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Structure of the workbookl Unit of Competency: BSBLDR523 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships Part 1 - The workbook is structured to provide knowledge component in the first part including the introduction to the theoretical aspects of the unit and detailed description of the unit of competency knowledge development. Part 2-The development of your skills and knowledge which are sectioned to cover the unit elements and performance criteria to apply your skills and knowledge to gain competency for effective vocational outcomes.

How to use the workbook First develop your knowledge Read the workbook starting with the introduction to the subject of unit of competency and the details to develop your knowledge application. 1. Once reading is complete, attempt the review questions to ensure you develop your knowledge related to knowledge evidence required. Then develop your skills and apply skills and knowledge for vocational outcome 1. Actively read the workbook sections which are sectioned in line with unit elements and performance criteria to confirm the application of skills and knowledge related to achieve effective and efficient vocational outcome. 2. Attempt and complete all the learning activities in the workbook in relevant sections to develop your competency including use of foundation skills.

Copyright © 2021 Dynamics Learning Pty Ltd. 2/23 Foster Street Surry Hills NSW 2010 Australia. (www.dynamicslearning.com.au). This publisher holds the copyright of its reproduction and adaptation. All rights are reserved for publisher and authors including total or partial reproduction or adaptation and the Institute is provided with a license for use and sharing with learners for educational purposes. Edition Compiled by Developed in Review by

:1

: A K Don (MBA (UK), MPA (Aus.), Dip L & M, DipM, FAIM (MCIM, Chartered Marketer – Fmr)) : June 2021 : June 2022

Disclaimer The information contained in this manual is drawn from sources believed to be valid and reliable. The writer, the firm, its employees, agents, and contractors do not warrant the correctness of the sources used and accept no responsibility to any person or commercial body for any errors or omissions or for any loss or damage however caused from the use of this manual. Every effort has been made to ensure that this publication is free from duplication, errors, or omissions. Information used from various sources including online materials, books and journals are tested for their validity, reliability, currency, and rephrased, adapted, quoted, and referenced. However, if unsure, users should conduct their own enquiries and seek professional advice before relying on any fact, statement or matter contained in this book. Information in this unit is current at the time of publication. Some images, charts and graphics appearing in this resource have been developed by the writer and some are accessed and used from various freely available online sources.

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Table of Contents Unit Overview.............................................................................................................................. 3 Introduction to workplace relationships ....................................................................................... 4 Workplace relationships ..................................................................................................................... 4 Systems, policies and procedures that can support the development of effective work relationships........................................................................................................................................ 7 Key aspects of work relationships....................................................................................................... 9 Legislation relevant to managing effective workplace relationships ............................................... 24 Organisational policies and procedures relevant to workplace relationships ................................. 26 Methods to develop processes for consultation with employees.................................................... 29 Methods to develop processes for conflict management ................................................................ 31 Methods to develop processes for task issue management. ........................................................... 35 Skills development and application ............................................................................................ 38 Section 1.................................................................................................................................... 40 Establish effective workplace relationship processes .................................................................. 40 Identify required processes for workplace collaboration according to organisational policies and procedures ........................................................................................................................................ 41 Develop consultation processes for employees to contribute to issues related to their work role 45 Develop processes for conflict management ................................................................................... 47 Develop processes for escalated issues or refer to relevant personnel ........................................... 51 Section 2.................................................................................................................................... 54 Manage effective workplace relationships .................................................................................. 54 Delegate and confirm responsibilities for fulfilling work tasks......................................................... 54 Collaborate and support team to perform work tasks ..................................................................... 57 Identify and address issues in workplace relationships according to processes established .......... 60 Monitor and communicate to employees outcomes of conflict management ................................ 62 Section 3.................................................................................................................................... 64 Review management of workplace relationships ........................................................................ 64 Seek feedback on management of workplace relationships from relevant stakeholders ............... 64 Evaluate feedback for improvements to leadership style ................................................................ 67 Identify areas of improvement for future workplace relations leadership ...................................... 70 References................................................................................................................................. 71

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Unit Overview Unit of Competency BSBLDR523 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships

Application of the unit This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to lead and manage effective workplace relationships. The unit applies to individuals in leadership or management positions who have a prominent role in establishing and managing processes and procedures to support workplace relationships. These individuals apply the values, goals and cultural diversity policies of the organisation. They use complex and diverse methods and procedures as well as a range of problem solving and decision-making strategies, which require the exercise of considerable discretion and judgement.

Unit Elements 1. Establish effective workplace relationship processes 2. Manage effective workplace relationships 3. Review management of workplace relationships

Learning Activities This learner workbook is designed with learning activities. At the end of each training session, learners must do learning activities to confirm the application of skills and knowledge that are developed to ensure learning objectives are achieved. Activities are indicated with following icons:

Icon

Activity/Description

Icon

Activity/Description

Group Activity  Group discussions  Teamwork

Written task  Written questioning  Written activities  Report writing

Verbal Questioning

Presentation

Trainer directs verbal questioning at learner/s

Learner makes presentations

Individual verbal presentation

Project work

Learner present learning

Learner undertakes project work

Role-play

Case study

Learner plays an assigned role

Lerner undertake a case study

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Introduction - BSBLDR523 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships

Introduction Lead and manage effective workplace relationships Workplace relationships The definition of working relationship in the dictionary is a relationship with a colleague, boss or employee to have a good working relationship if people have a good working relationship, they are on good terms, and can work effectively together. Workplace relationships are unique interpersonal relationships with important implications for the individuals in those relationships, and the organizations in which the relationships exist and develop. Workplace relationships directly affect a worker's ability and drive to succeed. Workplace relationships are the tipping point upon which many matters important to managers and HR personnel balance. Research states that relationships with co-workers were identified as the top driver of employee engagement, with 77% of participants listing these connections as a priority. In addition to engagement, the quality of these connections can have a major effect on company loyalty, job satisfaction, productivity, and more. When employees have strong relationships in the workplace, you’re more likely to see prosocial behaviour like collaboration and camaraderie occur. Employees are more likely to feel a stronger sense of loyalty to their company and each other, and perceive more psychological value in their daily work. If you want a high-functioning workforce, you want a relationship-centric organization, which means you need to understand the forces that impact the workplace relationship spectrum. Human beings are naturally social creatures. And when you consider that we spend one-third of our lives at work, it's clear that good relationships with colleagues will make our jobs more enjoyable. The more comfortable co-workers are around one other, the more confident they'll feel voicing opinions, brainstorming, and going along with new ideas, for example. This level of teamwork is essential to embrace change, create, and innovate. And when people see the successes of working together in this way, group morale and productivity soars. Good work relationships also give you freedom. Instead of spending time and energy dealing with negative relationships, you can, instead, focus on opportunities – from winning new business to focusing on personal development. And having a strong professional circle will also help you to develop your career, opening up opportunities that otherwise might pass you by.

What types of workplace relationships matter? Every individual on the relationship spectrum contributes to how employee engagement is shaped in their work environment. Relationships in the workplace are a by-product of two primary factors: interaction, how often two people connect and communicate, and relatedness, or how much two people have in common. Relatedness cannot be discovered without some degree of interaction for obvious reasons; if two employees never interact, they never have the opportunity learn about their common interests. The chart below displays where different varieties of relationships fall on this spectrum. For example, a co-worker with similar interests that you collaborate with regularly would rank high in both relatedness and interaction. Conversely, an acquaintance from another department might rank low in both areas. Page 4 of 73

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The value an individual employee assigns to their work, and their role in a company, is not determined by that individual alone, but rather by a value system that every employee contributes to via interpersonal communication. People high in relatedness and interaction have the biggest effect on an individual’s engagement, as they’re more closely connected and are able to provide accurate appraisal of that employee’s performance. But the people on the periphery of this spectrum—those low in relatedness and interaction—also make an important impact on engagement. Although day-to-day interaction may be limited, these employees nevertheless share the same physical and digital spaces that you do. Through basic verbal and nonverbal cues, these people communicate the value they see in their peers’ work. Even something as simple as a smile is enough to convey a sense of gratitude and appreciation in others. By extension, the absence of these cues would communicate the opposite. The key to maximizing engagement levels is to put these relationships at the centre of your work environment. Remove barriers preventing communication and create a space where employees are free to build common connections around the things they care about most. 1. Targeted Relationships These are the people you Do not know but who are in the same industry as you—either as peers or competitors. It’s worthwhile targeting and connecting with them, because “you will benefit from what they offer and they will benefit from knowing you.” Targeted relationships Do not feel real because you Do not actually know these people personally; maybe you connect with them on LinkedIn or quickly exchanged business cards at an event. You can’t depend on these people yet, but if you work on these relationships, these people can be crucial to you in the future. If you target the right people, you’ll know exactly who to turn to if the industry or market ever changes. 1. Tentative Relationships Before you can ask someone to do something for you, you have to form some kind of relationship with him or her. If you’ve spoken briefly to someone at a conference or a networking event, that relationship is a tentative one. You might not truly know these people yet, but you know them enough to email them for a small favour or to ask them if they would be interested in getting involved in your new project. Tentative relationships are different from your targeted ones because you actually speak or meet up with these people at least semi-regularly for coffee or lunch. You see your relationship with them growing, and you put effort into getting to know one another better. These people can benefit your company: For example, if you need to know where to get certain supplies, these people can help connect you with the right people. If they are experts in their industries, they can advise you on different business decisions. 2. Transactional Relationships These types of relationships are less personal and typically used by managers to accomplish specific business objectives. They are defined by what each party can do for the other to reach near-term objectives, seldom extended into career or personal areas. For example, relationships with customers, peers or suppliers are often transactional relationships. “Transactional relationship partners trust and respect each other because they frequently work together and consistently treat each other fairly,” the authors explain. “These relationships develop with go-to people whom you can count on to get the job done. Likewise, they trust that you will meet your end of the bargain.”

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3. Trusted Relationships These are the most personal, valuable and often the “longest-lasting” relationships out of all of these. The conversations that you have with these people are usually related to long-term plans. These people are your mentors and close peers at work. This kind of relationship also needs to exist between senior executives and partners in different organisations. Business deals need to be crafted through trusted relationships. To create a trusted relationship, you need to have had many interactions with one another that have gone well. At the beginning of these trusted relationships, you should offer your service, product or expertise without expecting anything in return. Once this happens, a trust is formed between you and the other person. If you decide to do business with one another, those interactions can eventually lead to a trusted relationship if you treat each other well and Do not “abuse the relationship for a one-sided gain.” Trusted relationships take the most work and longest to form, but they are worth it because they “frequently create huge opportunities and have enormous long-term impacts” on organisations, the authors write. You Do not need to have deep relationships with everyone you meet. It’s best to choose a few people to enter into trusted relationships with and have a bigger group of people for targeted, tentative and transactional relationships.

Learning Activity 1 Workplace relationship Activity type

Written Activity

Activity timing

20 minutes

Activity description

1. Explain what is workplace relationships and how good workplace relationship helps to success day-to-day work in the workplace. 2. You have to deal with different kind of relationships in your workplace. Briefly explain some relationships and give suitable examples to support your answer.

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Systems, policies and procedures that can support the development of effective work relationships Systems to support the development of work relationships          

Communication systems and processes Interpersonal work systems and processes Teamwork systems and processes Workplace meetings and group activities Systems of coffee breaks and lunch times. Reporting and leadership systems. Management information systems. Decision making systems. Systems of employee involvement in workplace activities and decision making. Systems of sharing work including delegation.

Policies and procedures to support the development of work relationships These are the top seven ways you can play well with others at work. They form the basis for building effective interpersonal work relationships. These are the actions you want to take to create a positive, empowering, motivational work environment for people: 1. Policy to bring suggested solutions to problems to the meeting table Some employees spend an inordinate amount of time identifying problems. Honestly? That's the easy part. Thoughtful solutions are the challenge that will earn respect and admiration from your co-workers and bosses. Your willingness to defend your solution until a better or improved approach is decided on by the team is also a plus. Your commitment to the implementation of the solution finally selected matters in idea generation, too. 2. Policy not to play the blame game You alienate co-workers, supervisors, and reporting staff. Yes, you may need to identify who was involved in a problem. You may even ask Dr. W. Edwards Deming's recommended question: what about the work system caused the employee to fail? The system is the source of most problems. 4. Policy of verbal and nonverbal communication If you talk down to another employee, use sarcasm, or sound nasty, the other employee hears you. Humans are all radar machines that constantly scope out the environment. When you talk to another employee with a lack of respect, the message comes through loudly and clearly. In one organization, a high-level manager once asked this question of a consultant, "I know you Do not think I should scream at my employees. But sometimes, they make me so mad. When is it ever appropriate for me to scream at the employees?" The answer? Never, of course, if respect for people is a hallmark of your organization—which it should be, and it is in massively successful companies. 3. Policy not to blind side a co-worker, boss, or reporting staff person If the first time a co-worker hears about a problem is in a staff meeting or from an email sent to their supervisor, you have blindsided the co-worker. Always discuss problems first, with the people directly involved who own the work system. Also called ambushing your coworkers, you will never build effective work alliances unless your co-workers trust you. And

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without alliances, you will never accomplish the most important goals for your job and career. You cannot do it alone, so treat your co-workers as you expect them to treat you. 4. Policy to keep commitments In an organization, work is interconnected. If you fail to meet deadlines and commitments, you affect the work of other employees. Always keep commitments, and if you can't, make sure all affected employees know what happened. Provide a new due date and make every possible effort to honour the new deadline. It is not okay for an organization to just quietly allow deadlines to slip by. Your co-workers, even if they fail to confront you, will think less of you and disrespect your actions. 5. Policy to share credit for accomplishments, ideas, and contributions How often do you accomplish a goal or complete a project with no help from others? If you are a manager, how many of the great ideas you promote were contributed by staff members? Take the time, and expend the energy, to thank, reward, recognize and specify the contributions of the people who help you succeed. It is a no-fail approach to building effective work relationships. Share credit; deflect blame and failure. 6. Policy to help and assist other employees Every employee in your organization has talents, skills, and experience. If you can help fellow employees harness their best abilities, you benefit the organization immeasurably. The growth of individual employees benefits the whole. Compliment, praise, and notice their contributions. You Do not have to be a manager to help create a positive, motivating environment for employees. In this environment, employees do find and contribute their greatness in seeking the accomplishment of the organization's purpose and goals. They will always remember that you were part of bringing it out of them. Those interpersonal work relationships are cherished. The Bottom Line If you regularly carry out these seven actions, you will play well with others and build effective interpersonal work relationships. Co-workers will value you as a colleague. Bosses will believe that you play on the right team—with them. You'll accomplish your work goals, and you may even experience fun, recognition, and personal motivation. And how can work get any better than that?

Learning Activity 2 Systems, policies and procedures that can support the development of effective work relationships Activity type

Written Activity

Activity timing

30 minutes

Activity description

1. Identify some systems that support to develop workplace

relationships and give necessary examples to your answer. 2. What are the actions you want to take to create a positive, empowering, motivational work environment for people? 3. How above-mentioned actions help you to build effective workplace relationships?

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Key aspects of work relationships Fostering these characteristics of positive work relationships in your practice is not the responsibility of a single person, such as your practice manager. While leadership can play an important role, each member of a practice should be expected to lead by example. Modelling desired behaviour is one of the most effective ways to encourage the systemic development of these relationship characteristics.

Interpersonal styles Interpersonal style can be defined as how we interact with other people. Our style and behaviour are impacted by our personalities, our values and the environment we live and work in, and the styles of those we interact with. A number of practical benefits result from understanding interpersonal style.

1. Understanding your style and that of others will help you communicate more effectively. An ability to adapt your style and communicate in your counterpart's preferred “listening” style is a key success factor in getting the best out of them.

2. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your behavioural style helps you to determine how you can make the most effective contribution with your team. Are you: A strong decisionmaker? A go-getter? Good in a crisis? An effective planner? A critical thinker? A relationship builder? Good at involving others?

3. Being aware of your team members’ styles (and associated strengths) will help you make conscious choices on team member selection when building “task teams” to meet a specific goal. For example, does your initiative require people who are strongly goal and task orientated and/or or good at process or building relationships? Depending on your priorities, you can build the necessary strengths and diversity into your team. You may have team members who do not exhibit a distinct style. These individuals often prove to be valuable team players, serving in a number of roles or providing balance to a team with a predominant style. Awareness of your interpersonal style, including its strength and weaknesses, is an important step in determining how you can best contribute with you team. Communicating with colleagues in their preferred style will help you get the best out of them. A given situation will require you to refine your approach to meet the objective while leveraging your collective strengths and listening styles. Effective leaders get the best out of people by “style-flexing” and by leveraging the strengths of team members in addition to their own. They are adept at building diverse teams comprising the right mix of capabilities and approaches. How to leverage interpersonal style for workplace relationships? According to Temme’s book, Team Power - How to build and grow successful teams, he breaks interpersonal style into 4 types, each of which has different strengths:

1. Accommodating (“Get along”) types are good listeners and focus on team harmony and steadiness, seeking to creating a climate of trust 2. Enthusiastic (“Get attention”) types are creative, good brain-stormers and encourage team innovation

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3. Meditative (“Get it right”) types are strong on critical thinking, accuracy and details and will encourage the team to solve problems through effective analysis

4. Targeted (“Get it done”) types are excellent in crisis, are focused on goals and results and will encourage the team to get the job done. Team members with a common orientation (e.g. people or goal) will “more naturally” get along, but this does not mean they are more effective together. If too many team members have a similar style, it can lead to “group think” whereas a team comprised of different styles is likely to offer a greater diversity of ideas, opinions, and approaches – and hence creativity. Effective leaders, get the best out of people by modifying their approach (“style – flexing”) according to the situation and recognizing and utilizing the strengths of team members. They are adept at building teams that bring the right mix of capabilities and approaches to achieve a specific objective.

Communication By definition, communication is the transfer of information from one place to another. In relationships, communication allows to you explain to someone else what you are experiencing and what your needs are. The act of communicating not only helps to meet your needs, but it also helps you to be connected in your relationship. How to improve communication in workplace relationships Open, complete and clear communication can be learnt. Some people find it hard to talk and may need time and encouragement to express their views. These people may be good listeners, or they may be people whose actions speak louder than their words. You can help to improve your communication by:  



Building companionship – sharing experiences, interests and concerns with your colleagues, and showing affection and appreciation. Sharing intimacy – intimacy is not only a sexual connection. Intimacy is created by having moments of feeling close and attached to your workplace teams and individuals. It means being able to comfort and be comforted, and to be open and honest. An act of intimacy can be as simple as bringing your co-worker a cup of tea because you can tell they are tired. Finding one or two key issues you can agree on, such as how activities are shared, a goal you have, or your communication styles or team work strategies.

To improve the way you communicate, start by asking questions such as:     

What things cause conflict between you and your co-workers? Are they because you are not listening to each other? What things bring you happiness and feelings of connection? What things cause you disappointment and pain? What things Do not you talk about and what stops you talking about them? How would you like your communication with your co-workers to be different?

If possible, ask these questions with your colleagues and share your responses. Consider, and try, ways to communicate differently. See whether the results improve your communication. When you are more aware of how you communicate, you will be able to have more control over what happens between you. While it may not be easy at first, opening up new areas of communication can lead to a more fulfilling relationship. Copyrights © 2020 Dynamics Learning Pty Ltd

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Consultation In addition to any matters where consultation is mandatory in areas such as WHS, employers should consult with their employees on workplace issues that may impact on the welfare, teamwork, workplace relationships and productivity of employees. As a matter of best practice, consideration should be given to the value that consultation could add to any business decision making and enhance workplace relationships. Consultation can identify opportunities, assist decision making and help ensure any new ideas work effectively in practice. Consultation may take the form of:     

Establishment of employer/employee (and employee representative) committees Regular staff meetings and communication with employees Regular performance and training reviews Regular written communications such as newsletters Encouragement of employee feedback on business and administrative decisions.

These practices may be implemented through administrative structures, company policies, enterprise agreements, or - where appropriate - may be set out in employees’ contracts of employment. When consulting in the workplace, remember to respect everybody’s opinions and backgrounds. Depending on your workplace, you may need to take into account cultural and language differences and make sure that everybody understands the consultation process. Communications and consultation Employee communications and consultation are essentially about involving and developing people in an organisation. Whatever the size of an organisation, and regardless of whether it is unionised or non-unionised, employees will only be able to perform at their best if they know their duties, obligations and rights and have an opportunity of making their views known to management on issues that affect them. With the trend towards flatter management structures and the devolvement of responsibilities to individuals, it is increasingly important that employees have a real understanding not only of what they are required to do but why. Good communications and consultation are central to the management process and assume critical importance when dealing with changes in working practices and procedures. All managers need to communicate and consult with employees in order to be effective but they also need to exchange information with other managers which necessitates lateral or inter-departmental communications. Failure to recognise this need may result in inconsistency of approach or application. Employee communication and consultation offer many benefits although, done well, they require time and money. In particular good employee communications and consultation can:  



improve organisational performance - time spent communicating at the outset of a new project or development can minimise subsequent rumour and misunderstanding improve management performance and decision making - allowing employees to express their views can help managers and supervisors arrive at sound decisions which can more readily be accepted by employees as a whole; this may be particularly important at times of emergency or where new practices or procedures are being introduced improve employees' performance and commitment - employees will perform better if they are given regular, accurate information about their jobs such as updated technical instructions, targets, deadlines and feedback. Their commitment is also likely to be

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  

enhanced if they know what the organisation is trying to achieve and how they, as individuals, can influence decisions help develop greater trust - discussing issues of common interest and allowing employees an opportunity of expressing their views can engender improved management/employee relations increase job satisfaction - employees are more likely to be motivated if they have a good understanding of their job and how it fits into the organisation as a whole and are actively encouraged to express their views and ideas. encourage a more flexible working environment - employers can help to promote a good 'work-life balance' within the organisation by talking to all their staff about developing flexible working policies and practices.

Communications and consultation are not, and should not, be an end in themselves. Nevertheless, used properly they have a key role to play both in ensuring the business success of organisations and in involving and empowering employees.

Cultural and social sensitivity Cultural and social sensitivity in the workplace means paying attention to the differences and placing value in them. Differences among cultures may include language, communication styles, working styles, religious beliefs and social norms. Differences can be as small as time zones. Cultural sensitivity is a set of skills that enables us to learn about and understand people who are different from ourselves, thereby becoming better able to serve them within their own communities. Interacting with people from different cultures happens regularly at most workplaces. Some businesses have employees from across the globe. Others have customers in different countries. Some businesses have multiple offices in different geographic locations. Regardless of where your employees, customers and partners are from, it’s vital to focus on cultural sensitivity in the workplace in order to create a sense of unity and ease tension. One of the most important ways to promote cultural sensitivity in the workplace is to provide knowledge and training to employees about what cultural sensitivity is and why it’s important. Training about cultural sensitivity in the business includes elements such as communication, etiquette, negotiation, marketing and social norms. Key aspects of taking steps to demonstrate cultural awareness By introducing cultural awareness activities in the workplace, businesses show their employees that they value their differences. It’s a chance for employees to learn more about one another. This can help colleagues to work better together and create synergy in the workplace. Activities that focus on cultural sensitivity have many benefits:     

Improves communication among employees of different cultures Creates a more welcoming and safer environment in the workplace Increases productivity by helping employees better understand one another Introduces new perspectives that can lead to creative and innovative ideas Reduces misinterpretation and tensions due to cultural differences.

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Strategies to increase cultural awareness If you can help your employees overcome cultural differences, they’ll be able to act as a single unit in pursuit of a common goal. But how do you go about doing this? The answer; by promoting cultural awareness in the workplace and improving your employees’ cultural literacy skills. This is particularly important in today’s multicultural environment. It can help prevent cultural conflicts and allow your employees to better deal with foreign customers and colleagues. If you and your employees have the training, skills, and knowledge to work effectively with a diverse group of people, you’ll also be able to open more doors for your business. So here are seven things you can do to promote cultural literacy and awareness in your business.

1. Provide training for cultural sensitivity Build the cultural knowledge of your employees. You can hold training classes to teach them about different cultural practices. These classes should be organised in a way that allow your employees to learn how to deal with working in an increasingly diverse workforce and society.

2. Develop communication skills to bridge the gap of cultures Good communication skills are important when dealing with different cultures. How you communicate to others, both verbally and non-verbally, can be a deal maker or deal breaker. It’s great if your employees know the language of the country you have business with, but they can still be effective communicators if they have a thorough understanding of the local culture, and work alongside a skilled translator. On the other hand, if you have foreign customers and employees who Do not speak English very well, tell your other staff members to speak slowly, stick to the point, use short sentences, and avoid humour and colloquialism.

3. Embrace good etiquettes It’s always good to have manners. In some countries, saying “please” and “thank you” is an important and crucial part of business conversation. It shows you’re polite, respectful, and caring, and this will be sure to open doors for you and your business.

4. Celebrate traditional holidays, festivals, and food Celebrating diversity can help increase cultural literacy, awareness, and acceptance. Start by including the holidays and festivals of other cultures in your organisation email or news bulletin, and then celebrate them at work when appropriate. This will show your employees that you recognise and accept their cultures.

5. Observe and listen to foreign customers and colleagues Another way to help your employees become more culturally aware is to tell them to observe and listen to foreign customers and colleagues. If they’re in a foreign country, they should look at how those around them conduct themselves and their business, and then follow suit. And if they listen more than they talk, they’ll learn more quickly.

6. Pay attention to differences in culture You can also help your employees be more culturally sensitive by telling them to pay attention to differences in a foreign customer’s culture. This way they won’t bother them on national or religious holidays, and they’ll know not to bring up or discuss politics or religion if it might get them into trouble.

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Networking The word “networking” has been used in business so frequently that it is now described as a “socioeconomic activity” involving the meeting of entrepreneurs, professionals and businesspeople in order to form and maintain business relationships. Through these relationships, they are able to recognize or create business opportunities, and act on them. The most successful businesses are those who have a good standing in the industry, and this denotes a good relationship with those that they do business with. That is not really a stretch, when you consider that people mostly do business and keep doing business only with those that they like and actually trust. Business and social functions are the ideal venues for networking to take place. Take, for example, an occasion where a large automotive manufacturer is announcing its plans to launch a new car model in the coming year. It won’t come as a surprise to see businesspeople, even from industries other than automobile manufacturing, to be present. Their main reason may be to celebrate with the new plans of the company, but they have another reason for being present in the occasion, and that is to network. Networking is not merely the act of two people exchanging business cards, shaking hands and making a toast while drinking together. It is a far more complex activity, which is why many approach it with caution and a lot of care. Networking strategies 1. Set networking goals. You have to have a clear direction, with a specific goal in mind, for your networking. Do you know why you are networking in the first place? Is it to introduce your new business? Is it to obtain support and gain favour from the industry? Is it to acquire knowledge in order to get your business of the ground and oversee its operations very well? There are a multitude of reasons why businesses pay special attention to networking. Know what they are so that it will be easier for you to come up with a plan on how you will carry out your networking efforts. 2. Know where to do networking. Businesspeople must be feeling really lucky these days because, compared to, say, twenty, thirty, fifty years ago, there are more places, venues and platforms where they can network. It used to be limited only in industry conferences and speaking engagements. However, as networking has evolved, so, too, did the networking hot spots, so to speak. Aside from conferences, meetings, trade fairs and showcases, networking also works very well over the internet, thanks in large part to social media platforms offering a new, modern, faster and easier way to connect. Businesses now make it a point to “build a strong online presence”. That is, in actual fact, a networking move. The most commonly used (and effective) social media platforms used primarily for business networking are Twitter and LinkedIn. 3. Understand your target. By “target”, we mean the potential contacts that you want to be in your network. Networking is about meeting the right people, not all the people. Effective networking is more about quality than quantity. Two strategies may be at play here: a. Abundance method. In this approach, the person tries to connect with as many people as they can. In a room full of people, he is that person who flits from one end of the room to another, talking to pretty much everyone. His objective is to make as many contacts as he can, possibly everyone he comes in contact with. This method Copyrights © 2020 Dynamics Learning Pty Ltd

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will work only if you are an expert at networking, and you have the ability to leave a memorable impression on everyone that you have met and talked to. b. Quality relationships method. This approach is more selective. The networker will choose only several individuals, those they deem to be the best prospects, and approach them. They are more concerned with making a lasting impression on a handful of contacts, instead of rubbing elbows with a hundred. The advantage of this method is that the networking will be more concentrated or focused. It has higher probabilities of helping create quality relationships. 4. Take the first step by reaching out. You should not wait for your potential contact to approach you. Make the first move instead. You can start by being friendly and helpful, offering them any assistance they may need. Or you can simply start by expressing your curiosity about them. In personal circles, they call this “making small talk” and “breaking the ice”. It applies to this situation, too. 5. Manage your time to make way for networking. Businesspeople often chime out that they are too busy running their businesses to go out and mingle. They see this as a waste of time; why should they hang around talking to other people, some of them even competitors or rivals, when he could simply stay at the office and work for hours on end managing business operations? The excuse of not having time to network is just that: an excuse. If you are serious about wanting to build and nurture relationships, then you have to recognize that networking is a must-do. Therefore, you have to leverage your schedule, so that you are able to set aside more than sufficient time for networking activities. 6. Provide as much value as you can. A relationship is a two-way street, and a healthy and productive relationship is one where both parties benefit and receive value. However, in order to receive value, you also have to provide or give value. Before tapping into a network or creating one, and entering a relationship, the business also has to be fully aware of what it has to offer or bring to the table. This is so it can strengthen its position as a contributor to the network, and make it attractive to others. There is a need to add value to the relationship continuously. Your value as a part of the network, and your networking appeal, will diminish or disappear the moment you stop providing or offering value. 7. Develop the habit of introducing people and make an effort to connect others. Networking is not just about you connecting with business contacts. It also involves you acting as a bridge or a conduit from time to time, connecting other parties together. By connecting others, you are actually widening your own network. Introducing people can actually be difficult, which is why not everyone is comfortable doing it. However, it is a skill that must be developed and performed every chance you get. Practice makes perfect, and this is one of those times. 8. Remember that networking is not just about you. Networking is done primarily so we can benefit from it. We tend to focus on what others can do for us, more than what we can do for them. As a result, we have a tendency to talk more about what we need, what we want, and what we expect. Asking about the other parties’ wants, needs, expectations and opinions suddenly seem like an afterthought.

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9. Be open-minded. Do not expect your contacts to have the same mindset, outlook or sets of values as you. This is simply impossible. In fact, you have to anticipate that, at some point, there will be differences in opinions. You have to practice keeping an open mind and have no prejudices. Take into consideration the fact that you cannot expect everyone to be the same. This is an example of “different strokes for different folks”. If you are close-minded and unwilling to accept and get over your differences, you will have trouble moving the relationship forward, or nurturing it to make it productive and successful. 10. Personalize encounters as much as you can. Relationships are between human beings, not automatons. Networking is all about interaction and communication, so it is important that the approach is as personalized as possible. Meet with them in person. It could be for a cup of coffee or a full meal. Whatever it is, you have to be there in person. You will know when a business takes networking seriously when they allocate funds for travel, sending their representatives off to other cities and even countries to represent the company and network. Sending emails is another way for businesspeople to connect with their contacts. When this is your mode of communication, make sure the message is personalized and directed to the recipient. Refer to them by their name, and check that the message specifically targets them. Even when you send them links, personalize them by explaining why you are sending the links to them specifically. 11. Re-introduce, remind, check in, and follow up. One of the main reasons why some fail to build a network and develop a relationship with other businesses is the lack of follow-through. It is foolish to think that, once you have met, shared a drink or two, threw around ideas together, and generally hit it off, everything’s already set in stone. Remember that networking is also like a game, and there are a lot of players. If you stop playing even before the game has even started, then there is no way you will win, and the other players will move on ahead, leaving you eating their dust. a. Reintroduce. It is a fact that not everyone’s memory is sharp, and they may easily forget about you a few days after you connected. That’s fine. You should actually expect it, considering how they may be dealing with so many contacts at one time. What you can do is to make sure to re-introduce yourself. You have to give a subtle reminder on who you are, how you connected and where and when you connected. This is especially true if it is a contact you haven’t kept in touch with for a while. b. Remind and reinforce. Connect with key relationships periodically. You need to remind them that you are still around, and that you want to forge a business relationship with them. There is no standard for how often or how long the intervals will be between connections. For some businesses, it is enough to connect and reconnect on a quarterly basis, while some may deem that they should keep in more constant contact. c. Check in. Even if you do not have a particular reason for contacting one of your connections, you should still check in from time to time. You can do this by sending a short note. Say hello. Ask them how they are doing. Inquire how they are doing, or how a recent project has progressed. You may also let them know what you’ve been up to. It may be simple, short and sweet, but it will do the trick. 12. Give them some space. You should definitely give them some breathing room. Contacting them too much, too often, is not really a good idea. Why?

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a. You do not want to seem like a stalker and disturb them, even when they are doing something personal and not related to business. Worse, they may even find your excessive familiarity offensive. b. You do not want to come across like you are not doing anything other than networking. You are supposed to run a business or hold a job. If you are constantly contacting them, or rubbing elbows and doing networking every time they see you, they would think that you are unprofessional. c. This is inefficient, on your part. You may be focusing too much attention on one contact, to the point of stalking them, when there are other contacts that you are ignoring, but are equally beneficial or helpful. Do not call them too often, and when you do call them, pick the hours. Calling them in the middle of the night or in the early hours of the morning is very unbusinesslike, not to mention rude and impolite. Do not bombard them with messages, emails or links, either, because if you overdo it, they just might leave your messages unopened and unread. 13. Remain visible. If your networking action plan involves you popping up only when there are events for networking, and then staying low and unseen the rest of the time, then that is not considered networking at all. Make sure that your presence is known. That is why you have to make subtle reminders every now and then. Do not disappear then appear at intermittent periods. You know what they say: “out of sight, out of mind”. If your contacts do not see you or hear from you, they are more than likely to forget you. 14. Improve your products and services. This is probably one of the most important tips, and it makes sense, too. There is no use if you have excellent people and communication skills, and you work the room like a pro when it comes to networking, if you do not have quality to back it up. For example, you are in the business of formulating and developing medicines. You are also known for your superior networking skills. However, your company has been receiving a lot of criticism and facing a lot of problems due to defective drugs being sold in the market, with some of them even causing grave side effects. 15. Build and maintain a good business reputation. A good business reputation goes hand in hand with maintaining good relationships. A business will have a difficult time connecting with other businesses and contacts if it has a bad reputation, because who would want to be associated with someone with a tarnished name and image? In contrast, a company that is reputable and pretty much loved by the public will have higher chances of making lasting connections and building and nurturing strong networks and relationships. 16. Network in all directions. You have to diversify. If you are a senior manager, do not limit your networking to other senior managers or people holding the same position. If you are running a living care facility, do not limit your networking only to hospices and other similar facilities. Expand your reach by focusing your efforts to the healthcare industry as a whole.

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Diversification will be to your advantage. Networking is supposed to widen or broaden your reach, after all, and keeping it within tight confines defeats its very essence. 17. Say thanks and congratulations. Just because everyone is benefiting from the network does not mean that there is no longer a need to be grateful. Saying “thank you” is basic human courtesy, but it is also an effective tool for maintaining relationships. Fortunately, thanks can be conveyed in more than one or two ways. Aside from vocalizing it out loud, sending thank-you notes and gifts are just as effective. 18. Think long-term. Do not build relationships thinking that it will only last as long as the next six months, at least until the current business plan you are working on is fully launched. You have to aim to make long-lasting connections. The beauty of networking is that, when done right, it is an excellent tool to ensure that connections remain for a very long time. 19. Document networking efforts. Keep detailed records of all the activities that you performed in line with your networking plans. Not only will this help you monitor your progress, it is also a good way for you to track if there are contacts that you have not kept in touch with recently. 20. Manage yourself. When you are networking, you automatically become the face of your company or your brand. You are effectively representing them, so that your brand or company will be immediately identifiable with you. Make a favourable or good first impression, but make it a point to make a good impression every single time. a. Be presentable. It’s like when you are going in for a job interview or attending an important business meeting where you have to make a good impression. b. Make eye contact, and maintain it. Let them feel that you are really communicating to them. Smile. Do not drive them away by looking gloomy or depressed. Speak clearly, so you can get the message across more clearly. 21. Practice the Golden Rule. The Golden Rule says to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. In the context of networking – and in business relationships, in general – you should relate to others as you would like others to relate to you. 22. Make networking a habit. Make networking a part of your lifestyle. Do not do it only when you are going to start a new business, or you are looking for a promotion or a career change. Relationships take time to begin, develop, and flourish. It is not something that is created overnight. In the same vein, networking does not gain immediate results. Lasting connections, especially those that last a lifetime, take a lot of effort and work, and they certainly also take a lot of time. Therefore, it is a good idea to practice networking in your daily lives, be it personally or professionally.

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Conflict resolution Workplace conflict is inevitable when employees of various backgrounds and different work styles are brought together for a shared business purpose. Conflict can—and should—be managed and resolved. With tensions and anxieties at an all-time high due to the current political divide and racial inequity discussions at work, the chances for workplace conflict have increased. This toolkit examines the causes and effects of workplace conflict and the reasons why employers should act to address conflict. Conflict can occur in any organization when employees with different backgrounds and priorities work together. Conflict can be expressed in numerous ways such as insults, noncooperation, bullying and anger. Its causes can range from personality clashes and misunderstood communication to organizational mismanagement. The negative effects of workplace conflict can include work disruptions, decreased productivity, project failure, absenteeism, turnover and termination. Emotional stress can be both a cause and an effect of workplace conflict. Experts offer several causes of workplace conflict, including:          

Personality differences. Workplace behaviours regarded by some co-workers as irritating. Unmet needs in the workplace. Perceived inequities of resources. Unclarified roles in the workplace. Competing job duties or poor implementation of a job description—for example, placing a nonsupervisory employee in an unofficial position of "supervising" another employee. A systemic circumstance such as a workforce slowdown, a merger or acquisition, or a reduction in force. Mismanagement of organizational change and transition. Poor communication, including misunderstood remarks and comments taken out of context. Differences over work methods or goals or differences in perspectives attributable to age, sex or upbringing.

The first steps in handling workplace conflict belong in most cases to the employees who are at odds with one another through relationship issues. The employer's role, exercised by managers and HR professionals is significant, however, and is grounded in the development of a workplace culture designed to prevent conflict among employees to the extent possible. The basis for such a culture is strong employee relations, namely, fairness, trust and mutual respect at all levels. This toolkit offers suggestions to create such an organizational climate and includes methods to deal with employee grievances and conflicts. Employers can manage workplace conflict by creating an organizational culture designed to preclude conflict as much as possible and by dealing promptly and equitably with conflict that employees cannot resolve among themselves. To manage conflict, employers should consider the following:     

Make certain that policies and communication are clear and consistent, and make the rationale for decisions transparent. Ensure that all employees—not just managers—are accountable for resolving conflict. Do not ignore conflict, and do not avoid taking steps to prevent it. Seek to understand the underlying emotions of the employees in conflict. Keep in mind that approaches to resolving conflict may depend on the circumstances of the conflict.

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Good Relationship A good work relationship requires trust, respect, self-awareness, inclusion, and open communication. Let's explore each of these characteristics. Trust: This is the foundation for any successful collaboration. People in trusting relationships seek input from one another (and actually use it), and they allow one another to do their jobs without unnecessary oversight. Examples of trust include physicians allowing staff to use standing orders for services such as flu shots and practice managers making decisions based on input from staff. Individuals who trust one another can also openly discuss successes and failures to learn from them. when you trust your team members, you can be open and honest in your thoughts and actions. And you Do not have to waste time or energy "watching your back." Respect: teams working together with mutual respect value one another's input, and find solutions based on collective insight, wisdom, and creativity. Self-awareness : this means taking responsibility for your words and actions, and not letting your own negative emotions impact the people around you. Inclusion: Do not just accept diverse people and opinions, but welcome them! For instance, when your colleagues offer different opinions from yours, factor their insights and perspective – or "cultural add " – into your decision-making. Open communication: all good relationships depend on open, honest communication . Whether you're sending emails or IMs, or meeting face-to-face or on video calls, the more effectively you communicate with those around you, the better you'll connect. Communication between individuals can be described as rich or lean. Rich channels, such as face-to-face interaction or telephone conversations, are preferred for messages with potentially unclear meanings or emotional content. Lean channels, such as e-mails or memos, are preferred for more routine messages. In successful practices, individuals understand that both rich and lean communication channels are necessary, and they know when to use each strategy.

Mutual respect. Respectful interactions are considerate, honest and tactful. People who respect one another value each other’s opinions and willingly change their minds in response to what others say. If you have ever tried to engage in a relationship, friendship, or even tried to briefly acquaint yourself with someone who considers themselves better than others, or in other words, a narcissist, you know how incredibly frustrating and down right near impossible this task can be. According to Harvard Business Review, "Creating a positive and healthy culture for your team rests on a few major principles. This includes treating one another with respect, gratitude, trust, and integrity." By treating other team members with respect, you are on the right foot in terms of creating a happy, positive, and driven culture of workers. Respect is especially important in challenging situations, as it can help individuals focus on problem solving. Mindfulness. Not everyone has the same personality or decision making style. When this begins to occur in the workplace, conflicts can occur, emotions can be drawn, and tension is easily created. Learn about your employees, and if they communicate in a more rigid or sensitive style. Approach conflicts in a way that will make the other person feel appreciated. Be mindful of everyone's differences, challenges, and daily lives. In mindful relationships, people are open to new ideas. A mindful practice avoids operating on autopilot, encourages everyone to express their ideas without fear of ridicule, criticism or punishment, and looks for ways to continually learn and improve.

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Interrelatedness. This occurs when people are sensitive to the task at hand and understand how their work affects one another. In addition, they are continually aware of how each person contributes to the goals of the practice and the larger community. Practices that demonstrate this characteristic are better able to deal with unexpected events. Varied interaction. Relationships in practices can be described as social or task related. Social relationships are personal and often based on activities that exist outside of work; task-related relationships are focused on professional issues. Practices should not view social and task-related relationships as mutually exclusive. In successful practices, a mixture of social and task-related relationships is required, and practices should encourage both. Diversity. Diversity can be defined as differences in the way people view the world. Whether it stems from differences in age, race, gender, education or experience, some diversity of thought will occur in any work setting. Successful practices do not merely tolerate diversity of opinions but encourage it. Diversity broadens the number of potential solutions and enables people in the practice to learn from one another.

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Types of work relationships Relationship

Type

Description

Role

Co-worker

Vocational

Co-workers serve little role professionally or personally, but serve a valuable role in that they are often the pool of people from which other, more meaningful relationships will be established.

Team Members

Professional

Co-worker relationships are neither professional nor personal, but merely circumstantial. They are acquaintances through your company, but beyond working for the same organization, you have very little interaction with them. Team-members are fellow employees who work on the same team as you. This could be the team you work with on a daily basis, a committee you’ve joined or a group working together for a single activity.

Work Friends

Personal

Manager/Direct Report

Professional

Mentor/Mentee Professional

Work Friends are people who you interact with socially at work–you sit by them in meetings, go to lunch together, talk to them at work events and happy hours, and possibly even see them outside of work every now and then. Your Manager is the one assigning you the work, helping you succeed and ultimately impacting the work you do (and Do not do). Your Direct Reports are the ones who report to you (you are their manager). They also determine whether or not you succeed.

Mentor/Mentee is the highest professional relationship you can have. It’s similar in intimacy to that of an Office Spouse, but it serves you professionally. Your mentor is that person you

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Team-members are important because they are the people you actually accomplish work with. Together, you plan, design, develop, execute and track work related to your role. The better your relationship with your team, the easier it is to get this work completed. Work Friends fill our social need and keep us sane from the daily grind. You likely wouldn’t be friends with them if not for your mutual employment of each other at the same company, but they serve as our support system during the corporate hours. The relationship between you and your manager is vital because they often play an important role in determining your rating, salary and workplan. They are also a large factor in your workplace satisfaction (as they say, you Do not leave a company, you leave your manager). For your Direct Reports, you serve these functions, while they serve as a way to accomplish more with your organization without you doing all of the work. Your Mentor helps you traverse the landscape at your job. They help you think through the most challenging problems, give you perspective on how to handle your most challenging Page 22 of 73

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go to for career guidance and help on the toughest-of-thetough problems. Your mentee is the one coming to you for that advice.

relationships, and generally guide you to success. You serve the same purpose for your Mentee, while they keep you grounded and connected to the pulse of the organization.

Office Spouse

Personal

Your Office Spouse is that person you spend a significant amount of time with; they are your go-to for venting and advice, and there have probably been rumours about the two of you at one time or another (even though it is platonic).

The role of the Office Spouse is to serve as your “workplace bestie” or go-to friend when you have a work predicament. They keep you from jumping off the ledge, are the person you trust with sharing your emotions and frustrations, and know you the best out of any of your workplace relationships.

Life Friends

Personal

The most intimate work relationship you can have is one that you Do not even consider specific to work–that of a friend IRL (in real life). They would be your friends even if you no longer worked at the company.

These are friends who fill the same role as your normal social friends, because that’s what they are. You have fun together, laugh together, cry together, and possibly become romantically involved together. They aren’t friends you know at work, they are friends you happen to work with.

Learning Activity 3 Key aspects of work relationships

Activity type

Written activity

Activity timing

30minutes

Activity description

Define following key aspects of work relationships and identify how they help to employees to work with their team effectively. And give suitable examples to support your answers.  Interpersonal styles  Communication  Consultation  Cultural and social sensitivity  Networking

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Legislation relevant to managing effective workplace relationships As much as a relationship with a colleague may seem like a good idea, the stakes are high. A workplace relationship gone wrong has the potential to end in a legal claim made against you. Sexual Harassment: Just because two consenting adults have been, or are in a relationship, it does not mean that sexual harassment will not occur after the relationship has ended or even during the relationship. Sexual harassment is defined in the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 as being an unwelcome sexual advancement or an unwelcome request for sexual favours, either verbally or in writing. Sexual advancements will be deemed unwelcome if an ordinary person would anticipate the possibility that the advancements would result in humiliation, offence or intimidation to the person being harassed. This means that it doesn’t have to be certain that someone may be humiliated by the advancements, just a possibility is enough. Various circumstances are taken into consideration, namely age, sex, marital or relationship status and the relationship between the harasser and the person being harassed. Vicarious Liability: You may be surprised to learn that following a claim of sexual harassment, the employer of the harasser may be held liable for their employee’s actions. This is called vicarious liability and is covered by section 106 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984. If an employee does an act in connection with their employment that is unlawful, their employer may be held liable for their actions. This principle applies even if you’re engaging in after-hours work-related activities or functions such as work Christmas parties, after work drinks or work-related travel. Right to Privacy: According to the Australian Fair Work Ombudsman, people have the right to keep certain personal information to themselves. Personal information includes all information that can identify you – ranging from your bank account details, credit history and even photos. Personal information can extend to information about what you like, where you work, your political opinions and sexual orientation etc. Employees are entitled to a private life after work hours that their employer does not have the right to know about or interfere with. In light of this, however, it’s important to keep in mind that if your behaviour after hours impacts on your employer’s confidence in your ability to perform your job adequately, or even if your actions have the ability to tarnish the reputation of your workplace, your employer may still have the right to know about it. In terms of workplace relationships, if your relationship with a colleague gives your employer reason to question your ability to perform your professional duties, they may have the right to know about it. If you are working for the Government, the Privacy Act 1988 may apply to you. Otherwise you should refer to what your workplace’s policies are regarding relationships between colleagues. Your contract may also stipulate regulations in respect of workplace relationships, such as a duty of disclosure.

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Conflict of Interest: Another issue that relates to relationships between colleagues is the possibility of a conflict of interest. This can occur if two colleagues are in a relationship and one of them is responsible for the promotion or appraisal of the other, for example. If you find yourself in this situation, it is best practice to refer to your workplace policies and the terms of your employment contract to see what may be required of you in terms of disclosure of your conflict.

Learning Activity 4 Identify legislation relevant to managing effective workplace relationships

Activity type

Written activity

Activity timing

30 minutes

Activity description

1. Why legislation is important to workplace relationships? 2. If the sexual harassment occurred, should the employer of the harasser have held liable for their employee’s actions? If the answer is yes, explain your answer and mention the law that applies to it.

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Organisational policies and procedures relevant to workplace relationships Organisational policies and procedures provide guidelines for decision making processes and the way that work in an organisation should be carried out among teams and individuals. Teams and individuals work together to carry out workplace tasks and activities interacting with each other. Organisations need to know if an employee may have competing interests when performing their role in the organisation. This especially applies to managers who are in a relationship with someone who reports to them or who have other responsibilities which enable them to favour a particular employee. Workplaces, employers are managing relationships between staff without resorting to outright banning. Given the increasing number of hours that Australians put in at the office, it’s not surprising that workplace extreme relationships are common. A good policy regulating extreme relationships or sexual relationships at work manages risk to the organisation without unreasonably intruding into employee’s private lives. In order to get the balance right, you need to think about why an organisation might need to know about a workplace relationship. The things you need to consider are: 1. Conflict of Interest Organisations need to know if an employee may have competing interests when performing their role in the organisation. This especially applies to managers who are in a relationship with someone who reports to them or who have other responsibilities which enable them to favour a particular employee. 2. Appearance of Conflict of Interest Even if a romance between employees does not affect the ability of an employee to perform their role impartially, it is important that it is clear to all employees (and to the general public) that there is no suggestion of conflict of interest 3. Avoidance of Sexual Harassment An employer has an obligation to take steps to ensure that the workplace is free from sexual harassment of employees. The employer also has an obligation to avoid a sexualised or hostile workplace for all employees. 4. Team morale Though there is an argument to be made that relationships between staff members can boost morale and co-operation between work areas, employers are concerned with the effect of workplace relationships on the team. This is particularly the case where the relationship goes sour and the participants break up.

Workplace Relationship Policies There are two key policies your organisation needs to have in place to manage risk relating to workplace relationships:

1. Sexual Harassment Policy It is important to have a clear policy against sexual harassment that provides a definition of what sexual harassment is, that is unwelcome sexual conduct which makes a person feel offended, humiliated and/or intimidated where that reaction is reasonable in the circumstances. The policy

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should also state what sexual harassment is not – sexual interaction, flirtation, attraction or friendship which is invited, mutual, consensual or reciprocated. It is important to tailor your sexual harassment policy to use examples that are relevant to your workplace. It may be appropriate to acknowledge that consensual relationships can and do form between co-workers and set expectations around workplace behaviour in these cases. Outright banning of relationships between employees is almost never appropriate. Besides being difficult to enforce, it is unlawful in some states to discriminate against an employee because of ‘lawful sexual activity’ which includes sexual relationships between employees. You must clearly state in your sexual harassment policy that the organisation does not support comments or actions which may create an unpleasant sexualized environment, even where parties consent to the actions. The policy should require that interactions between all employees at work remain professional. For example, employees in a relationship should not kiss or touch each other in an unprofessional way at work because it may make others in the team uncomfortable.

2. Disclosure of Employee/Employee Relationships Policy There are a couple of ways to approach a relationship disclosure policy:  

A policy which requires all employees to disclose sexual, romantic or other close relationships with other employees; or A policy which encourages employees to disclose sexual, romantic or other close relationships where they think there is a conflict of interest, or where there might be a perception of a conflict of interest.

Often the best way forward is to use a combination of the two approaches. The more senior an employee is, the greater the expectation to report all sexual, romantic or other close relationships with other employees. This is because generally the more senior the employee, the more likely they are likely to be involved in decisions that affect the other employee in the relationship. The disclosure policy should ask employees to outline any conflict of interest (or perceived conflict of interest) that the relationship between the two employees may cause and their plan for mitigating the conflict.

What to do with disclosed information on relationships You need to be sensitive to the highly confidential nature of the information that you are asking for. It is sensible for one or two senior people with HR responsibility to manage the register of relationships. These managers should review the mitigation plan for any real or perceived conflict of interest and (if they agree with the plan) assist to implement the plan as confidentially as possible. It goes without saying that you must treat the information it receives as part of the register as highly confidential – the success of the register depends on employee confidence that their personal information will be treated respectfully.

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Learning Activity 5 Organisational policies and procedures relevant to workplace relationships

Activity type

Written activity

Activity timing

40 minutes

Activity description

1. Purpose of the organisational policies, procedures, programs and practices to workplace relationships. 2. Briefly explain the things to consider in maintaining a professional relationship without prioritising a personal relationship with employees within an organization? 3. What are the key policies that organisation need to have in place to manage risk relating to workplace relationships? Explain your answer.

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Methods to develop processes for consultation with employees Workplace relationships involve consultation and cooperation with all parties involved, including managers, employees and any employee representatives. In addition to any matters where consultation is mandatory, employers should consult with their employees on workplace issues that may impact on the welfare and productivity of employees. As a matter of best practice, consideration should be given to the value that consultation could add to any business decision making. Consultation can identify opportunities, assist decision making and help ensure any new ideas work effectively in practice. Consultation may take the form of:     

Establishment of employer/employee (and employee representative) committees Regular staff meetings and communication with employees Regular performance and training reviews Regular written communications such as newsletters Encouragement of employee feedback on business and administrative decisions.

These practices may be implemented through administrative structures, company policies, enterprise agreements, or - where appropriate - may be set out in employees’ contracts of employment. When consulting in the workplace, remember to respect everybody’s opinions and backgrounds. Depending on your workplace, you may need to take into account cultural and language differences and make sure that everybody understands the consultation process.

Consultation stages The following stages sets out a recommend step by step approach for best practice consultation. Stage 1 - Provide information to employees about:   

What is being considered The process for consideration How a final decision will be made and who will be involved in making the decision.

Stage 2 - Consult by:   

Communicating business needs and priorities (use a mixture of team meetings, newsletters, emails or intranet site) Seek views and opinions from affected employees, either individually or through their representatives (team or individual meetings, online intranet forum, surveys. Encourage a twoway flow of information Review and improve strategies for communication flow of ideas and information.

Stage 3 - Review and implementation:     

Consider information and ideas obtained and asses against business requirements Record any decisions made and the reasons why Communicate decision and reasons why back to employees and representatives Implement change Invite feedback on the process to improve the next consultation process.

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Learning Activity 6 Methods to develop processes for Consultation with employees Activity type

Written activity

Activity timing

40 minutes

Activity description

1. Why consultation is important in workplace relationships and how consultation can take place in your workplace. Give examples to support your answer. 2. Briefly explain some stages in consultation to get good practice in consultation. 3. Identify the impact to the business if the consultation process is not formal.

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Conflicts in the workplace Workplace conflict can be the result of several different situations; however, the root cause is often poor communication. For example, employee expectations may be unclearly communicated, employees may feel as though they don't have a voice (lack of open dialogue), or the tone of someone's words may be misinterpreted. Whatever the case may be, miscommunication is often the source, and it can be mitigated through proper skills and policies. Other causes of workplace conflict can include (but are not limited to): 1. Harassment – An employee(s) is bullying or harassing. 2. Increase in workload – An employee's workload is significantly increased, and they feel they are being pushed too hard. 3. Lack of skills or training – An employee lacks the skills or training to properly do their job. 4. Negative work environment – Your company culture may be negative or toxic, causing employees to feel unhappy or unsafe. 5. Opposing personalities – Team members may have drastically different personalities and simply not "like" each other. Employees can also have a "falling out", making it difficult or uncomfortable to work together. 6. Poor management – A manager may have poor management skills or lack the appropriate leadership style that their team needs. 7. Unfair treatment – An employee may be treated unfairly. This is often the result of someone in a management position favouring or disliking someone. 8. Unrealistic expectations – Employees or managers may have unrealistic expectations. Workplace conflict is often the result of poor communication, but there are several other causes as well, including poor management, unfair treatment and harassment.

How to resolve workplace conflict through communication 1. Address issues immediately and openly. When a conflict arises among your team members, action should be taken quickly to resolve it. Instead of ignoring or avoiding conflict, accept it and work towards addressing it immediately. "Not addressing the conflict until a later time allows resentments to simmer. It's important to address the issue immediately and transparently. 2. Set clear expectations. Managing expectations – both in terms of what you expect from others and what they expect of you – is one of the most important things a team can do to facilitate better communication. Anything you or your colleagues need from each other should be clearly defined and expressed.

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3. Build active listening You may be hearing what your colleagues have to say, but are you actually listening to them? People's minds often wander when others are speaking, especially in a group setting, and they don't truly absorb what's been said. Even in digital communications, it's easy to read a message and immediately forget about it. Create a culture where people really listen to each other. "Listening is such an undervalued skill, and it can have a real impact on how often conflicts arise and how they can be avoided 4. Use neutral terms and open body language. When engaged in a conflict, it is natural to want to be closed off – but this only hinders the chance of resolution. Give yourself (or those in the conflict) time to cool off first. When managing the conflict, speak in a calm, agreeable manner. Use neutral language and separate the other person from the problem. It is better to speak in "I" language, as opposed to "you" language to avoid the other person feeling attacked. For example, saying "I feel undervalued in my position" is going to be more effective than saying "You don't value my work." Using "you" language will only cause the other person to get defensive, which doesn't bode well for conflict resolution. In addition to choosing your words carefully, do not underestimate the power of body language and tone. Often, it is not what is being said that propels conflict further, but how someone is saying it. Use open body language to signify your willingness to resolve the conflict and reach an agreement. People tend to mimic those around them, so this can help elicit a calm, open demeanour from anyone else in the conflict. 5. Recognize and respect personal differences. Opposing viewpoints, behaviours and work styles can cause a lot of arguments and misunderstandings among colleagues, Wortham said. If clashing personalities are the root cause of a lot of your team's problems, work on being more aware of the differences in how you view a situation. Whether it be how a meeting was run, how a strategy was deployed or how stakeholders were engaged, recognizing that other people can interpret the same event in different ways is important to remember in order to resolve conflicts when they arise. How you prefer to communicate and being able to recognize others' communication styles can help build the bridges of understanding. Each of us sees and experiences the world differently using our own experiences, values, individual diversity and culture. We each interpret what we've heard or seen, give it meaning and draw conclusions based on our experiences. Recognizing that differences exist makes it easier to begin having discussions that help resolve workplace conflicts.

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Methods to develop processes for conflict management Different people use different methods to resolve conflict, and most people have one or more natural, preferred conflict resolution strategies that they use regularly. It is possible to scientifically measure an individual's inclinations toward specific conflict resolution strategies. In this article, we will discuss the five different categories of conflict resolution from the Thomas-Kilmann model, as well as their advantages and disadvantages.

The Thomas-Kilmann process The Thomas-Kilmann Model identifies five different approaches to resolving conflict. These approaches include: 1. Avoiding Someone who uses a strategy of "avoiding" mostly tries to ignore or sidestep the conflict, hoping it will resolve itself or dissipate. 2. Accommodating Using the strategy of "accommodating" to resolve conflict essentially involves taking steps to satisfy the other party's concerns or demands at the expense of your own needs or desires. 3. Compromising The strategy of "compromising" involves finding an acceptable resolution that will partly, but not entirely, satisfy the concerns of all parties involved. 4. Competing Someone who uses the conflict resolution strategy of "competing" tries to satisfy their own desires at the expense of the other parties involved. 5. Collaborating Using "collaborating" involves finding a solution that entirely satisfies the concerns of all involved parties. The Thomas-Kilmann model identifies two dimensions people fall into when choosing a conflict resolution strategy: assertiveness and cooperativeness. Assertiveness involves taking action to satisfy your own needs, while cooperativeness involves taking action to satisfy the other's needs. Each of the conflict resolution strategies above involves different degrees of assertiveness and cooperativeness. For example, while accommodating includes a high degree of cooperativeness and a low degree of assertiveness, competing consists of a low degree of cooperativeness and a high degree of assertiveness. Even though you may prefer one of the conflict resolution strategies discussed above over the others, all of these strategies can be used effectively in certain situations. For example, if the issue is minor and won't have lasting consequences, it may be in your best interest to accommodate the other party rather than to try to serve your own needs. However, if the issue is more severe and will impact multiple people, it may make sense to choose a strategy with more assertiveness. To choose the best conflict resolution method in any given situation, you need to consider several factors, such as:    

How important your desires are? The impact on you or others if your desires are not served. The consequences of choosing to be more assertive. Whether a collaborative or cooperative solution exists.

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Improving your ability to resolve conflict Being able to choose and apply the best conflict resolution strategy effectively is made possible by developing better conflict resolution skills. Examples of conflict resolution skills that can help you include the ability to:     

Listen effectively. Identify specific points of disagreement. Express your own needs clearly. View conflict as an opportunity for growth. Focus on specific issues without generalizing or escalating the situation.

Although you may have a proclivity towards a specific type of conflict resolution, you are not required to use this strategy in every situation. With time and effort, you can learn new conflict resolution skills that improve your ability to negotiate and resolve issues with others. Eventually, you will be able to select and use the conflict resolution strategy that is best for the situation, as opposed to the one that is most comfortable or familiar.

Learning Activity 7 Methods to develop processes for conflict management

Activity type

Written activity

Activity timing

45 minutes

Activity description

1. What is conflict and identify different situations that conflict occurred and explain how communication will help to resolve workplace conflict? 2. Different people use different methods to resolve conflict. Briefly explain Thomas Kilmann’s conflict resolving methods and what are areas you have to consider to choose the best conflict resolution method. 3. To resolve conflict effectively you have to develop better conflict resolution skills. Identify some skills and explain how it support to develop your conflict resolution skills

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Methods to develop processes for task issue management. What is issue management? Issues are anything that come up in the course of your project to impact the plan. Issues might be previously defined risks, or not. What you want to avoid is a form of collective project amnesia where issues come up and never get resolved. (Issues have a funny way of resurfacing when they don’t get resolved.). Issue management in a begins with a plan that defines activities and business rules to manage and control issues that arise during tasks and activities.

Types of issues The first thing you need to do for issue management is to identify the issues. There can be many issues, some of which fall under these four categories. 

Major Problem: one that could impede progress or the successful completion of tasks and requires immediate attention.



Opportunity: not all issues are bad, some can offer an unforeseen opportunity.



Concern: is not a major problem, but it’s something you want to stay aware of, because it could develop into something that requires attention.



Situation: is another issue that might be a concern or a major problem, but develops from a situational standpoint.

Some examples of these issues are problems with staff of suppliers, technical failures, material shortages or delays and super-successful promotion. You can get started logging your issues with an issue tracking worksheet.

Process for managing issues There is so much to know about issue management. It’s a complex topic, and one that every project manager will have to deal with during them. Unlike risk, an issue is not a potential problem. An issue is happening in the here and now. Managing issues is no different than managing a project that it requires a process and a plan to implement the strategy. These steps will help you have a framework to control issues as they arise in your task management. 1. Create Register The only way to start is by identifying issues and collecting them in a document, so that you can start to respond and track progress resolving them. Ideally create a collaborative document online. In the same way you might manage risks or changes, you want to manage issues by tracking them in a log or register. Without a process or a tool to report on the issue, it’ll be lost in the shuffle of the tasks. You need to report on issues and notify others, so that others can confirm if the issue remains. 2. Report Promptly Timing is important. If you allow reporting to lag, you lose the opportunity to resolve the issue before it becomes too large to fix or requires so many resources as to be a -buster. Communication is key and channels must be open to get that information out to the right Copyrights © 2020 Dynamics Learning Pty Ltd

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people as fast as possible. If you’re reporting promptly, you better resolve promptly. Sitting on a known issue is asking for trouble. 3. Log Issues Make sure people know who can log issues and that they do so. If there isn’t someone who logs the issue, then you are going to have issues falling through the cracks. That makes more cracks in your until it eventually just falls apart. You want to keep a detailed record of this process. There is nothing too small. It might seem insignificant to you, but it could hold the key to unlocking the solution to the issue. Plus, a log provides an archival tool for future use. 4. Assign Actions Put a name next to an action, too, so there is clear responsibility defined. Issues are only resolved when there is clear ownership, someone who is tasked with identifying, tracking and closing the issue. You need to have a point person who is tasked with everything related to that issue and doesn’t move on from it until the issue is closed. Accountability is critical in issue management. 5. Monitor Progress Are people following up on their action items? Validate status regularly. The status of the issue is a crucial distinction. If the issue has been resolved but resources are still working on it unnecessarily, then that’s another issue. Notify everyone frequently. To prevent allocating unneeded resources to an issue, you want to have complete transparency. Everyone must know the status of the issue to work most efficiently. Dashboards can keep everyone aware of the issue status. 6. Assess Impact Define escalation scale and make sure the actions taken are being measured. But escalate appropriately. You don’t want to throw all your resources where only some are needed. That said, you also don’t want to create any unnecessary roadblocks to stall a speedy recovery. 7. Approve Resolution Make sure that issues are double-checked after they are marked as resolved. While there is an owner to the issue, there must be someone who is managing the process, so they can check the work and make sure it aligns with the overall and strategic goals of the organization. Only once all those ducks are in a row can the issue be closed. 8. Close It Out That’s when we come to our final step. Closing the issue. Move resolved issues off the list.

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Learning Activity 8 Methods to develop processes for Task issue management.

Activity type

Written activity

Activity timing

20 minutes

Activity description

1. Explain in your own words, what is issue management? 2. In issue management, first thing you need to do is, identify the issues. Briefly explain some types of issues and give examples. 3. In order to control issues, the organisation needs to have an issue management process. Briefly explain the steps of the issue management process.

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BSBLDR523 – Skills development and application

Skills development and application Learning outcome description This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to lead and manage effective workplace relationships. The unit applies to individuals in leadership or management positions who have a prominent role in establishing and managing processes and procedures to support workplace relationships. These individuals apply the values, goals and cultural diversity policies of the organisation. They use complex and diverse methods and procedures as well as a range of problem solving and decision-making strategies, which require the exercise of considerable discretion and judgement.

Skills application The following sections of the workbook apply language, literacy, numeracy and employment skills incorporated in the description that are required for competent performance. SKILL

DESCRIPTION

Writing



Prepares plans and policies incorporating appropriate vocabulary, grammatical structure and conventions

Self-management



Adapts personal communication style to model behaviours, build trust and positive working relationships, and to support others



Takes responsibility for formulating, organising and implementing plans, processes and strategies that impact the workplace

Initiative and



enterprise Teamwork

Follows organisational policies and procedures regarding diversity and ethical conduct



Plays a lead role in situations requiring effective collaboration, demonstrating high level support and facilitation skills and ability to engage and motivate others

Planning and organising



Evaluates outcomes to identify opportunities for improvement



Systematically gathers and analyses all relevant information and evaluates options to inform decisions about organisational strategies

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Performance outcome Upon completion of learning from following sections, you must demonstrate the ability to complete the tasks described in each section including evidence of the ability to implement processes to manage ideas and information, including:  communicating information to support others to achieve work responsibilities 

facilitating employees’ contributions to consultation on work issues



providing feedback on the outcomes of consultations



resolving issues raised or referring to relevant personnel

develop and implement processes and systems to manage difficulties on at least two occasions, including:  identifying and resolving conflicts and other difficulties according to organisational policies and procedures 

planning how to address difficulties



providing guidance, counselling and support to assist co-workers in resolving their work difficulties.

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BSBLDR523 – Section 1 – Establish effective workplace relationship processes

Section 1 Establish effective workplace relationship processes Many full-time employees spend more of their working hours with co-workers than they do with their spouses and families. As such, it is important to allow employees the opportunity to build quality relationships with their co-workers through effective processes. This can be accomplished through the organization of informal get-togethers away from work, as well as by encouraging employee interaction. There are many benefits that can be reaped by businesses which establish effective workplace relationship processes and allow and foster good relationships in the workplace. Improved Teamwork and Collaboration When people know one another well, they are much more likely to work well together. Watch teams who have a new member; typically, that new member will remain somewhat isolated until everyone else gets to know her. If you have several employees who are barely on speaking terms and you throw them together into a project, it will take some time for them to break the ice and begin to work well together. Conversely, team members who already know, like and respect each other may be more willing to collaborate for the betterment of the workplace. Improved Employee Morale Given how much time employees spend in one another's presence, the development of good relationships in the workplace can increase employee morale. Co-workers become friendly and look forward to spending time with one another while they do their jobs. This may also make work more fun for these employees with the end result not only being a more positive workplace but also improved overall morale. Conversely, a stiff and unfriendly work environment will have the opposite effect. Higher Employee Retention Rates When employees feel connected to a company, whether it is because they share the same vision as the company leaders or they feel as though their fellow co-workers have become like family, they will be much less likely to want to seek employment at another company. Friendships take time to build, especially quality friendships, and the prospect of having to start all over may help convince some employees to stay right where they are. Increased Employee Productivity All of these elements add up to one common result: happy employees who are naturally more productive. Overall, while you may have some issues with employees becoming too friendly and wasting time together, a happy and well-adjusted workforce is a productive one. By feeling more connected to their place of employment, workers naturally want to try harder to help keep the company going and to help it grow.

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Identify required processes for workplace collaboration according to organisational policies and procedures Many recent studies have found that collaboration is a key factor in a company’s success. And while any form of teamwork can improve quality and speed, organized workplace collaboration will heighten your overall productivity even more. Several tools have emerged to help standardize your collaboration practices - everything from instant messaging to file sharing. The following will explain workplace collaboration: who uses it, as well as its benefits, challenges, and best practices including how to build successful collaborative teams and manage your projects more collaboratively. Essentially, “workplace collaboration” is organized teamwork: setting processes in place to ensure that team members work together to make decisions. Teams may employ a range of practices depending on the industry, company, or project, but regardless of the tool, collaboration will strengthen the process and end product. Ultimately, the goal of workplace collaboration is to increase success by fostering open communication among all team members across all departments and management levels. With the digital revolution, work collaboration became commonplace. The internet increased crossorganizational knowledge sharing and provided the opportunity to work anytime, anywhere - this is referred to as the digital workplace. The digital workplace breaks down communication barriers, positioning you to transform the employee experience by fostering efficiency, innovation, and growth.” Workplace collaboration can be implemented in any type of organization, across all industries: customer service, government, non-profit and charity, education, and corporate environments. Additionally, employees at all levels of an organization from entry-level purchasing and payroll to IT to CEOs and executives can utilize and benefit from collaborative workplace practices.

Types of Collaborative Working There are several informal ways to collaborate, many of which you may already be incorporated into your projects. Here are a few of the most common forms of workplace collaboration: 





Group brainstorming: This is an opportunity for all team members to share their ideas and ask questions in an effort to make decisions that reflect everyone’s input. This is one of the most elementary forms of collaboration, but is effective in improving communication and building trust within teams. Mixed-skilled teams: While it might seem counterintuitive, designing teams with a range of skills and skill levels can actually strengthen your performance. By intentionally selecting workers with varied backgrounds, you invite fresh ideas and also increase the probability of reaching a diverse audience. Open discussion: As opposed to the traditional “lecture” style, centre your in-person meetings on discussion. This helps break down hierarchical boundaries, keeps everyone engaged, and can lead to more productive meetings.

Below is a list of common collaboration skills of successful team members:    

Listen actively to the concerns of other members Analyse problems without assigning blame Willingly brainstorm solutions to problems Build consensus about goals and processes for group projects

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BSBLDR523 – Section 1 – Establish effective workplace relationship processes

       

Compromise when necessary to move the group forward Delegate tasks Follow through with commitment, meet deadlines, be reliable Forgive other members’ mistakes Give credit to other members for their contributions Maintain a positive attitude and sense of humour Openness to new ideas Take responsibility for mistakes

Here is a list of tips for leaders implementing workplace collaboration:        

Assess strengths and weaknesses of team members and select compatible partners Be assertive but not self-centred Define mutually agreed-upon roles that capitalize on individual strengths Delegate tasks Facilitate group discussion Listen to the concerns of team members Maintain respectful communication with team members Modify roles and processes to enhance efficiency and satisfaction among partners

 Recognize and resolve conflicts within the team.

Processes for workplace collaboration 1. Invest in face-to-face interaction Although digital technology has enabled us to chat from anywhere in the world, you can’t put a price on face-to-face interaction. 93% of the information we convey is through nonverbal expressions and tone of voice. If possible, consider rearranging your office space in thoughtful ways that encourage more face-to-face interaction. Companywide events are also great for facilitating discussion and bringing employees together. If you have remote employees, and chances are you do (37% of the U.S. workforce telecommutes), invest in video conferencing options. 2. Improve relationships with social tools Face-to-face interactions can be augmented with social tools that strengthen personal relationships and enable frequent, consistent interactions regardless of time or location. 3. Plan meetings and events Dedicate scheduled time for employees to come together around shared interests. Although these events are occurring at work, or at the least in relation to it, direct the focus of the events away from work-centric functions and onto shared commonalities to facilitate discovery of relatedness. 4. Exemplify the culture you crave It’s not enough to say you want a positive culture. You have to live it. Establish patterns of consistent behaviour that build a culture of positivity, inclusiveness, and belonging. If you’re

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earnest with your intentions and authentic in your practice, your employees will recognize your efforts and you’ll begin to see change in their interactions. 5. Offer recognition frequently Consistently and frequently recognize progress and achievements among teams. We suggest you prioritize focusing on micro-recognition—small but frequent acknowledgements of success that come from both peers and management—over a top-down macrorecognition approach. 6. Consider employee input People love what they create and co-creation is a powerful way to build relationships. Pull your employees into your decision-making process. Gauge their thoughts and act on the information they give you. 7. Address diverse and growing needs Recognize growing workplace diversity and develop approaches that accommodate the breadth of their individual needs. Provide each employee the opportunity to shape their own experience. 8. Improve relationships with the right technology Provide communication technology that’s designed to strengthen relationships and the emotional drivers of performance. A focus on driving performance at the expense of relationships will produce negative impacts, and often erode performance. Placing human relationships at the centre of the workplace takes a concerted, proactive effort on the part of corporate leadership. Although everyone plays a role in this process, change must first be demonstrated by an organization’s culture champions—leaders of HR, talent, and communications who have a personal investment in culture and engagement— before employees feel comfortable joining in. Half measures are no longer an option; relationships in the workplace must move from the edges of company strategy and culture to the forefront if organizations are to survive an increasingly hypercompetitive, fast-paced global economy.

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BSBLDR523 – Section 1 – Establish effective workplace relationship processes

Learning Activity 9 Identify required processes for workplace collaboration according to organisational policies and procedures Activity type

Group discussion

Activity timing

30-45 minutes

Activity description

1. Form groups of 3 to 5 learners per group 2. Appoint a group leader to manage the discussion. 3. Find a definition to the workplace collaboration and discuss its benefits and challenges. 4. Identify how digital revolution affected to the workplace collaboration and provide examples to support your answer. 5. There are several informal ways to collaborate. Discuss some types of workplace collaboration and collaboration skills. 6. Team leaders have a big responsibility to implement workplace collaboration. Identify some tips to implement workplace collaboration.

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Develop consultation processes for employees to contribute to issues related to their work role Successful change involves consultation and cooperation with all parties involved, including managers, employees and any employee representatives. In addition to any matters where consultation is mandatory, employers should consult with their employees on workplace issues that may impact on the welfare and productivity of employees. As a matter of best practice, consideration should be given to the value that consultation could add to any business decision making. Consultation can identify opportunities, assist decision making and help ensure any new ideas work effectively in practice. Consultation may take the form of:     

Establishment of employer/employee (and employee representative) committees Regular staff meetings and communication with employees Regular performance and training reviews Regular written communications such as newsletters Encouragement of employee feedback on business and administrative decisions.

These practices may be implemented through administrative structures, company policies, enterprise agreements, or - where appropriate - may be set out in employees’ contracts of employment. When consulting in the workplace, remember to respect everybody’s opinions and backgrounds. Depending on your workplace, you may need to take into account cultural and language differences and make sure that everybody understands the consultation process.

Consultation process The consultation process can be broken down into the key steps described below. 1. Planning To better facilitate the consultation process, employers should take time to effectively plan both the consultation and evaluation processes. Planning may include the identification of issues, stakeholders, intend, goals and objectives, and the determination of resources and consultation methods. 2. Undertaking consultation This should be done in line with the aims and methods identified in the planning process. A consultation plan will also be useful in guiding this process. 3. Response and implementation Effective consultation needs to have a free flow of two-way communication between the operator and workers (or worker representatives), and include the provision of feedback. 4. Monitoring and evaluation Ongoing monitoring throughout the consultation will help to ensure it is being conducted according to the aims, objectives and methods outlined in the consultation plan. An evaluation at the end of the process will also help determine the effectiveness of consultation and can be used as lessons for future consultation processes.

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Learning Activity 10 Develop consultation processes for employees to contribute to issues related to their work role Activity type

Verbal Questioning by trainer

Activity timing

5-7 minutes per learner

Activity description

Provide answers to the following questions. 1. Why consultation is important to employees to contribute issues related in their work role and identify consultation method to communicate with employees. 2. Explain the steps of the consultation process.

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Develop processes for conflict management You can learn to deal with conflict in a positive and constructive manner that enhances decision making and contributes to effective working relationships. These skills are called conflict resolution skills. Constructive conflict resolution is an opportunity for change, growth, and understanding. The most important quality in resolving a conflict is to shift from making judgments about other people and their statements to being curious. Instead of thinking, “Joe is a real fool. How can he expect anyone to buy that idea?” the constructive person thinks, “I wonder what Joe has in mind?” When you make the shift from judgment to curiosity, following through with an appropriate question, others are not likely to feel defensive. They may be flattered that you are interested in their ideas. When people do not feel defensive, they are more likely to consider new ideas and cooperate. Conflict is an inevitable and healthy part of life. Each person has a different set of values and beliefs that colours his or her perceptions of the world. Each person also has a different set of goals, wants, and needs. At work, each person may have a different opinion about what needs to be done to solve a problem. Too often, people assume that there has to be a winner in a conflict. They do not attempt to find a solution that is satisfactory to all. When you deal with conflict in a healthy, open manner, you often find a better solution. People are frequently in conflict over resources, perceptions, and values. Conflicts over resources are easier to resolve than conflicts over perceptions and values. When the executive chef and the restaurant manager argue over budget for renovations, their conflict is about resources. The most difficult conflicts to resolve are over values and beliefs. For example, two managers may argue about the appropriate way to involve staff members in decision making. One may believe that it is better for the boss to make decisions rather than asking the opinions of others. Depending on how strongly both persons hold these beliefs, the conflict may be very difficult to resolve. Not all conflicts and differences can be resolved. Sometimes, you have to learn to agree to disagree. When you can learn to respect one another’s point of view without feeling resentful, wanting revenge, or retaliating, you have handled the situation constructively. Ineffective Ways to Deal with Conflict At work, people may be afraid to express their disagreement. If you constantly avoid conflict when your views are different from those of others, you may become angry and resentful. Eventually, you may have so many negative feelings bottled up inside that you act inappropriately and can no longer be constructive. Your lack of input can also reduce the effectiveness of the team’s efforts. You may have a valuable insight that could reduce the amount of work needed or see a problem with the proposed solution that no one else has identified. Contributing your ideas, even if initially they are contrary to the opinions of others, will help find the best solution to the problem.

Conflict resolution process 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Create an effective atmosphere Clarify perceptions Focus on individual and shared needs Take a positive approach Generate options Develop a list of stepping stones to action Make mutual benefit agreements Part on good terms

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The detail steps in effective conflict resolution are: 1. Create an effective atmosphere Conflicts cannot be resolved in the heat of the moment, in between preparing meals. If you have a conflict to resolve, arrange to meet at a convenient time when you will not be interrupted or distracted. Never deal with a conflict in front of customers and guests. Start the discussion of the problem in an open, positive way. If you are angry, postpone the session until you can control your emotions. Sometimes, it can be useful to move the discussion to a more neutral place. For example, you might agree to meet for coffee with the person. A public location where you feel obliged to be polite can help you stay in control of your feelings. You will be less likely to really unload your anger on the other person. Because the one party may feel intimidated by being alone with the other, choose a location in which your conversation can be kept private, but neither party will feel unsafe. 2. Clarify perceptions Make time at the beginning of the session for each person to state his or her views. Avoid using blaming statements such as, “You make me so angry.” Instead, state your observations and feelings about an event. For example, you might say, “I had asked for Saturday night off because my mother is visiting out of town. I’m upset because my request is not reflected in the new schedule.” Avoid abusive or inflammatory remarks. If you say, “You are a rude and insensitive jerk!” or “You are always late,” the listener is likely to tune out. He or she becomes defensive and unwilling to listen further. If you say, “I was hurt by your jokes about death. My father is terminally ill and I am very worried about him,” the listener is more likely to be willing to engage in further conversation. When it is your turn to listen, pay careful attention to what the person is saying. Use paraphrasing, summarizing, and questions to clarify what the person is saying and feeling. For example, you might say, “So what you are saying is that you were very angry when I asked you to work Saturday. You wanted the day off to spend with your mother. You thought that I ignored your request.” If the speaker uses blaming or inflammatory language, try to avoid taking the comments personally. Ask questions to determine exactly what the problem is. Watch your language, tone of voice, and nonverbal gestures. Keep calm and centred. 3. Focus on individual and shared needs Find out what each person wants and needs to resolve the situation. For example, in the scheduling conflict, Martine, the supervisor, needs a cook on staff on Saturday night. She does not want to pay overtime. She also wants to keep Bob, the cook, happy. He is an excellent, motivated employee and she would hate to lose him. Bob wants time off to visit with his mother, but he likes this job and does not want to jeopardize it. Both Bob and Martine want to resolve the problem and continue their friendly working relationship. They share a concern for the smooth running of the restaurant. By identifying their shared needs, both parties are working toward a consensus. That is, they are attempting to find a decision that takes both parties needs and opinions into account. 4. Take a positive approach To work toward a solution, you should take the attitude that together you can find a solution to the problem. This is not the time to think about failures to resolve problems in the past. Treat the agreement as if you are starting fresh. Forgive others for their mistakes in the past. Go on from today and work toward the goals you have set.

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5. Generate options Use the brainstorming approach to get out as many ideas as possible without evaluating or criticizing them. Treat each idea as new material to help solve the problem. Remember that ideas that you think are frivolous and silly may help you think about the problem a new way. If nothing else, they help build a bridge of laughter behind the two parties. 6. Develop stepping stones to action Sort through the ideas to see which ones will work. Set goals and develop an action plan. Create short, achievable steps that work toward your overall goal. 7. Make mutual benefit agreements This step may look like bargaining, but it starts from a different point. The point is to make sure that you both get what you need. Rather than finding a compromise, you are finding a way that both parties can win. For example, the two managers discussed their renovation needs. Both managers agreed that the quality of food was important in maintaining the profitability of the restaurant. Because the grill was affecting service times, the restaurant manager agreed to support the executive chef’s request, and postpone work in the dining room. In turn, the executive chef agreed to support the restaurant manager in the next round of budgets. 8. Part on good terms When you have dealt with a conflict, or if you have agreed to disagree, make a point of parting on good terms. Treat the other person with respect and dignity. Thank the person for discussing the issue with you. For example, you might say, “I really appreciated you explaining your point of view. Even though we might not agree on this issue, I respect your beliefs.” This creates a climate in which you can continue to work together harmoniously. It also means that the person will have a positive approach to resolving the problem when another conflict arises

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Learning Activity 11 Develop processes for conflict management Activity type

Case Study

Activity timing

45 minutes

Activity description

Imagine your employees have started a picketing regarding the salary increment. Briefly explain how you can resolve this conflict using following steps of conflict resolution process as the responsible person. 1. Create an effective atmosphere 2. Clarify perceptions 3. Focus on individual and shared needs 4. Take a positive approach 5. Generate options 6. Develop a list of stepping stones to action 7. Make mutual benefit agreements 8. Part on good terms

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Develop processes for escalated issues or refer to relevant personnel While most of management plans or communication plans have an escalation, mechanism defined; in reality, very few project managers make an effective use of the escalation mechanism. Many of them try to avoid escalations in the fear of conflict; some overdo it for every next problem in the organisation. Both these approaches are harmful for organisations. Escalating an organisational problem at the right time, to the right person with the right amount of information is an art to be cultivated by good managers. Escalation is generally a formal process to highlight the issue at hand to a higher authority as per the escalation mechanism defined in the organisation. For example, if a certain employee is not willing to or is not able to do a certain activity he or she is responsible for, it is necessary to escalate the issue to the superior for resolution. Risks or issues related to organisational objectives, resource and inter-group conflicts, ambiguous roles and responsibilities, disagreements, third party dependencies are some known situations calling for escalations. Such issues require higher level intervention because many times the authority, decision making, resources or effort required to resolve them are beyond a manager’s horizon. At times, the manager may want to involve higher authorities for information-only escalations to keep them abreast of potential issues in the organisation. Understanding the right use of escalation technique is vital for organisational managers. Escalation should be treated as a professional act and should be done in an effective way. Managers should escalate timely if something is blocking the organisation and is beyond the manager’s control. One should not hesitate to escalate within the performing unit. A proactive escalation and risk communication is far better than unpleasant surprises requiring costly fixes to the organisation. One important aspect of organisation task assignment and management that should be noted here is project management software: though it won’t entirely remove the need for escalation, it will delineate specific and reasonable goals that team members can meet, if used properly. Project management software isn’t a replacement for escalation: it’s a method of enhancing organisation development and completion and lowering the likelihood that a manager will need to escalate. Five of the best organisation management tools are listed below. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Monday.com Mavenlink Smartsheet Pipeliner Celoxis

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How to escalate effectively Before escalating the matter, the manager needs to ensure that the necessary analysis and data gathering is done. Many impatient managers are too quick to escalate without attending to their share of responsibility. Here are some ways to effectively use the project escalation mechanism: 1. Have a properly defined, agreed upon escalation matrix with escalation contact points, escalation paths for different escalation areas and levels. Explicitly document this escalation matrix for the project. 2. Ensure that the stakeholders are well aware of the escalation process – which issues should be raised to whom, and within which time frame. 3. Create an organisational culture where people genuinely believe it’s OK to escalate the issues timely to the next level of management without any fear or aggravating the issue. 4. While escalating, analyse the situation with data points and make sure you have done your part of the job well before escalating. 5. Wait for the Service Level Agreements (SLAs) of the other party for responding. For example, if the SLA to respond is 3 days, it is not right to escalate the issue before 3 days. 6. Assuming that you have done your part of the job and still there is no response from the other party in the SLA period, you may first need to send a formal and gentle reminder. 7. Avoid frequent and un-necessary escalation. If you do not, your management may see you as an incompetent at your job – and your escalation may not get the attention it deserves when it really needs it. 8. Arrange a separate meeting or a call or an explicit email to escalate the matter. Keep it focused to the specific issue and make it only one escalation at a time. Do not club multiple items and dilute the escalation matter. 9. Escalate only to the right stakeholders and do not involve all in the issue (by cc’ing everyone or by inviting all to the conference call). 10. Keep the escalation meeting or the call or the email focused on the issue and do not get personal with any remarks on the individual. 11. Escalate by giving background, highlight correct data, severity of the situation (high/medium/low) and suggested solutions. 12. If you are forwarding an issue to the higher up as an FYI, it’ll look more like as if you are upward delegating the matter. Have the right intentions to solve the matter yourself. 13. Document escalation with data points, and mark all necessary actions with action-owners. Mark the action owners in the ‘To’ field while communicating the escalation by email. 14. Involve two levels up in escalation depending on severity. 15. Reach out to peer managers for similar escalation situations to get lessons learned out of past experiences. 16. If the first escalation fails, have firmness to escalate it to the next level to make it higher and wider. 17. When vertical escalation does not work, use horizontal methods, indirect or innovative methods, and any other direction till you get the solution or the required attention for issue resolution. 18. Take strong measures from your side if nothing works with regards to the escalation. E.g. terminating the project, face-to-face meeting with senior management etc. Project escalation is both an art and a science – it is also a risky art as escalation can lead to personal clashes and backfires. Identifying project situations where escalation is the only way out and having the courage to escalate these situations professionally to the right people is key to helping the project

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Why it is difficult to escalate? Escalation, though a known and formal mechanism, is a dicey art a project manager has to cultivate to effectively resolve project bottlenecks. However, many a times, a manager is hesitant to escalate the matter, some key reasons being:         

Escalation is an immediate conflict and clash creator as it is taken as a complaint against the person involved in the issue. Escalation leads to counterattack and revenge as people tend to take escalation personally and not professionally. Many people simply give up or suffer in silence because they hesitate to escalate due to fear of backlash or anger of the person. Some managers feel ego issues in escalating the matter or communicating project risks. Some managers prefer to struggle with the issue using available resources too long before requesting assistance (under the assumption that they will be able to solve it themselves). Junior or new managers will not dare to escalate against experienced team members, senior management or client side people. Escalation builds a perception that the work is out of control and the manager is not able to manage it. Some managers do not know how to use the escalation mechanism to solve the problem. The manager has not created a generic escalation plan, or there is no specific escalation plan at the project level.

However, escalation is necessary if the matter is not getting resolved on time and the delay is impacting the other activities of the project. Escalation is a kind of proactive risk communication where the manager is highlighting the bottleneck to the next level in the hierarchy for attention and quick resolution. A good manager must cultivate the habit of escalating important matter whenever and wherever necessary.

Learning Activity 12 Develop processes for escalated issues or refer to relevant personnel Activity type

Individual verbal presentation

Activity timing

3-5 minutes per learner

Activity description

Provide answers to the following questions. 1. Importance of using escalation mechanism effectively and briefly explain methods to escalate effectively. 2. Why escalation process is difficult? Give examples to support your answer.

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BSBLDR523 – Section 2 – Manage effective workplace relationships

Section 2 Manage effective workplace relationships Delegate and confirm responsibilities for fulfilling work tasks Delegation is when managers use their authority to assign responsibility to others in their workplace, such as their direct reports or co-workers. Delegating tasks is important because the higher-level strategic planning you're responsible for takes time and energy. You won't have either of those if you're bogged down with busywork. For example, imagine you are a marketing director overseeing an email campaign to a group of customers. Before the campaign can begin, its content needs to be written, graphics need to be designed, and an email list needs to be put together. Then the campaign must be added to email marketing software such as iContact or Mailchimp. When delegating tasks for this campaign, a good manager must send detailed instructions via email or delegation tool. Be sure to include your vision and goals in the instructions. In this example, the following staff are perfect for assisting with the campaign:   

Graphic designer: Designs images to live alongside email content Copywriter: Writes and edits content, including the subject line Marketing specialist: Pulls the email list from a source such as Salesforce or a different customer relationship management (CRM) tool

Once each member of your team has completed their assigned task, they should send it to you for review. You then put all the pieces together and schedule the email campaign for deployment. Three elements of delegation There are three main aspects of delegating responsibility, known as the elements of delegation: 1. Authority This refers to the right of a manager to direct employees to perform certain tasks within the scope of their team's purview. This means the manager has authority over the subordinate. Prior to assigning tasks, managers need to use their authority to assess the skills of their subordinates and be aware that sometimes subordinates require training. As an authority figure, you also need to act like a leader and avoid micromanaging. 2. Responsibility This is the obligation a subordinate has to successfully complete the duties they are assigned. A management figure is passing a certain level of trust to a subordinate to complete tasks effectively. 3. Accountability For successful delegation, subordinates need to be accountable for the tasks they are assigned. With or without the help of a delegation tool, subordinates should provide managers with updates on their workflow. Managers also need to be accountable for the direction they provide; if directions are not clear, managers can't expect subordinates to be successful.

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What managers need to do when delegating tasks 1. Utilize delegation tools To make it easier to manage workers and keep track of deadlines without micromanaging, you can use project management software for effective delegation. A few such programs are Asana, Basecamp and Trello. 2. Master core delegation skills When delegating, you need to be clear with your expectations and vision for the tasks at hand. Good, clear communication that includes explicit instructions goes a long way. When sending delegation emails, try using a call to action in your subject line (such as "Newsletters Proofreading Review Needed"). In the body of your email, lay out your expectations, including a deadline. Along with excellent communication and clear expectations, valuable delegation skills include providing support and following up. Always let your team know when they do a good job and thank them. 3. Teach You can't always assume that your subordinates know something or can figure it out. It's your job as an authority figure to teach your employees new skills. The more your employees know, the more they can take off your plate later.

Three types of tasks you should be delegating 1. Tedious tasks that do not impact growth Everything you and your team members do is important to the overall function of the business. However, supply shopping, data entry, file organization, clerical work and other administrative tasks aren't what drives growth for your company. These are typically simple assignments that Do not require much experience, and while you could easily complete them yourself, you'll save time by delegating them to your workers. Part of your job as a manager is to ensure the workload is spread evenly to deliver results on time. The No. 1 delegation mistake managers make is not delegating enough. However, this does not apply to more complicated, role-sensitive tasks, like hiring new talent or overseeing financial affairs. Delegation will help you save your time for those responsibilities. Always keep the big picture in mind when deciding which tasks to delegate to your team. Tasks that require a large portion of your time can distract you from doing the things only you can do to grow your business. 2. Tasks that drain you of passion When you were at a lower level than you are now, you likely had certain tasks that you weren't motivated to do. Since you've paid your dues, you may now look to your team to take on those same assignments. However, you Do not want your employees to feel drained either. While you might pass some of these duties off to your staff to alleviate your mental and emotional strain, make sure you aren't just passing the stress to them. If you aren't sure who to delegate the task to, present the task to a group of your co-workers, and openly ask who might be the best to handle it. Different workers have different interests; what's demanding to one person might be a walk in the park to another.

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3. Tasks that someone else can do better than you Being a leader doesn't automatically make you the right person for a project. Your staff members have their own talents, some of which can fill in your gaps, so you must be humble enough to see and admit that someone else might be a better fit for a task than you are. Your job as a manager is to develop people. Delegation is the means by which you bring out the very best in the people that you have. Each employee has their own unique skill set, personality and strengths. Making good use of their unique working personalities will result in more overall efficiency, and people excel at work they enjoy doing. Delegation can be hard for managers and business owners, but it's essential for productivity. As a leader, you can't possibly do everything on your own. Instead, learn to lean on your team and trust them to get the job done. As a result, you'll see that your company can accomplish a lot more without bogging you down.

Learning Activity 13 Delegate and confirm responsibilities for fulfilling work tasks Activity type

Project work

Activity timing

30 minutes

Activity description

Form groups of 3-5 people 1. Identify the purpose of delegation and give examples to support your answer. 2. Briefly explain the elements of delegation and explain how it support to workplace activities. 3. What is manager's duty when delegating organisational tasks to employees and identify tasks managers should delegate.

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Collaborate and support team to perform work tasks Teamwork is a cooperative process that allows regular people to achieve impressive results. There are countless studies that have focused on collaboration and how teamwork sets companies up for success. Collaborative tasks in the workplace can help lift every member of your team to the next level. If you feel stuck at some point, asking a teammate for their input can help you finish a project successfully. If your team is struggling with communication, asking for help may be an anxietyinducing experience. When trust issues are left unresolved, it can stunt every person on that team and prevent everyone from moving forward. Collaboration should be a natural progression of the team’s relationship. Pillars of great teamwork and collaboration In addition to using a task management tool, managers should make sure that they’re supporting teamwork in-person as well. Personal communication preferences may differ, but there are certain traits that universally help people collaborate. Strong interpersonal skills Interpersonal skills are a key factor in how successful the team can be. However, these skills are dependent on each individual on your team. Even if someone is shy or quiet, it is possible for them to have strong interpersonal skills. By definition, interpersonal skills are anything “used by a person to interact with others properly.” It’s these skills that allow employees to be more productive while playing off of social expectations and customs. If a certain teammate is condescending, their lacking interpersonal skills may actually stunt others on your team. It’s important for a project manager to speak one-on-one with that team member. To make this happen, you can brainstorm ways to improve their behaviour and collaborative skills in the future. Open communication Directly tied to a team’s overall social skills, open communication is a key factor in creating a collaborative environment. Under no circumstances should an employee feel uncomfortable asking for help or advice. Promote questions and allow the entire team to pitch in and help find a solution. Some managers have found that the best way to foster teamwork is to start with themselves. Be open about your personal struggles and ask others for advice. Once you get a conversation started, you can learn more about what would make your team more efficient. Open communication can also be built through company culture and outings. By having a team lunch, you can discuss important projects as well as what people are doing during the weekend. Generally, the more relaxed your teammates are with each other, the more efficient everyone will be. Helpful feedback One of the most important parts of collaboration is feedback. How comfortable your teammates are with each other is a big factor in the type of feedback they give. Sometimes, all that’s needed is “this is a good idea, keep going!” In other cases, feedback may be more complicated and need to point the entire project in a new direction to be successful. Both the person asking for feedback and the person giving their opinion must understand that constructive criticism is not a personal attack. If everyone is on the same page about effective feedback, the goal will always be to support each other. Copyrights © 2020 Dynamics Learning Pty Ltd

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Leadership Although each department will have specific managers who lead the rest of the team, it’s important that every teammate is comfortable with leadership. This is important because strong leadership skills allow team members to work together at every stage of the project. Together, they can brainstorm and understand what parts of the work will need additional manpower. If you have someone on your team who is more detached from everyone else, you may want to work with them to improve their leadership skills. You can help these individuals out by teaching them to take ownership of their work and collaborate whenever possible. Accountability Every manager has experienced a scenario when something went wrong in a project and no one wanted to take accountability for the error. If you want to have successful collaboration in the workplace, you’ll need to promote personal accountability. This may seem counterintuitive because teamwork is all about a collective of people. However, personal accountability will motivate everyone to do their best and correct any problems that arise. Accountability is a motivating factor because it allows people to take pride in their work. When something goes wrong, you want people to take accountability. Understand that mistakes happen and Do not yell or scold an employee harshly. You will want to use each experience as a learning tool to improve on for future. Commitment to success Commitment to success is the final pillar that allows teams to collaborate well in the workplace. Even though every employee is interested in collecting their paycheque, they should also be motivated by the quality of their work. They should enjoy seeing things from start to finish while making sure that customers are kept happy. If everyone on your team is strongly committed to success, you’ll find that collaboration is easy to foster and that overall efficiency will improve. Thanking people for their hard work and rewarding great outcomes are some ways that managers can help people renew their commitment to the team. Ultimately, your team is relying on you to create an environment that supports open communication and collaboration. Though the steps to succeed may look different, the fact remains that teamwork and collaboration can ultimately make or break a company.

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Learning Activity 14 Collaborate and support team to perform work tasks Activity type

Writing activity

Activity timing

20 minutes

Activity description

1. How collaboration support team to perform workplace tasks effectively? 2. Briefly explain how following factors help to manage great team work and collaboration  Strong interpersonal skills  Open communication  Helpful feedback  Leadership  Accountability  Commitment to success

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Identify and address issues in workplace relationships according to processes established Fostering these characteristics of positive work relationships in your practice is not the responsibility of a single person, such as your practice manager. While leadership can play an important role, each member of a practice should be expected to lead by example. Modelling desired behaviour is one of the most effective ways to encourage the systemic development of these relationship characteristics. A company’s human resources department manages employee relations efforts whilst some others have a dedicated team to focus on employee relations. They would be responsible for being a listening ear to employees, an intermediary between employees and managers to advise on policy creation in areas such as fair compensation, useful benefits, work-life balance, reasonable working hours, and more. Some of the following may sound familiar as they seem to be common occurrences, for both small and larger organizations. The following explains what they are, and how you can manage them better: 1. Conflict Management It happens everywhere and is inevitable, but we should avoid it. Disputes among employees, or between a business owner and an employee usually stem from similar sources and thankfully almost always can be resolved with some effective tips. Everyone has different tolerances towards what they find offensive or uncomfortable. Some may be bothered by the way someone talks or the way someone treats others, consider setting values for your organization as a reference, so employees can refer to it when they feel uptight or confused. Encourage open communication in the workplace and provide a channel for employees to express their concerns anonymously, and provide constructive suggestions to improve the working environment. This helps minimize gossip and misunderstandings, helps employees trust each other better, and be open to discussion about what is bothering them. Ultimately, everyone just wants to be understood, seen, and heard. 2. Hours & Wage Issues A job satisfaction study by a Chicago-based management consulting firm, HR Solutions Inc. claims that pay is the number one area where employees seek change. Employees tend to scrutinize overtime payments and holiday pay where they can, and they should, human resources should be ready for all kinds of questions, that’s good employee relations. This may mean pulling out records manually, backdating information, and cross-checking, which can be a hassle. It is recommended having a self-service timekeeping software to help your employees keep track of clocking and out via their smart devices. It’s an efficient way for HR to monitor closely yet building trust and giving them a sense of ownership of their schedule.

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3. Adequate Safety at Work Accidents can happen, but prevention must be taken at all costs. Promote safety in the workplace, not just when a new hire joins, but perhaps quarterly. Bring in a professional to share tips and test your employees’ knowledge. It’s about educating, having proper safety equipment and safety guidelines. To address this, incorporate better workplace safety tips that ensure they have access to these safety tips, using appropriate signs and labels, as well as encouraging quick breaks every couple of hours for a boost of energy. 4. Annual Leave Disputes Different companies have different policies about leaves, from application to disputes. It’s vital to communicate employees’ leave entitlement and how to adhere to the process for a smooth requisition. 5. Attendance issues An effective way would be to put something in writing and enforce it, it may affect certain aspects of their wages (tips, etc) but do this carefully while still practicing empathy under unique situations. If it does not work, call for a huddle and encourage open communication, be as honest as you’d like for them to be with you. There may be challenges that you never thought possible, so, be compassionate and be ready to listen and understand, more practical nuggets for implementation .

Learning Activity 15 Identify and address issues in workplace relationships according to processes established

Activity type

Written activity

Activity timing

20 minutes

Activity description

Briefly explain under mentioned workplace relationships issues and identify how you can manage them as the employer.  Conflict Management  Hours & Wage Issues  Adequate Safety at Work  Annual Leave Disputes  Attendance issues

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Monitor and communicate to employees outcomes of conflict management Conflict has many causes, including organizational structures, limitations on resources, task interdependence, goal incompatibility, personality differences, and communication challenges. Outcomes of well-managed conflict include increased participation and creativity, while negatives of poorly managed conflict include increased stress and anxiety. Jobs that deal with people are at higher risk for conflict. One of the most common outcomes of conflict is that it upsets parties in the short run. However, conflict can have both positive and negative outcomes. On the positive side, conflict can result in greater creativity or better decisions. For example, as a result of a disagreement over a policy, a manager may learn from an employee that newer technologies help solve problems in an unanticipated new way. Positive outcomes include the following:    

Consideration of a broader range of ideas, resulting in a better, stronger idea Surfacing of assumptions that may be inaccurate Increased participation and creativity Clarification of individual views that build learning

On the other hand, conflict can be dysfunctional if it is excessive or involves personal attacks or underhanded tactics. Examples of negative outcomes include the following:   

Increased stress and anxiety among individuals, which decreases productivity and satisfaction Feelings of being defeated and demeaned, which lowers individuals’ morale and may increase turnover A climate of mistrust, which hinders the teamwork and cooperation necessary to get work done

Communication strategies to effectively resolve workplace conflict.   

Unresolved conflict can impact your company culture, employee performance and retention, and bottom line. Workplace conflict is often the result of poor communication. Use clear communication strategies to resolve workplace conflict (e.g., set expectations, respect personal differences, and use active listening skills, neutral terms and open body language).

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Learning Activity 16 Monitor and communicate to employees outcomes of conflict management

Activity type

Group discussion (directed and observed by the trainer)

Activity timing

30-40 minutes

Activity description

1. Form groups of 3 to 5 learners per group 2. Appoint a group leader to manage the discussion. 3. Conflict has both positive and negative outcomes. Briefly explain some positive and negative outcomes and give examples to support your answer. 4. Importance of communicating conflict management outcomes to employees. 5. Identify communication strategies to resolve workplace conflict.

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Section 3 Review management of workplace relationships Seek feedback on management of workplace relationships from relevant stakeholders Asking for feedback is one of the best ways to feel ‘in control’ of your work, get an accurate idea of what is expected of you and judge how you can improve even further. You can ask for feedback from your manager/supervisor or colleagues at any time:    

Let the other person know you would like feedback so that they have time to prepare. You can help the other person prepare by being specific about what you would like feedback on. Prepare a set of questions and let the other person see them if you have time. Ask ‘open questions. These questions will often begin with the word ‘Why’ or ‘How’. Open questions are designed to get full and meaningful answers – they can’t be answered with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Some good ‘open’ questions for seeking feedback are: o Why did my work on X hit the right mark for you? o How do you think I could handle Mrs Y better? o If I was really successful in this job, what would I be doing and how would I be doing it? o Why do you think I keep having this issue and how could I improve things? o What is your opinion on the way I handled that question from Mr Z?

How would you approach this if you were me? If you are a Supervisor or Manager Why seek feedback? It can have a number of positive benefits for you and your team:   

it helps build a feedback culture (where feedback is part of the ‘way we do things’) it builds relationships that are based on trust it builds your own self-awareness about your supervisory skills and style.

How to get feedback from stakeholders When you’re dealing with stakeholders, the feedback process can be a little more complicated. Depending on the organisation and your role in the company a stakeholder might be a colleague, middle management, or even the CEO or external party. That means getting feedback can require additional tact and planning. But if it’s essential for moving your tasks forward, you need to learn how to do it right. Find the right person to ask Ideally, something like this should be determined before seeking feedback. Anyone who has active involvement or engaged in the workplace and know about relationship management. But say this wasn’t determined beforehand. How do you go about finding the right person to ask for feedback? You can start by asking your manager. If you don’t know who the important stakeholders are for a specific section, your manager should be able to find the answer. Otherwise, ask yourself which teams will be most affected by the task you’re working on. Copyrights © 2020 Dynamics Learning Pty Ltd

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Send a message to who you think is the right stakeholder, asking them if they’re the right person to give feedback on management of workplace relationships. Odds are if they aren’t, they’ll be able to tell you who is. Just be careful about sending such a message to a CEO or an Executive. Try a couple of rungs down the corporate ladder first. Remember that stakeholders want to give you feedback. Since they have a stake in management of workplace relationships, they want to see it succeed. So once you find the right person, don’t be worried about asking. Use the right communication channel Sometimes, reaching out to a stakeholder can be a bit complicated. Depending on the size of the company, a stakeholder might be across the room, up a few floors, or across the country. Do a bit of research to find the best way to communicate with them. Often, your organization will have documents or processes in place for reaching certain people. Follow them to the letter. Unless you have a pre-existing relationship with a stakeholder that suggests otherwise, the best way to make sure your request is answered in due time is to send it the way people expect you to. If these guidelines don’t exist, your safest bet is sending an email. Explain that you need to request feedback on a specific project and ask the stakeholder which method of communication they prefer. They’ll be thankful that you asked and will usually recommend the right communication channel. Sometimes, feedback won’t go through regular communication channels. This is especially true in more progressive organizations, which are often very forthcoming and open with their feedback. Maybe you’ll interact with stakeholders directly in frequent meetings, in your work management tool, or through a chat application. Guide stakeholders with specific questions One of the worst things you can do when asking for feedback is to be vague. If you send over a document without giving a stakeholder any guidelines or expectations, you’ve made the experience more difficult for them. When asking a stakeholder for feedback, make sure you tell them exactly what you need their input on. If you show them your work and only part of it needs approval, make sure you outline that in your message. While it might be nice to get detailed feedback on everything you work on, you might end up waiting longer than necessary without these specifications. Acknowledge their feedback and thank them When a stakeholder takes time to give you feedback, make sure to thank them, even if getting that feedback took longer than expected. When your projects depend on input from a certain person, you want to cultivate a good relationship with that person. If you have additional questions or need extra clarity, ask now or forever hold your peace. Don’t expect a long back-and-forth with stakeholders; they already have plenty on their plate. By showing gratitude and keeping the interaction brief, you’re showing respect for stakeholders and ensuring they see working with you positively. Start the feedback loop No matter who it comes from, feedback is crucial. From your manager, it’s what helps you identify areas where you can improve, tasks you’re excelling at, and more. With stakeholders, feedback can propel a project forward — or stall it if you don’t know how to ask right. But as long as you ask with empathy and respect for their time, you’ll get killer feedback you can put into action in no time.

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Learning Activity 17 Seek feedback on management of workplace relationships from relevant stakeholders Activity type

Presentation

Activity timing

5-7 minutes per learner

Activity description

1. Identify the importance of getting feedback from stakeholders on management of workplace relationships. 2. Briefly explain the methods of collecting feedback from the stakeholders and give examples to support your explanation. 3. How the feedback is important to improve the effectiveness on management of workplace relationships.

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Evaluate feedback for improvements to leadership style Feedback is the process of evaluating, discussing and organizing an employee’s performance. It is an action used to offer constructive information to a team member. The process of giving feedback creates an open working relationship among the team leader and member, allowing each to understand their progress toward a pre-set goal. Feedback is a means of improvement. It helps individuals shape their actions to better meet the needs of an employer or team leader. Feedback is just one of the required tasks of a supervisor or manager and is meant to encourage their team to meet goals and follow company guidelines. The followings are some common criteria to evaluate feedback: 1. Timeliness: The most effective feedback is timely. Offer feedback when the team member can take action to improve, either immediately or shortly after the event in question. 2. Communicative: Communicative feedback creates a collaborative environment. In comparison to written feedback, communicative feedback allows team members to ask questions or gain more clarity. 3. Constructive: Effective feedback is constructive, offering positive solutions. Only offer feedback on actions or tasks that can be improved. 4. Specific: Specificity in feedback is important so that team members understand their areas of strength and weakness. This allows them to improve specific skills. 5. Detailed: Providing details with feedback can help team members develop a clearer understanding of the areas in which they can improve. Offer specific details about events and tasks.

How feedback improves performance Feedback is a crucial part of improving a team’s performance. Feedback can achieve the following purposes in a team setting: 1. Provides direction Feedback provides direction by identifying performance indicators and allowing team members to understand their progress toward a goal. 2. Motivates members A motivated team is often a productive one. Feedback can encourage team members to complete goals and objectives. Feedback can also help you better understand the strengths and weaknesses of your team, allowing you to build on them and further motivate team members. 3. Improves individual performance Team feedback can also improve the performance of each team member. When each team member understands their role on the team and the tasks they are expected to complete, the team can complete more goals. 4. Encourages engagement Effective feedback is two-sided. When team members have the chance to provide feedback, they are more likely to be engaged. Engaged team members will often have better performance.

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Apply feedback to your leadership style If you learn how to analyse and use positive feedback to your advantage, you can gain valuable insights into your strengths, helping you to improve as a professional. Researcher and applied psychology expert Michelle McQuaid have been at the forefront of what has been called the ‘Strengths Revolution’. Through her research, she has demonstrated the effectiveness of focusing on improving professional strengths over weaknesses. A study revealed that managers who are focused on strengths are 86% more likely to achieve above-average performance levels. Identifying your strengths by asking for, and welcoming, feedback will help you to create goals for the future. 1. Share appreciation The way you respond to feedback is just as important as learning how to accept it. If you receive a compliment on work related to team success, it’s essential that you recognize your team members for their efforts and all share in the success together. Recognizing your team will boost motivation and engagement. They will feel a stronger sense of community when group efforts are recognized, in turn, building team spirit. What’s more, sharing recognition helps build trust as a manager, by showing you’re not going to take the credit for your employees’ hard work. For example, if you receive positive feedback from upper management you can recognize your employees’ efforts by saying, “Thank you, we had an amazing group of people working on this project and we couldn’t have done it without the participation of the whole team.” Share your recognition with the rest of the team by saying, “You played a key role in our achievement and our senior management has been very satisfied with the results, let's keep it up and continue looking for new opportunities.” 2. Use your strengths to improve your leadership style To identify your strengths, make sure you are continuously asking for feedback. In some cases people might offer feedback without you requesting it, for example, someone tells you that you’re a great organizer. It is always good to ask for specific examples in which you demonstrated this ability to help you replicate this behaviour. Remember to source feedback from multiple people to get a more holistic and unbiased view, this can also help identify patterns if there are any. While there are more “traditional” management strengths like being a good listener or a team player, it is important to keep an open mind and adapt. You can use the feedback obtained to fine tune your strengths and perhaps identify focus areas. Being aware of your strengths can inform how you approach projects/ tasks moving forward as you can build teams with all the right strengths who can deliver the results needed. 3. Leverage your strengths to benefit your team Now you’ve learned how to use positive feedback to your advantage, it’s important to help your employees do the same. Showing them appreciation is an effective way of improving their overall job satisfaction and confidence. Encourage your direct reports to also use positive feedback as a way of identifying their strengths, and fine-tuning what they’re already good at. Once they develop an awareness of their strengths, ensure everyone is aware of the different abilities within the team. Once they are aware of each other’s strengths, it should become easier for you and them to delegate and assign tasks to the most suitable person, making projects more successful.

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4. Set goals for yourself Just because you may have a natural ability for some things, don’t take them for granted: they are skills you should continue to develop. Setting goals for your professional development is a great way to ensure you are continuously learning and improving. It also gives you something to work towards and ensure you increase your competency in certain areas. By developing your strengths, you may also become an expert in relationship management meaning that colleagues will come to you for advice. This is a perfect way to create more visibility for yourself within your company. As a manager, make a practice of regularly asking your team members for feedback so you can know if you’re making progress, or what areas you can focus on. Tracking your progress with positive feedback can help you stay engaged and even improve your performance.

Learning Activity 18 Evaluate feedback for improvements to leadership style Activity type

Written Activity

Activity timing

30 minutes

Activity description

1. Briefly explain feedback and identify some criteria to evaluate feedback. Give examples to support your answer. 2. Feedback support employees to identify strengths and weaknesses in their performance. Explain how feedback support to improve performance. 3. As an employer, how you can improve your leadership skills based on the feedback?

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Identify areas of improvement for future workplace relations leadership Working relationships are the connections you form with co-workers, colleagues and managers in the workplace. Although the relationships you build with colleagues and managers may not be as intimate as those you have with family and friends, they are nonetheless crucial. All positions require interaction with others at some point. Even if you are a freelance writer who works solely online, you still need to build relationships with them to have a fulfilling work environment and excel at your work. It is important to realize that a working relationship is different from a personal relationship. A personal relationship involves sharing emotions and personal truths, while a working relationship is a formal association and serves the specific purpose of ensuring good teamwork and productivity. The areas of improvement for future workplace relationship may include the following:                   

Work environment Reporting systems and processes Communication systems and processes Decision making systems and processes Teamwork processes Interpersonal and interaction processes Empowerment Recognition and reinforcement Responsibility and accountability settings Policies, procedures and processes Conflict resolution strategies Negotiation strategies Workplace meetings and workshops Work life balance arrangements Flexibility Training and development Coaching and mentoring Outside of work recreational activities Family day activities and sports

Learning Activity 19 Identify areas of improvement for future workplace relations leadership Activity type

Individual verbal presentation

Activity timing

3-5 minutes per learners.

Activity description

Provide answers to the following questions. 1. Identify some areas to improve for future workplace relationship 2. How you can improve identified areas for future workplace relationship?

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References A Guide to Escalation in Project Management, (n.d.) PM, Project management.com, Available at: https://project-management.com/ a-guide-to-escalation-in-project-management, Accessed 27 January 2021. Conflict Resolution, (n.d.) BC Campus, Available at: https://opentextbc.ca/ workingin foodserviceindustry/ chapter/conflict-resolution, Accessed 27 January 2021. Conflict Resolution, (n.d.) BC Campus, Available at: https://opentextbc.ca/ workingin foodserviceindustry/ chapter/conflict-resolution, Accessed 27 January 2021. Foster, I. (2013) ‘The importance of interpersonal style’ Available at: http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/ static/f/861003, Accessed 27 January 2021. Giang, V. (2013 ‘The 4 Most Important Relationships You Need At Work’ Available at: https://www.businessinsider.com.au/ the-4-most- important-relationships-you-need-at-work-20133?r=US&IR=T, Accessed 27 January 2021. Heathfield, S. M. (2021) ‘How to Develop Effective Work Relationships, Available at: https://www.thebalancecareers.com/ developing- effective-work-relationships-1919386, Accessed 27 January 2021. How Workplace Collaboration Can Change Your Company (n.d.) Smartsheet, Available at: https://www.smartsheet.com/ how-workplace-collaboration-can-change-your-company, Accessed 27 January 2021. How Workplace Collaboration Can Change Your Company (n.d.) Smartsheet, Available at: https://www.smartsheet.com/ how-workplace-collaboration-can-change-your-company, Accessed 27 January 2021. Networking Tips for Building Effective Relationships, (n.d.), CLEVERISM, Available at: https://www.cleverism.com/23-networking-tips-for-building-effective-relationships, Accessed 27 January 2021. Seven practices you can implement to increase cultural awareness in the workplace (2017), Deakinco, Available at: https://www.deakinco.com/ media-centre/news/seven-practices-you-canimplement-to-increase-cultural-awareness- in-the-workplace, Accessed 27 January 2021. Sanfilippo, M. (2019) ‘3 Elements of Delegation All Managers Should Know, Available at: https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/ 8643-leader-delegation.html, Accessed 27 January 2021. Temme, Jim., 1996.”Team Power – How to build and grow successful teams.” Skillpath Publications. Why are communications and consultation important? (n.d.), acas working for everyone, Available at: https://archive.acas.org.uk/ index. aspx? articleid=665, Accessed 27 January 2021. Why Relationships in the Workplace Matter More Than You Think (n.d.), bonfire, Available at: https://bonfyreapp.com/ why-relationships- in-the-workplace-matter-more-than-you-think, Accessed 27 January 2021. https://www.businessinsider.com.au/the-4-most-important-relationships-you-need-at-work-20133?r=US&IR=TAvailable at: Accessed 27 January 2021.

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