucks, JKL Industries has

negotiated the sales rights to a range of medium and large trucks from an overseas

supplier. This opportunity will provide JKL Industries with an advantage in range over its

competitors.

Sales results over the past five years have indicated strong growth in forklift and truck

sales, which have averaged 10% sales growth per annum. The rental market has been in

decline for the past three years due to the reduced costs of these vehicles and some

taxation benefits to industries who purchase these vehicles.

Taking the sales rights opportunity will, however, entail some significant changes,

including significant changes to the current organisational structure. The company will

reposition itself to focus solely on retail sales and service and exit the rentals market, in

which forces such as competition and consumer choice reduce potential profitability.

In accordance with the organisation’s values, JKL Industries intends (to the extent

feasible) to recruit from within the company and up-skill or re-skill existing employees

presently working in rentals who wish to remain with the company.

Given the company’s previous history of employee grievances over pay and conditions

and current plans to restructure, JKL Industries has identified poor communications and

an organisational climate of conflict as a risk to business goals.

Moving forward, the organisation intends to build and maintain a positive organisational

culture, reduce risk and achieve organisational goals through:

● developing an effective policy framework for managing internal communications

and consultation, in accordance with organisational objectives, business ethics,

and compliance requirements

● communicating and building support for organisational initiatives and objectives

● managing information flow to:

o provide managers and employees with at-hand information to perform their

work responsibilities

o communicate ideas for improvement (top-down and bottom-up)

o facilitate feedback both to and from employees and management on relevant

work performance and outcomes of consultation.

Communication and consultation issues

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

 

 

Assessment Task 1 BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships

BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships 1st edition version: 1

© 2015 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd Page 6 of 6

● A lack of an overarching approach to information management that helps to

promote common understanding of team goals and organisational values and to

build strategic relationships.

● Slow responses to internal and external customer needs.

● Slow and ineffective communication of and implementation of ideas for improved

processes.

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

● Inadequate consultation, resulting in risks to compliance (particularly WHS

consultation requirements) and too little bottom-up information flow from

employees to management. This latter results in poor organisational take-up of

improvement ideas identified by teams and individuals at lower levels of the

organisation and by customer-facing managers and employees.

● Inconsistent application by managers of grievance procedures posing a risk to

employee relations.

● Poor sense of employee engagement, empowerment and accountability for work

performance.

● Poor general awareness of (and therefore poor support of) organisational goals,

ethics, values.

Your role

You are a communications consultant. You have been engaged by JKL Industries to revise

and update strategies and processes to manage communications and information flow

within the organisation.

Note that the senior management team may be resistant to changes to communication

strategies, policies and procedures. In particular, they are concerned that a new approach

to communications may result in a less cohesive organisation.

You will need to ensure your communications strategy and processes address

organisational issues, while using your highly developed interpersonal skills to engage

and motivate the senior management team to embrace your proposed changes.