Provide professional support to colleagues · 2.2 Develop mutual trust, confidence and rapport 2.2 11,12 6 2.3 Maintain colleague‟s privacy 2.3 13,14 7 2.4 Share workplace experiences,

Provide professional support to

colleagues

D1.HML.CL10.14

D1.HRM.CL9.05

Trainee Manual

Provide professional

support to colleagues

D1.HML.CL10.14

D1.HRM.CL9.05

Trainee Manual

Project Base

William Angliss Institute of TAFE 555 La Trobe Street Melbourne 3000 Victoria Telephone: (03) 9606 2111 Facsimile: (03) 9670 1330

Acknowledgements

Project Director: Wayne Crosbie Chief Writer: Alan Hickman Subject Writer: Nick Hyland Project Manager: Alan Maguire Editor: Alan Maguire DTP/Production: Daniel Chee, Mai Vu, Jirayu Thangcharoensamut

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on 8 August 1967. The Member States of the Association are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.

The ASEAN Secretariat is based in Jakarta, Indonesia.

General Information on ASEAN appears online at the ASEAN Website: www.asean.org.

All text is produced by William Angliss Institute of TAFE for the ASEAN Project on “Toolbox Development for Priority Tourism Labour Division”.

This publication is supported by Australian Aid through the ASEAN-Australia Development Cooperation Program Phase II (AADCP II).

Copyright: Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 2012.

All rights reserved.

Disclaimer

Every effort has been made to ensure that this publication is free from errors or omissions. However, you should conduct your own enquiries and seek professional advice before relying on any fact, statement or matter contained in this book. ASEAN Secretariat and William Angliss Institute of TAFE are not responsible for any injury, loss or damage as a result of material included or omitted from this course. Information in this module is current at the time of publication. Time of publication is indicated in the date stamp at the bottom of each page.

Some images appearing in this resource have been purchased from various stock photography suppliers and other third party copyright owners and as such are non-transferable and non-exclusive.

Additional images have been sourced from Flickr and are used under:

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

http://www.sxc.hu/

File name: TM_Provide_prof_support_to_bus_colleagues_310812.docx

http://www.asean.org/

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

© ASEAN 2012 Trainee Manual

Provide professional support to colleagues

Table of contents

Introduction to trainee manual ........................................................................................... 1

Unit descriptor................................................................................................................... 3

Assessment matrix ........................................................................................................... 5

Glossary ........................................................................................................................... 7

Element 1: Describe the nature of internal professional support to colleagues .................. 9

Element 2: Create and maintain a positive and supportive relationship with colleagues .. 23

Element 3: Provide structured support to colleagues ...................................................... 41

Element 4: Provide unstructured support to colleagues .................................................. 61

Presentation of written work ............................................................................................ 67

Recommended reading ................................................................................................... 69

Trainee evaluation sheet ................................................................................................. 71

© ASEAN 2012 Trainee Manual Provide professional support to colleagues

Introduction to trainee manual


Provide professional support to colleagues 1


To the Trainee

Congratulations on joining this course. This Trainee Manual is one part of a „toolbox‟ which is a resource provided to trainees, trainers and assessors to help you become competent in various areas of your work.

The „toolbox‟ consists of three elements:

A Trainee Manual for you to read and study at home or in class

A Trainer Guide with Power Point slides to help your Trainer explain the content of the training material and provide class activities to help with practice

An Assessment Manual which provides your Assessor with oral and written questions and other assessment tasks to establish whether or not you have achieved competency.

The first thing you may notice is that this training program and the information you find in the Trainee Manual seems different to the textbooks you have used previously. This is because the method of instruction and examination is different. The method used is called Competency based training (CBT) and Competency based assessment (CBA). CBT and CBA is the training and assessment system chosen by ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) to train people to work in the tourism and hospitality industry throughout all the ASEAN member states.

What is the CBT and CBA system and why has it been adopted by ASEAN?

CBT is a way of training that concentrates on what a worker can do or is required to do at work. The aim is of the training is to enable trainees to perform tasks and duties at a standard expected by employers. CBT seeks to develop the skills, knowledge and attitudes (or recognise the ones the trainee already possesses) to achieve the required competency standard. ASEAN has adopted the CBT/CBA training system as it is able to produce the type of worker that industry is looking for and this therefore increases trainees chances of obtaining employment.

CBA involves collecting evidence and making a judgement of the extent to which a worker can perform his/her duties at the required competency standard. Where a trainee can already demonstrate a degree of competency, either due to prior training or work experience, a process of „Recognition of Prior Learning‟ (RPL) is available to trainees to recognise this. Please speak to your trainer about RPL if you think this applies to you.

What is a competency standard?

Competency standards are descriptions of the skills and knowledge required to perform a task or activity at the level of a required standard.

242 competency standards for the tourism and hospitality industries throughout the ASEAN region have been developed to cover all the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to work in the following occupational areas:

Housekeeping

Food Production

Food and Beverage Service


2


Front Office

Travel Agencies

Tour Operations.

All of these competency standards are available for you to look at. In fact you will find a summary of each one at the beginning of each Trainee Manual under the heading „Unit Descriptor‟. The unit descriptor describes the content of the unit you will be studying in the Trainee Manual and provides a table of contents which are divided up into „Elements‟ and „Performance Criteria”. An element is a description of one aspect of what has to be achieved in the workplace. The „Performance Criteria‟ below each element details the level of performance that needs to be demonstrated to be declared competent.

There are other components of the competency standard:

Unit Title: statement about what is to be done in the workplace

Unit Number: unique number identifying the particular competency

Nominal hours: number of classroom or practical hours usually needed to complete the competency. We call them „nominal‟ hours because they can vary e.g. sometimes it will take an individual less time to complete a unit of competency because he/she has prior knowledge or work experience in that area.

The final heading you will see before you start reading the Trainee Manual is the „Assessment Matrix‟. Competency based assessment requires trainees to be assessed in at least 2 – 3 different ways, one of which must be practical. This section outlines three ways assessment can be carried out and includes work projects, written questions and oral questions. The matrix is designed to show you which performance criteria will be assessed and how they will be assessed. Your trainer and/or assessor may also use other assessment methods including „Observation Checklist‟ and „Third Party Statement‟. An observation checklist is a way of recording how you perform at work and a third party statement is a statement by a supervisor or employer about the degree of competence they believe you have achieved. This can be based on observing your workplace performance, inspecting your work or gaining feedback from fellow workers.

Your trainer and/or assessor may use other methods to assess you such as:

Journals

Oral presentations

Role plays

Log books

Group projects

Practical demonstrations.

Remember your trainer is there to help you succeed and become competent. Please feel free to ask him or her for more explanation of what you have just read and of what is expected from you and best wishes for your future studies and future career in tourism and hospitality.

Unit descriptor



Unit descriptor


This unit deals with the skills and knowledge required to Provide professional support to colleagues in a range of settings within the hotel and travel industries workplace context.

Unit Code:

D1.HML.CL10.14 D1.HRM.CL9.05

Nominal Hours:

60 hours

Element 1: Describe the nature of internal professional support to

colleagues

Performance Criteria

1.1 Identify the benefits of initiating workplace support to colleagues

1.2 Identify the staff who may provide internal professional support

1.3 Identify the staff who may receive internal professional support

1.4 Describe the resources that may be required to provide professional support

Element 2: Create and maintain a positive and supportive

relationship with colleagues


2.1 Apply appropriate interpersonal skills

2.2 Develop mutual trust, confidence and rapport

2.3 Maintain colleague‟s privacy

2.4 Share workplace experiences, frustrations and challenges

2.5 Encourage and motivate colleagues

2.6 Address out-of-work situations that are having an impact on-the-job performance

Element 3: Provide structured support to colleagues


3.1 Identify opportunities and agree on requirements for structured off-the-job support mechanisms

3.2 Develop structured and scheduled off-the-job support mechanisms

Unit descriptor

4


3.3 Develop outlines and objectives for structured and scheduled off-the-job support mechanisms

3.4 Modify structured off-the-job support as required

Element 4: Provide unstructured support to colleagues


4.1 Identify opportunities for chance on-the-job support

4.2 Deliver appropriate on-the-job support

4.3 Integrate on-the-job support with off-the-job support

Assessment matrix



Assessment matrix

Showing mapping of Performance Criteria against Work Projects, Written

Questions and Oral Questions

Work

Projects

Written

Questions

Oral

Questions

Element 1: Describe the nature of internal professional support to colleagues

1.1 Identify the benefits of initiating workplace support to colleagues

1.1 1,2 1

1.2 Identify the staff who may provide internal professional support

1.2 3,4 2

1.3 Identify the staff who may receive internal professional support

1.3 5,6 3

1.4 Describe the resources that may be required to provide professional support

1.4 7,8 4

Element 2: Create and maintain a positive and supportive relationship with colleagues

2.1 Apply appropriate interpersonal skills 2.1 9,10 5

2.2 Develop mutual trust, confidence and rapport 2.2 11,12 6

2.3 Maintain colleague‟s privacy 2.3 13,14 7

2.4 Share workplace experiences, frustrations and challenges

2.4 15,16 8

2.5 Encourage and motivate colleagues 2.5 17,18 9

2.6 Address out-of-work situations that are having an impact on-the-job performance

2.6 19,20 10


3.1 Identify opportunities and agree on requirements for structured off-the-job support mechanisms

3.1 21,22 11

3.2 Develop structured and scheduled off-the-job support mechanisms

3.2 23,24 12

3.3 Develop outlines and objectives for structured and scheduled off-the-job support mechanisms

3.3 25,26 13

3.4 Modify structured off-the-job support as required

3.4 27,28 14

Assessment matrix

6


Work

Projects

Written

Questions

Oral

Questions


4.1 Identify opportunities for chance on-the-job support

4.1 29,30 15

4.2 Deliver appropriate on-the-job support 4.2 31,32 16

4.3 Integrate on-the-job support with off-the-job support

4.3 33,34 17

Glossary



Glossary

Term Explanation

Colleague A fellow worker or member of a staff, department, profession

Communication The imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs

Confidence Belief in oneself and one's powers or abilities

Empathy The power of understanding and imaginatively entering into another person's feelings

Encouragement Giving praise, support, boost, lift, endorsement

Goals The result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim

Infrastructure The basic physical structure of an organization, system

Intellectual Knowledge based on education, intuition or experience

Interpersonal Between persons; involving personal relationships

Language A body of words and the systems used to communicate between people

Mechanisms The structured approach used in an activity

Mentoring The practice of assigning a junior member of staff to the care of a more experienced person who assists him in his career

Motivation An incentive or desire to do; interest or drive

Off-the-job Activities that take place away from the usual area of work

On-the-job Activities that take place in the usual area of work

Privacy The state of being free from intrusion or disturbance in one's private life or affairs:

Rapport Relation; connection, especially harmonious or sympathetic relation

Glossary

8


Term Explanation

Respect

Esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability

SOP Standard Operating Procedure

Structured A set and pre-meditated approach

Support To provide assistance

Team A collection of individuals, joined together for a specific purpose

Teamwork

Cooperative or coordinated effort on the part of a group of persons acting together as a team or in the interests of a common cause.

Time orientation A focus on conducting activities in a timely manner

Tone A particular quality, way of sounding, modulation, or intonation of the voice as expressive of some meaning, feeling, spirit

Trust Reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety of a person or thing; confidence




Element 1:

Describe the nature of internal

professional support to colleagues

1.1 Identify the benefits of initiating workplace

support to colleagues

Introduction

A hospitality organisation employs many individuals, each with their own specific and unique skills, knowledge and attributes, that hopefully blend to provide a unique experience for customers.

No one person is responsible for doing everything. Also, no-one knows everything, therefore it is expected that each and every person will need the support and advice of others to help in a specific task or activity.

The level and type of support will vary depending on the request.

All workers will therefore require different types, levels, and intensity of support in their workplaces.

This support may come from a variety of people and resources. This will be indentified later in this training manual.

Businesses provide support to their employees and offer them a wealth of resources during the normal course of business.

For the purpose of this manual, the person providing the support will be defined as the „provider‟ and the person asking for support as the „recipient‟.

Definition of support and mentoring

Support

When defining support there are many meanings, depending on the circumstances and situations. In a professional situation, there are a number of key phrases that helps to define what „support‟ aims to provide. These include

To hold up

To provide a foundation

To maintain

To provide assistance, advice and help.

The aim of any support or mentoring approach is to enable a recipient to achieve either work-related or personal goals and objectives.

It is designed to help the recipient and in effect make their job easier.


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In a professional business setting, one of the key ways to provide support is through mentoring.

Therefore it is appropriate to also define what „mentoring‟ is.

Mentoring

"Mentoring is to support and encourage people to manage their own learning in order that they may maximise their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and become the person they want to be."

Eric Parsloe, The Oxford School of Coaching & Mentoring

Mentoring is an effective support and development aid. It is a popular avenue to help recipients achieve their potential and objectives through the support, guidance and expertise of providers, whether inside or outside the workplace.

Mentoring is not about doing a task for a recipient, but to direct them on the right path towards success. A provider will use their knowledge and expertise to provide guidance, support and encouragement to enable the recipient to use, improve and expand upon their existing skill sets.

Benefits of providing support to colleagues

Providing support to others is certainly a win-win situation for all involved. Support results in combining knowledge, skills and experiences of more than one person to meet a stated objective. In the case of a hospitality or tourism setting, this usually means providing quality customer service.

Therefore the more effective support provided, the greater the quality of customer service.

So how does support benefit stakeholders within a hospitality organisation?

Benefits to owners, managers and supervisors

Opportunity to help staff

Improved teamwork and morale

Greater understanding of current skill levels of staff

Greater understanding of what resources staff need to perform their responsibilities and job tasks

Higher levels of customer service

Higher levels of productivity and profitability

More skilled workforce

Higher levels of customer satisfaction

Greater chance of increased repeat business

Less customer complaints.




Benefits to staff

Ability to increase their knowledge, skills and attitudes

Ability to learn and get ideas from experienced people

Increased confidence in undertaking tasks

Better equipped to undertake their jobs

Better relationship with managers as they get to know them and feel like their work is valued

Less accidents, mistakes and complaints

Higher tips through increased customer satisfaction

More opportunity for promotions.

Benefits to customers

Higher levels of service

Better value for money.

In this section, we have explored what support and mentoring is and the benefits of support.

In the next sections we will look at who provides and receives support and the resources needed to adequately provide this support in an effective manner.

1.2 Identify the staff who may provide internal

professional support

Introduction

Teamwork is classified as the collective actions of a number of people towards a collective goal. Whilst each business will have a range of goals, in essence the primary goal is to provide an enjoyable experience for customers for a reasonable return on investment for owners, in a safe and lawful manner.

Teamwork and support

In a hospitality or tourism organisation, no one person can meet the needs of all customers. It requires the collective efforts of many people to achieve success. Therefore having a team that supports each other is essential.

Each team member brings with them their own unique characteristics, experiences, knowledge and skills which, when used correctly, can have a positive impact on customers. Everyone has different strengths and these should be celebrated and used for the benefit of the customer.

It should be the goal of any business to use its staff to the best of their abilities, to create an offering that meets the needs of its customers.


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Synergy is a phrase that represents the concept of effective and successful teams. Synergy is the concept where the accumulated actions of a group are more powerful than the sum of individual efforts.

A challenge for managers of a group, is to get everyone thinking in the same direction, even though they may all individually have different opinions. One way to improve teamwork is to get individual staff members involved in activities that require them to work together.

A team is often characterised through:

Having a common goal – it is important all staff not only identify the goal, but why it is important

Work interdependently with each other – the actions of one person impacts on other staff

Independent job functions – whilst staff are working together, they perform different roles and have different activities. Staff must understand how their actions contribute to the greater good of the team

Enjoy working together – this may be hard with different personalities, however in most cases people enjoy working together. Get staff involved in activities where they can find out more about each other

Accountability - staff will not only have their own responsibilities, but will also have collective responsibilities

Empowerment – staff have their own power to act and make decisions

Understand the importance of teams.

Role of support

Support is a two way street and who provides or receives support will change depending on what is required to effectively handle each situation. It is not uncommon for one specific person to be both the provider and the recipient of support, in different situations.

As mentioned, everyone has different skill sets, knowledge and experiences, and these will be called upon at different times.

This section explores when support is to be provided to others.

Providing support to other team members, supervisors and

managers

In the same way that you may need help from others, you must be similarly prepared to render assistance to others when it is called for.

Our industry has little room for prima donnas.

Those who don‟t pitch in and help, for whatever reason, will soon find themselves excluded and shunned by the other staff. You may have a very good reason for not helping when asked to do so but this is usually not good enough!

Co-workers will judge you by how much they can rely on you in a pinch, and you have to make the effort to be there when needed.

Your other work has to be reprioritised, and done later.




Identifying need for support

The aim of any workplace is the achievement of tasks, to a predetermined standard or expectation. Any failure to do so may require some type of support to rectify any shortfalls.

As a manager, identifying the need for support is a complex matter which must be approached with delicacy, professionalism and subtlety.

Whilst some people will actively seek support, many people will not do so because:

The problem may be caused by managers themselves due to a shortage of resources, lack of training, staffing issues, management style or personal characteristics

They may be embarrassed if they cannot do something

Cultural characteristics exist where people do not want to „lose face‟

They want to maintain personal pride and asking for support may be highlighting a weakness or incompetency.

In reality, a need for support may not be due to a personal deficiency but a result of the work environment. If a deficiency exists, in many cases it is due to knowledge, a skill or an attribute which may need to be learned.

Signs of identifying the need for support

Observation – viewing an inability of a person to undertake job tasks or constantly making mistakes

Staff behaviour – they may be reluctant, frustrated, stressed or not motivated in starting or completing a task

Direct request from a person – either a direct request or repeatedly asking for help

Customer complaints – customers may have complained about a person‟s behaviour or performance

Productivity reports – reports may show that a person is unable to perform tasks to a set quality or quantity standard

New tasks or job role – new tasks and responsibilities may require staff to receive additional resources or training.

Offering assistance before it is asked for

Certainly you must be prepared to assist your team mates when asked, but it is always better to offer help before it is asked for.

This shows your concern for team members and lets them know you are aware of what‟s going on. In addition, when you provide assistance, you need to do it:

Without complaint

Without making a big deal of it

Without constant reference to the fact that you did help - just do it!

Give your assistance freely and fully and then get back to your own tasks.

The intent of helping team members is:


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To ensure that team goals are achieved

To deliver excellent service to customers

To prove your commitment to the team

To encourage team members to help you when you need assistance.

Staff who provide support

There are a number of people who will provide support to others. As mentioned, support is the provision of some area of assistance or expertise one person may have which can help others complete their tasks.

The following are people who provide support and examples of support that may be provided:

Owners to managers

Provide authority, responsibility and resources.

Support departments to outlets

In modern hospitality staffing hierarchies, staff are considered the most important persons in a business (excluding customers of course) as they are the people who have the most direct contact with customers and provide service to the customers.

Hence it is the role of all other persons within the organisation to „support‟ them to be able to provide this service to customers in its desired format.

Whilst managers and supervisors will provide support on an ongoing basis (see below) there are specific support departments that will provide support to managers and staff.

These include, but are not limited to:

Human Resources

They will provide support to managers in relation to employment law, preparing job descriptions, advertisements, initial & exit interviews, performance reviews, induction, training programs and termination

They provide support to staff through training programs and counselling services.

Finance

They provide support to managers through the preparation and explanation of a range of financial documents including budgets, profitability and other financial reports.

Security

They provide security and safety expertise, equipment and training to management and staff.




Purchasing and stores

They provide all supplies, including food, beverages, stationery and other items required in departments.

Managers to supervisors

Departmental managers provide support to supervisors through mentoring. This will be explained in depth in later sections.

Managers and supervisors to staff

They will provide support through instruction, training, guidance and direction.

Staff to staff

This is a very common type of support. As hospitality outlets are commonly very busy, even for brief periods, staff require the immediate assistance and support of other staff, whether to give a hand, to delegate a task to, or to ask for specific information, opinions, knowledge or reinforcement.

Staff to managers and supervisors

They will provide support through the completion of tasks and feedback in relation to operations.

Customers to managers, supervisors and staff

Whilst not normally a support mechanism, they will provide support through giving feedback on products and services through customer comment cards and other information collection formats used by organisations.

Examples of the types of support that each person may provide will be explained in further sections of the manual.

1.3 Identify the staff who may receive internal

professional support

Introduction

Not everyone can do everything! This may seem simple but many staff feel they can do everything and solve every problem. This is just not realistic. On many occasions people need the assistance of others because:

They don‟t know how to do it

They don‟t have the time

Others are better equipped to do it

They need more than one person to do it.

It is a fact that many people are afraid to ask for help. It is also a fact that many people actually like being asked for help. In many ways being asked for help is a compliment!


16


Within a work context it is rarely acceptable for anyone to simply continue to work when they know they are falling behind or are failing to achieve the work set for them.

One way to address this situation is to seek assistance from others before the situation becomes critical.

Timing and support

Time orientation

Our industry is one that is very much time oriented. Customers and other staff will rely on individuals to get nominated work finished by a set time.

Customers expect service, food, drinks or rooms cleaned by a set time and when this doesn‟t happen their satisfaction levels drop.

Other staff may depend on others doing a certain task so that they can then do their work. They may have factored this into their planning and prioritising of their workload.

In brief, hospitality staff rarely have the luxury of doing things when they want to do them. They usually have to be done by a set time.

However, there are often situations where they can‟t possibly accomplish something on their own so you must:

Be able to identify situations where they are not going to be able to finish an allocated task on time. Do this well enough in advance to allow them to obtain help that will enable timelines to be met

Be prepared to actually ask others for help as soon as individuals identify a need to do so.

Often there are service peaks that require some help for 5 – 10 minutes and then it‟s over.

Examples include:

The arrival of a coach of tourists who all require a quick check-in and their luggage portered to rooms

A group arrival in the restaurant. They all need to be seated, supplied with their first drink, and have their order taken

A sudden rush in the retail shop

The first half hour of trade when the nightclub opens

That one day when every room service tray has been requested at 8.30am.

Staff who receive support

The people who need assistance will commonly include:

Colleagues

People from other, but related, departments

Managers and supervisors.




Reflect on the times when goals could not be met

It is always worthwhile for managers to take the time to think about situations where they had to ask for assistance.

This process is designed to identify what caused them to ask for help.

Sometimes the cause will be an unexpected interruption to their work such as the need to do extra duties that weren‟t initially allocated or identified.

Perhaps a team member was absent and they had to take over their duties as well as their own, perhaps there was some sort of unforeseeable emergency that they had to respond to, perhaps there was an equipment malfunction.

These issues cannot really be planned for. They just occur and they have to do their best.

However, where these types of issues didn‟t cause them to ask for help, reflecting on the situation may identify that they need to:

Obtain more training to become more proficient in their work

Do more practice to fine tune the skills they already have

Speak to supervisors to ask for a reduction in, or alteration to, the duties being given. This is especially significant where allocated tasks that are new or where people are being asked to do work that others normally do in addition to their usual tasks

Spend more time planning duties with a view to making better use of time, or making sure output integrates properly with others who rely on others.

1.4 Describe the resources that may be required

to provide professional support

Introduction

All managers and staff within a hospitality business have a communal aim of ensuring they have the necessary resources to be able to complete their job roles and responsibilities in a professional manner.

Communication amongst internal customers is extremely important. Teamwork and understanding of each other‟s needs is vital. The saying „a team is only as strong as its weakest link‟ is very true. An external customer does not see all the staff involved in the provision of products and services. They only see the end result. Therefore if a problem exists, it doesn‟t matter who is to blame, a problem still exists.


18


Understanding colleagues’ needs

Whilst each colleague has their own needs that relate specifically to their job role, there are a number of common needs which must be recognised by all staff.

These needs, which can be met through support, include:

Knowledge – understanding and performing their job role, product knowledge, menu knowledge, external customer preferences, upcoming events, policies and procedures and schedule of events for particular shifts

Skills – the ability to practically perform selected tasks including making beds, cooking meals and checking in guests

Training – both practical and theoretical training to ensure staff skills sets are appropriate to provide quality customer service

Equipment – this can include mechanical equipment (computers, ovens, blenders) and associated tools of the trade (plates, glassware, pens, cleaning cloths)

Time – staff need adequate time to perform their tasks in the correct manner

Appropriate allocation of work – appropriate allocation of customers per staff member to be able to deliver quality service. Management must ensure adequate levels of staff are on duty to perform the necessary tasks

Fairness – equality in areas of pay, work rate, scheduling of activities.

Identifying colleague needs

Identification of colleague needs normally is reflected in the requirements of their job responsibilities, however at times these may change. The best method of identifying colleagues‟ needs is through constant communication:

In meetings, whether at a departmental or senior management level

In staff briefings at the start of a shift

During a shift as needs arise

In staff debriefings at the end of a shift

Through comments in handover documents between shifts

Through emails, memos and telephone calls.




Types of support

There are a number of resources that can be used to help support a colleague including:

Physical support – skill sets and actual physical help whether it be lifting, carrying, pushing or pulling

Intellectual support – frameworks, documents, files, knowledge and advice

Financial support – money needed to be able to undertake an activity

Infrastructural support – physical items including buildings, equipment, furnishing, fittings and fixtures

Resources support – food, beverages, uniforms, stationary and other supplies

Mentoring – advice and guidance.

Identifying support available

Many staff may not be aware of the support and mentoring avenues available to them. Getting staff to take advantage of the support resources that are available in a workplace may take some effort and guidance on behalf of management.

Even if a staff member knows about a specific support or mentoring resource, they may not know how to access or benefit from its use. They may be unaware of the potential support, how to choose among the support alternatives that are available, or how to access a desired resource.

Within an organisation, it is the role of departmental managers to initially take the role of helping staff to identify, choose, and access support resources.

Choosing the correct support

In essence, the most effective support tool is the one that mostly benefits the individual. There is not always a „set‟ support to solve all problems.

When identifying the right support required, for every support need that is identified, a variety of support resources may be available.

All of the generated ideas should be discussed with the individual including an explanation of what using the specific support would entail. The availability of the support option, the pros and cons of each, and the level of interest expressed by the individual can be explored at the same time.

Regardless of the type of support provided, they should blend into the workplace and not make the worker stand out.

Effective supports are designed with employee and employer input. In order to determine if a support is effective, a variety of factors need to be considered. Some questions that need to be considered include:

Is the individual satisfied with the arrangement?

Are the individual‟s needs being met?

How is the support impacting their job?


20


Is integration enhanced as a result of the support?

Is the employee satisfied?

Are the company‟s standards being maintained?

It is important to remember that any support is only as good as the outcome it is accomplishing. The most wonderful support may be useless if the individual is not happy or if there are not benefits to the workplace.

Flexibility, creativity, and resourcefulness are essential elements contributing to a combination of workplace supports that will meet the individual‟s needs and result in a job of choice in a community business




Work Projects

It is a requirement of this Unit that you complete Work Projects as advised by your Trainer. You must submit documentation, suitable evidence or other relevant proof of completion of the project to your Trainer by the agreed date.

1.1 To fulfil the requirements of this Work Project you are asked to identify the benefits of initiating workplace support to colleagues including:


Benefits of providing support to colleagues

1.2 To fulfil the requirements of this Work Project you are asked to identify the staff who may provide internal professional support including:


Role of support

Providing support to other team members, supervisors and managers


Staff who provide support

1.3 To fulfil the requirements of this Work Project you are asked to identify the staff who may receive internal professional support

1.4 To fulfil the requirements of this Work Project you are asked to describe the resources that may be required to provide professional support


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Summary

Describe the nature of internal professional support to colleagues

Identify the benefits of initiating workplace support to colleagues


Benefits of providing support to colleagues.

Identify the staff who may provide internal professional support


Role of support

Providing support to other team members, supervisors and managers


Staff who provide support.

Identify the staff who may receive internal professional support

Timing and support

Staff who receive support.

Describe the resources that may be required to provide professional support

Understanding colleague needs

Identifying colleague needs

Types of support

Identifying support available

Choosing the correct support.




Element 2:

Create and maintain a positive and

supportive relationship with

colleagues

2.1 Apply appropriate interpersonal skills

Introduction

When creating a positive and supportive relationship with others, the personal characteristics and the approach you take will have a great impact on the success and effectiveness of a support structure and culture that is developed in a workplace.

Types of interpersonal skills

When dealing with anyone who have needs and requires support, providers need to have:

A genuine service ethic

Patience

Excellent communication skills, especially non-verbal skills

A sense of humour

The ongoing need to be polite and courteous

Warmth and empathetic

Knowing when to back off and allow people to help themselves – by all means make the offer, but accept that not all people need your help. Don‟t let this „rejection‟ affect your offer the next time

Being yourself – don‟t try to be someone else when dealing with those who have needs

Knowing your own personal limitations and realising when to:

Involve another staff member

Obtain an interpreter

Refer them to somewhere, or someone, else

Redirect them to another section, department or area within the store

Consistency – make an offer to all people with needs so that they are able to rely on your willingness to help whenever they call in.

Research what in-house support exists, or can be obtained, to help you serve these people.


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Importance of communication

When providing support to others, especially when sharing knowledge it is vital that you have good communication skills. It is no point providing verbal support, is the recipient does not understand what you are trying to say, or if the message is communicated incorrectly.

It is important that all of these communications are conducted in a polite, professional, clear and concise manner.

Types of communication

There are a variety of communications mediums used in the industry when providing support. Some may be specific to a particular establishment or industry sector, and others are quite general across all industry types and venues.

The basic communication options include:

Verbal – including face to face communication and talking on the phone. This also embraces the use of languages other than English and the use of Indigenous languages

Written format – which includes electronic mail and hard copy communications such as letters, signs, labels, posters and advertising and warning material

Non-verbal – facial expressions, gestures, sign language

Use of an interpreter to interpret verbal and printed language.

When providing support it is vital to consider the recipient and how they need to receive the support.

Communication tips

To help ensure your communication is polite, professional and friendly, the following tips will assist:

Follow all establishment policies regarding communication with others.

Use a person‟s name where it is known

Be honest – but be sensitive, tactful, caring and respectful

Use „please‟ and „thank you‟ a lot

Don‟t interrupt

Speak at an appropriate pace and volume – don‟t yell, don‟t whisper

Make sure your non-verbal language matches the verbal communication you are sending. This commonly means smiling when it is appropriate to do so, and displaying a serious demeanour when something serious is being discussed.




Use appropriate language and tone

Whether communicating with others in verbal form (face to face or by phone), or in written format it is vital to make sure that the language and tone is appropriate to the nature of each individual communication.

This highlights that many communications need to be undertaken, taking into account the context in which each communication occurs.

This means there is a need to modify most communications to suit the individual set of circumstances that apply, and to take into account the individual with whom the communication is taking place.

The need for effective communication

All communication, whether verbal or written, needs to be effective in order to demonstrate our intention to meet customer and colleague needs and to deliver service and responses quickly.

To help achieve effective communication, the following five rules apply:

Every message must have a purpose.

Messages should match the interests and abilities of the receiver.

Unnecessary words should be eliminated.

Chosen words should be within the experience range of the receiver.

Verbal messages should be clear and concise, using the correct words and their pronunciation, along with appropriate inflection, tone, language, speed and volume of voice.

This means that in some instances, written communication may need to:

Use graphics or pictures to help clarify meaning

Be produced in a language other than English

Be printed in a font that is easy to read and in a print size that encourages people to read it

Be available in „take away‟ form so that people can take a copy with them to read later and or in more detail.


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Verbal communication skills

Verbal communication involves sending and receiving messages via language or speech (verbal communication) or via body language (non-verbal communication).

Many people think that communication is a one-way thing where you send a „message‟ to a customer or staff member, or vice versa.

In actual fact, for communication to occur there must be „feedback‟. The receiver must also send a message that indicates they have understood the message that has been sent.

Without feedback, there is only monologue, not dialogue. Without feedback it is possible to argue that no real communication has occurred.

It is now recognised that communication comprises both „verbal communication‟ and „non-verbal communication‟:

Verbal communication is questioning, listening and answering – the spoken word

Non-verbal communication is body language – facial expressions, eye contact, gestures and posture.

It is important for the body language to match the verbal message in order to avoid a mismatch. This occurs when a positive verbal message is sent while the speaker is frowning and or looking annoyed. In this situation the listener will nearly always:

Be confused about what they are hearing or seeing

Believe the message that the body language is sending, rather than believing the verbal message.

Non verbal communication skills

„Body language‟ is also called „non-verbal communication‟.

Non-verbal communication is anything other than words that communicates a message.

It includes:

The way we stand – including the use of „space‟ and where we stand in relation to others

The way we talk

The clothes we wear and the accessories we use

Our facial expressions.

All these things communicate something.

In dealing with other people, the non-verbal cues are often used, consciously or subconsciously, in making judgements about people, about what they say and about their honesty and deceptiveness.

It is important to remember that, while we are making judgements about customers based on their non-verbal communication, the customers are also making judgements about us based on the non-verbal communication we consciously or unconsciously send.




Major aspects of non-verbal communication

Five distinct aspects of non-verbal communication have been identified.

1) Emblems

These are the explicit type of gestures/body language that are used with complete intention, and whose meanings are generally accepted and understood.

Examples are:

Cupping the hand to the ear to indicate „I can‟t hear you‟

Holding the forefinger vertically in front of the lips to indicate „Shhh, be quiet‟.

2) Illustrators

These are mannerisms that are unique to individuals.

They are what people do when talking. They are used to reinforce the verbal message they are sending.

They are usually related to the use of the hands, but they also include things that mark a person‟s speech, such as the way one person may end a sentence, pauses in their speech, and emphasises words.

While these mannerisms are individualistic, the people are usually not aware that they do them until they see themselves on a video recording or hear themselves on an audio recording.

3) Affect displays

These are the ways in which our facial expressions or our body movements reveal our emotions.

In everyday life, people tend not to monitor or intentionally control their affect displays. Their true emotions are allowed to show.

In certain workplace situations however, staff may be required to display emotions that are contrary to their real feelings.

This is the case where service staff and have primarily customer contact that requires them to smile all the time and present themselves as happy and nice when they may even feel the opposite.

4) Regulators

Everyone expresses themselves using regulators.

These are behaviours such as:

Nods

Stance

The direction and the duration of someone‟s gaze


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Vocal pitch

Raised eyebrows

The position/inclination of the head.

These behaviours regulate the verbal message, for instance, making it stronger or gentler, more authoritative or friendlier, casual or more formal. Just like illustrators, regulators are hardly noticed by the person speaking, but they are certainly noticed by others.

5) Adaptors

These are unconscious behaviours that are mainly nervous in nature.

People are generally unaware of making them.

Examples are:

Doodling during meetings

Touching your nose in a meeting

Picking your nails in a meeting

Scratching.

Importance of non-verbal communication

Body language has a positive impact on communication when it supports the verbal message, and when it signifies genuine interest and attention.

Body language is negative when there is no match between the verbal and non-verbal messages. In other words, the spoken message and the body language should say the same thing. If they don‟t, the result is negative, because the two different signals are confusing.

In most instances where there is a conflict between verbal and non-verbal communication, the body language is the one that people tend to take more notice of. Actions do indeed speak louder than words.




2.2 Develop mutual trust, confidence and rapport

Introduction

If you want staff to trust, support and respect you, then first you have to trust, support and respect them.

You have to walk your talk. You can‟t just say you trust, support and respect. You have to do it!

Support and assistance is quite similar and often the two are interlinked. Simply, where assistance may require you to undertake some activities on their behalf, support may involve:

Providing guidance

Offering encouragement

Making recommendations or suggestions for improvement.

What’s involved in demonstrating trust, support and respect?

In practical workplace terms demonstrating trust, support and respect for others in your team means:

Never participating in gossip or talking negatively about any staff member

Not spending time with customers who want to criticize workmates

Not blaming any workmates for anything even though you may suspect or even know it was their fault

Not taking the credit for what another staff member has done no matter how small the job

Supporting decisions that colleagues have made; for instance, in refusing to serve a person with alcohol

Treating co-workers in keeping with any cultural individuality that applies to them.

Teamwork works

A team must work together and it is frightening to see how quickly a team, department or business can be torn apart by just one person with either an axe to grind because of a real or imagined act, or a prejudice to air.

The truly sad thing about a lack of trust, support or respect is that no-one wins. Someone can be „on the winning side‟ of a lack of trust, but they still lose.

The keys are to remain detached, stay professional and let your actions speak for themselves:

Trust the people that merit your trust – the ones that prove by their actions that they are genuinely trustworthy themselves


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Support those who warrant your support – the ones whose actions have shown that they deserve your support

Respect those who deserve your respect – those who have earned it through their words and their actions.

There may well be times when the customer must truly come first in these situations, too. On other occasions, you might have to support a colleague even when you don‟t want to.

What do you do in these cases?

You give them the support their position demands. Like it or not, these situations simply „come with the territory‟. It is, after all, very much a people business.

Importance of support

You must make sure you demonstrate trust, support and respect for other staff because:

You need them to do the same for you in your current operational workplace role

Management and supervisors will always be looking to see if you are genuinely a team player.

When you achieve promotion within the establishment, you need to have a team that already has respect for you, who already trust you and who will support your decisions.

2.3 Maintain colleague’s privacy

Introduction

When people are seeking support, whilst it is a positive action, in essence the person seeking help may think they are demonstrating a sign of weakness and may appear to be vulnerable.

The matter they may seek help with may be:

A professional work related matter

A private manner that is affecting their work performance

An unrelated private matter in which they are seeking help.

Even though the requested support may not be work-related, it is important that you address it in an appropriate manner. The person obviously has come to you for a reason and has trust and confidence to discuss the matter without it becoming public knowledge.

Even though you may not be able to help, you must respect the privacy wishes of the person.

So how you maintain privacy?




Methods to ensure colleague’s privacy

There are a number of ways in which you can ensure a colleague‟s privacy including:

Never discussing the matter with others

Seek the approval and permission of the person before sharing information with others. This may be necessary if you are unable to solve the problem yourself and you need the assistance of a specialist or professional

Ensure all documentation or notes relating to the matter are kept in a secure location

Arrange meeting times which ensure privacy whilst remaining in the bounds of professionalism.

In essence, put yourself in the other person‟s shoes when handling sensitive matters. Ask yourself if the actions you would take are those you would want others to take if the roles were reversed.

2.4 Share workplace experiences, frustrations and

challenges

Introduction

One key reason someone seeks support and advice is to be able to share their experience with the recipient.

It is critical you understand the true intention and nature of this phase of the relationship. Your intention here can be no more than to share experiences and knowledge.

It is vital you remember the recipient is really under no obligation to accept your views or act on your input.

This comes as a challenge for many providers who see the refusal of the recipient to see things their way or adopt the same orientation they have as something of a slap in the face.

The really professional provider will acknowledge this for nothing more than what it is. The right of the recipient to have their own thoughts and to do things in their own way.

You must therefore guard against taking this individual thinking of the recipient (their right to have their own view, opinion, and way of doing things) the wrong way.

It is here many potentially brilliant mentoring relationships become derailed.

The provider takes the refusal of the recipient to be guided as an insult and as a negative reflection of their thinking, their knowledge and their experience. In brief, they take things personally and interpret free-thinking as rejection and lack of credibility.


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In fact the provider should take heart when these situations arise because one of two things is likely to happen:

1. The recipient will take action and find the provider was indeed right, resulting in enhanced credibility for the mentor and a valuable lesson for the recipient

2. The recipient will actually get it right, resulting in a learning experience for everyone and an affirmation of the nature of the mentoring relationship in that the recipient was allowed to take action on their own, independent of the views and recommendations of the provider.

Sharing personal experience and knowledge

This is where you use your knowledge and experience to inform the recipient about options for achieving what is required.

In many cases, you may also have undertaken personal research on the goal that was identified in an earlier session (that is, looked at business plans, spoken to management, analysed statistics, investigated suppliers, the opposition, techniques etc.) to support the recipient and to provide information for discussion.

When you make your input it is important to:

Refer to personal experience wherever possible. Reference to actual experience is preferable to text book scenarios

Include instances you know about. This means including anecdotal evidence you have gathered over the years to illustrate a point, give a perspective or raise a question

Offer your input as options as opposed to „requirements‟. The final decision about which alternative to choose and what action to take must always rest with the learner. You are allowed to be influential but you are not to be manipulative or coercive

Be sensitive to the needs of the learner. Where your input runs contrary to what the recipient has already suggested or intended they are considering doing you must ensure there are loads of examples and explanations as to why your suggestions are being made. At all costs you must avoid giving the impression the thoughts of the learner are ridiculous, inappropriate and perhaps worst of all, ill conceived and irrelevant

Give the context. Very few situations are similar and it is their context that makes them different. If you are attempting to give your recipient the benefit of your experience then it is important to let them know how your experience differs from the situation they may be facing.




There are always lessons which can be learned from every experience but you are obliged to let your learner know when you are „comparing apples with oranges‟.

It is also important is to let the recipient know:

What factors you based your final decision on

What factors you discounted as being irrelevant

What your thinking was – that is, why you came to the conclusions for action you did

What your expectations were – identifying what you thought would happen as a result of the decisions and actions

Factors impacting on your set of decisions. There are always factors impacting on all decisions and actions so it is important to include this in the mix and explain their relative importance at the time, and describe how things may be different in this context

Tell it all. Your explanation must be a „warts and all‟ telling of events including the bad decision making you made, the less than perfect outcomes, the negative results and the advice you ignored when making decisions and taking action.

A provider is not someone who has never made a mistake. Being able to demonstrate you have made mistakes and learned from them tends to add to your credibility. As they say „The man who never made a mistake, never made anything‟

Involving others

You may wish to involve others if you think it is appropriate.

The implicit nature of a support relationship is that it is a one-on-one affair just between the provider and the recipient. Many people will insist this is all it should be.

Involving others takes supporting out of this exclusive relationship and asks you to consider the merits of involving others. Involving others however does not dilute the nature of the relationship. Others who are involved do not become part of the mentoring relationship; rather they should be seen as resources who are used to move the relationship forward.

People – managers, suppliers, customers, government bodies, professional consultants – who are involved, do not maintain contact with the relationship but exist simply to provide advice and then they disappear from the relationship.

Where you believe the involvement of others is necessary, permission to involve them must be obtained from the learner.

The key to this stage of the relationship is that you are not trying to prove why your suggestion is best. You are simply presenting it and supporting it with logic and reason and then leaving it up to the recipient to make their choice about which way to go.

If the recipient looks as if they are going to make a poor choice, you can re-double your efforts at convincing them, explaining things, giving examples, providing more anecdotal evidence etc. but the final decision must still reside with the recipient.


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In essence though you are presenting information for the recipient to consider which they may not have considered before and encouraging them to factor it into their thinking before going any further.

2.5 Encourage and motivate colleagues

Introduction

All people, regardless of their title or type of employment, need to be encouraged and motivated. This is also true for any activities outside the workplace as well.

Everyone needs some form of drive and positive reinforcement to help strive to be better and for greater success.

Whilst encouragement and motivation is normally driven by management, it can come from all people.

In a hospitality environment, it is important that staff members encourage and motivate each other as well. Everyone is part of a team, and it is only through the success of a team as a whole that true customer service can shine in all areas of a customer visit.

Later in this section we will look at how providers can encourage and motivate recipients. However let‟s start by looking at generic methods of encouragement and motivation which can be implemented into any work situation.

Methods of encouragement

The following are useful generic methods you can use to encourage those around you:

Show genuine interest. Take the time to understand what others are doing. By understanding what they do, you can appreciate the effort they have put in

Appreciate their efforts. By knowing what people are actually doing, you can provide specific examples of great effort. This is more powerful than general appreciation

Know the power of encouragement. Remember how you felt when someone encouraged you. Reciprocate this action

Understand what encourages you and others. By understanding what encourages you to perform, it can help gain an insight which might also encourage others

Appreciate the value in others. Everyone has unique qualities. Remind them of their unique characteristics

Share encouraging and positive thoughts. When you feel encouraged or have something positive to contribute, share it. Positivity is just as infectious and powerful as negativity




Think of the end in mind. Keep reminding yourself and others, that „every cloud has a silver lining‟. If things are tough, whether professionally or personally, keep the end in mind and keep reminding yourself and others that the hard times will pass

„No pain, no gain‟. Like with all great rewards, you first have to go through an element of hardship

You are in this together. Remember you are a team. What one person feels, others feel. What one person is doing, others are also doing. Help each other. No-one is alone

Tell them how they have encouraged you. If someone needs encouragement, you may like to remind them of a time when they encouraged you.

Methods of motivation

There are many books that talk about motivation, each with useful strategies and ideas on how to motivate people. So what are some common methods that are used in the workplace to motivate teams and individuals within a team?

In essence motivation can be defined as „getting people to do something, because they want to do it‟. Motivation only works when the actual people involved want to succeed.

Generic methods to motivate include:

Start by self motivation. In order to motivate others, you firstly must be motivated yourself. Identify what motivates you and then start to consider what will motivate others

Share information. Get people involved and give them all the facts

Listen and incorporate ideas. Listen to what people have to say. The more ideas the better the chance to find the right one

Ownership. If people feel like they have some element of control and ownership over a situation, they are more likely to strive to complete a task

Set mutually agreeable goals. If everyone has a say in what is to be achieved they are more likely to strive towards the accomplishment of it

Keep things informal. Whilst it is important to retain structure and formality, the more you can give the appearance of informality, the more comfortable people will feel

Identify achievements. Whenever achievements or milestones have been reached, let people know and celebrate success

Encourage people to try – mistakes will happen. Don‟t blame people for mistakes or failures that take place if they have truly tried. You must give people the ability to try new things without fear of punishment if it doesn‟t work out

Be positive. As mentioned before, the more positive you can be, with a focus on successes of individuals or groups, the more positive others will be


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Listen, respect and support people. This manual is focused on the concept and importance of support. It is a truly powerful tool. If people can work together, great things are possible

Have meaningful rewards. It is important that people have something to strive for, some carrot at the end of the stick. Remember people are motivated by different things so it is important to recognise individual and group needs.

By being able to encourage and motivate people we can truly start to accomplish great things.

Remember as a manager or instigator of an action, it is important to get the people involved motivated in achieving it for themselves, not just for you or the workplace.

2.6 Address out-of-work situations that are having

an impact on-the-job performance

Introduction

As much as we all like to be professional and leave our problems at the door when we come to work, there will always be times when it will affect our mood or ability to function in the most appropriate way.

We all have bad days and bring stresses from our personal lives into the workplace.

It is important that when these situations occur in others, we try to provide support to ensure that the actions of others have minimal impact in the workplace. More importantly, if people seek support, that we try to personally help or direct them to those who can.

Whilst it is not in our job description, if someone‟s personal life is affecting their work performance and that of others it must be addressed.

Types of out of work situations

There are many out of work situations that may affect their job performance to some degree. These include:

Relationships

Personal health

Family problems

Life changing situations

Emotional difficulties

Substance abuse

Depression

Anger

Financial problems.




There are endless personal issues that may affect the performance of an employee.

Regardless of what it may be, if it affects their performance it must be addressed in some manner.

A manager cannot assume that it will just go away, action must be taken immediately if performance is failing. It is not right for the customer, colleagues and others to suffer at the expense of personal issues of others.

Whilst it is important to help them in whatever capacity is appropriate, the focus must remain on job performance.

Steps to deal with out of work problems

There are a number of steps that can be taken to help manage work related issues stemming from out of work situations.

These include:

Identify boundaries. Whilst you are concerned for that person, as a manager of an organisation your main priority is to address any decline in work performance

Have a checklist of behaviours that may affect work performance

Keep an accurate record of how performance has declined. It is not necessary to look at the personal issues behind it, but how to solve the work related performance problem

Don‟t immediately punish people. You don‟t know all the facts and you might find that the person themselves may not be to blame for the out of work problems. Don‟t assume you know what the cause of the problem is. If they are going through a troubling time, the last thing they will need is more trouble from you

Focus on solving work related problems. It is not your primary role to solve personal problems but to look for an agreed path to rectify performance issues. Deal with the behaviour, not the person

Try to assist and not judge staff. Everyone leads different lives and has different issues. Try to help professionally if possible

Seek professional help. If the personal problem is of a significant nature and the person has asked your help and support, you may need to forward them to a suitable professional.

At the end of the day, it is important to focus on their job performance, not what is causing it.


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Work Projects


2.1 To fulfil the requirements of this Work Project you are asked to identify and apply appropriate interpersonal skills including:



Communication tips


Non verbal communication skills.

2.2 To fulfil the requirements of this Work Project you are asked to identify ways to develop mutual trust, confidence and rapport

2.3 To fulfil the requirements of this Work Project you are asked to identify ways to maintain colleague‟s privacy

2.4 To fulfil the requirements of this Work Project you are asked to identify ways to share workplace experiences, frustrations and challenges including:

Ways of sharing personal experience and knowledge

When to involve others.

2.5 To fulfil the requirements of this Work Project you are asked to identify ways to encourage and motivate colleagues including:


Methods of motivation.

2.6 To fulfil the requirements of this Work Project you are asked to identify ways to address out-of-work situations that are having an impact on the job performance including:


Steps to deal with out of work problems.




Summary

Create and maintain a positive and supportive relationship with colleagues

Apply appropriate interpersonal skills


Importance of communication


Communication tips

Use appropriate language and tone

The need for effective communication


Non verbal communication skills.

Develop mutual trust, confidence and rapport

What‟s involved in demonstrating trust, support and respect?

Teamwork works

Importance of support.

Maintain colleague’s privacy

Methods to ensure colleague‟s privacy.

Share workplace experiences, frustrations and challenges

Sharing personal experience and knowledge

Involving others.

Encourage and motivate colleagues


Methods of motivation.

Address out-of-work situations that are having an impact on-the-job performance


Steps to deal with out of work problems.


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Element 3:

Provide structured support to

colleagues

3.1 Identify opportunities and agree on

requirements for structured off-the-job

support mechanisms

Introduction

In the previous sections we have explored different ways to support, encourage and motivate fellow workers and others in the work environment. A lot of these are involved in „on the job‟ support.

This section will explore one of the most common types of support - mentoring. It is one of the most productive support mechanisms because it provides long term support in a number of different disciplines.

Mentoring looks at primarily providing support „off the job‟ but certainly can be incorporated „on the job‟.

We have touched on this type of support before, however the following sections explore this concept and how to implement it for best use.

It is important to understand some background information about mentoring before proceeding with the practicalities involved in mentoring.

What is mentoring?

It is a relationship (as opposed to a process) between two people where a more experienced person works in collaboration with a less experienced person to give the less experienced person the benefit of their knowledge, experience, perspective, contacts, insight and wisdom.

The person providing the mentoring is called „the mentor‟.

The other person in the relationship may be called „the mentee‟, „the mentoree‟, „the learner‟ or „the person being mentored‟.


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Purpose of mentoring

The exact nature and scope of the mentoring arrangement will emerge as the relationship between mentor and learner develops, however there is no doubt mentoring is a valuable, effective and powerful learning strategy.

Traditional reasons why organisations support mentoring include:

To facilitate the provision of advice to the learner

To enable personal development and growth

To optimise staff retention

To give the learner a sounding board for ideas

To save mentorees from having to make the same mistakes others have made

To initiate a network for personal learning and contact

To assist people in their career planning within the business

To empower the learner through the self-confidence and knowledge gained as part of the mentoring arrangement

To encourage the ultimate independence of the learner

To demonstrate support for those in the organisation who have responsibilities.

It should be obvious „mentoring is not telling‟. The nature of the relationship is such:

The mentor provides advice, insight, suggestions, options, identification of unknown actors and information drawn from their experience

The mentor tries to explain impacts, effects, outcomes, rationale for decision making and relevant considerations

The learner is responsible for the ultimate decision

The learner is responsible for implementation

The learner can contact the mentor for input and advice at any time.

Benefits of mentoring

Benefits to the learner

Increased self-confidence

Provides a source of relevant advice based on actual experience

An ear to listen to problems, challenges and difficulties

Makes for better decision making

Stimulate motivation and energy to achieve goals

Provides a support base

Facilitates networking




Allows gaining an insight and perspective which may not otherwise be available

Facilitates access to resources.

Benefits to the mentor

Honour to be asked to do the job

Shows the respect and esteem you are held in

Looks good on a CV

Personal satisfaction from helping someone and watching them grow and succeed

Challenging

Allows you to „give back‟ to the business

Provides you with exposure to different situations than would normally be the case.

Time duration of mentoring

There is no set time for a mentoring relationship.

It is usually goal-based to the extent that once the identified goals have been achieved, the relationship ends.

Common timeframes for mentoring relationships are 6 – 12 months with some stretching out to 3 years plus. In these longer relationships there are usually multiple goals to be worked on and both parties „roll over‟ their relationship into the next set of goals because they enjoy the relationship, find it rewarding and see benefits from it

It is not unknown for some of these relationships to exist „for life‟.

Requirements for mentoring

For mentoring to be effective there are several pre-requisites, several of which are related to each other.

1. The mentoring relationship must be entered into by both sides voluntarily and

willingly.

Mentoring must not be imposed on either side and should not be made mandatory.

It is quite OK for the organisation to offer and support a mentoring program but their involvement should be limited to making employees aware of the program and its benefits, providing the time and resources to enable it and facilitating meetings between potential participants.

2. Both the mentor and the person to be mentored have the right to choose.

The mentor has the right to say „Yes‟ or „No‟ to a person requesting mentoring, and the learner has the right to say „Yes‟ or „No‟ to the person offering to be their mentor.

Mentoring is based on trust and mutual respect so it is vital both parties can enter the relationship believing it will work.


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3. The relationship must be characterised by trust, honesty, openness and total

commitment from both parties.

There is no room in a mentoring relationship for half-truths, partial commitment or the withholding of information.

Mistakes, poor judgement, bad decisions are allowed, but lying about them is not.

The mentor must not try to make more out of their experience than really exists, and the learner is obliged to be frank about their efforts, thinking, fears, achievements and intentions.

4. The mentor must be available.

The relationship will schedule times for meetings but one of the characteristics of mentoring should be the ability or „right‟ for the learner to be able to contact the mentor at any time for advice.

To the person considering being a mentor this means they must ensure they aren‟t going away for 6 months leave in the middle of the relationship, they aren‟t going to leave the business in 3 months‟ time and they have the time in their working work to spend time with the person being mentored.

5. Confidentiality is vital.

The mentoring relationship, even though it exists within a work context, is not the same as the relationship which traditionally exists between a supervisor and an employee.

Anything discussed as part of the mentoring is private and must stay that way unless express permission to disclose it is given.

This also underscores the necessity of keeping any written material secure so others cannot access it.

6. Mentoring is a deliberate act.

The relationship must be one into which both parties intentionally enter.

It cannot be something which evolves over time. These relationships can, of course, occur but they are not mentoring relationships.

The person wishing to be mentored is free to ask to be mentored. The person offering to be a mentor can also likewise offer to be a mentor but the nature of the relationship must be understood at the outset so guidelines and parameters can be set.

7. The mentor and the learner must be appropriately matched.

This underlines the right of both parties to say „No‟ to the arrangement and also highlights certain pairings can be flawed from the outset if they are imposed.

In reality there must be initial resonance between the two people involved. In practice, there can be issues such as gender, personalities, previous history and culture which interfere with the potential for the relationship to be effective. Where such issues exist they must be factored in. The likely outcome in these cases is there will be no mentoring relationship.




8. The person being mentored must drive the mentoring.

The mentor‟s role is to assist the learner achieve nominated goals meaning the learner remains responsible for identifying those goals and taking the necessary action to achieve them.

It is certainly not the role of the mentor to tell the mentoree what to do.

In addition, the nature of the relationship is for the person being mentored to seek out the mentor when help is needed. It is not the role of the mentor to seek out the person being mentored.

9. Mentoring is best done one-on-one.

Some mentoring occurs in a group context but arguably this is flawed as it has limitations in respect of confidentiality.

The focus, strength, energy and intensity of a one-on-one relationship is also diluted when a group relationship is established.

Finally, everyone in the group needs to be available to be kept current with what has taken place. There is much time for reflection in mentoring and simply telling someone who wasn‟t there what happened when they were away fails to convey the emotion, the thinking or debate which took place.

10. Mentoring is more effective if it is structured

This doesn‟t mean it is restricting but it benefits from „form and substance‟ as opposed to simply being an informal, loose arrangement totally devoid of rules or boundaries.

Having a structure gives the learner confidence by reassuring them the process is defined and deliberate as opposed to being random and whimsical.

Regular meetings and well-understood roles within the mentoring relationship help

provide structure.

Discuss and clarify expectations and roles

Mentoring relationships are developed to enable the learner to achieve „something‟.

The nature of this „something‟ must be identified early in the relationship as it has major implications for the relationship.

In terms of sequence, the following is useful:

Meet the learner and get to know them – who they are, their work role, their history and experiences

Discuss and clarify expectations and goals

Make agreement on how the mentoring relationship is to be conducted.

The discussion of learner expectations and the clarification of their goals are important because this may indicate the intended mentor is not a suitable match for this person.

It may be that the experience of the mentor does not align with what is required, or the mentor may feel the challenge is beyond them and they will fail the learner if the relationship continues.


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It is important therefore to determine these issues before establishing guidelines and „rules‟ to save time. There‟s no point developing the „Do‟s and Don‟ts‟ if the relationship is not going to eventuate.

Expectations

Learner expectations about mentoring usually relate to two things:

They expect to be told what to do as a result of the mentoring

They expect the mentor to do the work, make the decisions and take necessary action.

Both expectations are, of course, misguided and carry similar issues which need to be clarified from the outset.

It must be made clear the mentoring relationship is not one where the learner is told what to do. The mentoree is provided with advice, suggestions, information etc. (see above table for more) and it is up to them to decide what to do and follow through. This orientation must be made crystal clear at the start.

To some learners this is a relief (they aren‟t having their authority usurped, they don‟t have to second-guess anyone when making a decision), and to others it is a disappointment (meaning they still have to do the work they may have hoped someone else would do for them).

The two-way street

Discussions on expectations must also include identification of the expectations you have regarding the work or commitment of the learner.

The learner must appreciate they have a role to play which includes:

Fully sharing information they have

Commitment to the relationship

Taking action and responsibility

Considering options presented to them as opposed to dismissing them out of hand

Honouring scheduled contact or notifying you of their inability to attend.

Identify and agree on requirements, roles and expectations

One of the first things a mentoring relationship needs to establish is the initial boundaries and „rules‟ of the relationship.

It is to be expected these will change over time as the two parties become more comfortable with the experience and learn more about each other.

Nonetheless some basic agreement on what will occur within the relationship needs to be developed.

The nature of the agreement need only be a verbal agreement. There is no need for anything to be committed to writing although some mentoring relationships reduce everything agreed to writing to serve as evidence for future reference and to avoid the confusion which may arise where only verbal agreements are made.

It is your choice about which option to use.




3.2 Develop structured and scheduled off-the-job

support mechanisms

Introduction

Once there has been agreement about the roles, rules and expectations of both parties involved in the mentoring process, it is important to develop some structures and mechanisms detailing how the mentoring will take place.

This provides clarity for both parties and enables them to understand how things will be done and what will be expected of each party.

How the mentoring relationship is to be conducted

Essentially „how the relationship is to be conducted‟ should address:

Face to face meetings

This explores the possible frequency of face to face meetings and their likely duration. These can only be tentative arrangements because the reality of the relationship only reveals itself when the relationship commences.

Importantly the mentor should try to accommodate the needs of the learner. Not being unable to meet these needs at this early, formative stage sends a very negative message to the learner (they aren‟t valued sufficiently to warrant the time they have requested; the mentor is not genuinely interested with the relationship).

In nearly every mentoring relationship the arrangement agreed to at this stage will vary so don‟t be too concerned with the demands a mentoree may make in this regard.

It is impossible to identify a „reasonable‟ contact frequency and duration because of the unique nature of the parties involved and the potentially diverse range of expectations and goals which may be involved.

This said, you may look at initial weekly meetings which move to fortnightly meetings after the first six weeks and then to monthly meetings after three months.

On top of these the learner has the right to request additional meetings as required and there is the option of alternative contact.

Alternate contact

This explores the possible alternative contacts which may occur. While face to face contacts are best between parties they are not always necessary or possible.

Successful and effective contacts can be made by phone (it is best to pre-arrange times if possible to allow for planning to accommodate other work and to schedule free time to make or take the calls).

E-mail contact has also been found to be effective with some people who are comfortable with the medium. Email has the obvious benefit of being able to be accessed at any time.

Where email is to be used both parties should agree to reply to emails within a given period (maximum 24 hours).


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‘Out of bounds’ topics

This explores the „out of bounds‟ areas in the relationship. There will nearly always be topics which are taboo and certain actions which are taboo in a mentoring relationship.

The first of these relates to „hours‟ and „days of the week‟ communication can occur in the mentoring relationship.

Our industry is one potentially operating 24/7 but this doesn‟t mean the mentor needs to be available all the time, or that the mentoree can be contacted anytime, any day.

The participants need to decide if any days are off limits, and what time constraints apply to making contact. For example you may decide there will be no contact on weekends, and no contact before 8:30AM any other day or no contact after 9:00PM.

Topics which may be identified as out of bounds can include family, career aspirations and intentions, religion, race etc.

Locations of meetings

This explores possible locations for the face to face meetings. There needs to be agreement on this, factoring in issues mentioned earlier.

Scheduling of meetings

This explores the initial schedule for the mentoring meetings. A plan should be established to guide the mentoring relationship over its formative time.

For example, you may draw up a sheet for presentation and discussion at the first meetings which identifies what you see the loose content of the first two or three meetings to be – „getting to know you‟, identification of goals and expectations; formulation of objectives for action.

This plan should identify duration of meetings and provide some opportunities for start times.

Further plans will emerge as the relationship progresses and issues are identified.

Expectations of mentoring relationship

This explores your expectations about what the mentoring relationship is about.

This could include:

Specification of what you see your role as mentor being

Your expectations regarding the role of the learner including what you expect from them, their right to make their own decisions, and the need for them to take responsibility for decisions and actions

Identification of the resources, knowledge, experience you can bring to the relationship including any limits which you see as applying




A joint commitment to the relationship.

There needs to be agreement that the relationship is a good thing to do, has the potential to deliver numerous benefits and will be allocated the time, effort and commitment it merits. Commitment is compulsory, it is not optional. Participation in a mentoring relationship should not be mandatory, but once people have agreed to participate their commitment must be compulsory.

Confidentiality

This explores your commitment to confidentiality. Quite simply put this means making a statement that you will disclose to no-one any of the information discussed in the mentoring relationship. This promise extends to management of the venue, family members, colleagues and acquaintances.

This commitment should extent to ensuring all mentoring sessions are conducted in private. This means no other persons present unless by explicit prior agreement and the need for all sessions to be conducted so there is no potential for others to overhear and see what is taking place.

Priorities

Mentoring sessions should receive a distinct priority, too. This means you should not allow interruptions to them caused by phone calls, people calling in to see you or other causes.

Alcohol

This explores your commitment to no alcohol. This is obviously a personal choice but with the ready access to alcohol in our industry it is advisable to make mentoring sessions „alcohol-free zones‟.

Including alcohol in the sessions tends to lower the professionalism involved and may serve to blur judgment and give rise to all sorts of other negative issues.

This early establishment of the ground rules must also provide an opportunity for the learner to incorporate any „rules‟ they deem necessary.

They may have requirements generated by work and family commitments, special needs or other personal preferences.


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3.3 Develop outlines and objectives for structured

and scheduled off-the-job support

mechanisms

Introduction

Once the structures have been established and decided upon, the next step is to detail goals and objectives that the mentoring process will try to achieve.

Goals and objectives

The goals of the mentoring relationship are the things the learner wants to achieve while in the relationship.

Goals are not goals of the relationship. They are goals set by the business for the learner to achieve.

These goals, also known as „outcomes‟ or „objectives‟, can be related to organisational goals as laid out in strategic business plans or they can be more generic in nature.

There may a single goal for the mentoring period or there may be multiple goals. There is no rule, no set requirement.

Strategic organisational goals

Take the following as an example of how goals for the mentoring relationship can be identified from the requirements of the strategic business plan as allocated to the learner under that plan.

The business may have decided to upgrade Human Resource Management in the organisation over the next three years, turning their hiring and firing, training and workplace staff monitoring into a more structured, formal and professional approach.

The responsibility for achieving this has been given to the Food and Beverage Manager who is being mentored by the Operations Manager who has had substantial experience in all aspects of the business as well as HR.

Following discussions between the two of them they have identified the following needs to occur in order to attain the requirements of the strategic business plan:

To undertake a staff audit of existing staff

To undertake a Training Needs Analysis of all staff

To identify staff needs over the next five years in accordance with other strategic initiatives of the business such as targeting new markets, introducing new services, opening new areas within the venue

To develop and update job descriptions and specifications for all existing role

To redraw an organisational chart for the organisation

To develop standard job advertisements for nominated job positions




To formalise the recruitment process in terms of lodging advertisements, short-listing applicants, conducting interviews, notifying applicants, making hiring decisions and making offers of employment

To develop a structured staff induction and orientation program suitable for adaptation to any new employee joining the business

To introduce formal on the job training to supplement current external training and provide refresher training

To initiate a Staff Performance Appraisal system

To develop and initiate an exit interview with all staff leaving the business.

The need to consider doing all these things comes as somewhat of a surprise to the learner who had never been involved in anything of this type before and initially simply saw it being a need to establish some form of internal training for staff.

This underlines the nature and benefit of the mentoring relationship. It is a situation where through discussion, questions, suggestions, reference to prior knowledge and exploration the true nature, complexity and direction of action to be taken can be identified.

Generic goals

Generic goals are those where the business seeks to give the learner „more experience‟ in XYZ, „provide them with more exposure to ABC‟ or „develop them‟ in the areas of whatever.

These goals can be more difficult to put in writing because they often lack the specificity and quantifiability of the more strategic goals.

These situations commonly occur where a person is being groomed to take over a position of authority in the future.

These generic goals can co-exist with strategic goals.

Generally speaking, expectations and goals in a mentoring relationship can be seen to exist under three headings:

Acquisition of specific business skills

Progress with overall business development

Individual professional and personal development.

You can see the linkages between these goal types. It is obvious they are mutually supportive and inclusive.

Your job and the job of the learner are to give specific description to these generic type goals as appropriate to the situation and the individual. In lots of cases the learner is unaware they need, for instance, to develop personally and professionally in order to acquire certain business skills or to help the business grow and develop. You may have to draw that link during the first few meetings.

It is your broader perspective with the benefit of experience and hindsight which enables this.

Most learners tend to be somewhat tunnel-visioned while mentors tend more to see the bigger picture thus putting things into a different perspective, drawing together what may appear disparate threads into the one picture.


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Written goals

Goals should be reduced to a standard plan format with:

Dates for completion. These dates should include dates for sub-tasks as well as final completion on the overall objective

Review times which set out when progress will be formally evaluated with a view to determining any action needed to be taken to bring the task back on track or identifying alternative action for achieving the goal

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These will, in part, help to determine progress toward the goals. They will relate to the nature of the goal to be achieved and may include events (such as attending a certain conference, completing a nominated course or spending X days in a certain department getting to know how it operates)

Resources. The resources to help achieve the objectives can be physical resources (which the mentor may be able to help the learner obtain), knowledge, contacts or funding. The simple point at this stage is that all the identified resources needed to accomplish the stated goal should be listed on the plan

Timelines. These are the dates by which goals will be accomplished. The review times can be seen as sub-sets of this ultimate completion date

Action to take. This details the nature of the action the learner will need to take in order for the goals to be achieved by the times set, using the identified resources

It is always important to remember the plans prepared at this stage:

Are flexible. There is no need for the learner to panic about dates, times, actions etc. If the mentoree doesn‟t like the plan it can be changed. If circumstances change the plan can be changed to match those changing circumstances. Plans must be set in jelly, not concrete

The plans are there to serve the learner and not to dictate to the learner or force them in to situations.

Commitment towards goals

The plans which are developed are the signposts along the road of the mentoring relationship.

They point the way for the action which the learner will take and it is the thinking and results of that action that form the basis of the majority of what is discussed during the mentoring meetings.

When the first set of plans are developed as part of the mentoring relationship it is a good idea for the learner to take those plans away and think about them before committing to them.




Asking the learner to do this is a good idea because:

It demonstrates the relationship is not owned by or driven by the mentor

It begins the process of the learner thinking independently and taking action on their own. Remember that mentoring is intended to support the learner, not do the thinking and acting for them

It enable the mentoree to add anything else into the plan they believe needs to be added, which impacts on their available time, or is part of their development process. Any new items added can be discussed at the next meeting or handled via alternative contact.

Caution

Many learners, understandably want to start „whatever it is‟ they need to do.

They are eager to make headway on whatever their goals are.

You, as mentor, have to take this energy and channel it into the right direction in the first few meetings. Doing so may be frustrating to the learner because of their need to take „action‟ as opposed to „talking‟.

However, your first few meetings with the learner are critical because they set the scene for the relationship on many ways.

They indicate the tenor of the relationship, they identify the intentions and expectations of both parties, they provide essential background information about both parties, and they provide the basis for goal setting.

The key is not to rush these meetings. There always seems the temptation to „assume‟ knowledge about each other and move over, rather than through, these formative meetings straight into the „nuts and bolts‟ of the goals.

This is to be avoided.

You must spend time getting to know each other, getting to know the learner‟s priorities, strengths, fears, weaknesses, intentions and getting to know what action they have already thought about or taken in relation to the goals.

Time also needs to be spent on hand-crafting precise and definitive goals as opposed to writing down vague objectives which are open to various interpretations and hence immediately provide an opportunity for the learner to escape them by claiming he or she thought they meant something else.

Consider your mentoring relationship as a table with four legs. The first few meetings represent the provision of the four legs which will provide the solid base for the table top.

If you rush these first meetings you will finish up with a table with only two or three legs or with legs of unequal length. None of these being good foundations for a useful table.


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3.4 Modify structured off-the-job support as

required

Introduction

Because the mentoring relationship is, like the context it operates within, a dynamic thing there will be times in every mentoring relationship where the nature of the relationship changes.

At such times there is a need to recognise these changes and openly discuss them.

It is destructive to the relationship to ignore such changes and expect the relationship to continue as it previously has.

Types of changes

Changes in the mentoring relationship may include:

Inability of one party to continue participation. This can be caused by work obligations, staff changes or business re-structure necessitating variations to roles or changes in family or personal affairs

Identification of a need for assistance from others with different skills, experience, or knowledge

Achievement of goals as identified in the goal setting phase and a decision to conclude the mentoring relationship. In effect this means the relationship has achieved its goals and run its natural course

Changes in the dynamic of the relationship where one or both parties have changed as a result of workloads, personalities, promotions, time constraints or resources.

What can be done about these changes

The primary need is for both parties to identify the changes and agree there is a need to address them.

The foundation on which the relationship has been built (that is, openness and honesty) should provide a strong platform on which to base discussions and decision making about what needs to be done.

Inability of one party to continue participation

Where you as the mentor need to depart the relationship, this should be raised with the learner at the earliest opportunity. Not raising this may give rise to feelings of deceit on the part of the learner.

Considerations should include:

Suggesting the learner continues in a mentoring relationship with an alternative mentor. State you will facilitate this „hand over‟ and assist in finding a suitable replacement

Making yourself available for communications for a transitional period.




Where the learner states they are unable to continue with the relationship there should be discussion about whether or not this decision is indeed a valid one and not, perhaps motivated by a knee-jerk reaction, as opposed to a reasoned response, to an emerging set of circumstances.

Often you will find the initial circumstances giving rise to the belief the mentoring relationship cannot continue prove to be incorrect when subjected to analysis and some creative thinking about how to incorporate the changed conditions into the relationship.

Above all, it is important to make sure there is no allocation of blame for the situation.

Often, mentors believe they have invested lots of time and effort in the mentoring relationship and they can feel betrayed, disrespected and frustrated when the learner indicates they want to quit the arrangement.

Identification of a need for assistance from others

There are many instances where the dynamics of a situation necessitate a change in the mentoring relationship.

The driver for a change of this nature will be the learner and can often be caused by a need for them to move on in the organisation. In effect this means your contribution has been effective and the learner is now thought well enough of to take on new challenges.

The key here is for you to bow out gracefully and wish the learner all the best with their new goals.

You should bear in mind the need for the learner to move on to another mentor does not devalue your skills or experience, but merely underlines the need for those in the relationship to have compatible skills.

It can be worthwhile thinking about how difficult the relationship would have been if the mentoring had continued with such a bad mismatch between learner needs and your abilities.

Achievement of goals as identified

This may identify a need for the relationship to end but it is always worthwhile investigating other personal and organisational goals which could be addressed by continuing the relationship.

It is important, of course, not to „force‟ the learner into continuing with an arrangement they believe has truly concluded so there is a need to be sensitive in the way this offer is made.

It is best to make the offer, conclude the conversation, congratulate the learner on achieving their goals and indicate you are available if they want to talk about your suggestions further.

This way there is no obligation on the learner and the relationship can finish on the positive note of goal attainment as identified.


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Changes in the dynamic of the relationship

Anything which occurs to alter the balance of the relationship has the potential to cause an end to the mentoring.

The classic example is where the learner is promoted to a position above the person doing the mentoring! This has occurred where positive discrimination has been used to promote someone or where the career of an individual has been fast-tracked for some reason. This can include previous experience outside the organisation, tertiary qualifications, or if the person is a member of the family who owns the business.

Other examples may include where there is a „conflict of interest‟ between the parties. This can be where the mentor is involved in Accounts (with an eye to profit, return on investment etc.) and the learner is transferred to Marketing, where the emphasis may be on selling, regardless of the selling price.

There can also be instances where the learner has been included on a committee on which the mentor sits. This can indicate equality in their relationship, which makes the mentoring relationship difficult to maintain.

Making changes to meet needs of both parties

The dynamic nature of the mentoring relationship means it is vital to make adjustments to the relationship to take into account the needs of both parties.

Note this statement refers to „both‟ parties highlighting that you as the mentor have a right to have your needs considered. While you have an obligation to take into account your learner‟s needs, the obligation to do so is mutual.

The nature of adjustments

The adjustments which may need to be made will depend on the changes in the situation that apply.

It needs to be stated that not all needs of the parties can be met. There can be situations where circumstances combine to prevent their accommodation.

The key however must be that there needs to be a will to accommodate these changes.

There is no limit as to what may need to be changed.

Possible changes which may need to be made can include:

Changes to frequency of meetings – making them more or less frequent

Changes to duration of meetings – making them longer or shorter as required

Changes to meeting locations – moving the meeting to a different physical location




Changes to the type of meeting which may involve moving away from face to face meetings to ph one meetings or e-mail contact

Changes to the support provided – arranging for different types of support (such as transitioning from moral support to more tangible, physical resources; money, equipment)

Changes to the information and experience available by including others in the mentoring relationship

Altering personal style, especially where the learner indicates your current style is acting as a barrier to the relationship. This may mean adapting interpersonal skills, communication skills

Changing existing plans. This should be expected as a normal part of any mentoring relationship. Not making changes to plans may be indicative of the relationship not working; it is not getting the attention it deserves.

When taking action to take account of the needs of others it is important the action addresses the cause and not the symptom. This means discussion about the need for change should occur before looking at the responses which may be appropriate.

You will find throughout the mentoring relationship things rarely are what they initially appear to be.

Evolution in how mentoring takes place is a natural occurrence and is a reflection on the progress of the learner. Therefore not only should both parties expect it, but also welcome it.


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Work Projects


3.1 To fulfil the requirements of this Work Project you are asked to identify opportunities and agree on requirements for structured off-the-job support mechanisms including:

What is mentoring?





How to discuss and clarify expectations and roles

Identify and agree on requirements, roles and expectations.

3.2 To fulfil the requirements of this Work Project you are asked to identify ways to develop structured and scheduled off-the-job support mechanisms including:

How the mentoring relationship is to be conducted.

3.3 To fulfil the requirements of this Work Project you are asked to identify ways to develop objectives for structured and scheduled off-the-job support mechanisms including:

Types of goals and objectives

Benefits of having written goals

How to get commitment towards goals.

3.4 To fulfil the requirements of this Work Project you are asked to identify ways to modify structured off-the-job support as required including:

Types of changes


How to make changes to meet needs of both parties.




Summary

Provide structured support to colleagues

Identify opportunities and agree on requirements for structured off-the-job support

mechanisms

What is mentoring?





Discuss and clarify expectations and roles

Identify and agree on requirements, roles and expectations.

Develop structured and scheduled off-the-job support mechanisms

How the mentoring relationship is to be conducted.

Develop outlines and objectives for structured and scheduled off-the-job support

mechanisms

Goals and objectives

Written goals

Commitment towards goals

Caution.

Modify structured off-the-job support as required

Types of changes


Making changes to meet needs of both parties.


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Element 4:

Provide unstructured support to

colleagues

4.1 Identify opportunities for chance on-the-job

support

Introduction

To date we have explored support mechanisms mainly tailored and provided off the job.

Whether you are an identified mentor or a colleague, supervisor or manager, any time someone directly asks for support or they feels they can support another person, opportunities exist to help.

As mentioned before, it is best to use caution when offering help as some people may take offence to it as they may perceive it as „they can‟t do it right‟.

So how do you identify when there is an opportunity to provide on the job support?

Identifying opportunities to provide on-the-job support

The following has been described in an earlier section. However it is important to review signs where an opportunity to support may be evident.

Signs of identifying the need for support include:

Observation – viewing an inability of a person to undertake job tasks or constantly making mistakes

Staff behaviour – they may be reluctant, frustrated, stressed or not motivated in starting or completing a task

Direct request from a person – whether it is a direct request or repeatedly asking for help

Customer complaints – customers may have complained about a person‟s behaviour or performance

Productivity reports – reports may show that a person is unable to perform tasks to a set quality or quantity standard

New tasks or job role – new tasks and responsibilities may require staff to receive additional resources or training.


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4.2 Deliver appropriate on-the-job support

Introduction

All advice, assistance and information provided by a mentor within a mentoring relationship must be intended to be supportive rather than directive.

It is a cornerstone of the relationship that the learner retains the right to make their own decisions and take their own action even though the mentor may disagree.

Types of on-the-job support

The types of support were identified in an earlier section. However again it is important to become familiar with types of on the job support one can provide.

There are a number of resources that can be used to help support a colleague including:

Physical support – skill sets and actual physical help whether it be lifting, carrying, pushing or pulling

Intellectual support – frameworks, documents, files, knowledge and advice

Financial support – money needed to be able to undertake an activity

Infrastructural support – physical items including buildings, equipment, furnishing, fittings and fixtures

Resources support – food, beverages, uniforms, stationary and other supplies

Mentoring – advice and guidance.

Examples of on-the-job support

Workplace supports typically exist in a business and are available to all employees. Examples of support include, but are not limited to:

Trainers providing training and explanation

Colleagues helping others understand and learn their job roles and tasks

Supervisors and manager monitoring and providing feedback on performance

Management assistance, encouragement and guidance towards improved performance and achievement of goals.




Provide appropriate support and assistance

The keys to providing appropriate support and assistance are:

Plan the information to be presented. Take time to work out the structure, sequence, content and details of what is to be shared. If you have had prior experience with training/coaching you will be aware of the need for adequate planning and preparation. The same applies with mentoring

Be empathetic in the way you present it. Sometimes this sort of information is being presented to counter what you perceive to be the thoughts of the learner so there is a need to be sensitive in the way it is presented. Remember this is not a competition between you and the learner about who is right and who is wrong. It is a mutually beneficial relationship intended to achieve identified goals

Use evidence-based information to support your presentation. In this context evidence can be fact and it can be personal experience including examples of what you have found to be the case. Anything presented to the learner as something for consideration must be supported by a reason for presenting it. This may be because it worked last time, because it is cheaper or because it is safer

Check what the learner has already done to determine the stage at which things are at and to determine the relevance of intended advice

Elicit their feelings on what they have already done. Is there a feeling everything is OK or are things starting to go a little off-track? It is relatively common for some learners to be seized with the correctness of their independent thinking, decision making, research etc. and to be carried away with implementing what they believe to be the most appropriate course of action only to find they have made an error

Support the learner who is likely to be feeling anxious, sheepish and lacking in confi-dence and self-esteem

Celebrate their successes. Where they have made decisions and taken action resulting in a positive outcome, movement towards the stated goal this should be highlighted. This requires you to genuinely congratulate them on their dedication, application, commitment (whatever else is appropriate) and take a minute to recognise it and verbally acknowledge it.


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4.3 Integrate on-the-job support with off-the-job

support

Introduction

Whilst this manual has addressed specific on-the-job or off-the-job support mechanisms, in many cases:

The distinction is not always clear cut

What is learned off-the-job through mentoring should be implemented practically on-the-job.

As mentioned in the previous section, there are many ways in which on-the-job support can take place. When providing support in everyday operations, the level of support may be limited as the person who wants to offer support:

Has little authority to do so

Do not have the necessary knowledge or skills

Do not have access to necessary resources

Don‟t know what support mechanisms are present and available

Are themselves busy.

Putting mentoring into practical application

Whilst every person may not undergo a scheduled mentoring process, it is important that either a manager, supervisor or a person who has undertaken mentoring activities, either as the mentor or learner, is available to provide assistance to those who may directly need it, or to those who want to provide support to others.

Where a person has received mentoring, the whole mentoring process is a waste of time, unless what is learnt is put into practice.

Use the tools, knowledge and skills at your disposal to provide support, or to help others provide support. This enables you to not only be a learner, but a mentor to others.

Conclusion

This manual has looked at support mechanisms that are:

Formal and informal

Delivered on-the-job and off-the-job

Delivered by all people in a hospitality organisation.

Remember, everyone works together to achieve specific goals. The support and help we can give each other will greatly improve the level of quality customer service, improve a person‟s knowledge, skills and understanding and increase satisfaction levels for all stakeholders.




Work Projects


4.1 To fulfil the requirements of this Work Project you are asked to identify opportunities for chance on-the-job support by:

Identifying opportunities to provide on-the-job support.

4.2 To fulfil the requirements of this Work Project you are asked to identify how to deliver appropriate on-the-job support including:



How to provide appropriate support and assistance.

4.3 To fulfil the requirements of this Work Project you are asked to identify how to integrate on-the-job support with off-the-job support.


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Summary

Provide unstructured support to colleagues

Identify opportunities for chance on-the-job support

Identifying opportunities to provide on-the-job support.

Deliver appropriate on-the-job support



Provide appropriate support and assistance.

Integrate on-the-job support with off-the-job support

Putting mentoring into practical application.

Presentation of written work




1. Introduction

It is important for students to present carefully prepared written work. Written presentation in industry must be professional in appearance and accurate in content. If students develop good writing skills whilst studying, they are able to easily transfer those skills to the workplace.

2. Style

Students should write in a style that is simple and concise. Short sentences and paragraphs are easier to read and understand. It helps to write a plan and at least one draft of the written work so that the final product will be well organized. The points presented will then follow a logical sequence and be relevant. Students should frequently refer to the question asked, to keep „on track‟. Teachers recognize and are critical of work that does not answer the question, or is „padded‟ with irrelevant material. In summary, remember to:

Plan ahead

Be clear and concise

Answer the question

Proofread the final draft.

3. Presenting Written Work

Types of written work

Students may be asked to write:

Short and long reports

Essays

Records of interviews

Questionnaires

Business letters

Resumes.

Format

All written work should be presented on A4 paper, single-sided with a left-hand margin. If work is word-processed, one-and-a-half or double spacing should be used. Handwritten work must be legible and should also be well spaced to allow for ease of reading. New paragraphs should not be indented but should be separated by a space. Pages must be numbered. If headings are also to be numbered, students should use a logical and sequential system of numbering.


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Cover Sheet

All written work should be submitted with a cover sheet stapled to the front that contains:

The student‟s name and student number

The name of the class/unit

The due date of the work

The title of the work

The teacher‟s name

A signed declaration that the work does not involve plagiarism.

Keeping a Copy

Students must keep a copy of the written work in case it is lost. This rarely happens but it can be disastrous if a copy has not been kept.

Inclusive language

This means language that includes every section of the population. For instance, if a student were to write „A nurse is responsible for the patients in her care at all times‟ it would be implying that all nurses are female and would be excluding male nurses.

Examples of appropriate language are shown on the right:

Mankind Humankind

Barman/maid Bar attendant

Host/hostess Host

Waiter/waitress Waiter or waiting staff

Recommended reading



Recommended reading

Dunn, D. M.& Goodnight, L.J., 2011(3rd edition), Communication: embracing difference,

Allyn & Bacon, Boston.

Fitzgerald, Helen., 2002 (31st

edition),Cross-cultural Communication: For the Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Pearson Education Australia

Hackman, J. Richard; 2002 (1st edition); Leading Teams: Setting the Stage for Great Performances; Harvard Business Review Press

Holloway C, Davidson R, Humphreys C, 2009(8th Edition), The Business of Tourism,

Pearson Education

Johnson, Brad; 2008 (Revised and Updated edition); The Elements of Mentoring;

Macmillan

Johnston, R & Clark G, 2008 (3rd Edition), Service Operations Management. Pearson

Education

Maxwell J, 2001, The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork: Embrace Them and Empower Your Team, Maxwell Motivation, USA

Maxwell, John C; 2008 (1st edition); Mentoring 101; Thomas Nelson

Kusluvan Salih 2003 Managing employee attitudes and behaviours in the tourism and hospitality , Nove Science Publishers, New York

Sundstrom, Eric; 1998 (1st edition); Supporting Work Team Effectiveness: Best Management Practices for Fostering High Performance; Jossey-Bass Business & Management

Walker, J, 2009, (36th

edition),Supervision in the Hospitality Industry: Leading Human Resources, University of South Florida

Walker, John R and Walker,Josielyn; 2010 (1st edition); Tourism: Concepts and Practices, Prentice Hall

Zachary, Lois J; 2000 (1st edition); The Mentor's Guide: Facilitating Effective Learning Relationships; Wiley (NPR)

Zachary, Lois J; 2009 (1st edition); The Mentee's Guide: Making Mentoring Work for You; Jossey-Bass

http://www.pearsoned.co.uk/bookshop/Results.asp?iCurPage=1&Type=1&Author=Robert+Johnston&Download=1&SearchTerm=Robert+Johnston

http://www.pearsoned.co.uk/bookshop/Results.asp?iCurPage=1&Type=1&Author=+Graham+Clark&Download=1&SearchTerm=+Graham+Clark

http://www.amazon.com/John-R.-Walker/e/B001KDZ1QY/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_4?qid=1326289869&sr=1-4

http://www.amazon.com/Tourism-Concepts-Practices-John-Walker/dp/0138142459/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326289869&sr=1-4

http://www.amazon.com/Tourism-Concepts-Practices-John-Walker/dp/0138142459/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326289869&sr=1-4

Recommended reading

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Trainee evaluation sheet





The following statements are about the competency you have just completed.

Please tick the appropriate box Agree Don’t

Know

Do Not

Agree

Does Not

Apply

There was too much in this competency to cover without rushing.

Most of the competency seemed relevant to me.

The competency was at the right level for me.

I got enough help from my trainer.

The amount of activities was sufficient.

The competency allowed me to use my own initiative.

My training was well-organized.

My trainer had time to answer my questions.

I understood how I was going to be assessed.

I was given enough time to practice.

My trainer feedback was useful.

Enough equipment was available and it worked well.

The activities were too hard for me.


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The best things about this unit were:

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

The worst things about this unit were:

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

The things you should change in this unit are:

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Documents

Provide professional support to colleagues · 2.2 Develop mutual trust, confidence and rapport 2.2 11,12 6 2.3 Maintain colleague‟s privacy 2.3 13,14 7 2.4 Share workplace experiences,