Developing Employability Skills: A Report On Harrods Retail Chain Essay.

Task 1: Evaluation of Skills Audit

This assessment requires you to develop and demonstrate your skills and knowledge in Employability Skills and Professional Development. To complete the given tasks, you will need to draw upon your experience during the course, workplace as well as any relevant work experience. In the process of completing your work please ensure that you fully incorporate relevant theoretical models and concepts to practical experiences. You have to make sure that the coursework you produced for this course addresses the relevant assessment criteria listed under each part.

Scenario

Harrods of London’ is a British institution. It is probably the most well-known and respected retail store in the world. For 162 years, Harrods has built its unique reputation supported by its key brand values – British; Luxury; Innovation; Sensation; Service. Harrods employs approximately 5,000 people from 86 different nationalities who deal with up to 100,000 customers a day at peak times.

Harrods needs employees who can face the challenges that its reputation and standards bring. It needs people who are looking for an exciting and rewarding long-term career with responsibility and prospects. Its challenge is to find (and retain) employees with the right mix of skills and abilities, who can be developed to become the managers of the future.

Whilst working as an employee at Harrods, you have been asked by your manager to create a development report which shows your ‘own’ learning progress and acquisition of key skills.

The report should include evidence for the planning and monitoring of progress towards the achievement of personal and professional objectives.

Conduct your Skills Audit in the context of your personal role and responsibilities and Performance objectives within your organisation. (15 Marks)

a) Identify some key interpersonal (communication, empathy etc.) and transferable skills(time management, leadership, problem solving, etc.) and analyse tools and techniques to enhance these skills.

b) Conduct your Personal SWOT Analysis to identify your strengths, weaknesses and learning and development opportunities.

c) Using appropriate Proforma, carry out your Individual appraisal within your organisation.

Prepare and implement a Personal and Professional Development Plan with clear aims and objectives, areas for development, resources and activities, timescale, etc. based on personal and organisational objectives.

Task B

Reflecting your Personal and Professional development plan and activities carried out in your task 1(above), critically evaluate your own learning in terms of enhancing your personal and professional skills.

Your reflective essay may consider the following:

What did I do well in the completion of my development plan?

What were the problems?

What do I want to further improve?

I want to develop myself as an in ideal manager in the near future. I will have to analyze the different areas of weakness that are present within me and the ways in which I will be able to overcome them. I have followed some of the steps in order to understand about the different strengths and the weaknesses that are present. Harrods of London’ is one of the most well known retail store in Britain. I want to secure my position as a responsible manner in this organization. Therefore I will have to set an example for all the other employees by showing my own progress report and my own journey of how I ended you in tins organization and the ways in which I have developed myself.

Skills Audit is one of the most useful tools that must be used by all the employees in order to know about their respective areas of strengths and weakness. In order to survive in this tough competitive market it is really essential for all of the individuals to give in their best. Skills audit will be very helpful in not only knowing about the different weaknesses and the strengths that are present in the employees but also about the opinions and the feedbacks of all the other colleagues and employees. It must be made sure that the employee or the ones who are taking the skill audit test are being able to compare their results with the results or the opinions of their colleagues. This will be helping them to understand those areas where they need to improve and the different strategies that they have to undertake.

Identifying the skill gaps

I have been using the johari window for this aspect as this gave me a detailed analysis of the skills that are present within me the ones that I will have to develop.

Open/self-area or arena

This section of the model has helped me in understanding about the different information that is present within me and also among my team members and my colleagues. This will help me to understand the feedbacks that are being shared b y my colleagues and also help me to understand how I can work over these aspects.

Blind self or blind spot

This part of the Johari winnow model has helped me to understand about the different information about my personality that is known in a group but I am unaware of it. I came to know this during the analyzing of a feedback sheet that I gave to all my colleagues. I have been able to see that I have a good management skill. I thought that I do not have a well developed management skill. As per the opinion of all m team members I am good at this aspect.

Task 2

Hidden area or façade

This area consists of those qualities that are known to me but are not known to others. I have realized that my colleague are of the opinion that I am not of a helpful nature I always try to escape from all the tough situation rather than extending my helping hands towards my subordinates and my team members. However I know that I am of an empathetic nature and always try to help others. However I am of a shy nature and it is for this reason that I always try to speak less and stay away from the tough business decision. However I will try to work over this matter so that I am able to work over this weakness and become stronger and helpful towards the employees.

Unknown area

This area contains information about those elements about y personality that re neither known to me nor to anyone else in the organization. These are the qualities that might arise in future during the time of any kinds of emergencies.

• Communicating all the business decisions with all the different employees so that they are able to take part in the business decision processes
• To arrange for some kinds of training sessions so that all the employees are able to get the necessary support so that they can establish themselves in the near future
• Listing the different kinds of skills that are needed to carry on with the day to day performance

a) Tools and techniques for enhancing interpersonal and transferable skills 

There are many important tools and techniques that must be used in order to enrich the interpersonal and transferable skills that are needed in order to carry on with the business in a proper way.

Training development is one of the most essential techniques that are used for training the employees of Harrods retail chain. There are usually with different kinds of trainings that are allowed by the company both the on job training and also the raining at work. This helps the employees at work and also the ones who want to take the training by staying at home. As per my perception this is a very good opportunity and I must use it. If I am not able to attend office due to any issue I will be able to use the away from work (off-the-job) system. This will help me to learn the lesson that are being fought at the training and also make sure that I am being able to learn some of the IT or the technological usage. I have made it a point right from the first day of joining hay I will make the complete utilization of all the training facilities that are being given by the organization. As I am working in the retail sector there are some particular skill sets that must be present among all the employees. I have been able to develop the skill of cashing up by taking the trainings and the development sessions that was provided and is still being offered by the company.

a) Tools and techniques for enhancing interpersonal and transferable skills

Development or the Individual development is one of the skills that are needed by all the employees. Communication is one of the most important aspect at will be needed by the managers or the other employees in order to develop the interpersonal quality. The leaning process is offered by the company in the basis of off-the-job in ‘bite-size’ sessions. This is useful in order to develop the interpersonal skills like communication, self confidence and also many other such aspects. The interpersonal skills are the ones that must be developed and also transferred within a very short period of time. This has always been much helpful for me as I have been able to develop my skills and also make sure that these skills are being transferred to the new joiners or the employees who are suffering from some weakness in understanding the job roles and responsibilities. Thee facilities are very helpful as they help in retaining the employees and also in making sure that the existing the employees are not facing any kinds of issues while they work in this organization. I would also recommend all the employees to use this facility and work over all their weakness and try to improve them.

Video editing software is also one of the most important and the needed tools in order to enrich and also transfer the skills from one of the experienced employee to the others. This is very helpful as s helps in making the lesson plans or the videos of several tough and complicated programs that are present in the course of this particular profession. This is very helpful for the employees’ or the managers which are bit camera shy. There are some modern scientific tools and applications like the screen cast which helps in capturing the screen that is a very helpful in illustrating and also in explaining the lesson properly.

Strengths

• I am good at domain knowledge. I have pursued my bachelors in the business studies. I always try to keep myself updated so that I am able to help all my employees whenever they are I need. I have been able to develop a good amount of knowledge in the field of retailing and the current aspects that are impacting the retail industries or the super markets in the U.S.

• I am also good at maintaining the skills of accountability. I know how to be responsible for the jobs that I am being assigned.
• I am also punctual in nature and I always try to make sure that I am reaching to office and to all the business meetings and the business conferences without any kinds of delays. I know how to draw a balance between the professional and the personal life. However it is really difficult to maintain a back but I try my level best to keep people at my office and also at my family happy.

 Weakness

As per my opinion the weaknesses that are present within me are as follows-

• I lack a well developed communication skill. This is because I am not able to communicate all the decisions to my colleagues in a proper way. I always suffer from a lot of confusion when I have to speak in any public meetings
• I also suffer from frustration. I am not able to work properly when there s a very tough competition round me and the work pressure is huge, I feel that I will not be able to cope up with this huge pressure.
• I also suffer from anger issue. I am not able to cope up with the work pressure and often I misbehave with all my team members, I know that this is really wrong but I am not able to maintain a proper control over myself and I end up behaving in a very rude manner whenever I face a huge pressure

Opportunity

• I have the opportunity of working over my anger issue by taking some free health and mental counseling sessions that is available to all the employees working in the organization. However this will be much helpful because I will be able to keep a control my mood swings. This will make me calm and I will be able to bring some kinds of improvements in my working style and thus it will help me in adding much more perfection and precision in my work.
• I have the opportunity of taking help from my seniors and enhancing myself. I can do this by taking some self assessment tests and also by taking good trainings from the skills development classes and the training session

Threats

My anger issue can turn out to be major threat if I do not bring a change in this aspect. In order to work in a popular and famous retail company like Harrods of London’ I will have to work over this aspect.

There are many different approaches taking place in the modern day system. As a result of this there are some ways in which the managers gauge the performable of their employees and also try to appraise them. However I feel that individual appraisal system is of utmost importance this helps the employees in being honest about the different achievements and also the different mistakes that have been done by them

b) Personal SWOT Analysis

Be honest and critical

I have always made a record of all the different tasks that I have assigned with. This has also been very helpful for me in getting good scores in the appraisal process. It is essential for all the employees to stay honest about the kinds of achievements that they have been making throughout the year. It is essential for all the employees to take out some time from their busy schedule and enlist all the important achievements that they have made or the extra efforts that they have taken in the year. I feel that there can be some kinds of biasness or some partialities that can take place in the 360 degree feedback system or the other forms of appraisals that are conducted by the management. I have always been honest in admitting my mistakes as well so that my managers and also my subordinates are able to vest their faith in my honesty. I have also never tried to take any credits for the works that have not been done by me. In other words, I have been able to realize that there is no point in making false efforts to take the credits as there will be all the records present with the management. So it is always suggested that the employees are keeping a very honest attitude. This will be much helpful for them to stay in the good books of the management.

Conclusion

Thus it can be concluded that in order to work in a well known and famous company I will have to focus over self development in a better way. I will have to take the help from all my peers, colleagues and also the seniors so that I am able to recognize the areas of strengths and the areas of weakness. This will surely be helpful for me in the long run.  

Reflective Essay

Personal and professional developmental plan has really been challenging and yet interesting assignment. I have been able to understand the importance of performing a personal SWOT analysis and also performing a skill audit. This is very useful as it helps in paving the way for the future career. As I want to establish myself as an ideal manager in one of the leading retail chains, I will have to prepare myself in such a way so that I am able to face all the challenges. The things that really went well in my personal and professional development plan are the personal SWOT and the process where I conducted my skill audit.

c) Individual appraisal within the organization

I have been able to use the Johari Window model in order to understand about the differences that are present in my opinion and the opinion that is shared by all the colleagues. This has really been very helpful as it helped me in understanding the misconceptions that are present in my colleagues about my personality and how it can affect my future career. I realized that many of my colleagues misinterpreted me as an escapist or someone who is not available to help them. However this is not right. I am of an empathetic nature and I always like to help my colleagues and all those new joiners in the organization who are unable to understand any of their job roles or responsibilities. However I am not able to do so because I feel that shy and confused while speaking in front of the public. I feel afraid and suffer from nervous breakdown. This is one of the major issues that prevent me from reaching out to all my team embers and speaking with them on a free manner.

I feel that in order to improve these issues I will have to work over my communication skill and develop a horizontal communication system. This will be helping me to understand the needs and demand of all my team mates and solve the same. I will also be benefitted n keeping a track of my improvement level. My colleagues will always help me in improving myself by sharing their thoughts and their feedbacks. However I will be able to carry on with this properly when I get rid of my shy nature. In order to do this I will take part in many of the client or customer dealing activities.

I have the opportunity as I am working in one of the most well known retail brands of Britain that is the Harrods of London, with 100000 customers and 5000 employees. As it is a very dynamic and supportive organization I will get sample support from all the members and this will surely help me to improve my areas of weakness. I will be taking part in the customer care executive departments and the client complaints departments as well. This will help me to listen to the different issues of the clients and also provide the right solution for their problems. This in turn will help me in focusing over my communication skill.

Task 3

I will be taking part in anger management coursed. As I realized that I am often suffering from the problem of nervous background, I will be trying to enroll myself in yoga classes as well. This will be helping me to focus properly over my personal development and also my professional development. I will be able to strike a proper balance between my personal and my professional life. I will also abide by the 360 degree feedback system so that there can be an open conversation between me and all my staffs. This will help in the initiation of many innovative business ideas and also act as a kind of refreshment. I will be able to keep my mind fresh after the busy work schedules. I will have to focus over time management skill. I have realized from the assignment activity that I am of a hardworking nature and also punctual. I am able to do my work in a perfect manner and make sure that I am using it for some constructive purposes as well.  The other thing that really went well in my personal and professional development activity is getting to know about the importance of self appraisal. This is essential as this has really helped me to rate myself well. I have learned that being honest and also being critical about one’s own achievements are highly essential in the self appraisal system. Apart from this the personal SWOT has really helped me to understand about the areas of strengths and the areas of weakness that are present within me and how can I use the same in the near future. I will have to make sure that I am using all the training and development facilities that are being offered by the organization. This will help them to develop my communication skill and also my domain skill. I will also recommend these similar methods to all the new joiners so that they are able to overcome their skill gaps and make some positive contributions towards the overall working of the organizations.

I will have to improve the method of taking feedbacks from others. As per my understanding, when I was about to take feedbacks, I could not interact with my fellow colleagues in a proper manner. I was also feeling tensed to face the negative points or the criticisms that my colleagues might have about me. It is for this reason that I was initially trying to stay away from this process of taking feedbacks. However later I realized that if I do not collect feedback from others then I will never be able to improve myself. I will never be able to know the views or the perspectives of others. In order to establish myself as a good manager in a leading retails brand or any other multinational companies, I will have to work very hard. I will have to be open towards the criticism that is being put forward by my colleague and also my seniors. This will be helping me in enriching my knowledge.

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