BSBLED809

RSEARCH & CONFIRM CAREER TRENDS

ASSESSMENT 1

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 1. Explain the following:
 Client Care
 Counselling techniques
 Process in the context of career development service

Ans: Client Care: According to ("What is Customer Care? | Outsourcing Glossary | BPO
Definitions", 2019), Client care is the process of looking after customer to the best ensure
their customer satisfaction and delightful interaction with business and its brand, goods and
services. It is all about understanding the requirement and needs of the consumers and trying
to fulfil these requirements proactively.
Making a happy customer completely depends on the situation and how does the client
service executive handle the situation. Companies should ensure they keep educating their
staff about customer servicing and also make sure that their staff is updated about the
products and services offered by them and also ensure that they do not lose a customer due to
lack of knowledge. Customer service representatives must be accessible, knowledgeable, and
polite. They require excellent listening skills and a willingness to talk through a resolution.
Good customer service plays a pivotal role in the success of business and help in increasing
the (ROI) return on investments of the company by increasing the brand value and sales.
Elements of good client care includes:
 Identifying clients’ needs by understanding their prospects and offering with better
ideas and solutions.
 Selling ethically to the client
 Providing education and training to sales representative’s staff
 Be responsive to the client concern by resolving customer questions and making
changes in policies, procedures and products according to the client needs and
demand.
 Establishing long-term relationship with customer by gaining their trust and loyalty.
Some common clients service challenges factors include:
 Quality issues such as providing customer with low quality or uneven quality products
can break the trust and loyalty of products. Business owners need to train their
employees properly and implement quality control processes to ensure that customers
and clients are getting what they paid for.
 Poorly trained staff
 Poor processes
 Lack of follow up
 Disempowered staff
These are some common client service challenges that occurred and can drop the sale of a
business and lead to loss. These challenges must be monitored and analysed by companies
and tackle it with good customer service skills.

 Counselling techniques: As per the website ("Counselling: Meaning, Techniques,

Types and Problems", 2019), Counselling is the process that help an individual to
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 regain or overcome his or her lost confidence and self-esteem and put his/her mind in
their job. The process of counselling is a relationship between counsellor and
counselee and taking into confidence the counselee by the counsellor. Allowing to
open up on his/her.
interpersonal problems and crisis and understating the situation and helping them to
mobilize their inner and outer resources to find new option in facing life. Along with
this Counselling help the clients to develop his potentialities, build up confidence,
making best use of his /her strength by overcoming his/her weaknesses.
The effective counselling needs effective counselling skills, that is complete
information about persons to be counselled such as the information relating to his/her
motives, experience, weaknesses, strength, attitudes and behaviour. This information
of counselee is collected through various sources before counselling. The techniques
of counselling vary from person to person and also depend on the circumstances of
clients.
There are some following counselling techniques
 Releasing emotional tension: Releasing emotional tension helps to gain power of
going or looking into and understanding the things in their proper perspective and the
reasons that ha affected his/her behaviour. This will help him/her to analysis of the
situation and overcome the emotions.
 Effective Communication: Effective two ways communication is tool and method of
counselling that remove the fear from the minds of the subordinates or counselee, and
they talk freely and open up their mind to their superior or counsellor who can
provide necessary suggestion and advice that can help released the tension of any
kind. In the same way, effective communication help to remove the misconception
and misunderstanding.
 Clarified Thinking: Counsellor should be motivated and encouraged to think
positively as positive thinking helps building up friendly relationship with the
colleagues and superiors.
 Performance Counselling: As a employer if employee is performing below the
standard level of performance, a manger or superior must identify the reason why
his /her employee are performing below the performance standard and help to remove
the those issues and build up confidence on them.
 Counselling Against Alcoholism and Drug: Organisations must take lead in
arranging for counselling and sponsor programmes for treatment of alcoholics and
drug addicts. Alcoholics should be motivated not to drink and lectures by experts of
religious and spiritual nature will also help them to get rid of their bad drinking habits.

 Process in the context of career development service:

According to ("The Career Development process", 2019), There are six stages in the
career development process, and they are as follows:
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 1. Career Awareness: Children experience the career awareness stage as they
started learning about themselves for example about their interest, abilities, values
and beliefs, during this stage the also about the world of work such as job
available at community, job their parents or other adults doing. At this stage it is
important them to explore tools, materials and activities associated with their
interest so that they can learn about job are aware about their career development.
2. Career Exploration: In this stage children begin to investigate the career they
are interested to. They begin learning and developing their skills and knowledge
through reading biographies of famous people and learn about their career through
watching movies, television of their favorite athletes, musicians and try to figure
out the role they want to be inn future. This is the stage where they explore their
talents and determine how others are using similar skills in careers.
It is important for the children to encourage actively to engage and participate in
community-based programs such as field trips or asking them to investigate or
research on certain topic of their interest.
3. Career Preparation: During this stage youth and children refine their skills and
abilities through participation in school and community activities and as well as at
home with their routine task as they assume more responsibility with age.
Through engagement at school, chores at home and activities in the community,
such as volunteer experiences, youth develop skills that will transfer to future
work environments and prepare them for their careers.
4. Career Placement: This stage is experienced most often during early adulthood,
when young adults have their first job. Through job placement young people learn
what the employer expects from employees, to be responsible, and to contribute to
social wellbeing. Through such engagement they have the opportunity to secure
references from people outside of their close families who can assure for their
ability to perform on a job. 
5. Career Maintenance: During this stage, the worker mould themselves into the
work environment becoming comfortable with job duties and co-workers and
finding a balance between work and play. Adults who successfully manage their
careers normally figure out where they would like to be over time and strive to
reach those goals.
6. Career Mentoring: The career mentoring stage is a time to prepare young people
or new employees to the expectations and demands of a career field. It is the stage
where the experienced and mature worker share their experience, skill, knowledge
and success story to motivate and encourage the new employee and trainee to
achieve their goal.

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 2. Describe diversity and its potential effects on career choices. List at least three
different types of effects.

Ans: Diversity in the workplace means that a company's workforce includes people of

varying gender, age, religion, race, ethnicity, cultural background, sexual orientation,
religion, languages, education, abilities, etc. Diversity in the workplace is important for
employees because it establishes itself in building a greater reputation for the company,
leading to increase profitability and opportunities for the workers.
Having more diverse workforce brings positive benefits to the organization. Diverse
workforce in the organization increased productivity, improved creativity, increase
profits, improved employee engagement, reduce turnover, improve company reputation,
improve cultural insight and provide with wider range of skills.
Today, diversity issues are considered to be vital in understanding an individual’s career
development and decision-making process, and diversity issues have become a major
focus within the field. When addressing topics of diversity, it is important to note that
these discussions should not be limited to race and ethnicity. Career counselling
professionals also need to be accommodated to the influence of gender, sexual
orientation, ability status, socioeconomic status, and other societal and structural aspects
that impact career development in a variety of ways.
As social beings, the environments within which people live and learn have a huge
influence on career development. Here are some factors that influence on career choices
and they are

Culture: Culture, the shared values and belief systems held by followers of a specific
group, influences how individuals view and interact in the world, and it also affects their
behaviours, decision making, and goal identification. Collectivism is an example of a
cultural value related with different racial and ethnic groups. Collectivism is the tendency
for individuals to consider the well-being, wishes, and best interest of the group to which
they belong it could be family or community, when making decisions. In contrast,
individualism reflects the tendency to make decisions and choices within the perspective
of what is best for the individual.
Race and ethnicity: Race and ethnicity have been identified as factors that warrant
consideration in the career development process. From both a personal and societal
perspective, race and ethnicity can influence the types of occupations perceived as
acceptable and accessible.
Sexual Orientation: Sexual identity development can be a very stressful experience for
LGBT individuals as they may be dealing with gender identity confusion, negative
societal stereotypes, and possible conflict with family and colleagues related to their
sexual identity. This developmental process typically occurs during adolescence, the same
period of time during which young people begin to identify career interests and develop
goals for their future. Thus, the career development of LGBT individuals may be
adversely affected as a consequence of the time, energy, and affective resources that may
be focused on their sexual identity development. Once LGBT individuals are ready to
make career decisions, their choices may be restricted to occupations considered possible
or appropriate options due to their sexual orientation. Furthermore, they may eliminate
possible occupational options due to real or perceived discrimination anticipated in
certain work settings.

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 3. Briefly describe and outline human psychological development and needs in
relation to careers development.

Ans: (Dixon, 2001), Human psychological development is concerned with the

development of human being cognitive, emotional, intellectual and social capabilities and
functioning that occur throughout human life span of human being. Developmental
psychology examines the influences of nature and nurture on the process of human
development, and processes of change in context across time.
Human psychological development helps us understand how people grow, develop, and
adapt at different life stages. The study of development psychology help people to
overcome development challenges and reach their full potential.
As it studies the ranges of human behaviour throughout the human life span it is
automatically connected with the career development. Career development is a part of
human behaviour where human aims to achieve specific goal in their life. The human
activities and the career they choose to grow are their psychological development. And it
totally depends on the culture they grow and follow, their cognitive skills, the things they
are emotionally attached to, and their intellectual capabilities.
Career development is continuous learning process by which employees progress through
series of stages and each stage is characterized by a different set of developmental tasks,
activities, and relationships. Stages of career development theories are
 Exploration stage: This stage is the period of transition from college to work, it is
usually the period of one’s early 20 s and ends by mid-20 s. It is a stage of self-
exploration and making initial choices.
• Establishment stage: This stage is the stage where one begins their first job and
likely to commit mistakes and has also the opportunity to learn from that mistakes.
This is the stages where one can accept job challenges and develop competency and
creativity. It is usually occurred when an individual is above 25 years of age
• Maintenance stage: This stage usually occurs between the ages of 45 and 65. In this
stage, the performance may increase or decrease or may remain constant . During this
stage, an employee tries to update themselves technically and develops skills in
coaching others. He/she may rotate into a new job requiring new skills.
• Late career: During this stage the employees remain productive in work, maintain
self-esteem and prepare for effective retirement.

4. Outline relevant policy, legislation, codes of practice and standards relevant to

career development.

Ans: Legislation, policies, codes of practice and standard are important instrument in
organizing and protecting worker and employer issues, rights and responsibilities in
workplace.
There are several laws, standard, codes of practice and policy that help career
development in organization to conduct without discrimination, biasness and with
employees and employers’ full rights and responsibilities ethically and lawfully.
Below are some revenant legislative law, standard and policies that need to be considered
by organization while making career development plan and process
 Employment law: Division of law that governs the relationship between employees
and employers. This area is made up of both state and federal laws and includes

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 many different subjects with the common goal to protect workers' rights. For
employees, these laws work to:

o Prevent discrimination
o Promote health and safety
o Establish a minimum required level for economic support
o Prevent work disruption due to disputes between labour and management

 Fair Labour Standards Act: It is also referred to as the Wages and Hour Act. It is a
Federal Law that sets the minimum wage, overtime pay, and age requirements for
certain types of employees. This act does not apply to the minimum wage or overtime
pay of professional workers, executives, administrative, and outside sales employees
 Occupational Safety and Health Act: It is a Federal act that establishes and
promotes workplace safety standards for businesses. Employers should undertake
specific precautions to ensure that the workplace is free of hazards that would lead to
harm, permanent injury or death. Violations of this law may be fined up to $7,000 per
day.
 Disability Act: It is a Federal act that prohibits discrimination based on a person’s
disability if the person with the disability is able to perform the essential functions of
the job requirements
 Age Discrimination Act in Employment: This act prohibits discrimination against
applicants and employees 40 years of age or older throughout the employment
process. This act only applies to businesses employing 20 or more employees.
 The Civil Rights Act of 1964: This act prohibits employment agencies, employers,
and unions from discrimination against applicants and employees on the basis of race,
color, religion, national origin or sex. Discrimination is prohibited throughout the
employment process including hiring, compensation, promotion, training, and
termination.
 The Civil Rights Act of 1991: The purpose of this act was to strengthen civil rights
law, in particular disparate impact. Disparate impact occurs when an employer creates
a seeming fair employment practice that has a negative impact on members of a
protected class. Under this act, employers must prove that their practices are based on
job qualifications
 Employment-at-Will: An employer or employee can terminate employment “at-will”
for any reason or no reason without being liable for breach of contract. Certain types
of employees are not subject to employment-at-will laws including employees with
contracts and unionized employees.
 Social Security Act: This act was enacted in 1953 to provide financial assistance to
eligible workers and their dependents in the form of retirement, disability, and death
benefits. The act established the social insurance program commonly called Social
Security. Federal insurance program funded by the tax contributions of employees and
employers
 Social Security Disability Benefit: This benefit replaces income when a severe long-
lasting disability or terminal illness prevents eligible person from doing long term
work. Claim is filed through the through Social Security Administration; Six months
required elimination (waiting) period; Periodic review of status to continue benefits
 Social Security Retirement Benefit: For this social security benefits an eligible
person can receive a percentage of social security by age 62, but the individual can
receive full benefits at either age 65 or 67. A person can receive social security
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 retirement benefits if the spouse dies. Medicare is also considered a social security
benefit
 Worker’s Compensation: A government-regulated program that provides medical
benefits and income to employees who are injured or who develop a disability or
disease as a result of their job. Indemnifies (pays) employee for their loss of income.
Insurance is paid for by employer

5. Briefly explain recruitment and selection processes in the context of career

development service.

Ans: Effective recruitment and selection process is the key to the successful functioning
of the organizational career development process. It depends on finding people with the
necessary skills, expertise and qualifications to deliver the organisation’s strategic
objectives and the ability to make a positive contribution to the values and goals of the
organisation. The key objective of recruitment and selection process are that the
employees recruited and selected are employed fairly based upon relevant skills and
experience ensuring they are inducted properly and are aware of the required standard of
organization.

The recruitment and selection processes include

Advertisements: Advertisement is the first stage of recruiting and selection process.

Utilising variety of methods such as internet, TV, radio, newspapers, noticeboard, intranet
vacancies are announced.

Application Process: This is the second stage where Candidates for all posts are asked to
address standard criteria and skills suitable for the role in order that they can be judged on
the basis of comparable information. In applying for posts, all candidates will be provided
with a job description, details of the appropriate conditions of service and details about
the organisation. A brief statement about the appointment procedure will also be provided
and, indication of the date when interviews will be held. The job description will include
main duties and responsibilities of the post, together with an outline of the qualifications
and experience which candidates are expected to possess.
In drawing up the job description and conditions of service, organization will ensure that
no job applicant receives less favourable treatment than another on the grounds of
disability, gender, race, religion or belief, age, sexual orientation, marital status, parental
status.
Selection Methods: This is the next steps where interview is held by panel. A set of
questions are greed by interview panel which are developed from current job description
for the post. All candidates will be asked the same questions in the same order, and their
responses rated accordingly. All interviewed candidates will be notified of the outcome
of the selection process as soon as possible, either by telephone, email or letter.
All unsuccessful candidates’ application forms and interview notes will be retained for
one year from the date of interviews taking place. After this date they should be
destroyed.
Reference Check: In this step of selection process all offers of employment will be made
conditional upon satisfactory results from the following:
 two satisfactory references;
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  confirmation of the right to work in this country (if appropriate)
 obtaining of certain job pre-requisites, e.g. Police Certificate, Working with Children
Certificate
Probationary period: All appointments into the organisation will be made subject to a
probationary period of three calendar months, at which time a review meeting will take
place between the post holder and their manager or supervisor to discuss progress.
At the end of the probationary period, and subject to a satisfactory report by manager, or
supervisor employees will be informed in writing that they have successfully completed
their probationary period.
Induction Process: All new employees must be given appropriate induction training.
This training is considered as a fundamental part of staff recruitment and integration into
the working environment. This policy, associated procedures and guidelines define the
organisation’s commitment to ensure that all staff are supported during the period of
induction, to the benefit of the employee and organisation alike.
Organisation’s aim is to ensure that staff induction is dealt with in an organised and
consistent manner, to support staff to be introduced into a new role and working
environment quickly, so that they can contribute effectively as soon as possible.

6. Describe a range of data gathering and research techniques.

Ans: There are ranges of data gathering and research techniques that are used my career
development counselling which are focused to seek the answer to the following questions:

1. what does contemporary career mean?

2. how does an individual’s career develop today?
3. what career patterns are observable in the modern world?
4. what implications do contemporary social changes

The data gathering and research techniques includes following

Qualitative research methods: Qualitative research is a type of research that is focused

on in depth inquiry of social phenomena within their natural setting. Rather than by
logical and statistical procedures, qualitative researchers use multiple systems of inquiry
for the study of human phenomena including biography, case study, historical analysis,
discourse analysis, ethnography, grounded theory and phenomenology. The three major
focus areas are individuals, societies and cultures, and language and communication.
Qualitative researchers investigate meanings, interpretations, symbols, and the processes
and relations of social life.

Most common and popular methods of qualitative research to gather data are
 Observation: systematic way to collect data by observing or monitoring people in
natural situation or setting.
 Interviews: Interviews are used to collect data from a small group of subjects on a broad
range of topics.

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  Focus group: focus group is a group of individuals usually consist 6 to12 people and
is brought together in a room to engage in a guided discussion of a topic.
 Close ended surveys and online quizzes: Systematic procedures for reviewing or
evaluating documents both printed and electronics material. The documents may
include advertisement, agenda, attendance registers and a minute of meetings, book
and brochures, diaries and journals, event programs, letter and memoranda, maps and
charts, and newspapers
Quantitative research methods: This method emphasize objective measurements
and the statistical, mathematical, or numerical analysis of data collected through
polls, questionnaires, and surveys, or by manipulating pre-existing statistical data
using computational techniques. Quantitative research focuses on gathering
numerical data and generalizing it across groups of people or to explain a particular
phenomenon.

Most popular data collection techniques of Quantitative research methods are

 Surveys: whether conducted online, by phone or in person. These rely on the same
questions being asked in the same way to a large number of people;
 Observations: which may either involve counting the number of times that a
particular phenomenon occurs, such as how often a particular word is used in
interviews, or coding observational data to translate it into numbers
 Secondary data: such as company accounts.

These above data collection methods help counselling team to understand the human
behaviour, their interest and skill, analyse their performance and capability and help
people to find the right career path for their future and trending job opportunity.

7. Explain techniques used to analyse trends.

Ans: Most Common techniques used to analyse trends are as follows

 Observation: A job analyst observes an employee and records all his performed
and non-performed task, fulfilled and un-fulfilled responsibilities and duties,
methods, ways and skills used by participant to perform various duties and their
mental or emotional ability to handle challenges and risks.
This technique includes three techniques: direct observation, Work Methods
Analysis and Critical Incident Technique. The first method includes direct
observation and recording of behaviour of an employee in different situations. The
second involves the study of time and motion and is specially used for factory
workers. The third one is about identifying the work behaviours that result in
performance.

 Interview: In this technique, an employee is interviewed so that he/ she comes up

with their own style of working, problems they faced, use of certain skills and
techniques while performing their job and insecurities and fears about their
careers. This technique helps interviewer know what exactly an employee thinks
about his/her own job and responsibilities involved in it. Question asked during
the interview should be carefully decided to collect genuine data.

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  Questionnaire: This is the another commonly used techniques used by career
development counselling to analyse the career trend. In this method the
questionnaires are filled from employees, their superiors and managers. A great
care should be taken while making the questions for various grade of employees
as this method usually suffer from biasness.
Management should effectively communicate and ensure the employees that data
collected will be used for employees benefits so that it is done properly and true
information about the job are revealed.

Reference:

What is Customer Care? | Outsourcing Glossary | BPO Definitions. (2019). Retrieved 30

November 2019, from https://www.taskus.com/glossary/customer-care/

What is Customer Care? | Outsourcing Glossary | BPO Definitions. (2019). Retrieved 30

November 2019, from https://www.taskus.com/glossary/customer-care/

Counselling: Meaning, Techniques, Types and Problems. (2019). Retrieved 30 November

2019, from http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/hrm/organisation/counselling-meaning-
techniques-types-and-problems/60331

The Career Development process. (2019). Retrieved 3 December 2019, from

http://projectaspiro.com/en/service-providers/Pages/Career-Development-process.aspx

Mayhew, R. (2019). Why Is Diversity in the Workplace Important to Employees? Retrieved 4

December 2019, from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/diversity-workplace-important-
employees-10812.html

Psychology, C., & Counseling, C. (2019). Diversity Issues In Career Development (Career
Counseling) IResearchNet. Retrieved 5 December 2019, from
https://psychology.iresearchnet.com/counseling-psychology/career-counseling/diversity-
issues-in-career-development/

Dixon, R. (2001). Developmental Psychology. International Encyclopedia Of The Social &

Behavioral Sciences, 3607-3612. doi: 10.1016/b0-08-043076-7/01642-9

Shiyani, V. (2019). Stages of Career Development | Human Resource Management.

Retrieved 6 December 2019, from https://www.businessmanagementideas.com/human-
resource-management-2/career-planning/stages-of-career-development-human-resource-
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Job Analysis Methods. (2019). Retrieved 7 December 2019, from

https://www.managementstudyguide.com/job-analysis-methods.htm

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