Teacher guide - TAFE NSW · Teacher guide Human Resources Diploma Toolbox BSB50801 Diploma of Business (Human Resources) ... Industries, a fictitious company that is a national manufacturer,

Teacher guide

Human Resources Diploma Toolbox BSB50801 Diploma of Business (Human Resources)

Teacher guide............................................................................................. 1

QuickStart for teachers............................................................................. 2

How does it work?.................................................................................... 5

Assessment.............................................................................................. 9

Implementation ideas ............................................................................. 11

Online teaching tips................................................................................ 14

Session plan for an orientation with students......................................... 16

Knowledge and skills gap analysis......................................................... 18

Sample delivery schedule ...................................................................... 21

127 online groupwork ideas ................................................................... 24

HR key terms.......................................................................................... 84

Acknowledgements This Teacher Guide was developed from contributions by Barry Reeves, Susan Coleman, and Sheevaun Gallacher. We gratefully acknowledge the feedback from students of Central TAFE WA who participated in the pilot of this Toolbox, and the contribution (via Susan Coleman) of the FAME program run by TAFE NSW. July 2003.

QuickStart for teachers OK, you're busy. Read these 3 pages for the basics to get started. Later you can browse the rest of the Teacher Guide.

What’s in this toolbox? This Toolbox contains learning materials for self-guided study and group collaboration.

The materials are presented around a case study company called STAR Industries where the student is given challenges and situations that the HR Manager would typically encounter. The emphasis on learning by doing – the student takes on the role of General Manager, HR at STAR and makes strategic decisions about HR that will help STAR achieve its goals.

The Toolbox is organised around nine projects, aligning to nine competencies at AQF level 5: Table 1: Units of competence in the HR Toolbox (2 columns)

BSBHR501A Manage human resource consultancy services

BSBHR502A Manage human resource management information systems

BSBHR503A Manage performance management systems

BSBHR504A Manage industrial relations policies and processes

BSBHR505A Manage remuneration and employee benefits

BSBHR506A Manage recruitment selection and induction processes

BSBHR507A Manage separation/termination

BSBHR508A Manage work/life skills

BSBHR509A Manage rehabilitation/return-to-work programs

What do I need to start using it? • a standard web browser like Internet Explorer (version 5 and above)

or Netscape (version 4.7 or higher) or Mozilla.

• a monitor where you can set the display size to 800x600 or 1024x768

• Flash Player version 6 (release 29 or higher) if you want to hear the sound files (when you go to the home screen for a Unit the Toolbox will tell you if you don't have it)

• Acrobat Reader version 4 or higher if you want to get the fast download version of the worksheets in the learning packs.

Follow the link to Computer Setup on any Home screen for more details.

Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW

Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003 Page 2 of 97

What should I look at first? Figure 1: Induction screen

You can quickly get to know the Toolbox by working through the STAR Induction presentation. It takes about 10-15 minutes and it's designed for anyone working with the Toolbox. You can get to it from the Toolbox Home Screen or any Unit Home Screen.

What do I need to do before classes start? Here's the bare minimum before you start using this Toolbox.

• Confirm how your students will be assessed.

• Set up an online group page where your students can communicate and exchange files (if they're working online).

• Select the groupwork activities you require your students to do online (or how you'll adapt them for classroom delivery).

• Set a timetable for completion of each task.

• Spend some time working through the material for one Unit so you can experience how students will see them. Start with the Induction (it's one for the whole Toolbox), then go to the Getting Ready screen for the Unit you're looking at, then the Project brief, then each Task. Note the learning packs – they contain the HR content.

• Plan for how your students will begin if they're studying online – a face-to-face orientation, a live chat or a teleconference orientation.

• Plan one online icebreaker activity if it's an online group.



What about accessibility? This Toolbox complies with guidelines to make it accessible to as wide a range of people as possible. For more details and tips follow the Accessibility link on the Toolbox and Unit home screens.

Tip

If you or your students like larger text on the screen, tell them to choose a larger font size in their web browser. Figure 2: Selecting a larger font size in Internet Explorer

Figure 3: Selecting a larger font size in Netscape and Mozilla



How does it work? Here’s some background into what the development team for this Toolbox have set out to achieve as we developed these resources. We hope that explaining our rationale will help you understand how best to integrate the Toolbox into your program.

Learning is authentic and practical Figure 4: Case study project screen

Each Unit of Competence is presented through a case study set in STAR Industries, a fictitious company that is a national manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer of doors, windows and other building materials. This has been created so that all students have access to an authentic context for learning about HR management.

The learning materials in each Unit are organised around an overall Project. These projects are broken down into Tasks that present learners with realistic situations and challenges that they are likely to be faced with as an HR manager.

Tip

Encourage students to work together to think of ways to adapt project tasks to their own workplace or industry.



Each task is built around a clearly defined item of work the student produces, reflecting what may realistically be done in a workplace. Students are encouraged to add these outputs to a portfolio. (RTOs may decide that items in this portfolio contribute to assessment – see the section ‘Assessment’ below.)

Learning is supported The student is provided with learning supports for each Project Task:

Learning packs Figure 5: Learning pack interview screen

These are guided learning resources containing worksheets with readings, glossaries, web links, matching and sequencing activities and interviews with real HR managers, and they underpin each project task to help learners gain the knowledge and skills they need to complete the task



Tips and work samples from an HR adviser Figure 6: Student's HR adviser

The HR adviser is a character in the case study who is an experienced practitioner – these have been written by practising HR managers and teachers to address the most common concerns a new practitioner may have about a project task

Tip

Encourage your students to explore issues that the adviser raises with any HR mentors that they have access to. The idea behind the online adviser is to model a mentoring relationship – ideally this model should be transferred to the student's workplace if possible.

Ideas for online groupwork Figure 7: Groupwork box on a Task screen

Designed to encourage social learning, peer support and peer networking – there is a wide selection of these later in this Teacher Guide.

Many of these activities involve some sort of peer review. Feedback from peers is an essential part of workplace practice and these activities are designed to encourage students to develop skills in collaboration. It will also take some of the load from the teacher to provide feedback to all students on every activity.



Learning is flexible The Toolbox is designed with the understanding that teachers and students will have different needs:

• each Unit is a stand-alone set of learning materials, linked by a common case study theme, so RTOs can deliver just one Unit, or the whole set of Units to your students.

• the case study and project in each Unit are kept in separate files from the learning packs, so RTOs may replace the case study and/or project details with a materials set in another industry (eg retail, finance or travel)

• content about HR is provided in learning packs that support task-based learning, not as the starting point in the Unit – this allows more experienced and confident students to quickly begin work on a Project Task, while still providing easy access to content for less experienced students

• learners may get to learning packs from links on the task pages, or from an index of learning packs on the Toolbox home screen, or on each Unit home screen – this is a fast way to get to content about HR

• students are encouraged to adapt case study task to their own workplace where possible – guidelines for doing this are on each task screen.

Figure 8: Mind map of the learning design – learning packs are re-usable across Units and across Tasks with a Unit



Assessment Sample assessments As a guide only, we have included a sample assessment for each Unit that models a possible assessment approach. These are not intended as recommended assessments for your students. Don't forget that designing assessment is the responsibility of the RTO offering these Units.

The sample assessment for each Unit comprises two assessment methods:

• A portfolio of evidence of work done during the project tasks, ie the task deliverable (RTOs may rewrite the task deliverable, or add another deliverable, if they wish to vary assessment between groups of students). This may be used to assess the performance criteria the key competencies.

• Evidence of quality contributions to online discussions, including the quality of responses to other students comments, the quality of feedback given to other students, and the collaboration and team skills demonstrated by the learner. This may be used to assess underpinning knowledge.

Tip

Replace the sample assessment Word file in the Unit with the one your students are actually required to do.

Other methods of assessment When designing your assessment consider the assessment methods you will use:

• observation of workplace performance – will need a well planned observation guide; will need to be combined with other methods to assess underpinning knowledge

• simulation – for example role plays to assess negotiation or consultation skills; useful for overcoming ethical issues when direct observation is not appropriate

• interview/dialogue – present case scenarios and ask students how they would respond; include questions to assess underpinning knowledge; improves access and equity; when integrated with observation of performance can assess understanding in context

• written test – questions on short case scenarios; questions to assess underpinning knowledge or application of concepts or principles

• self assessment – valuable for adult learners; enhances self-esteem and promotes critical reflection



• learning journal/log book – reflection by the student on the processes involved in creating their portfolio of evidence; records of progress over a period of time; can be combined with self-assessment

• samples of work – learners may have already produced a portfolio item in the workplace, however you need to ensure authenticity.

Tip

Keep an eye on this Australian Flexible Learning Framework project 'Online Assessment Strategies and Models', www.flexiblelearning.net.au/projects/onlineassessmentstrategies.htm. This project will be establishing a website containing assessment resources for VET practitioners in online and blended learning environments.



http://www.flexiblelearning.net.au/projects/onlineassessmentstrategies.htm

Implementation ideas Blended delivery – a combination of face to face and virtual classroom The Toolbox could be provided to your students with one or all competencies on a CD-ROM. Students could work through the tasks in STAR and still come together at specific intervals to work through the collaborative activities or participate in debates or role plays. The toolbox could also be linked to a website or Learning Management System as outlined below.

Load Units onto your web server The Toolbox is designed so that the whole Toolbox or individual Units can be installed onto a server. You can run it as a simple website, or load it into your Learning Management System if you have one. More information is in the Technical Manual.

Consider providing a CD-ROM to students Put one or more Units onto a CD-ROM for students who cannot stay online for extended periods, or who have a slow internet connection. (Refer to the Technical Guide for instructions.)

Offer your students an online tool for group collaboration If your RTO has an online collaboration system for students (eg WebBoard, WebCT, Blackboard, Janison) then you can use that. If not:

You can set up your own online group by going to Yahoo! Groups. Yahoo! Groups allow you set up your own email group, save files and run live chat sessions. It’s a free service. Go to groups.yahoo.com.au to set up a group.

Note: each student will have to register with Yahoo! to get their own account before they can access the group website.

Offer variety You don't have to follow the instructions on Task screens to the letter; they just provide a consistent framework. Why not add variety by conducting one or two of the Tasks entirely as a live chat session? As you explore the case study task, different students play the part different characters at STAR Industries. Or you could do this in a computer lab with a mix on time on the computer and time in break-out groups.



http://groups.yahoo.com.au/

Tip

Some tasks contain virtual meetings that play in the Flash Player. These could be a trigger for continuing your own virtual meeting in a chat session.

Students could take on the roles of different stakeholders in the meeting. This may be a useful activity to develop consulting or negotiating skills, and may be run in a face-to-face training session as well if you are using a blended delivery model. Figure 9: A virtual meeting on performance management systems

The virtual meetings appear in these Units: Table 2: Location of virtual meetings in the HR Toolbox (2 columns)

Unit Location of virtual meeting

BSBHR501A Task 2

BSBHR502A Task 3

BSBHR503A Task 2

BSBHR504A Tasks 2, 4



BSBHR505A Project brief, also in tasks 1, 8

BSBHR506A Project brief

BSBHR507A Project brief

BSBHR508A Tasks 3, 4

BSBHR509A none

Set group projects Each Unit Project in this Toolbox is broken down into a number of Project Tasks. You can browse through these Tasks and identify ones that could be done as group projects by your students. Some advantages of this approach are:

• it can facilitate social learning in the online environment (where students left to their own devices feel isolated and alone)

• it can allow students to practise skills of collaboration, consultation and networking required of an HR manager

• it can be integrated with assessment of underpinning skills such as negotiation and consultation skills, and with the Key Competencies.

• Here are some practical suggestions for implementing group projects:

• limit teams to no more than 3 or 4 students

• set a date for completion of the group project

• as well as the group producing the deliverable for the Task, consider asking students to write a self assessment and peer assessment of their contribution to the group process – this will encourage students to reflect on their collaborative skills, as well as providing you with more information if you are considering using the group work as an assessment item

• provide guidelines as to how you expect your students to collaborate, eg entirely online, or through a mix of face-to-face meetings and online communication.



Online teaching tips Here are some great ideas from teachers who have been facilitating online programs in VET. They’re not meant to be prescriptive, and different things will work for different teachers and students. They're in no particular order.

• At enrolment time, well before classes begin, ask students to work through this site: www.tafe.net/learnscope/rsg - Ready Set Go, a student guide to Online Learning. Explains the language of the internet, and has guides for using email, sending and receiving attachments, using web browsers, and using web forums and chat systems.

• The nature of the Human Resources competencies means that learning online in distance mode, and interacting with people via emails and chats, will require students to have sharp literacy AND keyboard skills –more so than for students who learn in a face-to-face setting where they can talk about ideas. If students need more support consider face-to-face sessions to supplement distance learning, or other support such as telephone support or teleconferences. Also see the section above 'Offer variety' for more ideas.

• If students are new to online learning (and are able to get to a workshop) some teachers may like to hold a face-to-face orientation workshop for online students. A detailed session plan for one of these is in this Teacher Guide.

• As email will be primary method of communication with you students ensure that you have a clear system of email folders for managing the traffic.

• Send a weekly email to all students with reminders of the tasks that should be completed, the tasks in progress with reminders for times of chats or forums during that week. Alerting students to activities for which they should be undertaking individual learning (using the learning objects) prior to group activity in the week to come can also be helpful. You might comment on the quality of work in the preceding week and provide tips and encouragement for the task at hand.

• Be clear about timeframes by setting targets for learning. A sample delivery schedule appears later in Guide. These can help you with your ‘online lesson’ planning. You will need to set frameworks so that student know what to do, and when to do it.

• If you manage a very large group of students, create a sense of community online by setting up study groups of 4 – 8 students, all of whom begin the Unit at more or less the same time. This makes it easier for students to gain the benefits of social learning and to form networks as they study.



http://www.tafe.net/learnscope/rsg

• Once you have set up the study group, facilitate an online ‘icebreaker’ activity when students start the Unit. Ideas for this are on the Project Overview screen for each Unit.

• Plan ahead and be clear to your students about which online collaboration activities that you expect them to complete (also see the next section containing more online groupwork ideas).

• When students are about to start an online group activity, send them an email with instructions on what teams they will be in or whose job it is to start a round robin activity. Do not presume students will work it out.

• Establish whether you students have completed any previous units online. This way you can gauge how much support you will need to provide to coach students to develop online learning skills, as well as the content in the units. You may find students require different levels of support. In the first few weeks get a clear picture of how each student is coping to enable early intervention.



Session plan for an orientation with students Where students are new to online learning it is advisable to provide a face to face orientation session. Relationships in online learning support successful learning in the same way as in traditional classroom settings, establishing contact with peers and facilitators assists in developing these relationships.

Participants will have access to computers for the orientation. The following material is designed for a 3 hour session. Table 3: Orientation session plan (3 columns)

Time Activity Resources

15 min Icebreaker – introduction game Any game, see www.thiagi.com

15 min Outline outcomes for this session: • Establish basic skills for online learning • Establish expectations of learners • Conduct gap analysis of presumed knowledge

of HR practices • Provide guided orientation to ANTA toolbox • Provide introduction to communication tools

Overheads

15 min Brainstorm expectations of learners – groups of 5 – 7 Feedback whole group

Butchers paper

30 min Ask each student to check their experiences against the checklist below. Ask each student to record, how and where they acquired this knowledge and skill. Obtain feedback from group on gaps. Provide feedback to individual students on how to address the gaps. This can also act as type of revision of existing knowledge

Handout checklist Teacher needs to have reading list/resources for each area prepared to give to students

5 minute break – move to computers Each student to have computer

30 minutes

Introduce the Learning Management Systems or communication tool. Be sure you point them to the online student or user manual. Ask students to

• Update their details – eg change password or email address.

• Post to forum – a brief bio – or it could be game ( 3 things about yourself, 1 of which is lie) – each student is to respond to someone’s post - which is the lie?)

Computers with LMS (eg WebCT) or communication tools (eg WebBoard)

30 min As students to open word document and answer the following questions (or questions you devise): What area of HR do you particularly like and why? What attracted you to the field of HR? Where do you see

Computers with LMS (eg WebCT) or communication tools (eg WebBoard)



Time Activity Resources yourself in 10 years?. Facilitate a chat around these 3 questions – Post a greeting, ensure you instruct students in how to create colour for themselves, whispering, creating separate rooms etc, all the features of chat. Demonstrate how to cut and paste prepared responses from the Word document into the chat. Highlight the use of instant messaging if this feature is available

(eg WebBoard)

45 min Introduce students to features of ANTA toolbox: • Identify the unit/units they are to study. • Move through the structure of the unit. The

case study company, the project, the tasks, the adviser, the groupwork ideas, the learning packs.

• Ask each student to work through the online induction to their job at STAR.

HR toolbox – on server or CDs for each student to access

5 min Revisit Outcomes for session and student expectations Identify time each student needs to spend becoming confident in using the toolbox

Brainstorm material and overheads on session objectives



Knowledge and skills gap analysis This tool may be used during a student orientation session.

Overview These learning materials are intended for use at Diploma level, where you learn about managing the HR function. It's assumed you will have already studied and/or have workplace experience in Human Resources at an operational level.

• On the next page is a checklist of things you should be able to do before you start the Diploma units of competence.

• This list is not exhaustive; teachers may add or remove items.

• It is important to note knowledge and skills acquired at Certificate IV support the learning across a number of competencies



Table 4: Knowledge and skills gap analysis (10 columns)

Knowledge and skills prerequisites. Can you … 501A 502A 503A 504A 505A 506A 507A 508A 509A

Administer a variety of HR systems including HR policies and procedures, and staff performance feedback systems?

x x x x x x x x x

Determine job specifications? x x x x x x x x x

Write a position description? x x x x x x x x x

Write a person specification? x x x x x x x x

Write and place a job advertisement? Assess applications to choose applicants for interview? Conduct a selection interview? Make a verbal and written job offer? Recruit staff, using a variety of methods, including assessing and selecting applicants?

x

x

xx x x x

Induct staff into an organisation? x x x

Process and handle enquiries on a variety of HR documents and processes including leave and job vacancies?

x x x x x x x x

Conduct performance appraisal interviews? Prepare a logically structured interview? Conduct interviews? Describe the role of employee counselling in managing employee performance?

x x x x

x x

x xx x x

xx x x



Knowledge and skills prerequisites. Can you … 501A 502A 503A 504A 505A 506A 507A 508A 509A

Lead and manage teams? Explain the purpose of learning and development plans?

x x

x x

Research and analyse information. Write project reports and make recommendations?

x x x x x x x x x

Explain how legislation regarding OH&S, environmental issues, EEO, IR and anti-discrimination affects business operation?

x x x x x x x x x

Outline the major parties in the Australian Industrial Relations Systems, their roles and functions? Locate and access awards, agreements and employment legislation? Locate and read case law?

x x x x x x x

Describe strategies for conflict management? x x x x

Describe grievance procedures? x x x x x x x

Identify and implement solutions to employee/industrial issues? x x x x x

Coordinate workers compensation and rehabilitation claims? Explain the basic principles of workers compensation schemes in Australia? Describe the scope and causes of work related injury and illness?

x x x



Sample delivery schedule Many students choose to study online because they are looking for flexibility. However the facilitator still needs to provide a framework so that students have clear guidance on how long to spend on each task in order to complete the Unit within a set timeframe.

It's important to keep students on track - if they think they have to do everything in this Toolbox – all tasks, all online group activities, all activities in the learning packs – they could be overwhelmed. Make sure they know:

• which online group activities you expect them to do (it may be just two per Unit for example)

• that the learning packs are there as a resource, they don't have to complete every activity in them (you may want to recommend particular sections).

Use the template below as a guide.

Tip

Create synergy between the Units.

• Consider co-assessment and delivery of BSBHR501A with another unit or units.

• Start a new project while finishing off the last project tasks on another. Rather than each unit being facilitated by different teacher, team teaching can minimise the possibility of duplication.

• Point students to tasks and skills that are common across most Units, eg linking HR to strategic goals, developing a consultation plan, developing and implementation and evaluation plan – once done for the first Unit learners may re-use and adapt them for other Units (note: tell your students the point is to adapt and improve previous work, not just copy and paste old work)

On the next page is a sample delivery timetable for each unit. Allow time for external exams if applicable.



Table 5: Sample delivery schedule for all Units (4 columns)

Unit Semester 1 Weeks Weeks

BSBHR501A Manage human resource consultancy services

1 - 4

BSBHR506A Manage recruitment selection and induction processes

3 – 10 7 tasks in 7 weeks



BSBHR502A Manage human resource management information systems

13-18 5 tasks in 5 weeks

BSBHR508A Manage work/life skills 12 – 18 6 tasks in 6 weeks

BSBHR509A Manage rehabilitation/return-to-work programs


Semester 2

BSBHR504A Manage industrial relations policies and processes



3 - 11

BSBHR507A Manage separation/termination 10 – 16 6 tasks in 6 weeks



Here is a sample timetable for one unit, showing you how you may overlap the end of one Unit with the beginning of another. You should select the collaborative activity from the suggestions in this Guide for each unit – what appears here is an example only.

Table 6: Possible delivery schedule for one Units (3 columns)

Week Task Student activity

9 BSBHR 505A – Manage Remuneration Task 7 – Check the relevant legislation BSBHR507A – Manager Separation Task 1 – Research separation termination policies

Independent research

10 BSBHR 505A– Manage Remuneration Task 8 – Plan for ongoing consultation BSBHR507A Manage Separation Task 1 - continue

Consultative committee Online debate

11 BSBHR 505A– Manage Remuneration Task 9 – Document your strategies BSBHR507A- Manage Separation Task 2 – Identify relevant agreements, legislation and cases

Peer review Chat around researched questions

12 BSBHR507A - Manage Separation Task 3 – Manage separation/termination process

Forum posting of group activity

13 BSBHR507A – Manage Separation Task 4 - Manager summary dismissal

Independent research on scenario at STAR resulting in Forum post

14 BSBHR507A - Manage Separation Task 4 - continue

Peer review

16 BSBHR507A - Manage Separation Task 5 – Conduct exit interviews

'At the coalface' chat activity



127 online groupwork ideas Groupwork ideas appear on the Project Overview and the Task screens. They are designed to be done online, with a study group, but they may be easily adapted for other delivery modes. The following tables list these groupwork idea plus additional or alternative activities that you may choose from.

Tip

Look at these online collaboration ideas for the Unit before your students start, and make it clear to them which ones you expect them to do.

A good way to broaden the discussion is to assign different teams to different activities, and let teams report to each other.

Starting together as a group – the Project overview screen Figure 10: Groupwork box on a Project screen

We have listed all groupwork ideas for students on the screen because the appropriate activity will depend on whether the students already know each other, their prior learning, and their work backgrounds.

If your students are new to their study group we recommend they start activities 1 and 2. You can follow this up with activities 3 and 4 to encourage students to explore ways in which they can work together online.

Whichever activities your students do here, the aim is to start building a sense of an online community, and for the students to begin to feel comfortable networking with each other online.



After they get going – activities for project tasks Figure 11: Groupwork box on a Task screen

The rest of this Teacher Guide contains a wide selection of activities for each Unit.

They are organised by Unit and Task.

The first activity in each table below is also on the Task screen. The others are provided here as alternatives you may choose to use.

Remember to identify at least one specific group activity that you will set for your students, and point them to this when they start the Unit. It's not intended that students would do every groupwork idea on every screen – they are just provided for you as a selection.

Here is a list of the group activity types in this Toolbox. They are in a (very) rough order from easiest to hardest for students to do online:

• STAR chat – discussion trigger based on STAR case study events. Most people find it easy to respond to a concrete scenario or problem.

• WebSearch show and tell – students can conduct their own research independently or in teams, then go online to report to each other on their findings; a good way to develop web research and collaboration skills at the same time

• At the coalface – students tell each other their own experiences when they did xyz. It’s usually easy for most people to talk about their own experiences. Question should also encourage some critical reflection, eg ‘What would you do differently?’

• Debate – students are given a debate topic. Assign teams to the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ cases, choose an adjudicator, and hold the debate on your bulletin board or chat system.

• Team research – This is intended to get students to explore a topic in collaboration. These "mini-teams" can then report back to the larger group. (We've mostly used these for workplace research as opposed to web research, see WebSearch show and tell above.)



• Round robin – provides a structure for a group to build a piece of work collaboratively.

• Email game – designed to progressively generate and process content around a salient issue; see www.thiagi.com for more information

• Half-life – designed to identify the essential elements about the chosen topic; students make statements about a selected topic, starting at 32 words, and gradually narrowing them down to just two words

• Depolariser – aims to increase levels of awareness about alternative points of view; see www.thiagi.com for more information

• Peer review – students team up with their study buddy and give structured feedback on each other’s work on the task. Uses the method of Praise-Improvement-Praise. Useful to encourage peer collaboration and support.

• Interaction simulation – structured role-play where people or process skills are relevant. Use carefully as these are difficult for both the students and the facilitator. May use the virtual meetings in the Toolbox as a trigger.

BSBHR501A Manage HR consultancy

Task 1

Activity type Instructions Comments

STAR chat How could STAR’s corporate goals and plans for growth affect the nature of the HR function in STAR?

This activity asks students to discuss all the case study materials they have seen so far. It's a relatively easy introduction to online discussion and a good way to check understanding by students of key issues.

STAR chat These are alternative discussion topics to the above: What are the likely impacts for HR staff in the introduction of SLAs with other business units in STAR? Will this change their workload/work practices? Will they need to receive specific training/ exposure/mentoring in



http://www.thiagi.com/


order to operate in this new environment? What factors would need to be considered when explaining the concept of SLAs to the HR staff? (consider their accountability, performance management/appraisals etc). How will the introduction of SLAs benefit the business units (and the Business Unit Managers) at STAR? What are the impacts on me (ie the student as the HR Manager) if my staff can't deliver on their SLA? How will this impact on my performance being measured?

Task 2


Round robin From your virtual meeting with stakeholders, and minutes of your individual consultations, complete the task as a round robin activity: Divide into teams of three. The person whose surname is closest to A goes first, etc Person 1 provides a summary of STAR's problems and needs and sends to… Person 2 adds an outline of options for delivery of HR services that meet these problems or needs and sends to… Person 3 adds an explanation of how these options comply with

A collaborative way to complete the task and promote idea sharing.



relevant Federal and State laws & returns to players 1& 2. Some of these options may form the basis for individual team members' SLAs.

Interaction simulation

Information gathering meeting In small groups students take turns playing the role of consultant and client as follows … consultant begins with an intro which explains the service area covered, then uses open & closed questions to gain information from the clients (can be 2 or 3 in client group) different “clients” can take on different roles (cooperative, blocker, tight-lipped, dominant)

Students practise skills of questioning, active listening, dealing with confidentiality issues, building rapport, overcoming resistance, dealing with dominant personalities.

Team research If you are working on a project in your workplace rather than STAR, get together with others doing something similar and discuss your findings so far. Which were the easiest/most difficult situations to deal with and why?

This activity is designed to encourage students to find out about a range of approaches and to think critically about what they discover. It is intended to get students to explore a topic in collaboration. These "mini-teams" can then report back to the larger group. Findings from these collaborations could be used to augment "portfolio" material



Task 3


Email game

'101 QA methods and tools' Appoint a game coordinator. Each student sends a list of 10 QA methods or tools to the game coordinator. Coordinator collates them and sends the complete list back to all players. Players then vote on the top 5 methods and top 5 tools. The coordinator again collates the results and feeds them back to players.Game takes no more than 5 days.

This collaboration activity provides a structured introduction to online collaboration via an email game. You can use this technique in many places as an alternative to discussion boards. This game can also be used for supporting the development of strategic thinking skills: eg ‘101 ways to improve …’

STAR chat Will quality processes really lead to more stakeholder ‘ownership’ of HR processes at STAR? What could go wrong?

This activity asks students to discuss the case study materials they have seen so far. It's a relatively easy introduction to online discussion and a good way to check understanding by students of key issues.

Interaction simulation Negotiating quality processes In small groups students take turns playing the role of consultant and client as follows … consultant provides the QA proposal to the “clients” and give a summary of key points “clients” ask for at least one point to be clarified and raise at least one concern or objection to the proposal “consultant” answers these questions or concerns, and negotiates any changes needed to your proposal

Students practise skills of questioning, active listening, dealing with client concerns, building rapport, overcoming resistance.

Team research For those students completing the project in their workplace: Interview one or more experienced



HR staff on their experience with monitoring and evaluating SLAs, (or particular HR functions if they do not use SLAs). Groups of these students to share their interviews with each other and discuss.

Task 4


Peer review Email your SLA to your study buddy. Provide feedback to each other on: clarity of performance standards clarity of timeliness standards relevance to the goals of the organisation compliance with relevant legislation

Feedback from peers is an essential part of workplace practice and this activity is designed to encourage students to develop skills in collaboration. It will also take some of the load from the teacher to provide feedback to all students on every activity.

Interaction simulation Present recommendations to the client In small groups students take turns playing the role of consultant and client as follows … consultant present their key issues and recommendations to the clients, then ask for questions from your clients different “clients” can take on different roles (accepting, objecter, dominant)

Students practise skills presenting bad news without alienating stakeholders, responding to tough questions, handling difficult people in the presentation, gaining client’s commitment to the next steps

Task 5


At the coalface

Tell others in your group about a time when consultants haven't delivered. What steps were taken to resolve issues?

'At the coalface' means stories from the workplace, and is an easier introduction to online discussion for many



(Consultants may be either from HR or another profession.)

students. Encourage students to draw conclusions for future practice from their stories. Use these activities with caution when you have a group of students from the same workplace. This could be done either as a live chat or as a forum posting.

At the coalface These are extensions to the above activity. Teacher gets the students to discuss their experiences in relation to the steps they took in dealing with consultants that haven't delivered the expected service. In these discussions students could analyse each of their experiences by discussing : What worked well What would they do differently next time If students did not have many experiences to share, the lecturer could develop some simple scenarios for students to either discuss, or role play. Also, the teacher could facilitate a discussion on what the main points to remember when: Preparing for a counselling session Conducting a counselling session Followup from a counselling session (ie. action points etc)



Task 6


Conduct the survey

Each person develops their own survey questionnaire, and others complete it in as if they were the client. Be sure to include an area in your survey where others can give you feedback on your survey design: are instructions clear? are questions unambiguous? does it gather the information required? appropriate in length & time to complete? Zoomerang is a free website where you can set up your own online survey www.zoomerang.com

A collaborative way to complete the task

Task 7


Peer review Email your document to your study buddy. Review each other's work using the P-I-P method: Praise one specific thing in it offer one point for Improvement, and finish with Praise for another specific thing in the outline.


At the coalface Tell others in your group about presentation successes or disasters. They may your own presentations or ones you've see .

'At the coalface' means stories from the workplace, and is an easier introduction to online discussion for many students. Encourage students to draw conclusions for future practice from their stories.



Use these activities with caution when you have a group of students from the same workplace. This could be done either as a live chat or as a forum posting.

Interaction simulation Present recommended service variations to the client In small groups students take turns presenting their recommendations to other students – if done online, send your documentation for your recommendations to your group, then in a live chat present your key issues and recommendations, then ask for questions from your clients (other students)

Students practise skills presenting bad news without alienating stakeholders, responding to tough questions, handling difficult people in the presentation, gaining client’s commitment to the next steps



BSBHR502A Manage HRMIS

Task 1


At the coalface Describe any experiences you have had with HRMIS in your workplace. What did you like about it? What could have been done differently? If you haven't experienced one yourself, ask 3 friends the same questions and report what they say.

'At the coalface' means stories from the workplace, and is an easier introduction to online discussion for many students. Encourage students to draw conclusions for future practice from their stories. Use these activities with caution when you have a group of students from the same workplace. This could be done either as a live chat or as a forum posting.

Email game "101 reports that are going to be needed from the HRMIS" Appoint a game coordinator. Each student sends coordinator 3 suggestions for specific reports that HR or Line Managers may want to generate from the HRMIS Coordinator collates them and sends the complete list back to all players. Players then vote 1, 2, 3 in order of preference. The coordinator again collates the results and feeds them back to players. Game takes no more than 5 days.

This collaboration activity provides a structured introduction to online collaboration via an email game. You can use this technique in many places as an alternative to discussion boards. This game can also be used for supporting the development of strategic thinking skills: eg ‘101 ways to improve … Ensure you give the students a specific timeframe for their contributions. Go to the thiagi website www.thiagi.com for more help in managing the game




Task 2


WebSearch show and tell Students share the results of their research into available HRMIS on line. Chances are that other students may have different findings from yours. Discuss differences in available systems and compare features of similar systems

Another approach could be for the teacher to facilitate a live chat after students post their research findings. Focus the chat session on the key questions in the activity.

Task 3


Interaction simulation Form a team or committee (on line) charged with implementing a HRMIS: Each participant should represent a different stakeholder group (e.g. line managers, accounts/ payroll, employees, technical specialist, application specialist, etc) Each participant must present one human (as opposed to IT) issue of concern to his or her stakeholder for the implementation of a HRMIS. The outcome should be a group list of action points arising from further group discussion for inclusion in an implementation plan. These should attempt to answer the concerns of each stakeholder.

Structured role-play aimed at encouraging team building and diversity of approach. Two-step process may be supplemented with a facilitated debate to explore further ideas and points of view before preparing final list of action points. Again, set specific time frame for the event



Task 4


Team research Divide your study group evenly into two teams - Team one should produce a list of possible problems that a HR manager may encounter when working with IT specialists. Team two should produce a list of opportunities that may arise out of the same IT collaboration. After posting these lists to a group forum or chat room, teams should swap sides - Team one to counter the opportunities list by attaching a possible risk to each opportunity item. Team two to counter the problems list with action points that help avoid each of the problems.

This could be developed through two separate discussion groups to work up initial findings - this is posted to common forum then discussion could again occur in separate forums in providing alternatives. Finally both teams share results.

Task 5


Interaction simulation Get the “Implementation Team” from Task 3 back together and role-play the consultation and forward planning aspects of the evaluation process. Students again take on the various stakeholder roles. This might happen in a couple of sessions with students taking time to think through the issues and come back together with their findings. Think of any resulting change in the structure and focus of the HR group that may result from proposed changes to the HRMIS.

Confirmation of team-building exercise earlier in unit. Again encourages collaboration and sharing of multiple points of view. Again students may need support in setting up the collaborative structures, as this may early in their online learning experience.



Round robin Divide into teams of four.

The student whose name is closer to A goes 1st, then the next is 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc Student no. 1: Writes introduction to benefits of HRMIS and section on legislation obligations, and sends to … Student no. 2: Writes section of procedure for selecting HRMIS, and sends to … Student no. 3: Writes section with steps in the HRMIS implementation process, and sends to… Student no. 4 Writes section on strategies for evaluating HRMIS performance, compiles the final report, sends to students 1 – 3 for final comment and contributions, incorporates any suggested changes and posts to a forum for other groups to see.

This is designed to encourage collaboration in a structured setting between students, while making the workload of the task less onerous. Teachers may adapt this technique to any of the tasks where there is a report writing requirement. Time frames need to be set for each student contribution in the chain




Task 1


Debate

'Performance management is just a way for HR managers to keep tabs on employees and justify their own jobs'. Assign teams to the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ cases, choose an adjudicator, and hold the debate on your bulletin board or chat system. Be sure to discuss these issues: What role does the HR function have in performance management? What rights do employees have in relation to monitoring by employers?w

This activity encourages students to take a viewpoint for or against, and argue their case online. If students are new to online discussion they may need some direction so it may best to assign students to the yes or no case. A more experienced online group may be able to choose their own side in the debate. You could also explore this question through an email game called a depolariser. Instructions can be found at the Thiagi website www.thiagi.com

Task 2


Email game ‘101 benefits that performance management brings to a workplace’ Appoint a game coordinator. Each student submits a list of 10 items to the coordinator. Coordinator collates them and sends the complete list back to all players. Players then vote on the top 5 benefits. The coordinator again collates the results and feeds them back to players.

This collaboration activity provides a structured introduction to online collaboration via an email game. You can use this technique in many places as an alternative to discussion boards. This game can also be used for supporting the development of strategic thinking skills: eg ‘101 ways to improve’ again, a time frame needs to be established.




Round robin review ‘How does performance

management add value to an organisation?’ Each student submits one idea about this for discussion. Then look at an idea that another student has submitted. What kinds of resistance to their idea might need to be overcome for the performance management system to be effective?

Task 3


At the coalface What kinds of incentives have you seen used to encourage good performance? Have they worked? Why, or why not?

Where some students are in the same organisation they could prepare a joint presentation to the rest of the study group. This would be best as a forum posting by a certain date, to enable other students to benefit from the information

Task 4


At the coalface How have you seen positive performance handled in workplaces? How have you seen negative performance handled in workplaces? What have you seen go wrong? How else could it have been handled.

This session is designed to encourage exploration of the many ways that performance is monitored, punished and rewarded. Not all situations will be positive - facilitator may need to steer discussion towards constructive criticism. This is complex question which could be done as brainstorming live chat with students having prepared responses to the 4 questions



Task 5


Debate ‘It is not important to give performance appraisal feedback to employees except where they are performing poorly and require discipline.’ Assign teams to the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ cases, choose an adjudicator, and hold the debate on your bulletin board or chat system.

This is designed to encourage collaboration in a structured setting between students, while making the workload of the task less onerous. This form can be adapted by replacing with another contentious topic

Task 6


WebSearch show and tell Find an example online of a company that prides itself on being a ‘learning organisation’. Post the URL in a group forum along with a statement of the company's key goals plus a suggestion for how the same ideals might be applied in your own workplace.

This activity is designed to encourage students to find out about a range of approaches and to think critically about what they discover

Half-life Statements about a selected topic, all identifying its essential elements

The selected topic is: The attitude of staff to the value of peer performance reviews. Assign students to a panel. In Round 1, each player makes a statement about the selected topic, using exactly 32 words. During the next four rounds, players successively reduce their statement to exactly 16, 8, 4, and 2 words--while preserving its essential element. During each round, the panel selects the top three statements. After the final

This type of activity can be used in other contexts. It could be useful to introduce the technique to the students at the face to face orientation so that they become comfortable with the process.



round, players vote for the best overall entry and the most consistent performer.

Task 7


Team research With your study buddy, research legislation that relates to the provision of counselling and career support for employees. Share your findings with your group by posting to a forum

This is intended to get students to explore a topic in collaboration. These "mini-teams" can then report back to the larger group. Findings from these collaborations could be used to augment "portfolio" material

Task 8


At the coalface Provide instances of performance feedback in the workplace that you may have heard about. Provide a critical view of either the positive aspects of how it was handled or some suggestions for improvements to the procedures used.

This exercise is intended to personalise the learning environment for each student. Responses may tend towards negative - facilitator should steer discussion. This activity could either be done as a live chat or as a forum posting or possibly add to your personal learning portfolio.



BSBHR504A Manage industrial relations

Task 1


STAR chat What do you think could be some possible industrial relations goals for STAR? (Be sure to check STAR's Strategic Directions document.) Do these possible goals reflect the reality at STAR? What's wrong IR at STAR?

This activity directs students to compare the desired IR performance against the actual IR performance, ie the IR gaps. Be sure to consider STAR's corporate vision and mission statements when discussing possible IR goals. The second part of the discussion can introduce the IR audit sheet, provided by Radha Clare, the HR adviser in this project. You could also complete the audit sheet together in a live chat session.

Round robin Form IR audit teams. In teams of four, complete an IR audit on STAR, using Radha's template and referring to the STAR Strategic Directions document. The student whose name is closer to A goes 1st, then the next is 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc Student no. 1: drafts possible goals for IR at STAR (in line with STAR's Strategic Directions), and send to … Student no. 2: completes questions 1 – 7 on the IR audit sheet for STAR, and sends to … Student no. 3: completes questions 8 – 9 on the IR audit sheet for STAR, and sends to … Student no. 4: reviews the data gathered so far, writes

This is a collaborative and fun way to complete the work for this project task. Set timeframes need to be provided for each student contribution to the chain.



an executive summary of STAR's IR gaps, send the final document to students 1 – 3 for comment, incorporates any suggestions for improvement and posts the whole audit document to a forum for other groups to see. Follow up with a live chat session where each audit team discuss their findings.

Debate “Unions must be involved in all workplace negotiations, especially involving any workplace agreements and individual contracts of employment”. Assign teams to the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ cases, choose an adjudicator, and hold the debate on your bulletin board or chat system. Be sure to discuss these issues: Australian Workplace Agreements requirements regarding union involvement. Do employees have equal bargaining power with their employer? The representativeness of unions today given they represent only around 25% of workers.

This is designed to encourage collaboration in a structured setting between students, while making the workload of the task less onerous. This form can be adapted by replacing with another contentious topic Ensure you give set time frame for posting the initial argument and the response. Some guidance for the teams in collaborating online to develop their argument may be needed by email. The teacher needs to have a standard set of instructions for students in how debates will be conducted.

Task 2


STAR chat In Task 1 you identified IR gaps, now lets talk options for solutions! What ideas can you get from the emails from Karen and Ben, and the virtual meeting you attended with stakeholders? What other

This activity prompts students to consider the input that can be provided by stakeholders, it models the consultation they should be doing in the workplace. After this chat students will



IR options can you think of? Make sure as a group you cover all the gaps you identified in Task 1.

have done the groundwork for the rest of the task, ie identifying preferred options for each IR gap and performing a cost/benefit analysis of their preferred option.

Team research

Assign group members to research and report back on the prevalence of consultative mechanisms within organisations. Each group member is to contact three separate organisations and ask for evidence of consultation with staff. Each member is to give a summary of their findings for comparison discussion purposes. Be sure to ask about Consultative Committees, Occupational Health & Safety Committees, staff newsletters, employee representation on the Board of Directors, team meetings, facilities for staff to express views anonymously or openly, staff surveys, etc.

This is intended to get students to explore a topic in collaboration. These "mini-teams" can then report back to the larger group. Findings from these collaborations could be used to augment "portfolio" material

Task 3


STAR chat What do you think of Radha's IR implementation plan? What are its key strengths? What are its weaknesses? How could you modify it for your own IR implementation plan for STAR?

This activity prompts students to look at the work sample provided by Radha Clare, the HR adviser in this project. It can form a base from which they can develop their own plan. Encourage students not just to copy it, but to develop it further based on the group discussion. Students need to be instructed to prepare their response to each question prior to chat.



Half-life Statements about a selected topic, all identifying its essential elements

The selected topic is: the value of a contingency plan in IR. Assign students to a panel. In Round 1, each player makes a statement about the selected topic, using exactly 32 words. During the next four rounds, players successively reduce their statement to exactly 16, 8, 4, and 2 words--while preserving its essential element. During each round, the panel selects the top three statements. After the final round, players vote for the best overall entry and the most consistent performer.

This type of activity can be used in other contexts. It is helpful to introduce the technique to the students at the face to face orientation so that they become comfortable with the process.

Depolariser email game "Average organizations do not have the time or money to engage in thorough industrial relations risk management and risk analysis so there is no need to engage in it." .

See www.thiagi.com

Task 4


Interaction simulation Online negotiation: Here's a way to conduct an online IR negotiation. You'll need at least 4 people to make this work. person 1 posts STAR’s position on an issue: person 1 posts 3 employee demands person 2 posts 3 employee needs person 3 posts 3 employee threats. Then in your online

This activity provides an experience through which students can develop negotiation skills. The teacher in the second part of the activity needs to model mediation skills which might led to an agreement. Divide the group into students who take the lead role of posting and other students to take the lead role in the online discussion to ensure all



discussion work together to negotiate: areas of agreement areas of disagreement possible solutions.

students can participate in the activity

Team research In teams of 2 or 3, contact an organisation that you know of that have a workplace agreement, possibly arrange a visit to the site (or conduct a telephone interview) and ask: Did management get what they were really after? Were staff happy with the outcomes? How long did negotiations take? Who was involved in negotiations? Did unions play a supportive or other role in the process? Each group reports on their findings to the other group via a bulletin board.

This activity is designed to encourage students to find out about a range of approaches and to think critically about what they discover It is intended to get students to explore a topic in collaboration. These "mini-teams" can then report back to the larger group. Findings from these collaborations could be used to augment portfolio material

Task 5


Peer review

Show your policy and procedure document to your study buddy. Then provide feedback to each other using the P-I-P method Praise one specific thing they did offer one point for Improvement and finish with Praise for another specific thing they did.


Team research Divide into teams of 2 or 3. Each team locates a

This activity is designed to encourage students to find



grievance procedure or conflict resolution procedure and summarise the processes described in a flowchart (eg using flowchart tools in Word or PowerPoint). Each team then posts these flowcharts to a bulletin board for other groups to review. A live chat session can then be held on the similarities and differences, you can discuss opinions on their practicality and likely effectiveness.

out about a range of approaches and to think critically about what they discover It is intended to get students to explore a topic in collaboration. These "mini-teams" can then report back to the larger group. Findings from these collaborations could be used to augment "portfolio" material

Debate ’If an employer has to stop and explain every decision that is made and consult with staff if staff don’t particularly like the decision, then nothing would ever get done. Besides I own this place, I pay their wages, why should I down tools all the time to ‘consult’?’ Assign teams to the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ cases, choose an adjudicator, and hold the debate on your bulletin board or chat system.

This is designed to encourage collaboration in a structured setting between students, while making the workload of the task less onerous. This form can be adapted by replacing with another contentious topic Ensure you give set time frame for posting the initial argument and the response. Some guidance for the teams in collaborating online to develop their argument may be needed by email. The teacher needs to have a standard set of instructions for students in how debates will be conducted.



Task 6



Each participant identifies as either an employee and/or a union representative or an employer representative. Using the dispute identified in the scenario, have the argument. Participants decide when the argument is over. Look at how the argument deteriorated or resolved, and identify how this happened. Identify the techniques that could be employed to calm down the argument and keep it constructive.

This activity provides an experience through which students can develop negotiation skills The self-reflection on the process can be added to the student learning portfolio. In the workplace learning from experience by applying models is a valuable skill

STAR chat Go to www.crnhq.org. How workable would this approach be at STAR, or in your own workplace?

This activity is designed to encourage students to think critically about models which are presented in the literature in the context of their own workplace. The result of this research can be used as subject of a live chat.

Task 7


STAR chat What things could you put into the evaluation plan for STAR's IR processes? Discuss the pros and cons of a variety of processes, and together formulate an evaluation and monitoring process.

This is a collaborative and fun way to complete the task. It may be done as a live chat session. The final evaluation plan can be the combined effort of the whole group. Or, it could be done in 2 chat sessions: first brainstorm and discuss methodologies after this session each student individually outline their preferred evaluation



http://www.crnhq.org/

plan then come together in a second chat session where student post and discuss their evaluation plans

STAR chat What do you think of the sample evaluation plan, and the advice offered by Radha Clare, the HR adviser in this Unit? How could you further develop her work sample into your own evaluation plan for IR at STAR?

This is another way to collaboratively complete the task – this time starting with a model and discussing ways to improve it. Can also be facilitating with the process above.




Task 1


Email game '101 external pressures'

Appoint a game coordinator. Each student sends a list of 10 external pressures to the game coordinator. Coordinator collates them and sends the complete list back to all players. Players then vote on the top 5 external pressures. The coordinator again collates the results and feeds them back to players. Game takes no more than 3 days.


WebSearch show and tell In teams, research what's going on around the country this week that could be considered as an external pressure upon a business like STAR? Each team chooses 2 – 4 web sites, and each team member researches that website. Teams then report back to the whole group in a scheduled online chat session.

Task 2




Round robin Form teams of 4. The student whose surname name is closer to A goes 1st, etc

Player 1 lists 5 internal pressures that are to do with resources, and sends to … Player 2 lists 5 internal pressures that are to do with systems or procedures, and sends to … Player 3 lists 5 internal pressures that are to do with people or culture, and sends to … Player 4 lists 5 internal pressures that are to do with leadership, compiles the final report, posts to a forum for other groups to see.

This is a collaborative and fun way to complete the work for this project task. Set timeframes need to be provided for each student contribution to the chain

STAR chat Can STAR afford any salary increases? Look at STAR's Profit & Loss statement and the email from the GM of Finance. Could the money be better spent elsewhere?




Team research Each team pools their contacts or workplace resources to identify one other organisation’s sales (or revenue)-to-salaries ratio. Note details like the kind of business, where the business is located, and whether it is local, state-wide, national or international. Then as a team agree on an answer to this question: 'Against what other kinds of business performance indicators might salaries be compared?' Teams then present their findings in a live chat session.

During the live chat session steer the discussion towards agreement on TWO ratios, both including salaries, that most organisations should use as KPI’s

STAR chat An organisation’s policies tell you a lot about the culture of an organisation. What do the remuneration and benefits policies you’ve looked at for this task tell you about STAR?


Task 3




Interaction simulation Divide into teams of 3 or 4. Each team is an online job evaluation committee and must evaluate one of the jobs at STAR. Each team may evaluate a different job. You will need to first:

• define what is to be done by the committee

• set up a process (when, where, how?)

• identify the tools from the case study you will use to conduct the evaluation.

Will require close facilitation. Part of the process may include a live chat where the teacher observes and comments on the process. If you are team teaching this role could be divided up between teachers.

Task 4


Email game '101 sources of salary & wages data'

Appoint a game coordinator. Each student sends a list of 10 sources to the game coordinator. Coordinator collates them and sends the complete list back to all players. Players then vote on the top 5 sources. The coordinator again collates the results and feeds them back to players. Game takes no more than 3 days.




WebSearch show & tell Divide into teams of 4 or so. Each team member surfs the web to find two useful sites that provide information about salaries and wages. Pool your findings, choose FIVE different sites and write a brief review on each site. You can use the following headings as a guide:-

• URL

• Maintained by (owner)

• Subject focus

• Examples of kind of information

• Typical application

• Your assessment of value

Each team posts their reviews to a bulletin board for the other teams to see.

Task 5


STAR chat Read the article linked above 'Stingy employers feign dismay'. Is this a fair comment on employers?




STAR chat Reading the Salary X Survey Report, what conclusions could you draw about marketplace competitiveness for this job?

This will help focus students' work on the task if they are basing their work on the position that this survey refers to. May provide a way of guiding the students through the process of finding and interpreting a salary survey. (They should do their own research for the other position they are working on.)

Task 6


STAR chat Your recommendations for what should be paid for these positions will clearly put you in 1 of the 3 pay policy ‘camps’, a lagger, leader or matcher. Where should STAR be?

Also encourage students to discuss the pros and cons of each. You may also encourage students to think of pay policy positions other than the three already considered? For example, could the organisation ‘lag’ the market for half the year, then ‘lead’ for the other half? What might be the rationale behind such action? Get together with two or three others and see if you can answer these questions and come up with any other possible approaches.

Task 7




WebSearch show & tell Each person identifies 3 pieces of legislation that may affect remuneration and benefits practices at STAR.

Each list should be supported by the correct title, administering office, application (to whom it applies), coverage and expiry date.

WebSearch show & tell Divide into teams of 4 or so. Each team member surfs the web to find two useful sites that provide information about legislation. Pool your findings, choose four different sites and write a brief review on each site.

You can use the following headings as a guide:-

• URL

• Maintained by (owner)

• Subject focus

• Examples of kind of information

• Typical application

• Your assessment of value

Each team posts their reviews to a bulletin board for the other teams to see.

This is a variation on the previous activity that will promote team collaboration.

Task 8




Interaction simulation Here's a way to conduct an online consultation. You'll need at least 4 people to make this work. Take on the role of employees at STAR.

Players 1 & 2 post their positions on one or more remuneration issues,

Player 2 & 3 respond to these and add their own ideas to the list

Then in your online discussion work together to identify:

• areas of agreement

• areas of disagreement

• possible remuneration options.

Will require preparation by students around the key issues prior to the simulation session.

At the coalface Ever attended a dreadful consultation meeting? Most of us have our own stories about disasters – sometimes, sadly, of our own making. What went wrong? And why? Arrange to chat with some fellow students about their experiences. Was the meeting a ‘dud’ before it even started? Or did it start off well, but steadily worsen? What are the characteristics of a bad and a good meeting? As a group, work towards compiling a ‘good’ and ‘bad’ table and see if you can identify TEN items for each column.

'At the coalface' means stories from the workplace, and is an easier introduction to online discussion for many students. Encourage students to draw conclusions for future practice from their stories. Use these activities with caution when you have a group of students from the same workplace. This could be done either as a live chat or as a forum posting.



Task 9


Peer review Take one part of the documentation you've developed (not the whole thing) that you would like some feedback on.

Show it to your study buddy. Then provide feedback to each other using the P-I-P method

• Praise one specific thing they did

• offer one point for Improvement

• and finish with Praise for another specific thing they did.


Interaction simulation Present recommendations to senior management In small groups students take turns playing the role of HR manager and senior management team as follows … HR manager presents their key issues and recommendations to the clients, then ask for questions from your clients different “clients” can take on different roles (accepting, objector, dominant)

Students practise skills presenting recommendations, responding to tough questions, handling difficult people in the presentation, gaining senior management's commitment to the next steps



BSBHR506A Manage recruitment, selection and induction processes

Task 1


Email game "101 issues in STAR’s business plan" Appoint a game coordinator. Each student reads the STAR business plan for the new product, then sends a list of 10 items (STAR business directions or their implications for HR) that they think are important to the game coordinator. Coordinator collates them and sends the complete list back to all players. Players then vote on the top 5 business directions and top 5 HR implications. The coordinator again collates the results and feeds them back to players. Game takes no more than 5 days.


Debate "HR planning will always remain a corporate after-thought." Assign teams to the Yes and No cases, assign an adjudicator, and hold an online debate.

This activity encourages students to take a viewpoint for or against, and argue their case online. If students are new to online discussion they may need some direction so it may best to assign students to the yes or no case. A more experienced online group may be able to choose their own side in the debate.



Peer review Show your work on this task to your study buddy. Then provide feedback to each other using the P-I-P method (Praise one specific thing they did, offer one point for Improvement, and finish with Praise for another specific thing they did).

This activity uses peer review as learning technique. It takes some of the load off the teacher and gives students more ownership of the learning. The Praise-Improvement-Praise framework for giving feedback encourages students to give specific feedback on the HR content of their fellow student’s work, while at the same time maintaining the self esteem of their fellow student by not “bombarding” them with negative feedback.

Task 2


STAR chat What’s your reaction to the agency proposal? What are the strategic reasons for or against accepting it? Louise used an agency for the SA recruitment strategy - what similarities or differences could there be with recruitment for STAR’s new range of products?

Put students into teams of 3 to 4 (eg Blue team, Red team, etc). Each team develops their own response to the question and posts it to a forum. Each student (individual basis) could then be asked to critically comment on the posting of another team. This could contribute to the assessment of underpinning knowledge.

At the coalface Tell others in your group about obstacles or successes you’ve had in getting a recruitment, selection and/or induction proposal accepted by senior management?

'At the coalface' means stories from the workplace, and is an easier introduction to online discussion for many students. Encourage students to draw conclusions for future practice from their stories. Use these activities with caution when you have a group of students from the same workplace.



At the coalface Tell others in your group about outsourcing successes or failures you’ve had.

This could be done through a forum or chat.

Debate “Internet recruitment will be a strategic disaster for any organisation foolish enough to try it.” Assign teams to the Yes and No cases, assign an adjudicator, and hold an online debate.

The comments concerning debates in Task 1 above apply here also.



Task 3


Team research Assign group members to research and report back on different aspects of legislation in your State, for example EEO, anti-discrimination, and privacy. (Or different teams can research different States.) Then hold a discussion on what laws would apply to this case study in your State. www.hreoc.gov.au –- national legislation and links to State resources www.cch.com.au –-subscribe to subject-specific web guide and email updates free of charge

This discussion could be in the form of a real time chat. The facilitator would set specific questions which each participant would prepare, the chat would be confined to 8 – 10 students per chat session. The facilitator would draw the question from the research posted by each team to the forum and direct the focus to the differences/similarities between the State's laws. As the students have the questions in advance they prepare their answers and cut/paste into the chat room. As each student puts their response, the facilitator builds the online discussion. If there were 4 questions this would take about 1 hour with 8 – 10 students. The chat log can be saved and sent to students by facilitator or to any students who missed the activity. The students can be asked to post a comment to a forum after reviewing the chat log. Real time chat also offers opportunities for team teaching – one teacher can focus on content while the other manages the process.

Debate "It is the responsibility of the HR Manager to be the social conscience of the organisation." Assign teams to the Yes and No cases, assign an adjudicator, and hold an online debate.

The comments concerning debates in Task 1 above apply here also.



http://www.hreoc.gov.au/

Task 4


Peer review Show your work on this task to your study buddy. Then provide feedback to each other using the P-I-P method (Praise one specific thing they did, offer one point for Improvement, and finish with Praise for another specific thing they did).

This activity uses peer review as learning technique. It takes some of the load off the teacher and gives students more ownership of the learning. The Praise-Improvement-Praise framework for giving feedback encourages students to give specific feedback on the HR content of their fellow student’s work, while at the same time maintaining the self esteem of their fellow student by not “bombarding” them with negative feedback.

STAR chat What strategic changes are needed at STAR? How does your opinion on this compare with others in your group? What are the similarities or differences in the issues you considered? What different approaches would you take for long term solutions?

See comment for Task 2

STAR chat Consider the comments by the Plant Supervisor. How can performance gaps in operational areas impact on recruitment and selection?


STAR chat How would selection strategies be different if STAR was a large national or international firms employing 1,000 or more staff? How are the strategic issues faced by the HR manager in smaller and larger organisations similar or different?

This discussion could be in the form of a forum. Give students a set time frame of a week. As the first postings would generally cover the key issues, ask students who post to the forum later in the week to summarise previous posts and draw conclusions.



Task 5 Link to BSBHR505A – you may like to revisit this task in more depth with your students when you do Manage remuneration and employee benefits, in particular Task 6, 'Determine appropriate remuneration'.


STAR chat What considerations are there for the HR manager in this scenario? Assuming the higher package could be valid, what are some possible compromise positions that you could take?

This activity encourages students to explore options and consequences in decision making. As this is a common and difficult issue, it may be useful to schedule an online chat where students can debate the issues. The questions for discussion could be: What are the likely consequences for STAR is the remuneration policy is varied in this instances? How could these consequences be handled if they do arise? What offers could be made to this candidate which are within STAR’s existing remuneration structure What is the cost to the organisation of losing this candidate? Is the loss of the candidate greater than the cost to the organisation of making an exception? As in the earlier activities students would prepare response in advance. As the discussion progresses students comment on each other's input. Depending on the sequence in which the units are offered this questions offers the opportunity to direct the students to use the tasks they have or will complete in BSBHR505A Manage remuneration.



Task 6


At the coalface Tell others in your group about induction programs you’ve been involved in. What methods and tools were most effective? What about programs that didn’t deliver successful outcomes? Why didn’t they?

Students could be asked to form teams to put together an induction checklist for day 1, day 7, day 30 and at 6 months and 1 year. These checklists could be posted to a forum and added to students' portfolios. 'At the coalface' means stories from the workplace, and is an easier introduction to online discussion for many students. Encourage students to draw conclusions for future practice from their stories. Use these activities with caution when you have a group of students from the same workplace.

What would you do? You’ve heard that a line manager has said to a new employee before the induction program, “Just go along and fall asleep, it’s just an easy first day on the job.” What could be wrong here? How would you handle this situation?

Put students into teams of 3 to 4 (eg Blue team, Red team, etc). Each team develops their own response to the situation and posts it to a forum. Each student (individual basis) could then be asked to critically comment on the posting of another team. This could contribute to the assessment of underpinning knowledge.



Task 7


Email game "101 ways to improve STAR induction" Appoint a game coordinator. Each student sends a list of 10 ideas to the coordinator (how to improve induction at STAR – ideas for Day 1, Day 7, Day 30, 6 months and 1 year). Coordinator collates them and sends the complete list back to all players. Players then vote on the top 5 for each day. The coordinator again collates the results and feeds them back to players. Game takes no more than 3 days.


Task 8


At the coalface Tell others in your group about a critical incident involving a probationary employee. (Take care not use real names or any details that will identify the person.) The group can discuss how performance management practices can avoid such incidents in an organisation.

This could be done either as a real time chat or as forum posting. This activity asks students to relate an incident involving a probationary employee. Use with caution and instruct students to protect the privacy of individuals. Encourage students to draw practical conclusions for how the performance of probationary employees can be managed.



At the coalface Show others in your group any examples of tools or processes for managing new employees that you have seen in the workplace, and you think are worth sharing. Each student then posts a comment on two other people's contributions in terms of similarities/differences in the approach.

This would be done as forum. The facilitator needs to provide specific time frames and instructions for the students.



BSBHR507A Manage separation/termination

Task 1


Debate

"Unfair dismissal laws protect loafers and malingerers so that it is impossible to sack anyone these days." Assign teams to the Yes and No cases, assign an adjudicator, and hold an online debate, using a forum or chat room.. Your trainer will give you the details for online facilities for this activity.


Debate Debate – “Did Ms F deserve to get her job back?” This is a real case that you can retrieve from www.wagenet.gov.au – enter PR926026 into the DOCUMENT CODE field to search for this case. You’ll need to start by reading the case carefully – spend about 20 minutes paying attention to the facts, findings and decision. Assign teams to the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ cases, choose an adjudicator, and hold the debate on your bulletin board or chat system. Be sure to discuss these issues: resignation vs constructive dismissal the role of procedural fairness in management decision making the validity of an employer making decisions due to an employees out-of-hours activities.

This activity will require a careful reading of the case and will add about 1 hour of study to this task.



http://www.wagenet.gov.au/

Task 2


Round robin Go to www.austlii.edu.au. Each student finds 2 termination cases in 2 different State jurisdictions. Post to your bulletin board a half page report on : similarities or differences in the reasoning for reinstatement/compensation (or no action) by the Courts? is there a common approach or ‘thread’ that enables you to make general findings why these 2 cases were decided the way they were? Then, review the posting of the student whose surname is next alphabetically in the list of students in your group.

Another approach could be for the teacher to facilitate a live chat after students post their research findings. Focus the chat session on the key questions in the activity

Debate Debate – "The law surrounding redundancies is unfair on employers – they often have to pay out a lot of money for people they don’t even need.” Assign teams to the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ cases, choose an adjudicator, and hold the debate on your bulletin board or chat system.

This activity encourages students to take a viewpoint for or against, and argue their case online. If students are new to online discussion they may need some direction so it may best to assign students to the yes or no case. A more experienced online group may be able to choose their own side in the debate. This activity could also be conducted as a Depolariser email game. The details of how to conduct the game can be found at www.thiagi.com



http://www.austlii.edu.au/

Task 3


Study buddy What issues or concerns might line managers raise about your implementation plan? Show your plan to your study buddy and ask them to identify at least 2 issues of concern. How would you deal with these?


Task 4


Team research Divide into groups of 2-4. Each group chooses an award at www.wagenet.gov.au and summarises its provision regarding redundancy. Each group then reports back to the whole class on its finding.

This may be facilitated as a live chat session after each team has done their own research. Teams discuss the similarities and differences between what they found.

Email game "101 solutions when redeployment is refused" Appoint a game coordinator. Each student sends coordinator 5 actions to take with an employee who has been offered redeployment but who refuses. Coordinator collates them and sends the complete list back to all players. Players then vote 1, 2, 3 in order of preference. The coordinator again collates the results and feeds them back to players. Game takes no more than 5 days.

This collaboration activity provides a structures introduction to online collaboration via an email game. You can use this technique in many places as an alternative to discussion boards. This game can also be used for supporting the development of strategic thinking skills: eg ‘101 ways to improve …’



http://www.wagenet.gov.au/

Task 5


Peer review Show your work on this task to your study buddy. Then provide feedback to each other using the P-I-P method: Praise one specific thing they did offer one point for Improvement, and finish with Praise for another specific thing they did.

This activity uses peer review as learning technique. It takes some of the load off the trainer and gives students more ownership of the learning. The Praise-Improvement-Praise framework for giving feedback encourages students to give specific feedback on the HR content of their fellow student’s work, while at the same time maintaining the self esteem of their fellow student by not “bombarding” them with negative feedback.

Round robin: collaborative report writing

Divide into teams of four. The student whose name is closer to A goes 1st, then the next is 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc Student no. 1: Write introduction and section on legislation, and sends to … Student no. 2: Writes section of procedure for summary dismissal, and sends to … Student no. 3: Writes section with 3 cases supporting summary dismissal advice, and sends to … Student no. 4 Collates the information, writes the final recommendation, sends to students 1 – 3 for final comment and contributions, incorporates any suggested changes and posts to a forum for other groups to see.

This is designed to encourage collaboration in a structured setting between students, while making the workload of the task less onerous. Teachers may adapt this technique to any of the tasks where there is a report writing requirement.



Task 5


At the coalface Describe any experiences you have had with exit interviews. What did you like about it? What could have been done differently? If you haven't experienced one yourself, ask 3 friends the same questions and report what they say.


Debate "Exit interviews are not worth the paper they are written on because leaving staff will never tell the truth as they may need a good reference now and later." Assign teams to the Yes and No cases, assign an adjudicator, and hold an online debate. Your trainer will give you the details for online facilities for this activity.

This is designed to encourage collaboration in a structured setting between students, while making the workload of the task less onerous. Teachers may adapt this technique to any of the tasks where there is a report writing requirement. The half-life email game might also be useful for this question.



BSBHR508A Manage work/life skills

Task 1


Debate “It doesn’t matter how people are treated on a day-to-day basis, so long as they get commendations, awards, and bonuses at the end of the year.” Assign teams to the Yes and No cases, assign an adjudicator, and hold an online debate, using a forum or chat room. Your trainer will give you the details for online facilities for this activity.


Team research Divide groups into 2 - 4. Each group should be assigned one of the organisations that won an award at the 2002 ACCI National Work and Family Awards. The group should prepare a presentation on what led that organisation to be regarded as an employer of choice and the concrete results the implementation of those programs has had on that company. www.workplace.gov.au - Search for 2002 ACCI National Work and Family Awards and then click on the link to “winning workplaces” to see a detailed list of all the companies that received awards and the initiatives that led them to be considered employers of choice.

This may be facilitated as a live chat session after each team has done their own research. Teams discuss the similarities and difference between what they have found. Students who are new to online collaboration may needed some additional advice on how to work together independent of the teacher. A set of email instructions may need to be provided.



http://www.workplace.gov.au/

Task 2


Debate

Choose one of the following topics to debate: “A work/life balance program is essentially an employee benefit which is not a cost benefit for STAR.” Or “Becoming an employer of choice is not necessary for STAR to attract skilled staff. It is little more than a public relations exercise.” Assign teams to the Yes and No cases, assign an adjudicator, and hold an online debate, using a forum or chat room. Your trainer will give you the details for online facilities for this activity.


At the coalface How important are work/life issues in your organisation? How do they affect other HR policies, like recruitment, training and promotion? Survey your fellow students on their organisation, then discuss the results of the survey. Overall, how important are work/life issues in their respective organisations? Zoomerang is a free website where you can set up your own online survey www.zoomerang.com

The teacher could set up an online survey in zoomerang and ask all students to respond. The results of the survey could be the basis of either a forum or live chat



Task 3



‘The Steering Committee meeting’ Learners each represent one of the five Steeering Committee members. Susan Wu — GM Marketing Karen Coster — GM Finance & Administration Evie Koulbanis — GM Operations Al Perez — GM Manufacturing Brett Downie — HR NSW Where possible groups can be formed to represent each point of view, and learners will need to collaborate to come up with a consensual position: Given the stated position of a member and the likely course of the meeting, what might that person’s view be at the end of the meeting? When you have finished, compare what your group meeting was like with the STAR group meeting that appears in this task.

This is designed to encourage collaboration in a structured setting between students, while dividing up the workload of the task. It also highlights the skill of stakeholder consultation. As a forum posting this activity could be done in teams. However as a live chat more than 1 person might represent one of the players with students using whisper function to communicate responses as that character.

Email game '101 work/life issues which are important to me' Appoint a game coordinator. Each student sends coordinator 3 suggestions for specific issues employees might experience. Coordinator collates them and sends the complete list back to all players. Players then vote 1, 2, 3 in order of preference. The coordinator again collates the results and feeds them back to players. Game takes no more than 5

This collaboration activity provides a structured introduction to online collaboration via an email game. You can use this technique in many places as an alternative to discussion boards. This game can also be used for supporting the development of strategic thinking skills: eg ‘101 ways to improve … Ensure you give the students a specific



days.

timeframe for their contributions. Go to the www.thiagi.com for more help in managing the game

Task 4


Peer review

Present the PowerPoint presentation or report that you developed to your study buddy. Your study buddy should make constructive comments regarding the project management plan and how it is being presented Ask your study buddy to identify at least 2 issues of concern. How would you deal with these?

This activity uses peer review as learning technique. It takes some of the load off the trainer and gives students more ownership of the learning.

Debate "It is not possible to satisfy all stakeholders, so there is no point in the program's being implemented." Assign teams to the Yes and No cases, assign an adjudicator, and hold an online debate, using a forum or chat room. Your trainer will give you the details for online facilities for this activity.

This activity encourages students to take a viewpoint for or against, and argue their case online. If students are new to online discussion they may need some direction so it may best to assign students to the yes or no case. A more experienced online group may be able to choose their own side in the debate. The depolariser game might be an alternative to a debate



Task 5


Peer review Each learner should be given a specific work/life program. Write a brief description of how you would monitor this program. Given that different stakeholders are likely to have different ideas about the value of different parts of the program, how would you reconcile these differences? When you finish, show your work on this task to your study buddy. Then provide feedback to each other using the P-I-P method: Praise one specific thing they did offer one point for Improvement, and finish with Praise for another specific thing they did.

This activity uses peer review as learning technique. It takes some of the load off the trainer and gives students more ownership of the learning. The Praise-Improvement-Praise framework for giving feedback encourages students to give specific feedback on the HR content of their fellow student’s work, while at the same time maintaining the self esteem of their fellow student by not “bombarding” them with negative feedback.

Task 6


Round robin review Divide into teams of four. The student whose name is closer to A goes 1st, then the next is 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc Student no. 1: What should be addressed in evaluating work/life programs and sends to … Student no. 2: Writes section of different methods of evaluations of work /life programs, and sends to … Student no. 3: Writes section with steps to ensure work/life programs

This is designed to encourage collaboration in a structured setting between students, while making the workload of the task less onerous.



continue to meet the differing needs of the company long terms, and sends to… Student no. 4 who write a conclusion , sends to students 1 – 3 for final comment and contributions, incorporates any suggested changes and posts to a forum for other groups to see.

Debate

"There is no real way of knowing or evaluating how effective work/life programs are in an organistion as so many of the results will be intangible rather than tangible. There are too many other factors that come into play in a work environment when trying to determine just what factors make a particular organisation desirable to work for." Assign teams to the Yes and No cases, assign an adjudicator, and hold an online debate, using a forum or chat room. Your trainer will give you the details for online facilities for this activity.

This activity encourages students to take a viewpoint for or against, and argue their case online. If students are new to online discussion they may need some direction so it may best to assign students to the yes or no case. A more experienced online group may be able to choose their own side in the debate. This issue could also be explored by the half-life email game which the students would have participated in earlier units



BSBHR509A Manage rehabilitation/return to work programs The first activity in each table below is also on the Task screen in the Toolbox. The others are provided to teachers as alternatives.

Task 1


STAR Chat What happens after a worker is injured? What would the repercussions be for both the employer and the employee if there was no attempt to rehabilitate a sick or injured worker? Each student to contribute one suggestion on topic in a forum or chat session

This activity aims to establish conversation amongst the study group and to begin exploring key concepts with a "what if?" scenario. The format can be casual but should be facilitated to ensure privacy and to deter disclosure

At the coalface How does your organisation approach rehabilitation? How much of an impact do illness and injury have and how highly is correct rehabilitation valued by the organisation? Survey your fellow students on their organisation, then discuss the results of the survey. Overall, how important are return to work programs for injured workers in their respective organisations?


Task 2


Peer review What issues or concerns might insurers raise about your documentation? Show your work to your study buddy and ask them to identify at least 2 issues of concern. How would you deal with these?

Peer review allows student to receive constructive feedback in a one-to-one format. Final findings may be shared with whole group.

Debate 'It is in the insurer's interest to deny as many compensation claims as

This is designed to encourage collaboration in a structured setting



possible.' Assign teams to the 'yes' and 'no' cases, choose an adjudicator, and hold the debate on your bulletin board or chat system.

between students, while making the workload of the task less onerous. Teachers may adapt this technique to any of the tasks where there is a report writing requirement.

Task 3


Team research What are the major risks in developing return-to-work plans to the employee, the insurer and the employer? Form 3 teams, each representing the interests of 1 of these groups – each team prepares a list of possible risks. How can these risks be addressed at the time of developing the return-to-work plan? Each group now takes the list from one of the other groups and prepares strategies to be incorporated into the return-to-work plan that address these risks.

This task looks at risk mitigation in a way that encourages the adoption of different points of view. Could also be performed in small groups or via research followed with reports to online forum.

Task 4


STAR chat What are some other issues that might arise in a situation like this? Discuss with your study buddy and then contribute to a group discussion at least 1 possible alternative problem that could arise in this situation – if you have heard of real-life examples, add those to the discussion. Now look for solutions – take one of the problems

This activity is a team problem finding and resolution activity. It aims to look at alternative scenarios and can be useful for incorporating student experience into the learning. Could alternatively be run with small groups



presented by another study buddy team and propose a possible solution that would be acceptable to all parties.

Email game "101 solutions when suitable duties are refused" Appoint a game coordinator. Each student sends coordinator 5 actions to take with an employee on a return-to-work program refuses suitable duties assigned to them. Coordinator collates them and sends the complete list back to all players. Players then vote 1, 2, 3 in order of preference. The coordinator again collates the results and feeds them back to players. Game takes no more than 5 days.

This collaboration activity provides a structures introduction to online collaboration via an email game. You can use this technique in many places as an alternative to discussion boards.

Task 5


Debate 'As an employer, if I had to review every single task and every bit of machinery in the workplace and make sure they were completely safe and that there was no chance of an accident, then I would be up for huge bills! I would have to add safety features to machines that have operated without incident for years just to satisfy my insurers and WorkCover. Besides I own this place, I pay their wages. Surely responsibility lies with the individual workers to avoid accidents.' Assign teams to the 'yes' and 'no' cases, choose an




adjudicator, and hold the debate on your bulletin board or chat system.

Debate 'Joan Sidling does not deserve to keep her job.' (Joan's story comes from the Task 5 STAR case study) Assign teams to the 'yes' and 'no' cases, choose an adjudicator, and hold the debate on your bulletin board or chat system.

Task 6


Team research Assign group members to teams to research and report back on different grounds for disputing or dismissing workplace injury claims. Each team gives a summary of their findings for comparison and discussion.

Team research promotes student collaboration and organisation and shares the workload amongst students. Student submissions to team projects may be attributable to assessment - ensure that each student's contribution is clear

STAR chat Go to www.crnhq.org and go to the Fighting Fair section. How useful would this approach be to resolving problems with injury claims at STAR, or in your own workplace?



http://www.crnhq.org/

Task 7


Peer review Share your recommendations for this task with your study buddy. Take the recommendations from your partner and apply his or her proposals to 1 of the 2 case studies used above – what might be changed and how could outcomes have been affected. Give a team presentation of your recommendations and suggested changes back to the group.

Peer review allows student to receive constructive feedback in a one-to-one format. Final findings may be shared with whole group.

Debate "Employers are taking greater responsibility for the rehabilitation of injured workers. Tighter legislative controls are unnecessary" Assign teams to the Yes and No cases, assign an adjudicator, and hold an online debate. Your trainer will give you the details for online facilities for this activity.




HR key terms Here is a complete list of all the key terms provided in the learning packs through the Toolbox.

Tip

These key terms are also in a separate file on the Toolbox CD-ROM for you to distribute to your students.

Open the Toolbox CD-ROM using Windows Explorer. Then open the folder called 'shared' then open the folder called 'documents'. Look for the Word document called 'keyterms_hr.doc'.

360 degree feedback Performance feedback is sought from multiple perspectives e.g. self, peers, supervisor, customers etc.

Analysis In HRMIS, the process of objectively examining a set of information against a predetermined set of criteria.

Assessment The testing and checking of an employee’s performance, usually done against specified performance criteria.

Assessment centre A selection technique using a simulated work environment where candidates are assessed on performance of a series of tasks, usually involves trained workplace assessors.

Audit Audits are inspections and investigations. Audits can be conducted, for example, to investigate whether HR standards are being met or to evaluate the relationship between the HR function and its clients in the organisation. Audits can be used as planned activities or randomly.



Benchmark position In remunerations management, a term used in salary surveying to describe those positions identified as typical of an occupational group and/or industry. Benchmark positions are stable, frequently-occurring positions with recognisable job titles.

Benchmarking A management and evaluation approach that allows you compare the state of your own HR processes against those of other organisations. Often used to identify the improvement expected and/or gained from changing or outsourcing a process.

Benefit A cash or non-cash supplement which is regarded as adding value to the employees total pay package. Taxable as a fringe benefit in Australia.

Cafeteria approach In remuneration management, refers to the packaging of benefits; the offering of a limited range of benefits from which an employee may choose up to an agreed value. Often also referred to as a ‘smorgasbord approach’

CASE (computer-aided software engineering) tools

CASE tools can assist you in managing a project. Their role is to automate the process of creating Gantt charts, network diagrams, CPM diagrams, calendars, resource lists and activity lists. Using CASE allows designers, code writers, testers, planners, and managers to share a common view of where a project stands at each stage of development. CASE also helps ensure a disciplined, check-pointed process.

Coaching A form on on-the-job training, usually in a one-to-one situation; may be an action in an individual learning plan.

Common law Also referred to as 'case law', evolved over time from precedents set by cases that have come before the courts



Compensable factors In remuneration management, the yardsticks that determine what the organisation is paying the employee for. Identifying compensable factors is part of the process of job evaluation in order to determine pay.

Compensation A term used to describe reward mechanisms; as in ‘compensation and benefits packaging’.

Competency profiling Job analysis and selection technique that focuses on the skills and behaviours needed to successfully perform a job

Cost management In project management, a document that describes how cost variances will be managed during the project.

Cost/benefit analysis An analysis of the cost effectiveness of different alternatives in order to see whether the benefits outweigh the costs.

CPM (critical path method)

The critical path method (CPM) is another form of a network diagram that shows the order in which the activities follow one another and their interdependency. This method uses nodes, (circles) and links, (arrows).

Critical path analysis Critical path analysis is a project analysis technique used to predict project duration. It is an important tool that helps you to fight project overruns.

Departure package This is similar to the orientation package given to new employees. It may include advice on superannuation, tax forms for the employee and a guide as to the employee’s options.

Dismissal Dismissal occurs when the employment contract of a worker is terminated by management.

EIS Exit interviewing and surveying (EIS) is a process used for gathering information from departing employees.



Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Professional and confidential counselling services set up by an organisation for it's employees and their families

Employer of choice Various organisations give awards or cite certain organisations as ‘employers of choice’ because of the work/life balance programs they have instigated that have had a positive impact on the organisation.

Employment contract Under the Workplace Relations Act 1996 an employment contract can be either individual employment contracts or collective contracts.

ESOP Employee Share Ownership Plan; mechanism whereby employees buy or are granted shares in the company.

Evaluation An overall determination of the success of a program or a strategy.

Financial statements Reports on the financial aspects of an organisation. The Income and Expenditure Statement (also termed the Profit and Loss Statement) and the Balance Sheet are two financial reports all organisations produce. Various Financial Ratio Statements are also important financial reports.

Gain share A reward program that allows employees to share in any increase in profits over an above a pre-determined point (commonly associated with productivity agreements)

Gantt chart A Gantt chart is used to represent all of the activities of a project in a visual overview of the project time line. A basic Gantt chart does not display the relationships between the activities; this is normally done with a network diagram. A Gantt chart lists all the activities on the left-hand side of the chart and the time line is across the top of the chart.

Goal A desired result, a goal should be measurable by quantity or quality, have a timeframe for completion, and be achievable



Green circle jobs Job salary points appearing below the lower limit of a grade in a scattergram

HRM Human Resource Management

HRMIS Human Resource Management Information System; computer system to collect and analyse information to assist in the making of timely HR management decisions, examples are databases, spreadsheets, information networks.

HRP Human resource planning; an analysis of existing and future staffing needs

Human capital management

This term is used to describe processes, procedures and software systems used to manage people in the workplace.

Incentives Payments in addition to the employee’s ordinary pay granted as reward or acknowledgement for performance or service. (Such as commissions, bonuses, share options, profit share.)

Induction The process of receiving and orienting employees when they first join an organisation

Industrial awards Also referred to as 'awards'; historically in Australia, the main mechanism for confirming minimum terms and conditions for workers in a particular occupational group or industry

Injury management This term encompasses all the activities associated with ensuring the safe and early return to work of an injured worker to the workplace.

Injury management plan This is developed by the insurer in consultation with the worker, employer and treating doctor. Development of the plan must commence within 3 days of being notified of a significant injury. It sets out the plan relating to a specific individual, and is an evolving document.



Injury management program

Developed by the insurer, the Injury Management Program is the 'umbrella' with which an employer's return to work program must be consistent. It is a coordinated and managed program that integrates all aspects of injury management including treatment, rehabilitation, retraining, claims management and employment management practices.

Intervention Strategies for correcting or improving group or employee performance

Job evaluation A process of determining the relative value of one job to another within an organisation.

Lag the market In remuneration management, paying below market rates.

Lead the market In remuneration management, paying above the market.

Learning organisation An organisation that displays the capacity to continually adapt to changes in it's business environment

Market rate The average salary being offered for a particular position in the labour market

Match the market In remuneration management, paying the market average, also called lead-lag.

Mentoring A form of coaching by role modelling; usually less structured than coaching and occurring over a longer period of time.

Merit Concerned with excellence, superiority, and/or being the best qualified

Merit pay Any salary increase awarded to an employee based on their individual performance

Network diagram This is like a roadmap that shows all of the project's activities drawn as an interconnected network of tasks.

Objective Often used to describe an action step within a broader goal, or a short-term goal



Operational plan A plan designed to meet the short-term goals of the organisation, usually a sub-set of a strategic plan

Organisational culture The shared values of an organisation. Culture effects decisions, relationships and employee behaviour.

Organisational power The ability to influence decisions and behaviour within an organisation.

Outplacement A service to guide a terminated employee of a company to a satisfactory new position or career through the provision of short- or long-term counselling and support services. This can be on a group or individual basis and is most often paid for by the terminating employer.

Outsourcing The transfer of HR management and/or activities from inside the organisation to an external provider.

Paid adoption leave This is similar to maternity leave but is leave provided for someone who adopts a child.

Performance Relates to the achievement or non achievement of agreed goals, a plan a set of steps that describes the strategies and processes by which a goal by which a goal is to be achieved

Performance appraisal An assessment (often using formal processes and tools) of employee performance

Performance criteria The standards for judging how performance has been achieved; focus in on the process not just the results.

Performance gap The difference between the required performance and the actual performance

Performance management

A process for creating a shared understanding of what an individual is to achieve and managing and developing individuals to achieve in both short and longer term



Performance outcome The outcome or result to be achieved from the performance.

Performance standards The level of performance sought of an individual or group which may be expressed either qualitatively or quantitatively.

PERT (Program Evaluation Review Technique)

This project time management technique is used when there is a high degree of uncertainty about the individual activity duration estimates.

Pilot program A test or trial run of a program.

Policy A broad statement of intent that provides a framework in which staff should operate and act.

Probation A specified period during at the end of which an employment contract may be continued or terminated, is best used in conjunction with a performance management and appraisal system

Procedure A set of rules, guidelines, or steps that specify how staff should operate and act; may also include tools and forms to be used by staff.

Profit share A reward program that allows employees to share in the companies profits

Project communication management

Project communication management refers to the application of skills and techniques to ensure that all stakeholders and members of the project team receive required information when expected. It is about the gathering, generation, distribution and storage and disposal of all project information.

Project milestone A milestone is usually a where deliverable takes place in the project and where a sign-off is usually required. Milestones are not work, they are markers for summarising work that has been completed to that point.



Project plan The project plan is a detailed document that describes all of the activities, resources and schedules required to meet the project goal and objectives. It tells you where you are, where you are going, and how you are going to get there.

Project risk management Project risk management is a process that recognises, assesses and reduces risk in the life cycle of a project. Risk management should begin at the project definition stage so that assumed risks can be included in the project scope document.

Project scope The purpose of the project scope is to provide a clear and refined description of the project goal, what is to be achieved, how it is to be achieved, who will achieve it, when it will be achieved, and with what resources.

Qualitative evaluation The measurement of HR activities using judgement or opinion.

Quality assurance standards

Pre-determined statements relating to specifications on how a product or service is presented to the user

Quantitative evaluation The measurement of HR activities using numbers or quantities.

Quartile Points on a distribution which indicate where 25% (lower quartile), 50% (median) and 75% (upper quartile) of salaries fall below

Recruitment The process of sourcing candidates for a job and inducing them to apply

Red circle jobs Job salary points appearing above the upper limit of a grade in a scattergram

Redeployment The finishing of one contract of employment and replacement with a new contract for a different position.



Redundancy When employees are laid off on a permanent basis because their work is no longer required by the company due to economic and technological reasons as well as other reasons.

Rehabilitation policy The overall statement of intent (and philosophy) of the employer. It sets out the organisation's commitment to the process of injury management. It also mentions the importance of consultation and cooperation with agreed procedures. In best practice organisations, the rehabilitation policies include brief references to the systems and procedures to be employed, and the key players and their duties.

Rehabilitation provider Providers may include an internal employee (return to work coordinator/rehab coordinator, case manager) or external consultant (accredited rehabilitation provider or consultant). For example, Health professionals who provide rehabilitation services to injured workers and their employers. In NSW they are engaged in a small minority of complex cases; in some other States they have a much wider role.

Reliability Applying standardised measures to ensure the absence of bias. An assessment or measuring technique is reliable if it delivers consistent results when used over repeated instances

Remuneration Payment for services rendered as an employee or contractor

Remuneration relativity Equity, fairness or balance in remunerations, measured according to internal relativity (between jobs in an organisation), interpersonal relativity (between people in an organisation) and external relativity (between jobs inside and outside the organisation).

Research The process of investigating and exploring a topic or area of concern in order to reveal information for analysis.



Return on investment (ROI)

An estimate of overall benefit gained by comparing expected gains against investment costs. Includes estimates of time, resources, capital etc.

Return to work coordinator

Person or organisation responsible for the management of workers compensation claims including negotiation, legal compliance and reporting responsibilities.

Return to work plan Sometimes known as rehabilitation plan or program. The RTW plan is a 'living' document, agreed to by all parties and aimed at achieving 'suitable employment' for the injured worker. The plan outlines 'suitable duties', with restrictions and details about how these duties will be monitored and reviewed at the workplace.

Return to work procedures

Established by the employer, the return to work procedures includes rehabilitation policy and obligations and is developed in consultation with workers and respective unions. Sets out how injuries/illness will be managed in the workplace. It is recommended that the RTW procedures be reviewed every two years or when a need for review is indicated, for example, a change in the legislation or when problems are identified. The timeframe for reporting injuries will form part of the Return to Work Program.

Salary packaging A process of arranging pay, benefits, and services components to form an attractive reward package

Salary structure A systematic approach to the arrangements of salaries for employees in an organisation. Often organised into grades with defined upper and lower ranges

Salary survey A structured approach to the gathering and analysis of salary and benefits information related to a limited range of benchmark positions. (often conducted by industry classification, or job group)



Scattergram Or ‘scattergraph'; term used to describe the plotting of a distribution of salary points on a graph

Selection The process of identifying the best available candidate for a job.

Serious misconduct Conduct of such a nature that it would be unreasonable to expect the employer to continue with the employment during the notice period that would otherwise be required.

Service In remunerations management, a free or subsidised offer of service or support that employees may elect to utilise. Taxable as a fringe benefit in Australia.

Service level agreement SLA; a formal agreement between two parties which documents the type of HR service one party will provide to the other in the workplace environment. An SLA will also include performance standards or measures as well as how this agreement will be monitored and evaluated for its effectiveness.

Significant injury A significant injury is when an injured worker cannot undertake their usual duties and/or normal hours for a continuous period of more than a specified number of calendar days (which varies across jurisdictions).

Stakeholder A stakeholder includes anyone that affects, or is affected by, the processes in an organisation. This includes management, staff, the HR department, but could also include unions and other labour organisations, employer groups, tribunals and courts, economists, and government departments.

Statutory law Also referred to as ‘legislation’, comprises the Statutory Acts enacted by Federal and State Parliament

Strategic plan Plan designed to meet the broad, long-term goals of an organisation



Strategic planning The determination of overall organisational purposes and goals and how they are to be achieved

Strategy The direction in which an organisation plans to move and the framework for action by which it intends to get there

Succession Planning for and having the capacity to fulfil future management needs through in-house preparation

Suitable duties Also known as alternative, selected or light duties. Work that can be done by the injured worker while recovering from injury, if the worker is not fit for the usual duties. Suitable duties can include parts of the job the worker was doing before being injured; the same job but on reduced hours, or different duties altogether.

Summary dismissal When the decision to dismiss is taken ‘on the spot’, it is described as summary dismissal.

SWOT SWOT is a planning tool used to clarify an organisation’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Teleworking Working from home.

Training needs analysis TNA; a formal process of identifying training needs, usually in term of a group of people and/or for a process.

Trialling The process of evaluating a new or changed process or a tool in practice, often done on a small scale prior to a wider implementation

Unfair dismissal Unfair dismissal occurs when, after being summarily dismissed from a job, an employee is subsequently found by a court or tribunal to have not been, according to the terms of their employment contract, rightfully subject to dismissal.

Upward feedback Employees given an opportunity to evaluate their managers - often anonymously



Validity An assessment technique is valid if it delivers accurate information related to specific selection criteria

Voluntary redundancy When an organisation intends to lay off workers, it can ask whether any employees are interested in resigning voluntarily and taking a lump-sum payment.

WBS (Work Breakdown Schedule)

The WBS represents the goal, objectives, tasks, sub-tasks and work packages by using an hierarchical tree which shows all of the levels of breakdown. The top branch represents the goal of the project and the bottom branches represent the individual work activities to be performed.

WorkCover agents or claims agents

In some States return to work coordinators need to liaise with WorkCover agents or claims agents (as opposed to the insurer) in relation to injury claims.

Workplace agreements An alternative to common rule Awards, able to tailor terms and conditions for workers to link them to productivity gains for the particular workplace or industry.



Documents

Teacher guide - TAFE NSW · Teacher guide Human Resources Diploma Toolbox BSB50801 Diploma of Business (Human Resources) ... Industries, a fictitious company that is a national manufacturer,