Assessment 1 - Part A: Short Answer Questions

Instruction
You are required to answer all of the following questions. You need to answer all of the written questions
correctly. Generally, you are expected to write a response one or two paragraphs long. Please answer the
questions using word processing software.

Assessment criteria
All questions must be answered correctly in order for you to be assessed as having completed the task
satisfactorily.

1. Explain the key provisions of each of the following Acts:

a. Fair Work Act 2009
b. The Racial Discrimination Act 1975
c. Sex Discrimination Act 1984
d. Disability Discrimination Act 1992
2. Explain the purpose of the National Employment Standards and the 10 minimum entitlements.
3. Explain the use of modern awards in workplaces.
4. Identify at least two examples of modern awards using the Fair Work Ombudsman website. Write down
the name of the award and the minimum wages under the award and minimum working hours.
5. Outline the purpose of an enterprise agreement and with which entity must the agreement be
registered.
6. Outline minimum terms and conditions that must be included in an enterprise agreement.
7. Explain the process of performance management and the purpose of using performance management
systems in the workplace.
8. Explain two types of performance management systems that can be used at work.
9. In what form must an employer provide an employee with notice of termination.
10. List two types of employees to whom notice of termination would not need to be provided.
11. Under what circumstances is an employee entitled to redundancy pay?
12. Explain at least three circumstances that can constitute unfair dismissal.
13. Which circumstances must apply for the Fair Work Commission to determine that an employee has
been unfairly dismissed?
14. Outline five ways of that staff can develop skills at work
15. As a manager, list three types of information that you could provide to staff to help them to develop
their knowledge base.
16. Explain four options that a company could take to control risks and four procedures to minimise risk.
 Assessment 1 - Part B: Project
Instruction
This assessment task requires you, in the role of Human Resources Manager of Boutique Build Australia, to
meet with the Managing Director to discuss the company’s human resources priorities for the upcoming year
and as documented in the company’s Strategic Business Plan. You will then need to develop a work plan for
your team, as well as a risk assessment.
You will then need to meet your team to allocate the work based on the work plan that you have developed,
as well as use the opportunity to remind your team about their Code of Conduct responsibilities.

Following this, you are also required to develop policy and procedures for performance management for
Boutique Build Australia and conduct a 15-minute training session for Boutique Build Australia managers on
the new performance management policy and procedure.

Assessment Resources
• Strategic Plan
• Human Resources Action Plan Template
• Risk Management Plan Template
• Staff Code of Conduct

Assessment criteria
Students must complete all of the activities listed and submit:
• Completed Human Resources Action Plan
• Completed Risk Management Plan
• Performance management policy and procedures
• Performance management presentation

Carefully read the following scenario.

Boutique Build Australia Pty Ltd is a boutique building company based in Sydney that specialises in the
design and build of high quality designer homes for the Sydney metropolitan and surrounding areas. The
company has been operational for three years.

As the Human Resources Manager for the company, you are responsible for a small team of staff including
the Human Resources Support Officer and the Learning and Development Coordinator. The Learning and
Development Coordinator is a new appointment in place for the last two months.

As the Human Resources Manager, you are responsible for:

 Taking a key, and at times, leadership role in the development and implementation of generalist HR
strategies, policies and projects.

 Identifying, designing and implementing general HR strategies and solutions to achieve agreed
outcomes relating to: organisational design, organisational change, performance management,
workforce and strategic planning and other generalist HR activities inclusive of effective negotiation
and consultation with staff.

 Taking ownership of the HR results and outcomes.

 Providing high level, timely and professional advice to senior managers and staff, in interpreting and
implementing human resource policy including: change management; HR planning; industrial
relations; retention, performance management; workplace health; and organisation development
 and change.

 Delivering a high level of proactive and reactive support, management and advice to managers and
staff in employee relations, encompassing, equal employment opportunity/diversity case
management.

 Leading developing and motivating a small team.

 Contributing as a HR team member to develop and/or enhance policies, procedures and systems to
support HR ‘best practice”.

 Representing and providing high level advice and support on internal and external forums and
committees.

 Developing effective, collaborative relationships and networking with all internal clients and external
stakeholders.

 Assisting the team to produce best practice learning aids and presentations

 Producing a quarterly review of people statistics and analysis for distribution to internal stakeholders.

The Human Resources Support Officer is responsible for:

 Recruitment processes ensuring the needs of the business are met in addition to adherence to
legislative and internal policy requirements.

 Delivery of inductions to new employees within the office meeting legislative compliance measures
as well as equipping new employees with necessary orientation information.

 Management of WHS incident reporting identifying improvement processes to minimise repeat

incidents.

 The facilitation of ergonomic assessments and report analysis resulting in recommendations for
individual requirements.

 Liaison point for workers compensation claims between insurance company and staff.

 Implementation and maintenance of the Human Resources Information System.

 HR metrics and reporting.

 Assistance to the HR Manager in strategic HR projects.

 HR administrative support including tasks such as maintenance of personnel files; maintenance of HR

specific records on the share drive; reporting requirements relating to surveys and performance
management cycles etc.

 Other duties as required.

The Learning and Development Coordinator is responsible for:

 Contribute to the delivery and evaluation of training and education programs to staff

 Contribute to the design and development of resource materials for use in the delivery of education
 and training materials for use in the delivery of training programs to staff

 Ensure that records are kept and maintained of all training activities

 Report to and cooperate with Human Resources Manager

 Ensure that all Policies and Procedures are implemented and complied with.

The company also employs the following staff:

Managing Director, Operations Manager, Marketing and Sales Manager, Sales Consultants (4), Office
Manager, Human Resources Manager, Construction Manager, Site Manager (2), Production Draftsperson
(2), 6 Carpenters and a range of contract staff, including plumbers, electricians, tilers, painters and
plasterers.

The workforce is predominantly male with the only four females employed (the Office Manager and the
three Human Resources positions).

The company’s vision as stated in its Strategic Plan is to be the best boutique home builder in Australia. Its
values are listed as quality, innovation, leadership, respect and honesty and reliability.

Complete the following activities:

1. Review the case study information above, as well as the Strategic Plan prior to attending attend a meeting
with the Managing Director (your assessor).

The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the development of a work plan for your team for the coming
year to ensure that operational objectives for 2020 - 2021 are met as outlined in the organisation’s Strategic
Business Plan. Make notes on any questions that you have.

The Managing Director will discuss the following information with you:

• Overall strategic goals

• Operational objectives
• Resources available.
The duration of the meeting will be approximately 15 minutes.

At the end of the meeting, you must sign the observation checklist and submit to your assessor.

During the meeting, you will need to demonstrate effective communication skills including:

• Speaking clearly and concisely

• Using non-verbal communication to assist with understanding
• Asking questions to identify required information
• Responding to questions as required
• Using active listening techniques to confirm understanding

2. After the meeting, you will need to develop an action plan for the human resources team based on the
meeting discussion. You must use the Human Resources Action Plan Template.

The plan you develop should take into account all of the information provided to you at the meeting and
include:
 • Actions (focused on achieving operational objectives and must take budget into consideration to
ensure cost effectiveness)
• Priority (costs
• Timelines
• Responsibilities (ensuring that task are allocated as appropriate to the staff member’s level of
responsibility and to maximise efficiency in terms of completing groups of similar actions)
• Performance indicators

You will also need to develop a risk assessment to assess the likelihood of negative events preventing the
company in meeting the actions as specified in the work plan you have developed and the likely
consequences of such events.
Save this document as Completed Human Resources Action Plan.

3. Write a risk management plan.

Review the Risk Management Plan Template and complete the risk assessment table. You must use the Risk
Management Plan Template. Save this document as Completed Risk Management Plan.

4. Meet with the team to discuss the work plan and allocate tasks.

Meet with your work team (at least two) to discuss the plans you have developed, allocate tasks and confirm
performance standards and work outputs as per your plan, as well as agree on performance indicators for
tasks.

As you have also decided that this is a good opportunity to remind staff of Code of Conduct requirements,
you should review the Code of Conduct provided to you ahead of the meeting so that you are able to explain
key requirements to staff.

The duration of the meeting will be approximately 20 minutes. Make sure you print off the at least two
copies of the plans you have developed to provide to meeting participants.

At the meeting:

• Provide an introduction to the meeting, including the purpose of the meeting.

• Provide a copy of the plans.
• Explain that the plans are based on the Strategic Business Plan objectives.
• Go through each of the actions, responsibilities, timelines and performance indicators.
• Explain the key themes of the Code of Conduct and employee responsibilities.

At the end of the meeting, all your group members must sign the observation checklist and submit to your
assessor.

5. Conduct research by identifying and reviewing a range of performance management policies and
procedures from other organisations.

Then develop a performance management policy and procedure for Boutique Build Australia that addresses
all of the following:

• Purpose of the policy

• To whom the policy applies
• Number of times a year that a performance review is to occur for each employee.
• Summary of purpose of performance reviews
 • Simple step-by-step procedure for organising and conducting the performance review meeting.
• Templates used to record performance
• Identifying performance gaps and providing feedback.
The policy and procedures must be written in your own words and be clear and concise. As a guide your
policy and procedure should be approximately 2 pages.

Save the document as Performance Management Policy and Procedures.

6. Conduct the training session

Prepare and conduct a training session for your managers. The duration of the training session will be
approximately 15 minutes.

Prepare for the training session by developing a PowerPoint (or another presentation program) presentation,
including notes within your slides to assist you in conducting the session.

The presentation should address the key points in the new performance management processes that you
developed in the previous activity. You should prepare a minimum of 8 Power Point slides that include visuals
and images to add interest.

At the end of the training session, you must submit your PowerPoint slides to your assessor.
 Observation Checklist (Managing Director Meeting)
Date of Observation

Name of Learner
Signature

Assessor ONLY YES NO

 Speaking clearly and concisely
 Using non-verbal communication to assist with understanding
 Asking questions to identify required information
 Responding to questions as required
 Using active listening techniques to confirm understanding

Briefly describe
the Learner’s
overall
performance.
If any of the
items above are
marked as NO,
explain why
here.
 Observation Checklist (Team Meeting)
Date of Observation

Name of Learner
Signature

Team members Name

Signature

Assessor ONLY YES NO

 Team building techniques including clear explanation of goals and
outcomes
 Asking questions and listening to responses to clarify understanding
 Active listening skills?
 Communicating using appropriate conventions and protocols?
 Respecting and acknowledging others’ views?
 Non-verbal communication skills that encourage discussion and
feedback?

Briefly describe
the Learner’s
overall
performance.
If any of the
items above are
marked as NO,
explain why
here.
 Observation Checklist (Presentation)
Date of Observation

Name of Learner
Signature

Team members Name

Signature

Assessor ONLY YES NO

 Speaking clearly and concisely
 Using non-verbal communication to assist with understanding
 Asking questions to identify required information
 Responding to questions as required
 Using active listening techniques to confirm understanding

Briefly describe
the Learner’s
overall
performance.
If any of the
items above are
marked as NO,
explain why
here.
 Assessment Task 1 Marking Checklist (Assessor Only)
Student ID

Student Name

Completed
successfully
Did the student: Comments
Yes No

Part A

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Question 4

Question 5

Question 6

Question 7

Question 8

Question 9

Question 10

Question 11

Question 12

Question 13

Question 14
Question 15

Question 16

Part B

Ask questions and confirm information provided during

the meeting with the Managing Director to identify work
activities for human resources for the year and the
resources available?

Demonstrating they can gather and evaluate the

information you provide them with (refer to guidance at
activity 1)

Submit a completed work plan using the template

provided and that includes:

 Actions

 Priority

 Timelines

 Responsibilities

 Performance indicators

that all relate to the organisation’s operational

objectives and discussion at the meeting?

As evidenced by the student’s action plan fulfilling the

requirements as set out in the Human Resources Action
Plan Assessor.

Identify relevant risks and treatment measures and

document in the risk management plan?

As evidenced by the student’s risk management plan

fulfilling the requirements as set out in the Risk
Management Plan Assessor.

At the meeting with the team, explain the work plan to

the team, including all actions, timelines, responsibilities
and performance measures?
As per their plan they have developed.

At the meeting, explain the organisation’s Code of

Conduct?

Refer to the Code for relevant information contained

within.

Develop performance management policy and

procedures that addresses all of the following?

 Purpose of the policy

 To whom the policy applies

 Number of times a year that a performance review

is to occur for each employee.

 Summary of purpose of performance reviews

 Simple step-by-step procedure for organising and

conducting the performance review meeting.

 Templates used to record performance

 Identifying performance gaps and providing

feedback

As evidenced by the student’s performance

management policy and procedures fulfilling the
requirements as set out in the Performance
Management Policy and Procedures Assessor.

Develop and provide a training session on the

performance management policy and procedure and
communication skills required for performance review?

Demonstrate effective communication skills including:

 Speaking clearly and concisely

You could understand what the student said

 Using non-verbal communication to assist with

understanding

Such as nodding to indicate understanding, smiling to

facilitate communication.

 Asking questions to identify required information

By asking relevant questions

 Responding to questions as required

By providing a clear and concise and relevant response

to the question asked

 Using active listening techniques to confirm

understanding

By paraphrasing information or feedback provided to

confirm understanding

Not
Task 1 Outcome: Satisfactory
Satisfactory

Assessor Declaration

By signing this declaration, I confirm that I have observed the learner, whose name is
recorded above, has demonstrated the requirements outlined in this task.
I further confirm that all of the responses the learner has provided above are true and
accurate about their performance of the task.

Assessor’s signature

Assessor’s name

Date signed