I - Manage Quality Customer Service Assignment

Learning outcomes -

Students will, upon successful completion of this unit understand the needs of both internal and external customers using processes such as research and motivational programs to ensure a quality delivery is achieved.

Assessment Task 1: Customer service plan

Performance objective

The candidate must be able to produce a Customer Service Plan that demonstrates a thorough understanding of the policies and procedures that need to be established in order to provide quality customer service.

Assessment description

You will develop a Customer Service Plan for the fictitious company "Innovative Widgets". The information needed to produce the plan is to be taken from role plays and documentation provided throughout the course.

Procedure

1. Produce a Customer Service Plan with appropriate sections.

2. Complete each section of your plan immediately after your facilitator has delivered the appropriate teaching session.

3. All "Innovative Widget" data should be sourced from your Student Workbook and role play exercises.

4. Submit the plan by the deadline set by your Assessor.

Assessment Task 2: Responding to customer complaints

Performance objective

The candidate must demonstrate the skills and knowledge needed to respond effectively to customer complaints.

Assessment Description

You will be expected to take part in role play exercises that allow you the opportunity to demonstrate the skills and knowledge needed to respond to customer complaints. You will be observed and assessed when responding to customer complaints (not when role playing a customer) by the assessor during these role play exercises.

Procedure

1. Throughout the course there will be many opportunities for role play exercises. During some role plays you will be asked to deal with a customer complaint. These role plays are described in the appendices to your Student Workbook.

2. During the role plays when you are assigned to respond to a customer complaint, (not role plays where you are the customer), demonstrate the appropriate responses for the situation.

3. You should use the "Innovative Widgets" policy and procedures for responding to customer complaints. This is contained in your customer service plan that you produce as part of Assessment Task 1.

Assessment Task 3: Customer service test

Performance objective

The candidate must demonstrate knowledge of customer service and understand customer service concepts.

Assessment description

This assessment requires the candidate to complete a customer service examination.

Procedure

1. When instructed to do so, answer the attached examination paper.

2. You may not refer to any sources of information during this examination.

Assessment Task 4: Managing Customer Service Team

Performance objective

The candidate must demonstrate the skills and knowledge needed to manage team performance and overcoming any difficulties using active listening, leadership and problem solving skills.

Assessment Description

You will undertake role play exercises which present different management scenarios. During these customer management exercises you will be assessed on your knowledge and skills of customer management techniques.

Procedure

1. On occasions, you will be allocated a role as the Customer Service Manager and assessed by the facilitator.

2. During the role plays when you are assigned as Customer Service Manager, demonstrate the appropriate management techniques for the situation.

II - Manage people performance Assignment

Learning outcomes -

Upon successful completion of this module, students will have an understanding of how to:

• consult with relevant stakeholders to identify work requirements, performance standards and agreed performance indicators
• develop work plans and allocate work to achieve outcomes efficiently and within organisational and legal requirements
• monitor, evaluate and provide feedback on performance and provide coaching or training, as needed
• reinforce excellence in performance through recognition and continuous feedback
• seek assistance from human resources specialists where appropriate
• keep records and documentation in accordance with the organisational performance management system

Assessment Task 1: Performance management project

Performance objective

The candidate must demonstrate skills and knowledge required to implementation performance management in a simulated workplace context.

Assessment description

You will be assigned to a performance team of 3 people to plan, monitor and review the performance of members of a team.

To do this, you and your 2 team members will need to create a fictitious company with operational plan, a management role and worker profiles.

Each performance team member will undertake a number of activities to manage the performance of one of the workers. This will include management activities such as developing work allocations, identifying KPIs, participating in several coaching role plays, undertaking performance reviews and proposing a development plan for remedying poor performance by the worker you are responsible for supervising.

Upon completion, you will each be required to make a class presentation of your outcomes. Your presentation should include an overview of your role and the worker's role, work allocations, KPIs, the identified performance issues, an overview of the coaching activities and development options you considered, and a review of worker performance in relation to the expected KPIs.

Procedure

1. As a team, use the company you have created and complete the operational and departmental goals of the operational plan.

2. As a team, create and develop profiles for 3 different 'workers' in that company to be 'managed' by you and your team mates (Identify job roles and departments).

3. Have your facilitator approve your team's worker profiles.

4. You must then take responsibility for one of the 'workers' and be their manager.

5. Develop individual goals, KPIs and tasks for your worker and document these in the worker's performance management plan.

6. Create three reasons why your worker is not achieving their KPIs (performance issues). You can select the reasons from the list below or develop your own:

• high levels of absenteeism at performance team meetings
• missing deadlines for task deliverables
• poor team work
• poor communication skills

7. Conduct 2 coaching role plays. This will require the involvement of the other members of your Performance Team. One team member must assume the role of your worker while the other team member is an observer of the role play:

• Brief the team members on the required performance (KPIs) and performance issues you have identified for your worker
• Coach the team member (your worker) on the identified performance issues while being observed
• Prepare a performance development plan on the basis of the outcomes of each coaching session
• Prepare file notes from these coaching sessions to be placed on the worker's file
• Complete a reflection sheet and your observer completes an observer sheet (refer attached templates)

8. Undertake a performance appraisal meeting with your worker (with the same team member playing the role) and complete the performance management and performance development plans and record notes or the worker's file.

9. Present your finding to the class at a time allocated to you by your assessor.

Assessment Task 2: Class Test

Performance objective

The objective of this assessment is to enable you to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of performance management systems within legislative and organisational guidelines.

Assessment description

This assessment requires the candidate to complete a test.

Procedure

1. You will be given 15 minutes to read the questions

2. You are to prepare your responses within the specified time period (45 minutes)

3. Complete the questions below. If you need help with any questions, ask your assessor to explain.

4. You may not refer to any sources of information during this test

Specifications

• You are allowed a maximum of 60 minutes to complete the test.
• Your assessor will be looking for correct answers in plain English, using clear, legible handwriting.

Assessment Task 3: Disciplinary process - case study

Performance objective

The candidate must demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the process required to terminate a difficult employee.

Assessment description

Read the following case study relating to the discipline and termination of an employee Sam and develop a clear argument to support the decision of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC).

Conduct a risk analysis

Consider relevant policies and procedures, legislation and performance management issues to support your argument. You are required to produce a written report for your manager Rob as to why your organisation lost the case.

Case Study:

Sam is a programmer at a small security company. She has recently missed a couple of deadlines on a project. Sam has been pretty upset about this. She is a diligent worker, however the organization has started working on a new programming language and Sam is not familiar with it.

You are Sam's manager and are familiar with your predecessor's methods for dealing with her. She would come out and yell at Sam and then go back to her office. Sam has a staff file that shows that there have been no verbal or written warnings recorded against her.

As Sam's manager you have been managing Sam more effectively. You have been spending time to try and understand Sam's issues and have reallocated resources in order to give Sam some extra time until she is confident and competent in using the new programming language. You have not specified any timelines for a performance review to discuss progress in meeting the required standard of performance or taken notes. You have also offered extra training to her.

However in a meeting about her inability to meet her latest deadline, Sam physically struck you and walked out of the office. She has not returned.

Sam contacted her doctor after the meeting and was given a medical certificate claiming stress as the reason for her absence and given 7 days leave.

This was sent to and received by the organisation on the day following your meeting with Sam. Sam called and verified with the Human Resources department that the certificate had been filed within the organisation's systems.

Three days after your meeting with Sam you advised your supervisor that she had struck you and has since reported in ill; this advice being received from the Human Resources department.

A meeting between you, your supervisor and the Human Resources department is convened and a decision is made to dismiss Sam on the basis of serious misconduct. A letter was sent by registered mail to Sam's personal mail address.

Two days later Sam filed an unfair dismissal claim with the FairWork Commission The organization received a letter from the FairWork Commission to attend a hearing. Sam wins the hearing as no evidence was provided by the company to support its case of dismissal on the grounds of misconduct or serious misconduct.

The hearing went in Sam's favour for the following reasons:

• The employer failed to follow a formal disciplinary process.
• There was no impartial investigation carried out.
• There were no records of any notes provided by the employer to back the claims that there had been meetings and reviews. The only written evidence produced was the termination letter.
• The original version of the medical certificate was not produced in the hearing by the company.
• Sam produced a verified copy of her medical certificate in the hearing along with email evidence from the Human Resources department confirming that the medical certificate had been received by the organisation and entered into its files.
• No documented evidence of any meetings, coaching sessions had been kept by the employer.
• No performance management review or development plans were presented by the employer.
• There were no copies of signed agreements reviewing Sam's progress (performance reviews and development plans) submitted by the employer.
• No written documents outlining timelines were given for monitoring or reviewing Sam's progress were submitted by the employer.
• No formal disciplinary hearings had taken place prior to Sam's dismissal.
• Sam was not formally stood down while an investigation was carried out.
• There was no physical evidence to support the serious misconduct claim that the manager has been struck as no witnesses were called to verify whether an attack had taken place.
• No senior managers or Human Resource department specialists were present in any meeting where Sam was being warned of poor performance.
• There was no evidence to support the claim of misconduct by Sam. The manager had not documented any written warnings in Sam's file. The only agreements that had been reached between Sam and the manager were verbal.

Sam was awarded costs of approximately $5000 for lost salary and wages and a further $5,000 for emotional distress.

After the decision was handed down, Rob the Senior Human Resources Manager approaches you to discuss the reasons behind the decision going in favour of Sam.

Rob wants a written report on his desk by the end of the week giving the background and reasons why the decision went in Sam's favour against the organisation.

As part of your brief from Rob, he would like to see a completed risk assessment identifying areas that the organisation needs to address and implement in order to prevent this type of situation occurring again. The information in the report will guide whether the organisation will pursue an appeal.

Based on the findings of your report, Rob decides not to proceed with an appeal but to develop and implement a new Performance Management System.

Rob recommends that the organisation follow the two processes as outlined below to handle:

a) Performance Reviews for all staff

b) Disciplinary Hearings

Procedure

Prepare a report that outlines the reasons as to why the organisation lost its case and also what it ought to have been doing for it to have successfully defended its position against Sam's claim of unfair dismissal.

In your report:

Critically analyse the case and develop a discussion paper as to why the organisation lost the case. Your analysis should include a risk analysis of the case and strategies to mitigate future risks should similar situations arise.

Using examples from Sam's case, describe the conditions under which misconduct and serious misconduct may be deemed to exist.

List any legislation that applies and any internal policies and procedures that may have applied in situations similar to Sam's case.

Develop policies and procedures that an organisation would need to implement to avoid a similar situation occurring and to ensure that disciplinary hearings and terminations are considered to be fair and reasonable.

Outline what documents would have to be developed for the organisation to evidence that it has implemented a process to support non-performing employees?

Using Sam's case as an example, describe how all steps of the performance review process and disciplinary hearing process (given to you by Rob) should have been performed as per legal requirements and the organisational policies you have developed. Include:

• What should have been done at each stage.
• When and where assistance from HR specialists would have been appropriate.
• What support services could have been deployed in Sam's case.
• What documentation would have been appropriate at each stage.

Attachment:- Assignment Files.rar