
Table of Contents
Task One
Assessment Questions
AC 1.1 Explain what evidence-based practice is and how it might be applied within an organisation.
Evidence-based practice is built on the idea that good decision-making comes from carefully evaluating the best available data from various sources. “Evidence” refers to data, facts, or information that support or challenge a claim, assumption, or theory (CIPD, 2023). This evidence can come from stakeholders, experienced professionals, local organizations, or scientific research.
Using evidence-based practice means making decisions based on reliable and well-analyzed information rather than personal beliefs, intuition, or tradition. The goal is to ensure that choices and actions are guided by credible, up-to-date research and empirical data to improve the likelihood of positive outcomes (CIPD, 2023).
For example, organizational data—such as employee turnover rates—can be valuable in decision-making. Analyzing turnover trends over time may reveal underlying issues, like management challenges, low staff engagement, or job dissatisfaction. Additionally, input from key stakeholders can help shape new initiatives, such as a performance management system. Their insights ensure the system meets the company’s specific needs and objectives (Moore, 2019). Employees might express a desire for more open feedback, while managers may emphasize aligning individual goals with business priorities. By considering such evidence, organizations can identify challenges, areas for improvement, and key objectives.
AC 1.2 Explain the importance of using data in organisations and why it is necessary to ensure that data is accurate when determining problems and issues.
Organizations need to use data to make informed decisions, improve processes, and achieve success. Data provides valuable insights that help businesses make better choices. Without data, decisions would rely on guesswork, intuition, or assumptions, leading to uncertainty and potential mistakes (CIPD, 2023). For example, if a company launches a new product without first researching customer preferences and market trends, it may struggle with low sales and financial losses.
Data analysis helps uncover patterns, trends, and relationships that might otherwise go unnoticed. These insights enable businesses to better understand internal operations, market shifts, and customer behavior, allowing them to refine strategies and improve performance. Additionally, by analyzing customer data, companies can personalize their products, services, and marketing efforts to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Accurate data is essential for effective decision-making, management, and planning, as it forms the foundation for all business operations and strategies. Stakeholders such as investors, regulators, customers, and employees rely on trustworthy data to assess a company’s success and reputation. If stakeholders lose confidence in the data, trust can erode, damaging relationships and creating uncertainty (Robbins, 2021). A lack of reliable data can also cause confusion among employees, making it difficult to maintain a clear and unified direction.
AC 1.3 Explain the different types of data measurements used by people professionals.
HR professionals rely on different types of data to analyze and manage the workforce effectively. They use both qualitative and quantitative data to make informed decisions and improve various HR processes.
Qualitative data is non-statistical and focuses on characteristics that cannot be measured numerically. It helps HR professionals understand employee opinions, emotions, and experiences (CIPD, 2022). This type of data is usually descriptive and provides deeper insights into staff perspectives. For example, exit interviews are a common qualitative data source. These interviews allow departing employees to share their reasons for leaving, their experiences at work, and their thoughts on the organization (Marshall and Arbuckle, 2017). Such feedback can reveal underlying issues that numbers alone might not show. For instance, employees might be leaving due to a lack of career growth opportunities or dissatisfaction with management. HR can use this information to make changes that improve employee retention.
On the other hand, quantitative data consists of numerical information that can be measured, analyzed, and compared. It provides a structured and objective way to assess workforce trends. Surveys, questionnaires, and tests are common methods for collecting quantitative data (CIPD, 2022). One key quantitative metric is the turnover rate, which calculates the percentage of employees who leave an organization within a specific period, typically a year. This helps HR professionals evaluate retention strategies and identify potential challenges. For example, a high turnover rate may indicate problems with workplace culture, management, or job satisfaction. Conversely, a low turnover rate may suggest a positive work environment, strong leadership, and competitive pay and benefits.
AC 1.6 Explain how the application of agreed policies and procedures informs decisions.
Policies are the principles, rules, and guidelines that an organization creates or adopts to achieve its long-term goals (Wcsap, n.d.). They set standards for how the organization operates, ensuring legal compliance and ethical conduct. One example is a diversity and inclusion policy, which outlines the organization’s commitment to equality and preventing discrimination or harassment. It may also specify actions to promote diversity, such as hiring from diverse talent pools, supporting employee voices, providing training, ensuring equal pay, and improving communication.
Procedures, on the other hand, are step-by-step instructions that explain how policies are implemented in daily operations (Business Queensland, 2022). For example, a grievance and disciplinary procedure details how employees can raise concerns, how management will investigate them, how grievance hearings will be conducted, and how employees can appeal decisions if they are not satisfied.
Organizational policies and procedures help maintain consistency, fairness, and efficiency in decision-making and operations (NSW Industrial Relations, 2019). They also promote transparency and create a respectful workplace, boosting employee productivity and job satisfaction, which contributes to overall organizational success.
AC 2.1 Explain how people professionals create value for people, organisations and wider stakeholders.
People professionals add value to both employees and organizations by using their skills, knowledge, and experience to support growth and success.
For employees, they create value by implementing learning and development programs such as mentorships, coaching, on-the-job training, and online courses (Fonseca, 2022). These programs help employees improve their skills, work more efficiently, and advance in their careers by preparing them for promotions.
For organizations, people professionals help reduce employee turnover, which can disrupt operations, lower product and service quality, and lead to customer dissatisfaction. They address this by introducing reward programs, encouraging employee feedback, improving the workplace environment, and providing training and development opportunities (Fonseca, 2022).
They also add value for external stakeholders, such as customers, by considering their feedback to improve processes, products, and services. This enhances efficiency, increases customer satisfaction, and strengthens the organization’s reputation.
AC 2.2 Summarise the ways in which you can be customer-focused, and standards-driven in your own context.
As a people professional, staying customer-focused is essential. I do this by prioritizing customer needs and understanding their expectations through inquiries and reviews. I also ensure that customer feedback is used to improve products and services, making them more relevant and high-quality. Additionally, I use strategies like promotions and discounts to enhance customer satisfaction and build loyalty.
It is equally important to be standards-driven in my work. I follow the CIPD Code of Professional Conduct (CIPD, 2022) to guide my actions. This means ensuring that my decisions positively impact employees’ working lives, taking responsibility for my actions and their outcomes, and upholding values such as respect, integrity, honesty, and professionalism.
Task Two
AC 1.4 Present the overall total leaving rate for the whole organisation as a percentage, for each year.
Reason for Leaving | Number of People | Percentage |
Dismissal – Summary | 3 | 5.56% |
Failed Probation Period | 1 | 1.85% |
Redundancy | 1 | 1.85% |
End of Contract | 2 | 3.70% |
Ill Health | 6 | 11.11% |
Retirement | 3 | 5.56% |
Maternity Non-Returner | 2 | 3.70% |
Resignation – Related | 36 | 66.67% |
Average Length of Service by Team (Ascending Order)
Team | Average Length of Service (Months) | Average Length of Service (Years, Months) |
Regeneration | 11 | 1 year, 11 months |
Lettings | 14.5 | 1 year, 3 months |
Supported Housing | 21.33 | 1 year, 9 months |
Income | 22 | 1 year, 10 months |
Green Spaces | 22.5 | 1 year, 11 months |
Finance | 23.5 | 2 years |
Tenancy Team | 26 | 2 years, 2 months |
People Services | 33 | 2 years, 9 months |
Housing | 73.86 | 6 years, 2 months |
Community Engagement & Partnerships | 74.67 | 6 years, 3 months |
Governance | 79 | 6 years, 7 months |
Customer Services | 89.25 | 7 years, 5 months |
Property Team | 94.4 | 7 years, 10 months |
Business Services | 94.5 | 7 years, 11 months |
AC 1.5 Having analysed your findings, comment on any issues that the data has revealed and propose potential solutions.
The pie chart shows the reasons employees left the organization. The largest group, 67%, resigned, making resignation the most common reason for turnover. The next most common reason was ill health, which accounted for 11% of departures. Other reasons included maternity non-returners (4%) and summary dismissals (5%). Failed probation and redundancies each made up 2% of exits.
This data indicates that resignation and ill health are the main causes of turnover. High resignation rates might suggest issues like dissatisfaction with working conditions, lack of career advancement, or better opportunities elsewhere. Ill-health-related exits could point to workplace challenges, such as high stress, poor work-life balance, or lack of well-being support. Addressing these factors could help improve employee retention and satisfaction.
This data suggests that resignation and ill health are the primary causes of turnover. High resignation rates may indicate dissatisfaction with working conditions, lack of career growth, or better opportunities elsewhere. Similarly, ill-health-related departures could suggest workplace challenges such as high stress levels, lack of work-life balance, or inadequate well-being support. Addressing these factors could help improve employee retention and overall job satisfaction.
The graph shows the average length of service for employees in different departments. The business services department has the longest average tenure at 94.5 months, closely followed by the property team at 94.41 months. The customer services team averages 89.25 months. In contrast, the regeneration team has the shortest average tenure at just 11 months, with the lettings department at 14.5 months.
This data highlights a major issue with employee retention, particularly in the regeneration, lettings, and supported housing teams. High turnover in these departments leads to a loss of valuable knowledge, which competitors may take advantage of. It also means higher recruitment and training costs, as well as lower productivity.
Recommendations
Training and Development Opportunities
Providing training and development is an effective way to improve employee skills, satisfaction, and retention (Hall, 2023). Offering training that aligns with both the organization’s goals and employees’ career goals can help retain talent, especially in the regeneration, lettings, and supported housing teams. Flexible delivery methods like coaching, mentorships, and eLearning can make training more accessible. Employees who receive training feel supported and more loyal to the company, leading to longer tenures.
Promoting Work-Life Balance
The data shows that 67% of employees left due to resignation, and 11% left for health reasons. This suggests that work-life balance may be an issue (Palaniapan, 2023). Overworking can cause stress, burnout, and health problems like high blood pressure. To address this, the company should offer flexible work arrangements, such as remote work, job sharing, or compressed workweeks. These options would support work-life balance, improve job satisfaction, and reduce absenteeism. Healthy employees are more likely to stay with the company because they feel valued and supported.
References
CIPD (2022). People Analytics | Factsheets. [online] CIPD. Available at: https://www.cipd.org/en/knowledge/factsheets/analytics-factsheet/ [Accessed 17 Aug. 2023].
CIPD (2023). Evidence-based practice for effective decision-making | Factsheets. [online] CIPD. Available at: https://www.cipd.org/en/knowledge/factsheets/evidence-based-practice-factsheet/#how-can-we-move-towards-an-evidencebased-people-profession [Accessed 17 Aug. 2023].
Marshall, C. and Arbuckle, R. (2017). Conducting qualitative ‘exit’ interviews following clinical trials or observational studies: A valuable method for understanding the patient experience, informing measurement strategy and aiding interpretation of patient-reported outcomes (PRO). [online] GSK. Available at: https://www.ispor.org/docs/default-source/presentations/1113.pdf?sfvrsn=8f82e442_1 [Accessed 17 Aug. 2023].
Moore, A. (2019). How important is evidence-based practice for organisational success? Impact Consulting. [online] Available at: https://workwithimpact.co.uk/news/how-important-is-evidence-based-practice-for-organisational-success/ [Accessed 17 Aug. 2023].
Robbins, L. (2021). How important is data accuracy to your organisation? BDI. [online] Available at: https://bidataintel.com/2021/04/how-important-is-data-accuracy-to-your-organisation/ [Accessed 17 Aug. 2023].
Fuel50. (2021). Mentoring: Promote a culture of talent development. Fuel50. Available at: https://fuel50.com/2021/12/mentoring-culture-of-talent-development/ [Accessed 14 Mar. 2023].
Kenton, W. (2022, August 26). Understanding succession planning. Investopedia. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/succession-planning.asp [Accessed 15 Mar. 2023].
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