Chartered Institute
of Personnel and
Development
Professional Standards
These Professional Standards were reviewed during 1999/2000
and were effective from 1 July 2002. They incorporate the
Leadership and Management Standards which were effective
from 1 July 2005. The Professional Standards form part of the
Institute’s regulations and were approved by the Executive Board
in December 2002.
The Standards for the Certificate in Business Awareness and
Advanced Professional Study were effective from 1 July 2004,
along with the Standards for the Certificate in Employment
Relations, Law and Practice.
Contents
INTRODUCTION
3
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
Professional Standards
Effective performance
Use of Standards
Format and level of Standards
Support-level Standards
Certificate in Business Awareness and Advanced Professional Study
Practitioner-level Standards
Advanced Practitioner Standards
The vision for the Professional Standards and for the competencies
Integrating themes
CIPD membership structure
5
6
6
7
8
8
8
9
10
11
14
15
SUppORT-levelSTaNDaRDS
17
Assessment philosophy for the certificate-level programmes (for educational centres)
Common elements for all CIPD certificate qualifications
Certificate in Personnel Practice
Certificate in Training Practice
Certificate in Recruitment and Selection
Certificate in Employment Relations, Law and Practice
19
21
22
26
31
34
CeRTIfICaTeINBUSINeSSawaReNeSSaNDaDvaNCeD
pROfeSSIONalSTUDy
39
Assessment philosophy for the Certificate in Business Awareness and Advanced Professional Study (for educational centres)
Certificate in Business Awareness and Advanced Professional Study
41
45
pRaCTITIONeR-levelSTaNDaRDS
49
Assessment philosophy-for the Professional Development Scheme
(for educational centres)
51
SpecialistandGeneralistpersonnelandDevelopmentStandards
55
peopleResourcingStandards
57
People Resourcing
Managing Diversity and Equal Opportunities
Selection and Assessment
Career Management and Development
58
64
69
76
1
2
learningandDevelopmentStandards
Learning and Development
Management Development
Managing Organisational Learning and Knowledge
Managing the Training and Development Function
Designing and Delivering Training
81
82
89
97
103
110
employeeRewardStandards
Employee Reward
Pensions
Performance Management
117
118
125
130
employeeRelationsStandards
Employee Relations
Employment Law
Health and Safety
137
138
143
147
peopleManagementandDevelopmentStandards
People Management and Development
151
152
leadershipandManagementStandards
157
Managing
Managing
Managing
Managing
159
165
171
179
for Results
and Leading People
in a Strategic Business Context
Information for Competitive Advantage
appliedpersonnelandDevelopmentStandards
Applied Personnel and Development
Management Research Report
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
185
187
188
191
aDvaNCeDpRaCTITIONeRSTaNDaRDS
193
Strategic Personnel and Development
International Personnel and Development
Organisational Change and Transition
Personnel and Development Consulting
195
200
204
210
aBBRevIaTIONS
216
professionalStandards | Introduction
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
5
Professional Standards
6
Effective performance
Use of Standards
7
Format and level of Standards
8
Support-level Standards
8
Certificate in Business Awareness and Advanced Professional Study
8
Practitioner-level Standards
9
Advanced Practitioner Standards
4
6
10
The vision for the Professional Standards and for the competencies
11
Integrating themes
14
CIPD membership structure
15
Introduction | professionalStandards
The Chartered Institute of Personnel
and Development
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), with over 120,000 members across
the United Kingdom and Ireland, is Europe’s largest professional body representing those who
specialise in the management and development of people.
TheaimsoftheCIpDare:
ContinuingprofessionalDevelopment(CpD)
• to advance continuously the management and
development of people to the benefit of individuals,
employers and the community at large
• to be the professional body for those specialising
in advancing the management and development of
people, recognised as the leading authority and
influence in this field.
All levels of CIPD membership are expected to take part
in appropriate CPD activities as an integral part of their
professional membership. The Institute will need to see
evidence of CPD from:
ThemissionstatementoftheInstituteis:
• to lead in the development and promotion of
good practice in the field of the management and
development of people, for application both by
professional members and by their organisational
colleagues
• to serve the professional interests of members
• to uphold the highest ideals in the management and
development of people.
• all those being assessed against the CIPD Professional
Standards
• all those who upgrade from Graduate to Chartered
Member, and Chartered Member to Chartered Fellow
• a random sample of members selected on an annual
basis.
5
professionalStandards | Introduction
Professional Standards
One of the key objectives of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development is the establishment, monitoring
and promotion of standards and ethics for the profession. The Institute has therefore defined Standards across the
whole spectrum of personnel and development, taking into account both generalist and specialist functions. These
Standards set out to define what a professional working in people management and development should be able to
do or should be able to understand, explain and critically evaluate, if he or she is to operate at a professional level, at
a support level or at the level of an advanced practitioner.
effectiveperformance
Expectations about effective performance at work have
changed radically over the past decade or so, and will
continue to do so. It is now common (but by no means
universal) for people to be recruited, selected, trained,
developed, reviewed and rewarded against the degree to
which they add value to the organisation that employs
them. They can fulfil this added-value expectation in
a number of ways, depending on the nature of the
organisation, by:
• making a contribution, directly or indirectly, to
organisational profitability
• facilitating the organisation’s survival in circumstances
of corporate crisis
• helping the organisation to make progress towards its
vision and strategic goals
• working in alignment with the organisation’s mission
• customer-focused continuous improvement
• personal flexibility both when reacting to change and
stimulating it.
It is also much less common for people at work to
entertain personal, automatic expectations about lifelong
employment. They may be engaged on contractual
terms that reflect the potentially transient nature of their
relationship with the employer; they may indeed be
working for organisations that are themselves deliberately
transient; and they may be very well aware of the fact
that, if their employer’s future is in jeopardy, then their
employment is automatically at risk. Even if individuals are
recruited by organisations that appear to have long-term
6
futures, the possibility of significant disruption cannot be
ignored. Many previously successful companies no longer
exist, either at all or in their original form; new types
of enterprise continually emerge, especially in an
environment dominated by e-commerce, globalisation
and technological uncertainty operating in different ways,
under new pressures and performance constraint.
The CIPD publication, People Make the Difference (1995),
argues that personnel management professionals must add
value to the organisations by which they are employed. To
be efficient, they should ensure that all personnel systems,
procedures and processes are characterised by efficient
administration, compliance with the law, fairness and good
practice. However, to be effective and genuinely add value,
personnel professionals must:
• offer a high level of expertise in their professional field
• understand and critique the objectives and
methodologies of their business colleagues
• import good practice from outside the organisation
• build strategic capabilities to optimise people
performance
• develop and articulate the values of the organisation.
The CIPD wishes to represent a profession that is taken
seriously in the boardroom, genuinely influences corporate
strategy and contributes to bottom-line outcomes.
Introduction | professionalStandards
Use of Standards
The Standards are used in a number of ways:
asthebasisforeducationalprogrammes, at supportand practitioner-level. This is the route through which
the majority of new members of the Institute gain their
professional qualification. Candidates are required to
register with a CIPD-approved educational provider,
who provide a programme of study and carry out final
assessment.
asthebasisforprofessionalassessment, where
experienced professionals can map their knowledge and
competence against the Standards in order to demonstrate
that they qualify for membership of the Institute. This route
is aimed at those professionals who already have significant
experience and for whom an educational route would not
be appropriate. Candidates are required to register with
a CIPD-approved professional assessment centre which
offers advice on demonstrating competence against the
Professional Standards and undertakes the assessment.
asthebasisforaccreditingpriorcertificated
learning, for those with qualifications that have not
been previously directly approved as part of a CIPD
educational programme. This route is likely to be of
particular interest to those who hold relevant academic
or professional qualifications that can be accredited
against the CIPD Professional Standards. Evidence of the
coverage of the previous qualification is required, and the
assessment is carried out initially through CIPD.
asthebasisformappingagainstthenational
standards, which should enable people to qualify for
membership through NVQs/SVQs in personnel, learning
and development, recruitment and management.
asthebasisforcontinuingprofessional
development, for the rest of one’s professional career.
As professionals move into new roles through their career,
the Standards offer an opportunity for them to benchmark
themselves against new and unfamiliar areas to ensure
that they can operate at the appropriate professional level.
asthebasisforawardingadvancedstandingagainst
theleadershipandManagementfieldofthepDS,
the Standards underpin both the CASE examination and
worbook-based exemptions.
7
professionalStandards | Introduction
Format and level of Standards The Standards clearly indicate the Institute’s expectations under the
headings of:
performanceindicators:
• operationalindicatorsdefine what practitioners
must be able to do
• knowledgeindicators define what practitioners must
be able to understand, explain and critically evaluate.
Indicativecontent:
• provides more detail and indicates the context.
• CertificateinemploymentRelations,law
andpractice
This Standard covers key aspects of the employment
function required by personnel/human resources or
employee relations assistants, line managers, owners/
managers of small businesses or anyone new to, or
aspiring to, a career in personnel, human resources or
employee relations.
1Support-levelStandards
2CertificateinBusinessawareness
andadvancedprofessionalStudy
These have been developed as the basis for four
certificates:
Certificate in
Personnel
Practice
Certificate in
Training
Practice
Certificate in
Recruitment
and Selection
Certificate in
in Employment
Relations, Law
and Practice
• Certificateinpersonnelpractice
This Standard covers a wide range of practical personnel
skills required by line managers, personnel officers,
secretarial/personnel assistants and clerical staff.
• CertificateinTrainingpractice
This Standard covers skills required by proficient
trainers, such as training officers, training advisers, line
managers and those in similar roles.
• CertificateinRecruitmentandSelection
This Standard is intended for personnel officers,
recruitment consultants or line managers with
responsibility for recruitment and selection within
an organisation, or who provide a recruitment and
selection consultancy service to another organisation.
8
This Standard aims to develop, within a business context,
the analytical, application, numerical, research and
personal transferable skills required for entry to an Mlevel programme in a social science/business subject,
specifically the Professional Development Scheme.
Research and
Reasoning Skills
in a Business
Context
Quantitative
Skills for Business
Analysis
Understanding
the Business
Environment
Self Management
and Study Skills for
Professional Development
Introduction | professionalStandards
3practitioner-levelStandards
3.1SpecialistandGeneralistpersonneland
Development
Applied Personnel
and Development
Standards must be met in four of a wide range of
elective Standards to complete this field:
Specialist and
Generalist
Personnel and
Development
Leadership and
Management
TheGeneralistStandards have a special role among
the practitioner Standards as the basis for the specialist
streams of Standards.
TheSpecialistStandards offer an opportunity to
specialise. The eleven Specialist Standards are listed
below under the related Generalist Standard.
People Management
and Development
These are set at a basic operational level. A CIPD
Graduate who has met these Standards should be
capable of contributing to an organisation as a ‘thinking
performer’:
• thinking– that is both operational and not limited
to their current organisational level, and with an
appreciation of their organisation strategy
• performer – operational capability at a business
unit level. A business unit is a term used loosely to
indicate a discrete site where up to, say, 250 might
be employed or carry out work, and which has a
corporate purpose to its operations, whether or not
within a large organisation.
GeNeRalIST
SpeCIalIST
people
Resourcing
learningand
Development
People
Resourcing
Learning and
Development
Managing
Diversity
employee
Reward
employee
Relations
advanced
practitioner
Employee
Reward
Employee
Relations
Strategic
Personnel and
Development
Employment
Law
International
Personnel and
Development
Health and
Safety
Organisational
Change and
Transition
Personnel and
Development
Consulting
Development
Designing and
Delivering
Training
The Practitioner-level Standards have been devised to
cover the knowledge, understanding and competence in
the four vital fields that professionals of the future will
require in order to meet the needs of their organisations:
9
professionalStandards | Introduction
3.2peopleManagementandDevelopment
3.4appliedpersonnelandDevelopment
This is the vital integrative element of the CIPD
Professional Standards at the practitioner level. It is vital
that all personnel and development practitioners are
aware not only of their own area of specialist activities
but also of the wider contribution that personnel and
development can make to organisational success. A
major theme underlying this Standard, and indeed the
whole of the Practitioner-level Standards, is the need for
personnel and development specialists to gain support
and commitment from other managers within the
organisation. Being able to persuade colleagues of
the merits of particular ideas and their contribution to
organisational and departmental goals is a skill of the
utmost importance.
There are two aspects to this field:
3.3leadershipandManagement
TheCpD/learninglog – all candidates will be expected to provide evidence that they are able to systematically manage their own continuing professional development (CPD). This will need to take the form of some kind of record that demonstrates the ability to reflect on personal learning, and should show a focus on learning outcomes and benefits or applications. They should indicate that the applicant recognises learning as an integral part of professional work activity.
This element is vital for all with, or seeking, responsibility
for general management and for those who need to
understand the organisation within which they work in
order to exercise influence.
4advancedpractitionerStandards
The Standards cover:
•
•
•
•
10
Themanagementresearchreport – this is a valuable means of assessment at the practitioner level, and is the element of assessment that comes closest to demonstrating professional competence. Managing
Managing
Managing
Managing
for Results
and Leading People
in a Strategic Business Context
Information for Competitive Advantage.
These Standards build on the knowledge and
competence gained at the practitioner level, probably
as a Graduate or Chartered member of the CIPD.
Strategic
Personnel and
Development
International
Personnel and
Development
Organisational
Change and
Transition
Personnel and
Development
Consulting
Introduction | professionalStandards
The vision for the Professional
Standards and for the competencies
The vision for the Professional Standards is to ensure that
all CIPD members are effective and possess a mixture of
the following ten competencies:
1 personaldriveandeffectiveness
The existence of a positive, ‘can-do’ mentality, anxious to
find ways round obstacles and willing to exploit all the
available resources in order to accomplish objectives:
1 Sets out own professional objectives with a prioritised
plan for managing time.
2 Establishes priorities, tasks and work schedules in
advance in order to maximise efficiency and addedvalue effectiveness and, above all, to ensure the
provision of advice, help, guidance and professional
services to meet the needs of senior management, line
managers and employees generally.
3 Monitors progress and takes remedial action as
necessary.
4 Anticipates resource problems and seeks to resolve
them proactively.
5 Identifies own motivators and strengths, and uses
these to drive personal performance.
2 peoplemanagementandleadership
The motivation of others (whether subordinates,
colleagues, seniors or project team members) towards
the achievement of shared goals, not through the
application of formal authority but rather by personal
role-modelling, the establishment of professional
credibility and the creation of reciprocal trust:
3 Businessunderstanding
Adoption of a corporate (not merely functional)
perspective, including awareness of financial issues and
accountabilities, of ‘customer’ priorities, and of the
necessity for cost/benefit calculations when contemplating
continuous improvement/transformational change:
1 Understands the business needs and issues of one or
more types of organisation.
2 Understands why ‘customer’ needs are what they
are, given the dual context of internal organisational
priorities and external environmental scenarios (both
current and predicted).
3 Acknowledges and accepts the significance of relevant
business drivers and selected scorecard measures.
4 professionalandethicalcompetence
Possession of the professional skills and technical
capabilities, specialist-subject (particularly legal)
knowledge, and the integrity in decision-making and
operational activity that are associated with effective
achievement in personnel and development:
1 Meets a defined range of the CIPD’s Professional
Standards.
2 Displays achievement of the CIPD’s Professional
Standards both in general terms and also within
defined areas (depending on chosen electives).
3 Conducts self in accordance with the Institute’s Code
of Professional Conduct.
1 Demonstrates a level of knowledge and understanding
and ability about managing people and leadership
that meets CIPD Professional Standards.
2 Treats others the way they themselves would wish to
be treated.
3 Demonstrates personal commitment to team decisions.
4 Encourages and supports the contributions of others.
5 Helps colleagues when they are under pressure.
6 Adapts personal style to the situation and the needs/
expectations of others.
11
professionalStandards | Introduction
5 Continuinglearning
7 analyticalandintuitive/creativethinking
Commitment to continuous improvement and change
by the application of self-managed learning techniques,
supplemented where appropriate by deliberate, planned
exposure to external learning sources (mentoring,
coaching, etc):
Application of a systematic approach to situational
analysis, development of convincing, business-focused
action plans, and (where appropriate) the deployment of
intuitive/creative thinking in order to generate innovative
solutions and proactively seize opportunities:
1 Adopts a considered approach to continuing learning
and personal professional development.
2 Conscientiously maintains CPD records.
3 Periodically reflects on experience and systematically
seeks to improve performance when recurring
situations present themselves.
4 Sets self-learning objectives and achieves them
through action planning.
5 Accepts constructive feedback positively.
6 Considers implications and seeks to change behaviour
if positive outcomes beckon.
1 Demonstrates use of a range of thinking abilities, tools
and processes – analytical, intuitive, creative.
2 Provides professional advice in area of expertise.
3 Uses relative inexperience to advantage by questioning
established methods, procedures and systems.
4 Introduces new ideas and approaches derived from
knowledge of human resources in action elsewhere
and from previous studies.
5 Thinks through issues clearly; concentrates on facts
rather than assumptions.
8 ‘Customer’focus
6 addingvaluethroughpeople
A desire not merely to concentrate on tasks, but rather to
select meaningful outputs that will produce added-value
outcomes for the organisation or eliminate/reduce the
existence of performance inhibitors, while simultaneously
complying with all relevant legal and ethical obligations:
1 Identifies opportunities for adding value and makes
appropriate recommendations.
2 Fulfils all promises to ‘customers’ in terms of
timeliness, quality of response and other significant
parameters (as perceived by ‘customers’), within
known areas of technical expertise.
3 Shows commitment to work and targets.
4 Willing to put in extra effort when necessary in order
to ensure that corporate priorities are not jeopardised.
5 If asked, can outline own short-term targets, progress
and future actions.
12
Concern for the perceptions of personnel’s ‘customers’,
including (principally) the central directorate of the
organisation, a willingness to solicit and act upon
‘customer’ feedback as one of the foundations for
performance improvement:
1 Empathises with customers of personnel and
development function(s), and of employing
organisations generally.
2 Liaises closely and continuously with main ‘customers’
and develops a high level of reciprocal trust/intimacy
with them.
3 Takes personal responsibility for resolving ‘customer’
concerns; asks ‘customers’ periodically for feedback
and acts on significant lessons gained.
Introduction | professionalStandards
9 Strategiccapability
The capacity to create an achievable vision for the future,
to foresee longer-term developments, to envisage options
(and their probable consequences), to select sound courses
of action, to rise above the day-to-day detail and to
challenge the status quo:
1 Understands the concept of strategy and the required
contributions to it at all levels.
2 Identifies personal strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats against defensible
predictions of the future (labour) marketplace.
3 Devises action programmes to capitalise on strengths,
reduce weaknesses, seize opportunities and anticipate
threats.
10Communicationresourcingandinterpersonal
skills
The ability to transmit information to others, especially
in written (report) form, both persuasively and cogently,
display of listening, comprehension and understanding
skills, plus sensitivity to the emotional, attitudinal and
political aspects of corporate life:
1 Uses ‘active listening’ with feedback; communicates
clearly and positively; generates empathy with others.
2 Offers support and challenge to the proposals
of others, so that in the process these proposals
are improved/modified; reinforces the benefits of
proposals and recommendations by using relevant
facts and figures; anticipates objections and prepares
responses.
13
professionalStandards | Introduction
Integrating themes
A number of integrating themes run through the
Professional Standards. All those occupying professional
roles in people management and development, on
whatever basis and in whatever context, have a set of
interrelated responsibilities to the organisations for
which they work, to the people whose development
they seek, and to the people management and
development community to which they belong. They are
all concerned with ensuring, or contributing to, at their
organisational level:
• the provision and maintenance of effective
and business-focused people management and
development organisations and processes
• the planning and achievement of outcomes of people
management and development activity that will add
value for the organisation and for individuals
• the adding of value in part by helping to attract, retain
and develop the people needed by the organisation
through the development of individual and collective
competence, commitment, potential and adaptability
• the adding of value in part by developing
organisational capacity through people management
and development processes and initiatives that will
help to embed or promote change in organisational
culture, structure and functioning, and ensure
the skills needed to operate in changed roles and
environments
14
• the adding of value in part by aiding strategic progress
through advice and provision of planned services and
activity that will enhance the organisation’s knowledge
base and stimulate creativity, adaptability and
innovation
• the possession and continuing development in
themselves of the values, understanding and credibility
needed to act effectively as business partners
• the recognition and continuous exercise of those
ethical and professional responsibilities related to
people management and development policy and
practice in the organisation that are conferred by
their citizenship of the wider people management
professional community.
Introduction | professionalStandards
Chartered
membership
CIPD membership structure
CharteredCompanion
(CharteredCCIpD)
Charteredfellow
(CharteredfCIpD)
CharteredMember
(CharteredMCIpD)
Non-chartered
grades
Graduate
licentiate
associate
affiliate
Organisationmembership
affiliationtotheInstitute
Charteredmembership
Individual Affiliate membership is open to anyone. It is
not a professional grade of membership and therefore
carries no designatory letters. It does, however, offer many
benefits such as the receipt of journals, access to information
and advice, networking opportunities and discounts on CIPD
courses, conferences and publications.
CharteredMember(CharteredMCIpD) is available by
upgrading only. Individuals must be Graduate members
and able to demonstrate three years’ relevant experience
at management level, of which one year may be in
general management. They must also demonstrate their
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) over the last
year and a development plan for the coming year and
make a commitment to provide records and plans for
each of the next two years.
Organisation membership offers similar benefits to a
number of named individuals within an organisation.
The number depends on the size of any particular
organisation. The organisation may amend their list of
named individuals as required.
Qualifiedgradesofmembership
associatemembership represents qualification at CIPD
certificate level or NVQ/SVQ level 3 or 4.
licentiatemembership signifies that an individual has
met the requirements of one of the first three fields of
the Institute’s Professional Development Scheme or NVQ/
SVQ level 5.
Graduatemembership is awarded on completion of
all four fields of the Institute's Professional Development
Scheme.
Charteredfellow(CharteredfCIpD) is also available
by upgrading. Individuals must be at Chartered Member
grade and must be able to demonstrate ten years’
relevant experience at management level of which
up to three years may be in general management.
Current and more recent roles must be at senior
or strategic management level, confirming a career
progression through the period concerned. They must
also demonstrate their CPD over the last year and a
development plan for the coming year. They must also
make a commitment to provide records and plans for
each of the next two years in order to be eligible.
Chartered Companion(Chartered CCIpD) is gained by
invitation only. It is awarded in recognition of significant
contribution to the profession or the Institute.
15
Support-level Standards
Certificate in
Personnel
Practice
Certificate in
Training
Practice
Certificate in
Recruitment
and Selection
Certificate in
in Employment
Relations, Law
and Practice
17
Support-levelStandards
Support-levelStandards
18
Assessment philosophy for the certificate-level programmes
(for educational centres)
19
Common elements for all CIPD certificate qualifications
21
Certificate in Personnel Practice
22
Certificate in Training Practice
26
Certificate in Recruitment and Selection
31
Certificate in Employment Relations, Law and Practice
34
Assessment philosophy|Support-levelStandards
Assessment philosophy for the certificate-level
programmes (for educational centres)
1 philosophy,leveland
positioningoftheCIpD
professionalStandardsat
certificatelevel
These Standards attempt to answer
the question ‘What is a CIPD
professional?’ The CIPD’s Professional
Standards are an articulation of the
knowledge and competence required
to undertake a professional personnel
or training and development role.
The ‘business partner’ role represents
a model to which CIPD professionals
should aspire. In the future, roles will
not exist for people who are not able
to add value to the business objectives
of the organisations for which they
work. The level of the qualification
has been compared both with those
of other professional bodies and with
development opportunities in other
countries around the world.
2 Certificate-levelprogrammes
There are four alternative routes for
those entering the HR profession at
the support level. The certificate-level
programmes reflect the range of job
roles for support staff:
• Certificate in Personnel Practice
• Certificate in Training Practice
• Certificate in Recruitment and
Selection
• Certificate in Employment
Relations, Law and Practice.
These educational programmes,
based on the CIPD’s Professional
Standards, provide the route whereby
the majority of new members of the
Institute at support level gain their
certificate qualifications. The certificate
programmes aim to produce people
who meet in full the Standards defined
by the Institute, both:
• the operational indicators, which
state clearly what practitioners
must be able to do, and
• the knowledge indicators, which
state what practitioners must be
able to understand and explain.
Personnel and development is an
open-access profession, and the
certificate-level programmes represent
a valuable mechanism, enabling
entrance into the profession to meet
the standards required in business
and commerce for those who wish
to operate in the management and
development of people.
3 assessmentphilosophy
The philosophy of assessment of
the certificate programmes is to
assess whether candidates have
demonstrated that they have met the
Standards specified by the Institute.
The aim of the programmes is not
only to enable individuals to achieve
effective and efficient performance
in their current roles, but also
to prepare them for continuing
professional development.
4 principlesofassessment
In order to ensure that consistency
of assessment is maintained across
all centres, the following three
principles are central:
• There must be some external
assessment in any programme
leading to the CIPD certificate
Standards – the external
assessment of the project proposal.
• The assessment must stretch
across the range of the certificatelevel Standards.
• While the programme is a
development programme
which enables considerable
personal growth, no centre
should compromise the validity
of the assessment by providing
inappropriate guidance or
other advantage to individual
candidates to enable them to
meet the CIPD Standards.
5 Theleveloftheassessment
The certificate-level programmes
are set and assessed at a technical
level – level 3 in the National
Qualifications Framework – and
the criteria that all candidates are
expected to meet are:
• understanding and knowledge as
defined within the Standards in
the specific area defined
• an understanding of the
techniques of the profession
• an ability to critically evaluate
both their own organisation
and details reported in other
organisations.
Assessment for certificate
programmes includes the following:
• All candidates must complete a
minimum of four work-based or
work-related assignments. Two
of them should be written and
two skills-based. The written
assignments should be between
1,500 and 2,000 words.
19
Support-levelStandards|Assessment philosophy
• All candidates must complete
a work-based or work-related
project that is written up using
a management report style of
3,000 to 3,500 words. They
should prepare a project proposal,
including the terms of reference
and an action plan. These
proposals will be assessed by the
external moderators based on set
assessment criteria.
• All candidates must maintain
a CPD/learning log and
development plan.
• All candidates must compile
a portfolio to include all
assessments and feedback and
any other relevant material.
We will expect centres to emphasise:
• assessment of knowledge and
understanding
• assessment of skills under
simulated conditions
• the ability to apply knowledge,
understanding and skills in a
workplace environment.
Assessment criteria can be found in
the Moderation Handbook.
6 Consistencyofassessment
acrosscentres
Assessment across all centres
includes:
• external assessment of the
project proposal by the external
moderator against set criteria,
which brings an important
element of externality to the
assessment process
• internal assessment – locally set
and marked assignments and a
project, which are moderated by
the external moderator.
7 Barrierstotheachievementof
theCIpDStandards
Some of the most common
shortcomings in assessed work
exhibit some of the following
features:
• excessive reliance on perspectives
acquired from a single sector or
single organisation
• lack of awareness of up-to-date
developments in the management
and development of people
• uncritical acceptance of the
status quo
• an inability to relate learning
acquired to business and
corporate purposes.
8 programmedelivery
With the introduction of the new
Standards there has been a change
to the national moderation process.
External moderators are appointed
to centres by the CIPD on a regional
basis and undertake the role under
the direction of regional and chief
moderators to ensure that all centres
meet the Institute’s Standards.
20
The content of the programme must
cover the Standards as detailed in this
publication.
• You must provide a minimum
of 120 tutor contact hours,
and candidates should spend
an additional minimum 120 on
individual study.
• You must provide opportunities
for the development and
assessment of skills. In the case
of programmes offered only in
the evenings there needs to be
extended learning opportunities,
ie one to two full days, to support
the development of core skills.
• Tutorial time should be embedded
into programme delivery but
excluded from the 120 taught
hours.
9 Skillsdevelopment
A major objective of certificate-level
programmes is to develop students'
operational competence and
confidence as well as to provide a basis
for future development. It is therefore
essential that the knowledge gained
is supplemented by the inclusion of
core skills that will be required by
entrants to the profession at a support
level. The development of core skills
should proceed as an integral part of
the study programme and should lead
naturally from the study of the relevant
theory and practice.
In order to provide the opportunity
to develop and practise these skills,
sufficient programme time should be
allocated to skills development,
which should in turn be supported
by tutorial coaching and feedback.
Common elements for all CIPD certificate qualifications |Support-levelStandards
Common elements for all CIPD
certificate qualifications
All CIPD certificate-level qualifications cover certain knowledge, skills and competencies. For educational
centres, these may be taught and assessed separately, or integrated into the teaching and assessment
arrangements for the particular programme. Centres must be able to indicate where these are covered in
their programme design. Guidelines on the assessment schedule for certificate-level programmes are set out
in the Quality Management Handbook.
Communication
Understandingtheworkcontext
Candidates must demonstrate that they are able to:
Candidates must demonstrate that they are able to:
• write a report
• obtain information by interview
• give and receive feedback on behaviour and
performance
• build relationships with others.
• plan and administer resources
• contribute to the interpretation of personnel
information.
They must also demonstrate interpersonal skills such
as listening, conveying information, responding to
questions etc.
Self-management(improvingownlearningand
performance)
Candidates must demonstrate that they are able to:
• set personal objectives
• appraise their own performance
• reflect on their own practices for the purposes of
learning and improvement
• maintain a personal development plan.
They must also demonstrate that they understand and
can explain:
• the corporate environment
• factors affecting individual performance (eg systems,
relationships, performance criteria, motivation and
reward)
• the performance management process and its rationale
• employment relationships
• roles in relation to personnel and development
(ie training, personnel and line management)
• the concept of contribution to organisational success.
Relevantlegislation
Candidates must demonstrate a broad understanding of,
and be able to explain, relevant legislation.
The common certificate elements are integrated into the
indicative content. It has been customised to reflect the
role of a personnel practitioner.
21
Support-levelStandards|Certificate in Personnel Practice
Certificate in Personnel Practice
Purpose
The Certificate in Personnel Practice (CPP) is a foundation-level programme, at an equivalent level to NVQ/
SVQ Level 3 in Personnel Support.
Successful candidates receive the CIPD Certificate in Personnel Practice and are eligible for Associate
membership of the Institute. However, completing the Certificate in Personnel Practice and/or gaining
Associate membership does not imply that the candidate should automatically progress to study at the
Professional Development Scheme level.
potentialcandidates
aims
This qualification is intended for:
The Certificate in Personnel Practice is intended to:
• anyone working at the level of personnel assistant,
personnel administrator or personnel officer, whose
role is to provide support for key aspects of the
personnel function
• someone new to, or aspiring to, a career in the
personnel function
• line managers, supervisors or team leaders who
wish to gain the same level of personnel skills as
practitioners at this level
• the owners or managers of small businesses.
• develop the skills needed in personnel work
• serve as an introduction to the personnel department’s
work
• provide an awareness of:
- the context of personnel functions
- the key issues that impact on personnel issues
• provide a platform for studies in personnel.
The Standard can be used as:
• a developmental programme to underpin the NVQ/
SVQ in Personnel
• a stand-alone qualification programme in its own right
• a potential framework for a Modern Apprenticeship in
personnel.
22
Certificate in Personnel Practice |Support-levelStandards
performanceindicators
1 Humanresourceplansand
organisationalcontext
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1
1
Contribute to the development and implementation
of a human resource plan that meets business
objectives for both expansion and contraction.
2 Contribute to the collection, maintenance, reporting
on and interpretation of computerised personnel
information.
Practitioners must understand and be able to explain:
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1
10
Knowledgeindicators
2
3
4
5
The organisational context of the
personnel function – political, economic, social,
technological, environmental and labour-related.
The key roles and tasks of the personnel function and
its contribution to organisational success as a line
management and as a specialist function.
Basic employment legislation affecting personnel
practice, including:
• employment contracts
• health and safety
• equal opportunities
• diversity.
The basic principles of human resource planning.
The benefits and principles of a computerised
personnel system and the professional and legal requirements for confidentiality and security of personnel records.
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
An overview of the personnelfunction and:
• the internal and external factors impacting on it
• the business context in which it operates
• its contribution to organisational success.
Organisational structure and organisational charts.
PESTLE and SWOT analyses.
Business objectives and the links to HR plans.
The demand for and supply of labour.
Flexible working practices.
Internal and external labour markets.
Absence management.
Relationships with colleagues, customers, line
managers and other stakeholders.
Employment relationships, including the contract
of employment, contract for service and the
psychological contract.
Health and safety.
Expansion and contraction; redundancy and
termination.
Personnel records including:
• computerised personnel information systems
• personnel databases and spreadsheets
• security and confidentiality
• data protection.
Recording and analysing information, and presenting
the results.
The range of recording and retrieval systems and criteria
for their selection.
The business case for introducing improvements.
Factors that affect introduction and implementation,
such as:
• feasibility
• relevance
• timing
• management support
• employee support
• resources.
23
Support-levelStandards|Certificate in Personnel Practice
2Recruitmentandselection
3Traininganddevelopment
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Contribute to the recruitment process by playing a
part in:
• job analysis interviews
• writing job descriptions and person specifications
• writing copy for recruitment advertisements
• submitting appropriate media for advertisements.
2 Contribute to the selection process by playing a part in:
• shortlisting
• selection interviewing
• the decision-making process.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must understand and be able to explain:
1
The key stages of recruitment and selection and the
use of appropriate media and selection processes in
differing circumstances.
2 The basic legislation underpinning the recruitment
and selection process and the impact that equal
opportunities legislation has on the process, and on
organisational policy and practice.
Indicativecontent
1 The recruitment and selection process, including:
• job analysis, job descriptions and person specifications
• recruitment methods
• shortlisting
• selection interviewing
• testing
• terms and conditions of employment
• offer letters
• the legislation relating to contracts.
2 Induction.
3 Discrimination on the grounds of disability, race,
gender, age.
4 Methods of information-gathering (including
interviews, discussions and questionnaires).
24
1
2
3
4
Identify training needs.
Design a learning event to meet identified needs.
Prepare and deliver a learning event.
Evaluate training and development events.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must understand and be able to explain:
1 The indicators of training and development needs and
the range of methods for identifying needs.
2 The principles of learning and their impact on training
design and delivery.
3 The principles of training design and delivery, the
range of options and media and the respective
advantages and disadvantages.
4 Evaluations of training and development.
5 Key government training initiatives.
Indicativecontent
1 The links between business plans and training and
development.
2 The principles of learning.
3 The systematic training cycle, covering:
• identification of training needs
• design and delivery of training
• evaluation of training
• range of training methods and learning opportunities.
4 Government training initiatives, including Investors in
People (IiP), NVQs/SVQs.
Certificate in Personnel Practice |Support-levelStandards
4 performancemanagementand
employeerelations
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
Conduct an appraisal interview.
Agree and review performance targets.
Contribute to grievance and disciplinary interviews.
Contribute to the operation of pay and reward systems.
Objective-setting, motivation, performance review.
Giving and receiving constructive feedback.
Handling poor performance.
Handling discipline and grievance and taking account
of the related legislation.
5 Reward systems and administration.
6 Effective strategies for involvement and participation.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must understand and be able to explain:
1 The purposes of performance management, appraisal
and review, and the link with business objectives.
2 The legislation and organisational good practice
relating to:
• grievance
• discipline
• reward management
• termination of employment
• performance management.
3 The components of an effective pay and reward
system and its administration.
4 Common processes for consultation and participation.
25
Support-levelStandards|Certificate in Training Practice
Certificate in Training Practice
Purpose
The Certificate in Training Practice (CTP) is a foundation-level Standard, at an equivalent level to NVQ/SVQ
Level 3 in Learning and Development.
The Certificate in Training Practice is a stand-alone qualification, valid in its own right. Successful candidates
receive the CIPD Certificate in Training Practice and are eligible for Associate membership of the Institute.
However, completing the Certificate in Training Practice and/or gaining Associate membership does not imply
that the candidate should automatically progress to study at the Professional Development Scheme level.
potentialcandidates
aims
This qualification is intended for:
The Certificate in Training Practice is intended to:
• those involved in training and development in
organisations or working as independent trainers
• training administrators seeking a broader
understanding of the principles of training and
development
• those aspiring to a career in training and development
• managers with responsibility for training and
development.
• specify the operational performance standards needed
for the qualification, and the knowledge and skills
that an effective trainer needs
• develop an awareness of the context for training and
development, and the key issues that impact on its
planning and delivery.
The Standard can be used as a basis for:
• development programmes designed to develop and
assess competence against the CIPD Standards
• a developmental programme to underpin the NVQ/
SVQ in Learning and Development.
This specification incorporates much of the knowledge
and understanding which underpins the national
standards for learning and development at NVQ/SVQ
level 3, and those for assessors/verifiers.
26
Certificate in Training Practice |Support-levelStandards
performanceindicators
1 Trainingincontext
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Manage their own personal and professional
development.
2 Build effective relationships with colleagues and
customers.
3 Plan, monitor and keep records of training sessions.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must understand and be able to explain:
1 Continuing personal and professional development
• The principles of self-evaluation and personal
development planning and the strategies, support
and sources needed to put it into practice.
2 The organisational context
• The contribution that training and development
makes to organisational success and the factors that
influence its effectiveness.
• Organisational roles and relationships in relation to
personnel and development.
• The effect of legislation and government influence
on training practice.
3 Management and administration
• Factors to consider when planning and organising
training sessions and selecting from the range of
training record systems.
Indicativecontent
1 Continuing personal and professional development
• Continuing Professional Development – the definition and the CIPD policy.
• Methods of self-analysis and self-assessment,
including reflection, reviewing one’s own
performance and seeking feedback from other
people such as colleagues, clients etc.
• Giving and receiving constructive feedback.
• Personal goals, targets and development plans.
• Factors affecting personal performance and preferences for personal development.
• Strategies and sources for personal development.
• Useful frameworks for benchmarking, analysis and
planning (including CIPD Standards).
• Current debates and developments in training and
development.
2 The organisational context
• The context in which training and development
operates in an organisation, and factors affecting its
effectiveness (eg budgets, attitudes to training, line
management interest and support etc).
• PESTLE and SWOT analysis.
• Relationships, with colleagues, customers, line
managers, HR (recruitment, selection, appraisal etc)
and other stakeholders.
• The performance management process and its rationale.
• Employment relationships (including non-employees
such as agents or contract staff and external
providers of services).
• Factors affecting individual performance (eg
systems, performance criteria, reward, motivation,
management style and relationships).
• Employment legislation and good practice relating
to personnel and training practice, in health and
safety, equal opportunities and diversity, and data
protection.
• Security and confidentiality.
• Government influences on training practice (eg IiP,
NVQs/SVQs).
• Information and communication technology and its
potential for training and development.
3 Management and administration
• Techniques of resource planning and allocation.
• Cost factors and sources of funding.
• Factors to consider in planning training sessions (eg
venues, facilities, cost, equipment, people resources).
• Cost/benefit techniques and their application to training situations.
• The range of recording and retrieval systems and
criteria for their selection.
27
Support-levelStandards|Certificate in Training Practice
2 Identifyingandprioritising
learningneeds
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Identifying learning needs
• A range of methods for identifying learning needs
(including task and job analysis).
• Sources of information relevant to learning needs
(including job roles/job descriptions, performance
standards, performance assessments, individual and
departmental objectives).
• Methods of information-gathering (including
interviews, discussions, questionnaires).
• Personal factors affecting individual learning
(eg learning styles and preferences, access, timing).
• Work factors affecting individual learning
(eg organisational requirements and priorities,
constraints/resources, support).
2 Recommending learning opportunities
• The range of learning opportunities, their advantages
and disadvantages (eg internal/external, formal and
informal methods, online or distance learning,
qualifications, providers).
• Principles of equality of access/opportunity (eg equal
opportunities legislation and good practice, non­
discriminatory language.
• Training plans, for individuals and groups.
1 Identify, prioritise and agree learning needs with individuals
and groups, using appropriate methods of analysis.
2 Recommend learning and development opportunities
relevant to identified needs.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must understand and be able to explain:
1 Identifying learning needs
• Methods and sources of information for identifying
learning needs.
• Factors affecting individual learning, in and out of
the workplace.
2 Recommending learning opportunities
• The range of learning opportunities, including
workplace and e-learning, their advantages and
disadvantages, and principles of equality of access/
opportunity.
28
Certificate in Training Practice |Support-levelStandards
3 Designingtrainingandassessment
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Design training and development sessions for
individual learners or groups.
2 Prepare and/or develop relevant materials and facilities
to support training and development sessions.
3 Assess and provide feedback to learners.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must understand and be able to explain:
1 Designing training
• The principles of adult learning.
• The principles of effective design, and the range of
factors affecting design.
• The range of training/learning methods, their
advantages and disadvantages, and criteria for
their selection.
2 Materials and facilities
• The range of audio, visual, and technology-based
learning aids, for use in design and delivery, and
criteria for their selection.
3 Assessment
• Methods for assessing learning, their advantages and
disadvantages and criteria for their selection.
Indicativecontent
1 Designing training
• Principles of adult learning, including learning styles.
• Factors affecting design (including objectives,
learners, numbers, location, resources, facilities and
equipment, management support, constraints).
• The structure and purpose of performance, training,
and learning objectives.
• How to structure a training and development session
(including purpose and objectives, logic, sequence,
timing, summaries).
• The range of methods for delivery and when they
are appropriate (eg 1:1 coaching, presentation,
demonstration, exercises, group activities, online
learning).
• Broader learning solutions, when they are
appropriate and how to integrate them into more
formal training.
• The rationale and benefits of building an evaluation
strategy into the design.
• Underlying issues – health and safety, principles of
equality and non-discrimination.
• Preparation and tutor plans.
• Planning to transfer and support the learning back in
the workplace.
2 Materials and facilities
• The purpose and principles of using/presenting
materials (eg visual aids, media).
• Sources and criteria for selecting relevant types of
learning materials (including styles, formats and
purpose).
• How to adapt materials for different learners.
• Facilities and equipment and how to select and use
them.
• Technology-based equipment and systems; what they
can contribute to design, delivery and evaluation;
when and how to use them.
3 Assessment
• The scope, purpose and principles of assessment.
• Issues for assessment (eg performance, knowledge,
skills, attitudes).
• Assessment methods available (eg questioning,
tests, simulations, interviews, work-based evidence,
observation, assignments).
• Criteria for selection of assessment methods
(eg validity/reliability, resources available, legal
and organisational requirements, individual
opportunities).
• Principles and purpose of reviews.
• Sources of information on the progress of learners
(qualitative/quantitative).
• Methods of collecting information on the progress of
learners.
• Methods of recording and storing information.
• Principles of equality and non-discrimination in
assessment.
29
Support-levelStandards|Certificate in Training Practice
4 Deliveringandevaluatingtraining
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Prepare, deliver and review a range of practical
learning sessions for individuals and groups.
2 Evaluate training and development sessions for
individuals and groups, using appropriate methods and
make improvements as appropriate.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must understand and be able to explain:
1 Delivering training sessions
• The range of delivery styles and presentation
techniques, including online learning, skills needed,
advantages and disadvantages and criteria for their
selection.
• How to create a climate conducive to learning, and
overcome barriers to learning.
2 Review and evaluation
• The purpose, principles, scope and focus of evaluation.
• Evaluation methods and procedures and criteria for
their selection.
• Factors to consider when recommending and making
improvements.
Indicativecontent
1 Delivering training sessions
• Methods and styles of delivery (eg coaching,
demonstration, instruction, giving information,
facilitation of group participation), their relevance for
different objectives, and skills needed for delivery.
• Presentation techniques (eg voice, mannerisms,
language, pace, non-verbals).
• The structure, objectives, selection and sequencing of
content.
• Room layouts and the physical environment, including
health and safety issues.
• Use of visual aids (eg flipchart, whiteboard, OHP,
slides, multi-media).
30
• Use of learning aids (eg audio/video, IT, handouts,
exercises, simulations, samples).
• Barriers to learning and how to overcome them.
• Creating a climate conducive to learning (eg
establishing rapport, interaction with learners,
putting learners at ease).
• Participative training methods (eg discussion, questions
and answers, exercises and group activities).
• Managing group dynamics (eg different types of group,
factors likely to affect learning and behaviour in
groups, dealing with quiet or argumentative learners).
• The support needed by learners (eg checking
understanding, tackling learning transfer).
• Principles of giving feedback to learners (eg formal/
informal, formative/summative, verbal/written,
individuals/groups, prioritising).
• Questioning and listening.
• Issues of equality of opportunity and non-discriminatory
practice (eg possible sources of bias, promoting equality).
2 Review and evaluation
• Principles, scope and purpose of evaluation.
• Methods and procedures for monitoring and
evaluation and criteria for their selection.
• Criteria for evaluation (eg objectives, design, learning/
training methods, delivery, content, level, resources
and facilities, changes in capabilities of learners,
impact on performance, organisation of sessions,
cost/benefit analysis etc).
• Information collection techniques (eg discussions,
written feedback, individual/group, questionnaires etc).
• Recording and analysis of information and
presentation of results.
• Reasoned recommendations and actions for
introducing improvements.
• Factors that will affect implementation of the
improvements (eg feasibility, relevance, timing,
management support, resources etc).
Certificate in Recruitment and Selection |Support-levelStandards
Certificate in Recruitment and Selection
Purpose
The Certificate in Recruitment and Selection (CRS) is a foundation-level Standard, at an equivalent
level to NVQ/SVQ level 3. It fully incorporates the knowledge and understanding standards of the
NVQ/SVQ Level 3 in Recruitment and successful candidates receive the CIPD Certificate in Recruitment
and Selection and are eligible for Associate membership of the Institute.
potentialcandidates
aims
This qualification is intended for personnel officers,
recruitment consultants and line managers with
responsibility for recruitment and selection who either:
It is intended to:
• operate in a personnel support role within an
organisation, recruiting and selecting staff for that
organisation; or
• provide a recruitment and selection consultancy
service to another organisation.
• develop competence in the range of personnel skills
needed for this role
• provide the necessary underpinning of knowledge and
understanding
• address the difficult potential conflicts of interest and
competing concerns that a recruitment consultant has
to handle when balancing the needs of individuals
seeking jobs and their own concern to secure a
placement fee.
The Certificate in Recruitment and Selection is a selfstanding programme and is a valid qualification in
its own right. It is also a valuable bridge for openaccess candidates wishing to enter the Professional
Development Scheme, and can act as a taster for those
seeking longer-term development.
There is some overlap between the Certificate in
Recruitment and Selection and the Certificate in
Personnel Practice in the area of recruitment and basic
employment legislation.
31
Support-levelStandards|Certificate in Recruitment and Selection
performanceindicators
1 Thecontextofrecruitmentand
selectionandapplicationof
informationsystems
2 Therecruitmentprocess
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Maintain records of the recruitment and selection
process to facilitate personnel decision-making,
including computer records.
2 Locate and record details of local labour markets.
3 Maintain an awareness of current and emergent
patterns of employment.
1 Contribute to the identification of recruitment needs
in their own or in a client organisation.
2 Assist job-seekers in applying for vacancies.
3 Undertake recruitment administration on behalf of
their own organisation or client company.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must understand and be able to explain:
Practitioners must understand and be able to explain:
1 The context of recruitment and selection, in their own
organisation or a client’s organisation.
2 The importance of local and/or national labour markets
and their impact on recruitment to an organisation.
3 The role of information technology in the provision of
recruitment and selection services and activities; the
need to keep systematic and accurate records.
4 Employment trends and their implications for
recruitment and selection, including short-term
contracts, consultancy contracts, outsourcing, agency
staff and temporary employment.
Indicativecontent
1 The context for recruitment and selection, including:
• local and national labour markets, employment and
demographic trends, skill shortages
• the organisational context eg structure, culture, sector
• personnel information systems, databases of
candidates, Internet-based recruitment, spreadsheets,
security aspects and data protection
• the variety of employment needs, use of outsourcing, agency staff.
32
1 The core activities of personnel practice in the areas
of recruitment, recruitment consultancy and client
services.
Indicativecontent
1 The recruitment and selection process, including:
• job analysis, job descriptions and person specifications
• selecting appropriate advertising media and producing copy for advertisements.
Certificate in Recruitment and Selection |Support-levelStandards
3 Theselectionprocess
4 Thelegal,ethicalandprofessional
issuesofrecruitmentandselection
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Identify suitably qualified applicants for vacancies.
2 Identify and implement appropriate selection tools eg
interviews, tests etc.
1 Take account of relevant employment legislation.
2 Create, develop and maintain effective working
relationships with candidates, clients and the
organisation.
3 Take responsibility for their own continuing
professional development.
4 Comply with professional and ethical requirements.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must understand and be able to explain:
1 The core activities of personnel practice in the areas of
selection and client services.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must understand and be able to explain:
Indicativecontent
1 Establishing and using criteria and procedures for
shortlisting acceptable potential employees.
2 Systematic selection interviewing and decision-making
(including physical resources and the conditions and
surroundings necessary for a successful interview).
3 The use of psychometric tests, health questionnaires,
induction, biodata, assessment centres, video-based
interviewing.
4 Giving feedback to potential candidates, particularly
after psychometric tests.
1 Basic employment legislation in relation to contracts of
employment, equal opportunity, health and safety.
2 Customer needs and requirements, and the
establishment of effective working relationships.
3 Requirements for a healthy, safe and productive
working environment.
4 The significance of professional standards and codes
of practice, especially equal opportunity, managing
diversity and professional and ethical behaviour.
Indicativecontent
1 Basic employment law, including:
• contracts of employment
• equal opportunity (race, sex, disability, ex-offenders etc)
• health and safety
• terms and conditions of employment
• offer letters.
2 Developing and maintaining effective working
relationships with candidates, clients and organisations
based on clear specifications of the job role and the
person needed.
3 Contract law in relation to employment, contracts for
fixed terms or for services, the Data Protection Act,
maternity regulations and law.
4 Professional and ethical standards and codes of practice.
33
Support-levelStandards|Certificate in Employment Relations, Law and Practice
Certificate in Employment Relations,
Law and Practice
Purpose
The Certificate in Employment Relations, Law and Practice (CERLAP) is a foundation-level programme, at an
equivalent level to NVQ/SVQ Level 3 in Personnel.
Successful candidates receive the CIPD Certificate in Employment Relations, Law and Practice and are
eligible for Associate Membership of the Institute. However, completing the Certificate in Employment
Relations, Law and Practice, and/or gaining Associate membership, does not imply that the candidate
should automatically progress to Professional Development Scheme level.
potentialcandidates
aims
This qualification is intended for:
The Certificate in Employment Relations, Law and
Practice is intended to:
• anyone working at the level of personnel/human
resources or employee relations assistant,
administrator, adviser or officer, whose role is to
provide support for key aspects of the employment
function
• someone new to, or aspiring to, a career in personnel,
human resources or employee relations
• line managers, supervisors or team leaders who wish
to gain the same level of skills in employment practice
as practitioners at this level
• the owners or managers of small businesses.
34
• develop the skills needed in employment practice
• serve as an introduction to the work of employment
practice, often carried out within personnel
departments
• develop an awareness of:
- the context of employment practice
- the key issues that impact on employment practice
issues
• provide a platform for studies in employment law or
personnel management.
Certificate in Employment Relations, Law and Practice |Support-levelStandards
performanceindicators
1 practiceincontext(orcontextualissues)
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1 The changing economic, social, legal, political and
technological environment.
2 The concept of the balance of bargaining power.
3 The role of law in regulating the employment
relationship (the Government as a legislator).
4 The parties in employee relations, including
management and employee representative
organisations.
5 The parties in the law-making process – Parliament,
the courts, employment tribunals, the institutions of
the European Union, the role of social partners in
shaping EU-based legislation.
6 The role of the state agencies – the Central Arbitration
Committee; the Low Pay Commission; the Advisory,
Conciliation and Arbitration Service; the Health
and Safety Commission; the Equal Opportunities
Commission; the Commission for Racial Equality; the
Disability Rights Commission; and equivalent agencies
in the Irish Republic and devolved administrations.
7 The civil and criminal aspects of health and safety
at work, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974,
employer liability, including vicarious liability for safe
working environment, including managing stress.
1 Access up-to-date sources of information.
2 Advise on impact of legislation.
3 Review organisation systems and policies against good
practice/codes.
4 Identify factors that influence bargaining power
between employer and employees.
5 Identify advantages of different types of working
relationships.
6 Identify rights and duties of employers and employees
in relation to health and safety.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must understand and be able
to explain:
1 The economic, legal, social, technological,
organisational context.
2 The relationship between employer/employee.
3 Guidelines, code of practice, procedures and
legislation.
4 The role of Government in the employment relationship.
5 ACAS, CAC, employment tribunals, EAT or their
equivalent in Ireland.
6 Civil and criminal aspects of health and safety,
employer liability.
35
Support-levelStandards|Certificate in Employment Relations, Law and Practice
2Settingupemploymentcontracts
3Managingtheemploymentrelationship
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Produce employment contracts to suit all circumstances.
2 Review appropriate selection processes, procedures
and documentation.
3 Implement procedures on discrimination.
4 Review induction procedures in relation to good practice.
5 Implement procedures on data protection.
6 Review the staff handbook in relation to good practice.
1 Implement procedures on performance management.
2 Implement procedures on:
• grievance
• discipline
• dispute.
3 Prepare for and contribute to the bargaining process.
4 Contribute to resolving disputes – including use of
mediation and alternative dispute resolution (ADR).
5 Undertake basic fact-finding interviews for appraisal,
grievance and discipline.
6 Provide advice on family-related leave and rights
(ie maternity, paternity etc), absence, holidays and
working time, pay and benefits.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must understand and be able to explain:
1 Contracts – full-time, part-time, fixed-term, agency
workers and temporary workers.
2 Legislation relating to recruitment selection.
3 Asylum and immigration.
4 Legislation relating to discrimination.
5 Working time.
6 Data protection legislation and best practice.
Indicativecontent
1 The nature and significance of the employment
contract and the differing working relationships eg
temporary, casual, agency, permanent, probationary.
2 The intervention of the state in the employment
contract in relation to recruitment and selection
including the Asylum and Immigration Act, and the
Access to Medical Records Act.
3 Legislation and case law relating to discrimination in
the employment relationship (race, gender, disability,
sexual orientation, religion etc) and equal pay.
4 Legislation providing minimum standards in pay (the
national minimum wage), holidays and working time
(Working Time Regulations) and the work–life balance
(flexible working provisions).
5 The legal implications of a reference, both when
giving and receiving them, and the effect of data
protection legislation on privacy and confidentiality.
6 Skills in setting up employment contracts –
interviewing, presentational, listening, chairing etc.
36
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must understand and be able to explain:
1 Performance management good practice.
2 Grievance and discipline legislation and codes
of practice.
3 Discrimination legislation and good practice.
4 Individual and collective conflict.
5 Sources of referrals in conflict. ADR processes.
6 Legislation on family-related matters, absence,
working time and holidays etc.
Certificate in Employment Relations, Law and Practice |Support-levelStandards
4Managingthe(oran)exit
fromemployment
Indicativecontent
Operationalindicators
1 Procedure for performance appraisal, staff
development and links with the reward systems.
2 Dispute resolution procedures:
• grievance
• discipline
• job grading
• trade union recognition
• promotion
• the interpretation and application of agreements
(commonly referred to as disputes procedures).
3 Dispute resolution processes:
• collective bargaining
• joint consultation and information-giving institutions
• voluntary arbitration in trade disputes
• voluntary arbitration as an alternative to the
employment tribunal system in, for example, alleged
unfair dismissal disputes and disputes over requests
for more flexible working arrangements.
4 Preparing for, conducting and concluding grievancehandling matters; the management of disciplinary
incidents; bargaining.
5 Preparing for, conducting and concluding meetings of
consultation and information-giving bodies.
6 Skills required to manage the employment relationship
– interviewing, listening, watching, chairing, oral
presentation, note-taking, report writing, numeracy
(to estimate the costs of compromise).
7 The law relating to: variation of contracts, statutory
grievance and disciplinary procedures, bullying and
harassment, disability, trade union recognition,
industrial action, information and consultation.
8 Individual employee rights: family-friendly rights
(maternity, paternity, adoptive leave and pay), time
off for public, trade union and other statutory and
contractual duties.
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Implement procedure:
• termination, dispute
• redundancy
• exit interview.
2 Maintain records of employment.
3 Recognise when TUPE situation exists.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must understand and be able to explain:
1 Legislation relating to:
• unfair and constructive dismissals and employment
tribunals
• consultation.
2 Contract law in relation to:
• termination
• pay in lieu of notice/garden leave etc
• wrongful dismissal.
3 Issues raised by TUPE/mergers and acquisitions/
consultation.
Indicativecontent
1 Exit from employment procedures eg redundancy
procedures, dismissal.
2 Managing employment relationship in mergers, take­
overs and acquisitions.
3 The importance of exit interviews.
4 The relevant law and case decisions relating to
dismissing fairly, managing redundancy situations; the
transfer of undertakings.
5 Skills required to manage effectively the exit from
employment – interviewing, listening, oral and written
presentation, negotiating, assertiveness, numeracy (eg
to calculate redundancy compensation payments).
37
Certificate in Business
Awareness and Advanced
Professional Study
Research and
Reasoning Skills
in a Business
Context
Quantitative
Skills for Business
Analysis
Understanding
the Business
Environment
Self-Management
and Study Skills for
Professional Development
39
CertificateinBusinessawarenessandadvancedprofessionalStudy
CertificateinBusinessawarenessandadvancedprofessionalStudy
40
Assessment philosophy for the Certificate in Business Awareness
and Advanced Professional Study (for educational centres)
41
Certificate in Business Awareness and Advanced
Professional Study
45
Assessment philosophy|CertificateinBusinessawarenessandadvancedprofessionalStudy
Assessment philosophy for the Certificate in
Business Awareness and Advanced Professional
Study (for educational centres)
1. philosophy,levelandpositioningoftheCIpD
professionalStandards
One of the key objectives of the CIPD is the establishment,
monitoring and promotion of standards and ethics for the
profession. The Institute has therefore defined standards
across the whole spectrum of personnel and development,
taking into account both generalist and specialist
functions. The Standards are currently accredited on
the National Qualifications Framework at:
•level3 – Certificate in Personnel Practice, Certificate
in Training Practice, Certificate in Recruitment and
Selection and Certificate in Employment Relations, Law
and Practice
•level7 – postgraduate diploma and certificates in
Personnel and Development.
2 Rationaleforthelevel6CertificateinBusiness
awarenessandadvancedprofessionalStudy
(CBaapS)
3 Candidatesandtheirprogressionexpectations
The level 6 certificate is aimed at two categories of
candidates:
• those whose highest qualification is at level 3, as
classified in the National Qualifications Framework
(this level includes the CIPD’s Certificate Awards:
CPP, CTP, CRS and CERLAP, NVQ level 3 and GCE
A-level and AS-level) who wish to access an M-level
programme
• those with an H-level qualification (a UK first degree
or equivalent) which is not in a business or social
sciences or relevant arts subject but who wish to study
a social sciences subject at M level.
It will also be of value to candidates who have not
studied for many years or who have been out of the
workplace for a time.
4 assessmentphilosophy
The level 3 certificate programmes provide a practical
programme for approximately 7,000 candidates a year who
wish to develop the knowledge and competence required
for operation at support level in personnel management
or training and development. Level 7 provides a demanding
professional programme for about 5,000 candidates a
year who wish to operate at a professional level in the
management and development of people.
The philosophy of assessment of the CBAAPS programme
is to assess whether candidates have developed a
sufficient level of analytical skills and business awareness
to progress successfully to postgraduate study, specifically
to the CIPD Professional Development Scheme.
Research undertaken by the CIPD over the last few years
has demonstrated that candidates completing the certificate
programmes, the majority of whom are non-graduates,
experience difficulty in adapting to the postgraduate-level
qualification. This is because they have not developed
the analytical, numeracy and research skills or business
awareness that is necessary to succeed at this level.
• the level of analytical thinking required to progress to
postgraduate study
• the potential to become a thinking performer as a
CIPD professional
• an understanding of the five key BACKUP
competencies.
In particular, we are trying to assess whether candidates
have achieved:
The level 6 Certificate in Business Awareness and
Advanced Professional Study has been designed to
develop these skills and awareness and therefore enable
candidates to join the Professional Development Scheme
with the right entry level of knowledge, skills and attitudes
to succeed on an M-level programme.
41
CertificateinBusinessawarenessandadvancedprofessionalStudy|Assessment philosophy
Thethinkingperformer
Candidates as thinking performers demonstrate potential
for:
• thinking that is not limited to their organisational level
• understanding of organisation strategy and its context
(both internal and external)
• understanding of how to produce plans that will
effectively implement strategy at the business unit and
individual levels of the organisation.
TheBaCKUpframework
The BACKUP framework highlights five key competencies:
•
•
•
•
•
Business orientation
Application Capability
Knowledge of the subject matter
Understanding
Persuasion and presentation skills.
CBAAPS candidates will be working towards
demonstrating the BACKUP competencies by showing
that they can meet many of the following:
• deal with complex issues systematically and creatively
• make sound judgements in the absence of complete
data
• achieve originality in tackling and solving problems
• plan and advise on how to implement tasks
• propose/make convincing, feasible and ethical
decisions on complex and unpredictable situations
• communicate their conclusions clearly to non-specialist
audiences.
Businessreportproposal that will be assessed
externally against preset criteria.
Casestudyassessmentwithunseenquestions
this will be an open-book examination. Prior to the
examination, background information eg an industry
profile, will be distributed to candidates. They will
be encouraged to discuss/analyse this background
information in groups. The examination itself will consist
of further case study details and unseen questions to be
assessed against criteria that are internally set but reflect
the criteria in 6, Level of assessment, below. This will be
internally assessed and externally moderated.
CpDrecordandlog in the CIPD format demonstrating
critical thinking. This will be internally assessed and
externally moderated.
6 levelofassessment
The elements will be assessed at first degree level and will
be graded according to the following generic criteria:
pass(50–59percent)
5 elementsofassessment
Ability to meet the majority of the following:
There will be four elements of assessment:
a Understand key concepts and theories, causes,
influences, issues and relevant trends.
b Identify problems and issues, blockages and barriers.
c Apply appropriate models and analytical tools to
analyse and understand the problem.
d Design a realistic research project that includes
consideration of alternative methods/approaches,
blockages and barriers.
•
•
•
•
42
Businessreport– this will take the form of a
2,000–3,000-word (excluding appendices) business
report that addresses a problem within the candidate’s
own organisation or one with which they are familiar.
Candidates who cannot access an organisation will
be supported in accessing one or using the web to
access the annual report and accounts and profile of an
organisation. If the later is used, each candidate must use
a different organisation. This will be internally assessed
and externally moderated.
a
a
a
a
2,000–3,000-word business report
business report proposal – externally assessed
case study assessment with unseen questions
CPD plan and record.
Assessment philosophy|CertificateinBusinessawarenessandadvancedprofessionalStudy
e Collect data and identify sources of reference and
underpinning data.
f Systematically analyse data.
g Develop realistic conclusions that address key issues
and explore alternatives.
h Make realistic, prioritised, costed and justified
recommendations, including an implementation plan.
i Present information clearly and concisely using
appropriate style, format and visual methods and
correct grammar and spelling.
Merit(60–69percent)
Ability to meet the Pass criteria and demonstrate the
majority of the following:
a Understanding of the wider implications and context.
b Awareness of complexity and short- and long-term
impact.
c Identification of causes and influence through
application of models and analytical tools.
d Critical analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of
the approaches identified.
e Extensive research, and accurately and clearly
referenced data.
f Critical evaluation of issues and evidence of an
appreciation of uncertainty and limits of knowledge.
g Evaluation of alternatives and awareness of causes,
influences and contextual issues, uncertainty and limits
of knowledge.
h Awareness and consideration given to horizontal and
vertical integration and overcoming barriers.
i Clarity and conciseness in communicating information
and ideas with few errors or omissions.
d Originality of thought in design and strategies for
dealing with blockages and barriers and their impact.
e Focused, comprehensive research that asks questions
to achieve or identify a range of solutions.
f Complex issues dealt with systematically and
creatively; originality in tackling and solving problems
and awareness of ambiguity.
g Critical evaluation of alternatives, awareness of
complexity, wider context, appreciation of ambiguity.
h Focus and originality in what is recommended
and how it will add value and contribute to the
achievement of strategic goals.
i Persuasive communication that sells the benefits of a
proposal, clearly identifies added values and has clarity,
conciseness and accuracy: a professional document.
7 Consistencyofassessment
A national moderation process exists to ensure that all
centres meet the Institute’s Standards.
Internally assessed elements will be locally set and
marked against generic assessment criteria (used by all
centres), moderated by an external moderator under the
direction of a Chief Moderator.
The business report proposal will be externally assessed.
This will bring an important element of externality to the
assessment process.
Regional and national standardisation activities will
take place annually for both moderated and externally
assessed work in order to ensure national standards.
8 principlesofassessment
Distinction(70percentplus)
Ability to meet Pass and Merit criteria and demonstrate:
a Detailed analysis of implications of the wider context.
b Awareness of limits of knowledge and complexity of
the situation and wider issues.
c Originality in analysing and critiquing findings and
assumptions and awareness of limits of knowledge
available.
In order to ensure that consistency of assessment
is maintained across all centres, the following three
principles are central:
• There must be some external assessment in any
programme leading to the CIPD level 6 certificate – the
external assessment of the business report proposal.
• The assessment must stretch across the range of the
CBAAPS Standards.
43
CertificateinBusinessawarenessandadvancedprofessionalStudy|Assessment philosophy
• While the programme is a development programme
which enables considerable personal growth,
no centre should compromise the validity of the
assessment by providing inappropriate guidance or
other advantage to individual candidates to enable
them to meet the CIPD Standards.
9 BarrierstotheachievementoftheCIpD
Standards
Some of the most common shortcomings in assessed
work exhibit some of the following features:
• Excessive reliance on perspectives acquired from a
single sector or single organisation.
• Lack of awareness of up-to-date developments in the
management and development of people.
• Simplistic and naïve assumptions coupled with a lack
of political and ethical sensitivity and behavioural
inflexibility.
• Uncritical acceptance of the status quo.
• An inability to relate learning acquired to business and
corporate purposes.
10 awardingandreporting
The following valid and reliable method of combining
assessment outcomes will be used to determine awards.
• The business report proposal and CPD plan and log
must meet ‘satisfactory’ criteria. The grades for the
business report and the case study assessment will be
equally weighted and combined to arrive at the final
grade.
• There is a robust method of reporting results: the
CIPD moderator allocated to the centre or the Chief
Moderator must endorse the candidates’ results
before the certificate is awarded.
44
CertificateinBusinessawarenessandadvancedprofessionalStudy
Certificate in Business Awareness and
Advanced Professional Study
Purpose
This programme aims to develop, within a business context, the analytical, application, numerical, research
and personal transferable skills that are needed at entry level to an M-level programme in a social science/
business subject, specifically, the CIPD Professional Development Scheme (PDS).
potentialcandidates
aims
The Certificate is aimed principally at two categories
of candidates:
• To enable candidates to make the transition from
a level 3 or non-relevant degree programme onto
postgraduate programmes. Specifically, to join the
PDS with the right entry-level knowledge, skills and
attitudes that will be necessary to succeed on an Mlevel programme.
• to assist those whose highest qualification is at level 3,
as classified in the National Qualifications Framework
(this level includes NVQ level 3, GCE A-level/AS-level,
certificate-level programmes such as the CIPD’s own
CTP, CPP, CRS and CERLAP awards), to make the
transition to study at postgraduate level
• to assist those with an H-level qualification (a UK
first degree or equivalent) which is not in a business
or social sciences or relevant arts subject, who have
not therefore been exposed to the expectations of Hlevel study outputs in the social sciences, to make the
transition to study a social sciences subject at M-level.
Modeofdelivery
• This programme will normally be provided as an
introductory module, before embarking on the PDS.
• Alternatively, it could be provided as a spine
throughout the initial phase of the programme.
However, it may also be of value to candidates who have
either not studied for many years or who have been out
of the workplace for a time.
45
CertificateinBusinessawarenessandadvancedprofessionalStudy
performanceindicators
1Researchandreasoningskillsina
businesscontext
2Understandingthebusiness
environment
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Analyse a business problem using a case study.
2 Apply critical thinking to current business or personal
problems.
3 Use web and library technology for information
gathering.
4 Present information in assignments and reports.
Knowledgeindicators
1 Identify the relationship between organisations and
their environment.
2 Apply analytical tools to internal and external
problems.
3 Apply thinking skills to case studies in order to analyse
business situations.
4 Apply the CIPD model of human resource
management.
Practitioners must understand and be able to explain:
Knowledgeindicators
1 The different levels of thinking required on transition
to postgraduate study.
2 The difference between inductive and deductive
reasoning.
3 Research and information-gathering skills.
4 The BACKUP model, and communication through
report writing.
Practitioners must understand and be able to explain:
Indicativecontent
1 Levels of thinking at Masters and undergraduate
levels, introduction to the nature and demands of
the PDS.
2 Development of critical thought processes and
perspectives, thinking outside the box, ability to
understand the content questions.
3 Research methods to gather quantitative and
qualitative information.
4 Planning and writing up of assignments and reports as
persuasive documents; setting objectives, establishing
parameters and managing available time; researching,
analysing and presenting information, correct
referencing, avoiding plagiarism, in preparation for a
management report.
46
1 The strategic decision-making process.
2 The use of PESTLE, BOSTON and SWOT analytical
tools.
3 The role and function of human resource
management, and vertical and horizontal integration.
4 The CIPD model for HRM (resourcing, relations,
reward, development, context and integration) and
their respective strategic objectives.
Indicativecontent
1 Framework for analysis of an organisation’s position in
its business environment.
2 Business strategy and organisational structures, and
the use of analytical tools to understand these.
3 Contemporary approaches to human resource
management and the management of people.
4 Strategic partnerships between personnel and
development functions and line managers, the
thinking performer, and adding value. Vertical
integration and ‘best fit’ policies; horizontal
integration – good practice HRM.
CertificateinBusinessawarenessandadvancedprofessionalStudy
3 Self-managementandstudy
skillsforprofessional
4 Quantitativeskillsfor
development
businessanalysis
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Identify a learning style as a basis for
self-development.
2 Manage themselves and adopt
appropriate assertive techniques.
3 Negotiate time and resources for
personal development.
4 Develop study skills.
5 Develop skills of academic writing.
1 Use calculations and
spreadsheets to analyse and
interpret information.
2 Construct and interpret graphs,
charts and tables.
3 Using case study examples,
develop models of organisation
as a system; construct systems
diagrams.
4 Sort and order data; use
numerical information to analyse
business problems; use analysis of
data to justify recommendations
for action.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must understand and be able
to explain:
1 The use of learning theories, learning
styles, including Gagne, Bloom and Kolb.
2 How to identify learning needs and
strategies to meet them.
3 Negotiating theory, achieving win–win.
4 Study-skill techniques.
5 Techniques of written communication
and persuasion.
Indicativecontent
1 Introduction to learning skills and styles,
CPD logs, learning portfolios.
2 Self-analysis and personal development
plans; self-management and the use of
assertiveness in managing self and others.
3 Negotiation and its definition of the
different styles and types of negotiation
processes.
4 Reading effectively, note-taking both
from classroom sessions and from
reading, and preparation for assessment
and examinations.
5 Argumentation (in particular the need
for evidence to support any claim or
generalisation).
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must understand and
be able to explain:
1 Elementary calculations, simple
equations, and their graphical
form; relationships between
variables.
2 Choice and presentation of
information.
3 The basic ideas and thinking of
General Systems Theory.
4 The relevance of numeracy to
personnel and development
specialist; choice of data formats;
the importance of using data
to convince management;
the rational model and its
implications; the concept of risk.
Indicativecontent
sheets; profit and loss accounts;
simple trading accounts; labour
turnover; salary surveys.
2 Pie charts, histograms, tables
and graphs.
3 Systems attributes; concepts
of holism, emergence and
complexity.
4 Internal/external sources of
information, eg government
statistics; sources of bias; validity
and reliability of data.
Indicativelearninghours
Approximately 120 guided learning
hours, consisting of:
• 75 guided learning hours (input
and tutorial)
• 45 self-study hours and
preparation for assessment.
assessment
• Business report
- report proposal, externally
assessed against CIPD criteria
- one 2,000-word report, internally assessed and externally moderated.
• One time-constrained final
assessment eg revealed case
study with unseen questions.
CpD
Students will be expected to
undertake and record their CPD in
accordance with CIPD guidelines,
demonstrating critical thinking,
internally assessed and externally
moderated.
1 Mean, median, mode, normal
distributions elements of balance
47
Practitioner-level Standards
Applied Personnel
and Development
Specialist and
Generalist
Personnel and
Development
Leadership and
Management
People Management
and Development
49
practitioner-levelStandards
practitioner-levelStandards
50
Assessment philosophy for the Professional Development Scheme
(for educational centres)
51
Specialist and Generalist Personnel and Development
55
People Management and Development
151
Leadership and Management
157
Applied Personnel and Development
185
Assessment philosophy|practitioner-levelStandards
Assessment philosophy for the Professional
Development Scheme (for educational centres)
1 philosophy,levelandpositioningoftheCIpD
professionalStandards
These Standards attempt to answer the question ‘What is
a CIPD professional?’ The CIPD’s Professional Standards are
an articulation of the knowledge and competence required
to undertake a professional personnel or training and
development role. The ‘business partner’ role represents
a model to which CIPD professionals should aspire. In the
future, roles will not exist for people who are not able to
add value to the business objectives of the organisations
for which they work. The level of the qualification has been
compared both with those of other professional bodies and
with development opportunities in other countries around
the world.
One of the key objectives of the CIPD is the establishment,
monitoring and promotion of standards and ethics for the
profession. The Institute has therefore defined standards
across the whole spectrum of personnel and development,
taking into account both generalist and specialist functions.
These standards set out to define what a professional
working in people management and development should
be able to do or should be able to understand and explain,
if he or she is to operate at a professional level, at a
support level or at the level of an advanced practitioner.
2 professionalDevelopmentScheme(pDS)
The PDS is the educational programme based on the CIPD
Professional Standards. It is the route whereby the majority
of new members of the Institute gain their professional
qualification. The mission of the PDS is:
‘To set a professional standard of competence of CIPD
Graduates.’
The PDS therefore sets out to produce people whose
professional membership of the CIPD will signify to
themselves and to others their willingness and ability to
maximise the contribution of people to the achievement of
corporate objectives, and their ability to offer a high level
of expertise in their professional field.
entrants into the profession to progress to full professional
status, and provides the basis for the development of the
full ‘business partner’ role.
3 assessmentphilosophy
The philosophy of assessment of the PDS is to assess
whether candidates have demonstrated that they are CIPD
professionals. In particular, we are trying to assess whether
candidates have achieved:
• the level of a CIPD professional as a thinking performer
• the conceptual level of a business partner (Ulrich 1998).
The aim of the PDS is not principally to train individuals
for effective and efficient performance in their current
roles in their current organisations, but rather to prepare
them professionally for a variety of roles across a range of
corporate scenarios (some of them unforeseeable).
The key question that the CIPD asks (through its chief
examiners and other examiners at internally assessed
centres) is: Is this a person who should go out into the
world equipped with the CIPD ‘badge’ of professional
competence?
4 Consistencyofassessmentacrossinternallyand
externallyassessedcentres
For many years the CIPD and its predecessor institutes
have operated two parallel approaches to assessment
on programmes leading to certification against their
Professional Standards for Graduate membership:
• national assessment – a combination of locally set and
marked assignments and management research reports,
with national moderation on a sampling basis, and
nationally set and marked examinations in each module
taken
• internal assessment – locally set and marked
assignments, management research reports and
examinations. The Chief Moderator, Standards, and
the CIPD accredited examiners ensure consistency of
standards through national moderation.
Personnel and development is an open-access profession,
and the PDS represents a valuable mechanism for enabling
51
practitioner-levelStandards|Assessment philosophy
5 principlesofassessment
7 leveloftheexaminations
In order to ensure that consistency of assessment is
maintained across internally and externally assessed
centres, the following three principles are central:
PDS examination papers will be set and marked at
postgraduate level. The criteria all postgraduates need to
meet are:
• There must be some unseen assessment in any
programme leading to Graduate membership of the
CIPD.
• The assessment must stretch across the whole range of
CIPD Standards offered in the particular programme, of
which a significant element must be unseen assessment
covering a majority of Standards, since this is the most
appropriate way to assess across the breadth of the
Professional Standards.
• No centre should compromise the validity of the unseen
assessment by providing explicit guidance about the
content of examination questions.
• a systematic understanding of knowledge and a critical
awareness of current problems and/or new insights
• a comprehensive understanding of techniques
• a conceptual understanding that enables the student
to evaluate critically both current research and
methodologies.
6 CrucialbarrierstoachievementofthepDS
Standards
These are:
• excessive reliance on perspectives acquired from a single
sector or single organisation
• lack of awareness about significant new developments
both in terms of important pieces of research and
contemporary organisational practice
• simplistic and naive assumptions, coupled with a lack
of ‘political’ and ethical sensitivity and behavioural
inflexibility
• uncritical acceptance of the status quo (and thus the
reluctance to absorb a continuous-improvement and
transformational-change value system)
• an unwillingness to think and act strategically by failing
to produce action proposals linked to business and
corporate purposes.
52
This means that, in responding to questions, candidates
must demonstrate:
• an ability to analyse issues in a focused and
strategically oriented manner
• a critical awareness of the role that contemporary
personnel and development issues can play in the
management of people and organisations
• a comprehensive understanding of how and why
personnel and development initiatives may be
appropriate in different organisational settings.
They must show that they can:
• deal with complex issues both systematically and
creatively
• make sound judgements in the absence of complete data
• be original in tackling and solving problems
• plan and advise on how to implement tasks at a
professional-equivalent level
• propose/make convincing decisions in complex and
unpredictable situations
• communicate their conclusions clearly to non-specialist
audiences.
Assessment philosophy|practitioner-levelStandards
8 CIpDnationalassessment
2 PDS examination papers: Section A – the case study or
project-type question
The CIPD’s national examinations have addressed the
principles of assessment, the barriers to achievement of the
Standards and the level of the examinations by developing
the following structure of national examinations.
The following five competencies have been agreed as the
key dimensions of the assessment process:
•
•
•
•
•
business orientation
application capability
knowledge of the subject matter
understanding
persuasion and presentation skills.
In both Section A and Section B, questions are set on
the performance indicators for a chosen module – and
primarily on the knowledge indicators of that module.
Since performance indicators do not represent discrete
tasks but areas of competence and understanding that are
in real life closely inter-related, a single question will often
test more than one indicator.
In the PDS, all examination case studies and projecttype questions will test the candidates’ ability to be a
thinking performer. They can meet this requirement
particularly by:
• requiring candidates to demonstrate thinking that is
not limited to their organisational level
• requiring them to demonstrate an understanding of
organisation strategy and its context (both internal
and external)
• requiring them to demonstrate an understanding of
how to produce plans that will effectively implement
strategy at the business unit and individual levels of
the organisation
• requiring them to evaluate and advise on any wider
personnel and development or business implications
that their recommendations for action may have, so that
those recommendations are feasible in the particular
organisational context.
3
1
PDS Leadership and Management examination papers:
Section A
Although the specific approaches employed for
the structure of Section A questions in each of the
Leadership and Management subjects may differ in
detail, the objectives remain identical: namely, to assess
the ability of the candidate to ‘manage’ the broad
sweep of the relevant subject, to reproduce knowledge
that is both relevant and accurate, to evaluate and
appraise that knowledge in ways that demonstrate
sensitive understanding of the subject matter, and to
devise application scenarios (for problem-solving or
opportunity-seizing) that are persuasive, authoritative
and convincing against business performance criteria.
PDS examination papers: Section B
Section B is designed to assess across the whole range of
CIPD Standards. The format of the questions will often
present realistic ‘critical incident’ scenarios to which the
candidate must respond briefly but convincingly. Thus,
examiners will frequently use email, telephone messages,
memos, meetings or similar, and ‘your own organisation’
(or one with which the candidate is familiar either
directly or through reading or hearsay) formats.
These ‘situational’ formats are particularly appropriate
because they require candidates to address issues in a
specific organisational context.
4
Assignments and management research report
Assignments and the management research report are
set and agreed locally, but must be designed to cover
the Standards, address the barriers to the achievement
of the Standards and be set at the appropriate level.
They are nationally moderated.
53
practitioner-levelStandards|Assessment philosophy
9 Internalassessment
We suggest the following allocation of hours be adopted:
Internally assessed programmes must be designed to comply
with the assessment philosophy of the PDS. In particular, they
must:
•
•
•
•
be set at postgraduate level
address the barriers to the achievement of the Standards
comply with the principles of assessment
demonstrate that the principles of assessment are in line
with the learning processes for their cohort of students
and involve a range of assessment methods.
The CIPD’s national assessment system provides a useful
example for the design of internally assessed programmes.
ULRICH, D. (1998) A new mandate for human resources.
Harvard Business Review. January/February.
programmedelivery
The programme should aim to develop both content and
process competencies by means of practical case study
and assignment work as well as a structured teaching or
learning programme (face-to-face, distance learning, or a
combination of modes). Liaison with commercial and public
sector organisations is encouraged in order to maintain an
employer-led focus, and the involvement of practitioners in
the course delivery process is desirable wherever possible.
54
Totallearning Teaching Self-study
Leadership and
Management
360
180
180
People Management
and Development
240
120
120
Specialist/Generalist
Personnel and
Development
480
240
240
Applied Personnel
and Development
120
20
100
1,200
560
640
Skillsdevelopment
A major objective of the PDS is to develop students’
immediate operational competence as well as to provide a
basis for future development. It is therefore essential that
the knowledge gained is supplemented by the inclusion
of key skills that will be required by most entrants to the
profession.
The development of the ten core competencies described
on pages 11–13 should proceed as an integral part of the
study programme. The development of these skills should
also lead naturally on from the study of the relevant theory
and practice. In order to provide the opportunity to develop
and practise these skills, which require tutorial coaching
and feedback, at least 20 per cent of the programme
should be allocated to skills development.
Specialist and Generalist Personnel
and Development Standards
People Resourcing Standards
Learning and
Development Standards
Employee Reward
Standards
Employee Relations
Standards
55
practitioner-levelStandards|Specialist and Generalist Personnel and Development Standards
Specialist and Generalist Personnel and Development Standards
56
People Resourcing Standards
People Resourcing
Managing Diversity and Equal Opportunities
Selection and Assessment
Career Management and Development
57
58
64
69
76
Learning and Development Standards
Learning and Development
Management Development
Managing Organisational Learning and Knowledge
Managing the Training and Development Function
Designing and Delivering Training
81
82
89
97
103
110
Employee Reward Standards
Employee Reward
Pensions
Performance Management
117
118
125
130
Employee Relations Standards
Employee Relations
Employment Law
Health and Safety
137
138
143
147
People Resourcing Standards |practitioner-levelStandards
People Resourcing Standards
People Resourcing
Managing Diversity
and Equal Opportunities
Selection and Assessment
Career Management
and Development
57
practitioner-levelStandards|People Resourcing
People Resourcing
Purpose
The pace of change affecting organisations shows no sign
of slowing down and it has a strong impact on
managerial expectations about:
• employee behaviour and attitudes
• corporate pressures on managerial performance
• the employability potential and aspirations of labour
market entrants
• the criteria for success applied to those engaged in
employee resourcing activities.
Therefore, this elective is designed to recognise the
following key points:
• For any organisation to achieve its people resourcing
outcomes, the people resourcing professional must
be aware of the organisation’s strategic direction and
be able to demonstrate that the resourcing policies,
systems and procedures contribute to achieving the
corporate strategic goals.
• There is no guarantee that today’s organisations will
exist in the indefinite future, either at all or in their
present form. So this elective seeks to address the
competencies that resourcing professionals are likely
to need ‘everywhere and tomorrow’, rather than just
‘here and now’.
• Administering employment systems in line with
the law and recognised standards of fairness and
good practice is important, but it doesn’t make the
difference between success and failure in the market
place. People resourcing professionals add real
value through their contribution to the recruitment,
selection, deployment, development and retention of
people who themselves add value to the organisation,
individually and collectively.
58
• Many employers still use recruitment and selection
processes for which there is little or no supporting
evidence. The talents and potential of people are
often dissipated or neglected, poor performers are
still ignored, sidelined, promoted or dismissed without
any serious attempt to resolve the problem, and
performance review systems generate passionate
debate because they appear unable to generate
significant benefits for the organisation or the
employee. Many of those engaged in employee
resourcing concentrate on minor incremental
efficiency or system changes and on the legalistic,
ethical and procedural dimensions of resourcing –
instead of on the added-value dimension, where there
is considerable scope for further improvement.
• The competent practitioner has to be familiar with
the major tools and techniques related to people
resourcing, and also be able to assess the potential
for using them, determine their suitability for specific
organisational scenarios, implement them with and
through the co-operation of other stakeholders, evaluate
their effectiveness and carry out any necessary
modifications.
This module crucially sets out to develop, demonstrate
and assess these capabilities.
People Resourcing |practitioner-levelStandards
performanceindicators
1 peopleresourcingincontext
2 Thestrategicsignificance
ofpeopleresourcing
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Make constructive contributions to the development
or enhancement of people resourcing policies.
1 Evaluate existing people resourcing processes,
systems and procedures and propose cost-effective
improvements.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The underpinning rationale for people resourcing as a
means for accomplishing corporate purposes, strategies
and goals through people.
1 The environmental context in which people resourcing
is designed, operated, reviewed and improved.
Indicativecontent
Indicativecontent
The changing world of work and organisations
1 The people resourcing function: the key role of
people as contributors to the realisation of corporate
purposes, strategies and goals.
2 The ‘customers’ for people resourcing: establishing
priorities between various stakeholders and
‘customers’; creating, sustaining and developing
partnerships with internal and external stakeholders
such as:
• managers with devolved accountabilities for people
resourcing
• outsourced contractors
• recruitment agencies and executive search consultants.
3 Managing their possibly conflicting/competing
concerns, values and expectations.
1 The big picture: contextual themes relevant to people
resourcing (such as globalisation, privatisation,
ecological/environmental concerns, technological
innovation, accelerating ‘customer’ expectations,
competitive intensity and demographic change.
2 The corporate picture: evolving employer expectations
about employee behaviour and attitudes, with special
reference to ‘adding value’ obligations; new forms of
work contract; the people resourcing significance of
organisational transience.
3 The people picture: the future for the work ethic;
processes of vocational choice; the job/career
dichotomy; the concept of ‘employability’ and its
implications.
59
practitioner-levelStandards|People Resourcing
3approachestopeopleresourcing
4Humanresourceplanning
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Optimise the use of available tools and techniques in
the field of IT (including the Internet) for all aspects of
people resourcing.
1 Contribute to the development of human resource
plans that relate to and help achieve business/
corporate goals.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The benefits, limitations and potential of existing and
emerging methodologies in the generic field of people
resourcing.
1 The nature, purposes, features, applications, benefits
and disadvantages of the principal techniques for
human resource planning, recruitment, selection,
corporate socialisation and people performance.
Indicativecontent
Indicativecontent
1 The traditional paradigm: a coherent corporate
strategy leading to effective human resource planning,
recruitment and selection, induction, training and
development, performance review/management,
employee retention, recognition and reward and
release (voluntary or not).
2 New paradigms: the development of aspirational
visions for people performance, contribution and
commitment; systems that convert these visions into
reality; people resourcing practices in the organic
enterprise.
3 Contingency-based people resourcing: the specific
features of people resourcing processes that typically
exist in each principal occupational sector (private/
public/not-for-profit); variations from the traditional
paradigm (eg for deliberately transient structures, in
environments of extreme turbulence or
circumstances of organisational crisis).
60
1 The rationale for human resource planning: its
potential benefits, disadvantages and dangers.
2 Designing, implementing and reviewing the
effectiveness of a human resource plan: the use
of appropriate measures (eg employee retention,
turnover, productivity, profitability per employee).
3 Internal and external factors affecting human resource
planning and implementation including:
• trends in the labour market (both supply and demand)
• competitor practices
• technological change
• political initiatives
• the social background
• enhanced customer expectations
• strategic clarity and consistency within the organisation
• corporate politics and the distribution of power.
People Resourcing |practitioner-levelStandards
5 Recruitmentandselection
6 peoplemanagement
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Undertake the full range of day-to-day functions for
which a people resourcing professional generally is
accountable (eg recruitment, performance, reward,
retention, release).
1 Critically evaluate existing people resourcing systems
and new approaches or methodologies.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The systematic approach to people resourcing, from
the creation of a cost-effective human resource plan,
through recruitment, selection, socialisation, training/
development, performance management, retention
and review, to eventual employee release.
Indicativecontent
1 The background to recruitment and selection: criteria
for administering the process efficiently and effectively;
alternative approaches to managing vacancies; job
analysis; job descriptions versus accountability profiles;
person specifications versus competency frameworks.
2 The recruitment process: the principal methods
available – their features, benefits and disadvantages
(eg media advertising, the Internet, employment
agencies, executive search consultancies).
3 The selection process: the principal techniques available
– their features, benefits and disadvantages (eg
interviewing, individual/group simulation exercises,
and psychometrics).
4 Measuring the effectiveness of recruitment and
selection: techniques for monitoring outcomes to
ensure continued business relevance, validity, reliability,
and compliance: continuous improvement processes in
recruitment and selection.
Knowledgeindicators
1 Contingency factors that influence the principles
and practice of people resourcing across and within
various employment sectors.
Indicativecontent
Optimising commitment and performance
1 Assimilating people into the organisation: the
socialisation/induction process, transmitting corporate
values and behavioural parameters.
2 Developing and improving performance: the benefits
and limitations of appraisal; criteria for effective
performance feedback; coaching, mentoring and other
systems for achieving a productive balance between
the employee’s needs and the employer’s requirements.
3 Dealing with performance issues: assessing the nature
and causes of performance problems (eg absence,
attitude, capability or output); the range of remedies/
solutions available; techniques for implementing
action and monitoring consequences.
4 Motivating people: the elements of job design; the
principles underpinning cost-effective reward and
recognition strategies.
5 Keeping people: practical policies for employee
retention and commitment, especially where
long-term employment is not guaranteed.
6 Releasing people: the effective management of
strategies, policies, systems and processes for
retirement, redundancy, dismissal and voluntary
turnover; mechanisms for preventing or alleviating
problems where appropriate.
61
practitioner-levelStandards|People Resourcing
7Special-casescenarios
8 Supporttoolsforeffectiveresourcing
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1
1 Co-operate positively with executive/managerial
stakeholders – ‘customers’ – in the design and
implementation of resourcing processes.
Assist with the design, development, implementation
and review of people resourcing methods to
resolve specific corporate scenarios (representative
examples are geographical relocation, new
business development, management of an
acquisition, corporate restructuring, graduate/
expatriate appointments, delayering, devolution,
decentralisation, retrenchment, using an outsourcing
partner such as a recruitment agency).
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The operational need for pragmatic people resourcing
programmes, in circumstances of organisational
turbulence, crisis, closure or apocalyptic change.
Indicativecontent
1 People resourcing policies, plans, processes and
systems for particular (possibly short-term) corporate
exigencies. Representative examples are:
• recruiting expatriates (temporary or permanent) or
graduates
• choosing outsourcing agencies or recruitment
consultants
• creating (new) shiftwork teams and patterns
• resolving resource problems in times of acute labour
scarcity
• establishing new corporate entities arising from
mergers or acquisitions.
62
Indicativecontent
1 The nature, scope, costs, benefits, and applications
of information technology (including the Internet) for
recruitment, selection and the retention/retrieval of
employee data.
2 External sources of information, advice and
assistance, including the CIPD, published research and
benchmarking indices.
People Resourcing |practitioner-levelStandards
9 Complianceandethicalityobligations
inpeopleresourcing
10peopleresourcing:thefuture
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Advocate and secure compliance with all appropriate
ethical and legal obligations associated with people
resourcing.
1 Apply the principles and practice of CPD for their own
personal development.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The legal obligations governing the creation and use
of all people resourcing strategies, policies, procedures
and systems.
2 Ethical criteria for all key aspects of people resourcing,
including the benefits of compliance and the risk
associated with its neglect.
Indicativecontent
1 The place of legal, ethical and professional compliance
as a ‘critical failure factor’ for people resourcing
practitioners and their employers.
2 The legal constraints and frameworks relevant to
people resourcing.
3 The influence of legal and quasi-legal directives
originating through the European Union and
elsewhere.
4 Ethicality expectations within each major dimension
of people resourcing, including diversity management,
equal opportunities and discrimination.
5 Professionalism criteria: CIPD codes of conduct and
publications from other sources.
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 New developments in people resourcing and their
application potential.
Indicativecontent
Note: Like practitioners in any discipline who are actively
engaged in CPD, people resourcing practitioners are
expected to be up to date with emerging people
resourcing issues. The four listed here are representative
examples only.
1 Debates over the future of work and employment,
especially in view of continuing technological change,
globalisation, and the growth of e-commerce.
2 The dilemma of seeking to reconcile the interests
and preferences of individual employees with the
requirements and expectations of organisations.
3 New thinking and research on topics relevant to people
resourcing, such as:
• matching personality types or learning styles with
specific occupational roles
• the effectiveness of psychometric tests
• emotional intelligence
• knowledge management.
4 Actual and potential developments in employment
legislation and other compliance arenas.
63
practitioner-levelStandards|Managing Diversity and Equal Opportunities
Managing Diversity and Equal Opportunities
Purpose
The primary responsibility for implementing and
managing diversity and equality of opportunity in the
workplace rests with line management. The role of the
personnel and development practitioner is to:
The practitioner must be aware of the strategic
dimension in managing cultural change and understand
the importance of context in the development of equality
and management of diversity. This includes:
• interpret the legislative framework
• develop and promulgate appropriate policies to
promote equality of opportunity
• monitor implementation
• develop effectiveness.
• a broad understanding of the impact of globalisation
and international influences
• the potential for – and sensitivity towards – cultural
clashes.
In particular the personnel and development practitioner
will formulate arrangements for managing diversity that
promote organisational effectiveness. She/he should:
• concentrate on promoting equality at the level of best
practice rather than minimum compliance
• provide a clear business focus that demonstrates
the positive benefit to the organisation, instead of
the negative penalties and sanctions that come with
failure to meet the legal requirements.
64
Equality and diversity issues are both ethically desirable
and commercially relevant for organisations. The content
should be placed in the context of organisational
effectiveness and should evidence outcomes that
improve organisational performance. Managing diversity
embraces policies, practices, procedures, attitudes and
approaches at a range of levels both within and beyond
the individual organisation. The business case for
managing diversity should reflect the inter-relationships
and complexity of the organisation. The socio-economic
dimension is a key to understanding the interaction of
a range of interests whereby managing diversity can
improve organisational effectiveness.
Managing Diversity and Equal Opportunities |practitioner-levelStandards
performanceindicators
1 Thestructureandprocesses
ofinequality
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1 The development of societal differences and
inequalities created through class, race, gender and
disability (including mental health).
2 The range of employment-related circumstances in
which unfair discrimination may occur (eg sex, race,
sexual orientation, religion, marital status, family
status, mental and physical disability) and on which an
organisational analysis can be carried out.
3 Labour market analyses in terms of vertical and
horizontal occupational segregation and the changing
nature of work, to allow organisations to understand
and maximise the effective use of human resources.
4 Equality issues in the development of employee
flexibility and the changing structure of working
arrangements, to enable organisations to create
flexible arrangements that improve organisational
efficiency while maintaining and enhancing the quality
of working life.
5 Evidence of persistence and change in structures
of inequality to help develop a strategy to manage
diversity.
6 The impact of organisational culture and subcultures
(both formal and informal) and on attitudes and
beliefs, and behaviour that can impede respect for
diversity and organisational effectiveness.
7 Sector and industry differences in the nature of
existing inequalities, so that approaches and initiatives
to manage equality and diversity are based on an
understanding of different business contexts.
1 Provide a convincing argument for the role of
managing diversity, as a contribution to organisational
effectiveness.
2 Formulate, devise, implement, review and (if
necessary) modify policies and practices in the field of
equality and diversity management that enable both
business and ethical purposes to be fulfilled.
3 Demonstrate the competitive advantage that comes
from managing diversity within the context of a clear
understanding of the core business.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The negative effects of unfair discriminatory treatment
on employee morale and organisational performance.
65
practitioner-levelStandards|Managing Diversity and Equal Opportunities
2 approachestowardequality
management
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Frameworks for analysing inequalities, including:
• equal opportunities
• managing diversity
• institutional prejudice
• long and short agendas
• positive action
• positive discrimination
• equal outcomes to ensure that the approach is
appropriate to the organisational context.
2 Future trends, globalisation and international
influences that may shape management in the twentyfirst century; approaches that ensure the organisation
is able to meet these and other future challenges.
3 Frameworks for developing strategies for informing,
persuading and developing managers who can
manage diversity.
1 Offer correct first-level advice on legal and other
aspects of equality management.
2 Research and clearly communicate labour market trends.
3 Implement diversity issues in a business context.
4 Train others in equality and diversity management, at
both awareness and practice levels.
5 Undertake a risk-assessment exercise, taking account
of both missed opportunities and non-compliance in
interpreting risk and reviewing policies.
6 Use a range of integrated skills, including those
needed to:
• carry out a workplace audit of equal opportunities
issues or practices
• report the results
• make recommendations for change
• present a cost/benefit analysis
• monitor subsequent indicators of change.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The relationship between the management of diversity
and equality and general management practice.
66
Managing Diversity and Equal Opportunities |practitioner-levelStandards
3 Thelegislativeandinstitutional
framework
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Statutory requirements, codes of practice and the
role of Government and government agencies in
promoting equality and establishing a framework
within which organisations should operate.
2 The EU legislative framework and directives that shape
the development of equal opportunities.
3 The role of key institutions – including CBI, TUC, trade
unions, employers’ associations and the CIPD – and
the resources available to assist organisations in the
management of diversity.
4 Key legal cases that shape equality issues in
employment and their relationship to and impact
upon the individual organisation.
5 The role of campaign groups, lobbying and direct
action in initiating change; the importance of
organisational awareness, sensitivity and responsiveness
to emergent agendas so that organisations retain a
proactive rather than reactive stance.
1 Show, from a review of the equality management system:
• the avoidance of direct and indirect discrimination
• the maximisation of individual potential across a
diverse workplace
• compliance with statutory requirements and codes
of practice (eg CIPD, Commission for Racial Equality,
Equal Opportunities Commission and Disability
Rights Commission)
• responsiveness to social and political pressures for
change
• the removal of barriers to equality in key personnel
and development areas (eg recruitment and
selection, appraisal, career progression).
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The specific legislation and key case law – UK and
European Union.
2 The implementation needed for employing
organisations to comply with the spirit and practice of
European legislation and case law.
3 The nature of direct and indirect discrimination; their
avoidance in good practice (eg in fair and efficient
selection procedures).
4 The role of statutory and other organisations
concerned with the management of equality and how
they relate to relevant legislation.
67
practitioner-levelStandards|Managing Diversity and Equal Opportunities
4Organisationalchange
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Strategic issues for organisations that help ensure
coherence of an approach related to organisational
objectives, including:
• individual and group attitudes and behaviour
• cultural influences on policy effectiveness
• equality and differentiation in managing diversity
and change.
2 Implementing, monitoring and evaluating equal
opportunity policy, including:
• changing workplace culture through training,
organisational policies, procedures and practices, so
as to equalise employment opportunities, access and
treatment
• the organisational politics of managing diversity
• understanding resistance and developing strategies
for initiating change that will enhance organisational
effectiveness.
3 Economic and financial analyses for developing equal
opportunity initiatives, including risk assessment and
opportunity/cost analysis linked to the organisation.
4 The concept of ‘career’ and its impact on different
types of workers; the relationship of domestic labour
to paid employment; groups not covered by current
legislation; potential future developments in the
management of diversity at international, national
and local level that will/could support effective
diversity management as a contribution to overall
organisational performance.
1 Offer counselling and guidance in appropriate areas
of the employment relationship (eg harassment and
bullying).
2 Advocate and encourage the wider acceptance of
equality management throughout the organisation,
clearly communicating the issues and relating them to
business need and organisational effectiveness.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The role and function of personnel practitioners at all
levels within the organisation in the development,
promotion and monitoring of equality management.
2 The effect of individual attitudes and behaviour on the
attainment of equality in the workplace.
3 Changes in the nature and structure of employment,
and their relevance for equality management.
68
Selection and Assessment |practitioner-levelStandards
Selection and Assessment
Purpose
Selection remains a central part of the personnel and
development function, whether it is carried out directly
or as an advisory function. In recent years many more
organisations have started to use psychological testing
and assessment centres, not only for selection but also
for development purposes.
This Standard aims to provide an opportunity to acquire
the knowledge and develop the skills needed to make
use of tests and assessment centres, particularly in the
context of best practice in employee selection.
Successful completion will give the practitioner a
perspective which includes:
• a technical and historical overview of assessment
• knowledge of the current tools used in selection and
assessment, together with issues surrounding their
uses
• a view of the value that appropriate selection and
testing methods bring to the organisation
• an understanding of the whole process of selection
and the contribution that testing can make.
However, because of the comprehensive nature of this
Standard, a number of the skills areas it covers may
need to be supplemented with specific competencies, in
addition to the overview.
Success in this Standard does not itself lead to the award
of any BPS certificates or access to reputable tests from
responsible publishers.
There is plenty of room for improving the effectiveness
of selection and assessment, and reducing the margin
for error, in ways that balance the organisational need to
further its strategic goals and the needs of the individual
to accomplish their own potential.
This Standard is intended for CIPD practitioners who are
equally committed to objectivity, impartiality, strategic
contribution and corporate cost-effectiveness in all
selection and assessment mechanisms.
Those meeting the Standard will attain a practical and
technical perspective that equips them to make practical
and ethically informed choices when choosing and
using objective selection methods. They will have a
knowledge base should they wish to undertake nationally
recognised courses leading to certification by the British
Psychological Society as an occupational test user at
levels A and B.
69
practitioner-levelStandards|Selection and Assessment
performanceindicators
2 Selectionandits
organisationalsetting
1 Overview
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 The advantages, disadvantages
and potential value of testing for
the quality of appointments, and
the benefit to the organisation,
department and individual
candidate.
2 Types of testing for employment
and promotion (eg health,
attainment, aptitude, personality).
3 Current trends and problems
in the use of testing in an
occupational setting.
4 The basic concepts of reliability
and validity.
5 The significance of selection
and assessment in relation to
the strategic requirements of
organisations and the needs
of individuals.
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Explain the significance
of systematic selection
and assessment for the
furtherance and achievement of
organisational goals.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 The principal ways in which
the changing context for
organisations and employment
impinges on selection and
assessment, and the specific
approaches to be used:
employability, added-value
and the decline of lifetime
commitment to a single
occupation or organisation.
70
1 Explain the significance of
systematic selection and
assessment for the furtherance
and achievement of organisational
goals.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 The legal and ethical obligations
associated with selection and
assessment, with special reference
to ‘client’ confidentiality, feedback
of selection/assessment results
and data protection.
2 The importance and relevance
of tests as a contribution to
the organisation’s selection
practices, and the recruitment of
appropriate staff.
4 The history and development
of testing for employment and
promotion decisions.
Selection and Assessment |practitioner-levelStandards
3 aptitudetesting
4 personalitytesting
Indicativecontent
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
1 The changing organisational
and employment context and its
significance for the dynamics of
selection.
2 The changing social context, its
relevance to selection and:
• frameworks for classifying individual differences
• attitudes to work and the future
for the work ethic
• alternative value systems
• jobs and careers
• the work–life balance
• dual careers
• ethnic and gender variables.
3 The role of selection and
assessment in relation to
organisational strategies:
conformity, commitment and
diversity, selection and assessment
in unconventional organisations.
4 The psychological dimension
– the significance of perception
and personal values in generating
judgements and interpretations of
human behaviour.
5 The political dimension
when choosing individuals
for employment or career
advancement.
6 The legal and ethical dimension –
confidentiality, the Data Protection
Act, other relevant legislation, and
the feedback of test results to
individuals.
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Review a range of basic aptitude
and ability tests in context,
recognise which tests to use and
interpret the results – weighting,
access, recording and reporting/
feedback.
1 Review a range of personality
and higher-level tests in context,
recognise which tests to use and
interpret the results – weighting,
access, report styles, counselling
and feedback.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 The application of ability and
aptitude tests.
2 Theories of intelligence,
development, age and
environmental (internal and
external) effects, role of
subjectivity (emotion and value),
and cultural fit in selection and
assessment.
3 The range of aptitude and ability
tests in common use.
1 Types of personality test: basic
background theory, examples of
ipsative, normative, type, trait,
interest, motivation, values and
behaviour measures.
Indicativecontent
1 A breakdown of intelligence tests
and sub-tests, power, performance,
high and low levels, tests for jobspecific aptitudes.
Indicativecontent
1 The nature, purpose and
application – with illustrations –
of ipsative, type and normative
measures, and tests of interest,
values and behaviour/typical
performance.
2 Communication and the use
of test results – feedback,
counselling, career/development,
the Data Protection Act and the
‘shelf-life’ of results.
3 Limitations, benefits and misuse of
psychological tests and/or results.
71
practitioner-levelStandards|Selection and Assessment
5 Statisticaltechniques
intestconstruction
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Definition, purpose and
application of relevant statistical
techniques, including:
• correlation (Pearson, scattergram,
tables and formulae)
• probability theory and normal
distribution (SD, mode,
median and mean, standard
scores, Z and percentiles)
• Standard Errors (SEm, confidence limits)
• restriction of range.
2 Definitions of validity and reliability.
3 Identification and application of
formulae to ascertain the reliability
and validity of any assessment
tool and the overall assessment
process.
4 Identifying where testing is
appropriate and economically
viable.
5 Identifying appropriate tools to fit
strategic and situational purpose.
6 Definitions – population control
group, item bank, item, scale factor.
7 Test construction and piloting:
• reliability (test, retest, split half,
alternate form, internal)
• validity (concurrent, predictive
and face).
8 Monitoring the effectiveness,
fairness and applicability of
selection techniques.
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Validate a selection method, test,
assessment centre exercise, work
sample or other test for use in an
organisation.
2 Design appropriate activities
– such as in-tray exercises and
leaderless group discussions,
for use in assessment centres
– and validate their scoring and
subsequent use.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 Stages in the development
of a reliable and valid
test/assessment tool.
2 The relevance of appropriate
statistical techniques to
assessment, both for a single
tool (eg interview test or intray exercise) and in relation to
organisational requirements.
3 The security and confidentiality of
test data.
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6 Otherassessment
1 Organise and administer group
selection and assessment centre
programmes for recruitment
purposes, and/or for individual or
organisational development and
change.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 Development, nature and
purposes of assessment centres
and testing for specific group
requirements.
Indicativecontent
1 The nature and application of
interviewer (formal, informal,
structured, panel).
2 The nature and application of
work sampling, in-tray exercise,
trial periods.
3 The nature of alternative
approaches (eg graphology,
astrology, phrenology).
4 The effects of technology applied
to assessment techniques (eg the
use of telephone interviewing,
Internet testing, biodata and
criteria-oriented computer
questionnaires).
5 The relationship between face
validity and measured validity.
Selection and Assessment |practitioner-levelStandards
7 Groupselectionand
assessmentcentres
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Brief managers on the observation
and assessment skills needed for
assessment centre activities.
2 Interpret the results of selection
and assessment methods when
applied collectively (in group
scenarios) or to individuals.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 The development, nature and
purposes of assessment centres
and testing for specific group
requirements.
Indicativecontent
1 The history and development of
assessment and development
centres.
2 The nature, purpose and
applications of group selection for
specific roles (eg management,
sales, call centres).
3 The nature, reference and choice
of assessment centre activities
(eg in-tray exercises, group
discussions; role-play, committee
chairmanship, and presentations
to the public and to a committee/
management team).
4 The role of the line manager,
especially in assessment and
observation.
5 Limitations, cost/benefits, cultural/
organisational problems.
8 Organisationalissues
6 The overview, including:
• the rationale for group selection
and assessment centres
• organisational and occupational
applications (eg customer
service roles, graduate entry,
management development,
senior executive positions).
7 The modus operandi for group
selection and assessment centres,
including:
• aims, objectives, construction,
and review
• staff and observer support
• the skills of behaviour
observation, scoring and analysis
for both individual assignments
and team-based tasks.
8 Reliability and validity of group
selection and assessment centres:
evaluating their cost-effectiveness,
conducting a review of the
current evidence and identifying
the lessons to be learned.
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Make a case to senior
management that the use of
appropriate and relevant tests and
selection methods enhances the
quality of the selection process
and optimises the standard of
candidates recruited.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 The attitudinal and methodological
pitfalls of testing activities/
programmes as they affect both
individuals and organisations.
Indicativecontent
1 The effects of legislation,
standards and good practice
guidelines on practice and
available methodologies.
2 The validity of the selection
process at an organisational level.
3 Succession planning.
4 Assessment to facilitate
organisational change.
5 The public relations side of
assessment – the company’s
image in relation to its
assessments.
73
practitioner-levelStandards|Selection and Assessment
9 Theselectioninterview
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Exercise professional discretion within all the relevant
legal and ethical arenas appropriate to selection and
assessment, especially those associated with data
protection and ‘client’ confidentiality.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The gains to be achieved through more accurate
selection methods for both employee and employer.
Indicativecontent
1 The overview, including:
• the rationale for the selection interview
• its objectives and limitations (both for selectors and
candidates)
• key features of alternative interview scenarios (one­
to-one, sequential, panel)
• directive/non-directive, structured/unstructured
interviews.
74
2 The reliability and validity of the selection interview and:
• the place of subjectivity, emotions, perception and
objectivity in interview judgements
• the role for a meaningful person specification (or
competency framework) and job description (or
accountability profile) as the basis for assessment
• evaluation criteria (eg cultural ‘fit’) for unconventional selection scenarios
• performance-based interviewing
• the problems of hypothecation as opposed to behavioural questioning
• review of the current evidence and the lessons to be
learned
• the direction of research.
3 Improving the effectiveness of the selection interview,
including:
• a competency profile for interviewing
• question design
• interpretation of ‘evidence’.
Selection and Assessment |practitioner-levelStandards
10Technology-basedselection
techniques
11Special-caseandemergent
selection/assessmentscenarios
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Participate constructively in various ‘hands-on’
selection and assessment processes, especially those
concerned with interviewing, assessment centres and
group selection.
1 Participate constructively in various ‘hands-on’ selection
and assessment processes, especially those concerned
with interviewing, assessment centres and group
selection.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The likely future for selection and assessment and
significant new developments, both generally and
within specific organisational settings, taking account
of technology-based techniques.
1 Specific organisational scenarios such as expatriate
appointments, graduate entry, cultural transformation,
career guidance and development, changing
expectations.
Indicativecontent
Indicativecontent
1 The overview, including Internet-based testing and
interviewing for preliminary screening and other
purposes.
2 Applications, problems and opportunities: the
emergent scope for use of technology in selection
and assessment.
1 The selection of graduates, expatriates, senior
executives, customer service [these examples are
representative rather than exhaustive]; the empirical
evidence about methods, applications, effectiveness
and likely future developments.
2 Assessment: cultural ‘fit’, vocational choice and
occupational guidance, teleworking suitability [these
examples are representative rather than exhaustive];
the empirical evidence about methods, applications,
effectiveness and likely future developments.
3 Selection techniques applied to organisational
turbulence and transience (eg as a prelude to
geographical relocation, organisational closure,
manpower reduction, technology shifts and cultural
transformation); the empirical evidence about
methods, applications, effectiveness and likely future
developments.
75
practitioner-levelStandards|Career Management and Development
Career Management and Development
Purpose
Global competitive pressures, IT breakthroughs,
heightened customer expectations and other, sometimes
discontinuous, events are transforming organisations and
the nature of the employment contract.
Entrants to the labour market can no longer expect to
have a stable career in the same organisation for all
their working lives. Instead it is becoming much more
common for individuals to experience a number of
organisations and a number of ways of working. Against
this background it has never been more important to
manage one’s own career.
From an organisational perspective, helping to manage
the careers of others is a key aspect of personnel and
development work. In doing so, the personnel and
development professional has to consider and balance:
• the aspirations and expectations of individual
employees, who are increasingly aware both of their
marketability and their vulnerability to market forces
and therefore conscious of the need to acquire and
maintain a portfolio of transferable capabilities
• the organisation’s need to secure its skills base, and
develop people’s potential and commitment, in the
face of global competition for knowledge-workers and
scarce managerial talent.
• the way people are increasingly concerned about
maintaining a balance between work and ‘quality
of life’.
76
This Standard looks at the psychological and sociological
factors that influence employee thinking about careers,
and the strategic, managerial and operational issues
associated with career management and development
within organisations. It aims to help practitioners acquire
an understanding of careers and career management;
and develop the skills needed to manage their own
career and the careers of others.
Career Management and Development |practitioner-levelStandards
performanceindicators
1 Thelabourmarketcontext
forcareermanagementand
development
2Careerasaconcept
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Advise on how to integrate career management
and a career advisory service with the strategic
direction of an organisation.
1 Demonstrate to key organisational decision-makers the
contribution that career management and development
can make to recruitment, retention and commitment
strategies.
2 Practise, role-model and teach the key skills needed for
career management of oneself and others.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain
and critically evaluate:
1 How the wider economic, technological, political
and social environments affect the nature of
the employment contract and the careers of
individuals.
Indicativecontent
1 The impact of forces such as globalisation,
technological innovation, mass customisation,
mergers and acquisitions, and competitive
pressures on career management and
development.
2 The implications of employer expectations of
individuals: ‘task’ performance versus addedvalue ‘accountability’; instrumentality versus
commitment; constrained role definition
versus customer-focused autonomy; individual
identification versus team loyalty.
3 Employee expectations of work and careers; the
future for the work ethic; the work–life balance;
lifestyle patterns and the dual career family; the
influence of social class, ethnicity, gender, age
and other considerations in creating assumptions
about careers, jobs and work; the portfolio
model.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and critically evaluate:
1 The relationship between the job/work/career aspirations of
people in the labour market and organisational strategic goals.
2 External sources of support and specialist information on
career management and development issues, including
government programmes to support:
• young people in training
• those returning to work
• new business ventures.
Indicativecontent
1 Theories and models of career, including:
• trait theories
• matching theories
• differential versus developmental theories of occupational choice
•theories of occupational fit.
2 Transitions and processes in career building; continuity
and discontinuity, detailed career ‘planning’ versus the
benefits of opportunism.
3 Careers versus jobs.
4 Lifelong career development, career anchors and the meaning of career to individuals.
5 New ways of working, the changing nature of employment contracts.
6 Types of career pattern and paths, vertical versus lateral
career development; the tournament notion of a career;
the use of international and expatriate assignments,
short-term secondments, sabbaticals.
77
practitioner-levelStandards|Career Management and Development
3 Theorganisational
managementofcareers
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Advise on current approaches to
work and flexibility in employment
contracts.
2 Design, implement and review
internal processes and procedures
for career development and
succession planning within an
organisation.
3 Advise on the formation
and implementation of an
organisational outplacement
policy.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 The benefits and added value of
effective and professional career
management and development
for individuals, the organisation
and the wider community.
2 The role for outplacement and
support networks.
Indicativecontent
1 The attribution of accountability
for career management and
development; the role of the
organisation, line management,
careers guidance specialist and
individual.
2 The relevance of career
management and development
to the organisation’s strategic
direction and its human resource
strategies.
78
4 Theindividual’sroleintheir
owncareermanagement
3 The benefits and added value of
professional career management
for the organisation, the individual
and the wider community.
4 The employer’s role in personal
and professional development;
supporting and resourcing the
acquisition of transferable skills
and learning.
5 Systems and mechanisms
for career management and
development; performance
management and review,
personal development planning,
identification of potential;
succession and replacement
planning, career path analysis.
6 Optimising employee
contributions; career as a part of
organisational reward, recognition
and commitment structure.
7 How organisational structure,
culture, size and ownership and
control affect careers. Career
management/development
in multinational and global
organisations. Centralised versus
devolved structures.
8 The psychological commitment/
contract, employability and the
interaction between individuals
and the organisation.
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Identify and predict possible
patterns of career development
for individuals within
organisations.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 The subjective and objective
meanings of career as a dynamic
concept.
2 The nature and importance
of self-assessment, and the
creation and maintenance of selfconfidence in individuals as they
face job or role changes.
3 The differing career development
needs of a diverse population,
and the differing ways that work
or role transitions affect and apply
to individuals at various ages and
stages of their working lives.
Career Management and Development |practitioner-levelStandards
5Careersguidance
andcounselling
Indicativecontent
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
1 The importance of self-reliance
and taking personal responsibility;
analysis and evaluation of career
options against alternative
employment and non-paid work
scenarios; personal decisionmaking and choice.
2 The establishment of personal
career goals, objectives and action
plans plus the specification of
intermediate milestones; personal
development plans and action
plans; implementing decisions; the
place of CPD.
3 The nature, relevance and
importance of:
• negotiation skills
• presentation skills (written and oral).
4 Self-assessment of aptitudes,
personality, motivation and
interests.
5 Awareness of skills and
limitations; past assessment,
present strengths, future
development.
6 The relationship between selfconcept and self-efficacy; selfprojection.
7 The value of personal and
professional networks.
8 The balance between work and
life outside.
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Approaches towards helping
people to discover/clarify needs
and directions, set goals and form
action plans.
2 Exploring and acknowledging
differences in motivation and
commitment.
3 Encouraging creativity.
4 The skills of careers counselling,
mentoring and coaching.
5 The emotional content of career
decisions.
6 Diagnostic and assessment tools
for career guidance.
7 Psychometrics and the available
aptitude, interest and personality
measures including what they can
and cannot do.
8 Development and assessment
centres.
9 Ethical principles, confidentiality,
obligations and legal guidelines for
careers guidance and counselling.
1 Support and counsel individuals
who may be addressing the
possibility of career change,
whether voluntary or otherwise.
2 Provide guidance on the value
and application of psychometric
tests and other diagnostic tools
that might be employed to
facilitate career management
and development.
3 Handle the emotional implications
of career management and
recognise and deal appropriately
with various reactions to:
• job loss
• managed career change
• difficult situations
• disappointment
• success.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 The psychological impact of
continuity and discontinuity in
careers, and its implications for
the psychological/commitment
contract between individual and
employer.
2 The tools and techniques available
for diagnosis and assessment in
the field of career management,
development and guidance.
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practitioner-levelStandards|Career Management and Development
6 Theinfrastructureforcareer
managementanddevelopment
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Sources of technical assistance, expert advice and
codes of practice: relevant professional bodies eg the
CIPD, the British Psychological Society and institutes
and associations working in related areas, such as:
• the British Association of Counselling
• the Institute of Careers Guidance
• the Equal Opportunities Commission
• the Commission for Racial Equality.
2 Government and EU policy initiatives and influences
impacting on careers, including:
• National Vocational Qualifications
• Training Credits
• the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative
• the Careers Advisory Service
• National Targets for Education and Training
• LEONARDO.
3 Statutory and non-statutory referral agencies,
including the Careers Research and Advisory Centre
and the National Institute for Careers Education and
Counselling.
4 Business and education partnerships; the role
of schools, colleges and universities in career
development.
1 Communicate relevant messages to ensure that
people in an organisation understand the rationale for,
and implications of, changes that may impact on their
career.
2 Comply with all statutory and ethical requirements,
obligations and conventions when practising or
advising on job/work/career transitions.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The legal and ethical dimensions of career
management and development, including equal
opportunities, gender and ethnic monitoring, and
confidentiality.
2 Mechanisms for evaluating the contribution and
effectiveness of career management and development
systems, practices and support agencies from the
perspective of both individual and organisation.
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Learning and Development Standards |practitioner-levelStandards
Learning and Development
Standards
Learning and Development
Management Development
Managing Organisational
Learning and Knowledge
Managing the Training and
Development Function
Designing and Delivering
Training
81
practitioner-levelStandards|Learning and Development
Learning and Development
Purpose
The organisational process of developing people involves
the integration of learning and development processes,
operations and relationships. Its most powerful outcomes
for the business are to do with enhanced organisational
effectiveness and sustainability. For the individual they are
to do with enhanced personal competence, adaptability
and employability. It is therefore a critical business process,
whether in for-profit or not-for-profit organisations.
Anyone working in the learning and development field
has interrelated responsibilities to:
• the organisation(s) they work for
• the people they are helping to develop
• the human resource community to which they belong.
To make the essential professional-level contribution to
organisational as well as to individual performance and
progression, the learning and development practitioner
must be concerned with integrative activity and future
planning, as well as with developmental operations here
and now.
This Standard:
• requires the mastering of a body of operational
expertise in learning and development practice at the
level of a generalist practitioner
• calls for a broad-based understanding of the contribution
that people development can make to the performance
and progress of the organisation and the individual
• requires those with learning and development
responsibilities to consistently demonstrate in their
values, behaviour and practice that they are both
business partners and ethical practitioners
• provides the integrating performance framework
to shape the activity of anyone in a learning and
development role.
No personnel or development activity exists in a vacuum.
So it is inevitable that this Standard reinforces some
of the core operational and knowledge indicators that
appear in the People Management and Development
Standard, and in the Specialist Standards related to
learning and development.
82
It is relevant for:
• any personnel/human resources practitioner at a
relatively early stage in their career, responsible for a
range of basic personnel operations and wanting to
develop deeper and broader knowledge and skills to
enable them to make a professional contribution to the
learning and development process. Such a practitioner
is likely to aspire to a senior human resources or
learning and development position ultimately
• line managers who need to build broad-based learning
and development skills and knowledge because they
hold learning and development responsibilities
• externally-based consultants, such as training providers,
and those working in training and learning and
development agencies, providing advice and services in
many organisational types, sectors and settings.
To be effective in their performance, learning and
development generalists must be holistic in their approach
and integrative in their operations. They must continuously
relate their operations and advice to wider human resources
and business policy and practice in their organisations. They
must also act as business partners, creating and maintaining
collaborative and business-focused working relationships
with those most involved in, and affected by, planned
learning and development processes.
In addition to the knowledge that underpins their
operational expertise, learning and development generalists
must have a broad-based understanding of the learning and
development field. In order to have credibility they must be
informed about, and be able to explain, the learning and
development implications of a wide range of issues.
Learning and Development |practitioner-levelStandards
performanceindicators
1 Theintegrationoflearningand
developmentactivityandorganisational
needs,withspecialreferenceto:
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1 The external environment of:
• global, international and more localised trends
relevant to the organisation’s present position
and future progress; the current, planned and
emergent position of the organisation in its external
environment, and learning and development
implications.
• national vocational education and training policy,
its implementation at regional and local levels, and
practical implications and opportunities for the
organisation.
2 The internal environment of:
• corporate and business unit goals, strategies and
plans (formal and informal)
• organisational structure and culture
• strategies and plans (formal and informal)
• personnel/human resources policy and practice
• the performance management process.
3 How to identify and respond to emergent trends and
issues relevant to learning and development.
4 How to formulate the learning and development
plan for the business and align it with wider human
resources policy and with corporate goals and
strategy.
5 How to identify and respond to new contingencies,
and produce relevant divisional, group and individual
learning, and learning and development plans.
1 Co-operate with learning and development
stakeholders in learning and development policy,
strategy and plans, in order to integrate learning
and development activity with wider personnel and
business policy.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The organisation’s business environment and internal
context.
2 The goals of the stakeholders in learning and
development, and the building and sustaining of
partnerships that will produce and communicate
effective learning and development processes and
initiatives.
3 The formulation of the organisation’s learning
and development goals and strategy, and their
implementation at different organisational levels.
83
practitioner-levelStandards|Learning and Development
2 Theprovisionofavalue-addinglearning
anddevelopmentfunction
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1 The value chain of the business and:
• learning and development processes and initiatives
with value-adding potential.
• the difference between ‘value for money’ and ‘adding value’.
• how to create awareness of the value that learning
and development can add for the organisation.
2 Different structural options to ensure that the learning
and development process has a business focus and
efficient operations.
3 Typologies of learning and development roles, and
their relevance, use and development in different
organisational settings.
4 The financial base of learning and development in the
business:
• general measures to ensure cost-efficient and wellregulated learning and development operations
• the role of the learning and development budget
in the provision of a well-managed, organisation­
focused learning and development function.
• national, regional and local funding opportunities
to support and inform learning and development
operations in the organisation.
5 Processes and tools (including the learning
development audit) to aid continuous improvement in
the learning and development field.
6 The purpose of marketing the learning and
development process; marketing methods and
approaches.
7 How to build, operate and maintain effective businessfocused partnerships with internal and external
learning and development stakeholders:
• interpersonal skills and personal strategies to create
and sustain effective business partnerships in
different organisational settings
• identifying and responding to barriers to the partnership process
• handling issues of power, politics and conflict.
1 Advise on how to achieve a well-managed,
appropriately staffed and value-adding learning and
development function.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 How the learning and development process adds value
for the organisation and the individual.
2 The organisation, management and evaluation of the
learning and development function and roles.
3 The delivery of organisationally focused projects to
time, cost and quality.
4 Aids and barriers to effective performance as a
learning and development consultant.
84
Learning and Development |practitioner-levelStandards
3 learninganddevelopment’s
contributiontotherecruitmentand
performancemanagementprocesses
4 learninganddevelopment’s
contributiontotheretentionof
employees
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Contribute to learning and development that will
aid the processes of recruitment and performance
management.
1 Contribute to learning and development that will help
the organisation retain the people it needs for the
future.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Induction, basic skills training and continuous
improvement that will motivate learners, achieve
competent performance, and build commitment to
organisational goals and values.
1 Career and management development processes that
help identify, develop and use people’s potential and
adaptability and aid their continued employability.
Indicativecontent
Indicativecontent
1 The value of effective, relevant, well-publicised
learning and development strategies and practice for
the recruitment process.
2 The role of marketing in communicating a positive
image for learning and development to potential
applicants.
3 The importance for the performance management
process of well-planned and effective induction, basic
skills training, continuous learning and improvement.
4 Problems of balancing control and learning and
development drivers in the performance management
process, and ways of responding to these.
1 The role of career development in aiding employee
retention.
2 Criteria for effective design and management of
career systems and:
• assessment processes to identify and develop potential
• strategies to prepare people for changed career
paths, and to increase their employability security.
3 The management development process and:
• how the management development programme
contributes to current organisational success and
builds future organisational competence
• different approaches to the design of management
development programmes, including work-based
and more formalised processes and initiatives.
85
practitioner-levelStandards|Learning and Development
5 learninganddevelopment’s
contributiontobuildingorganisational
capacityandfacilitatingchange
6 Thestimulationofstrategic
awarenessanddevelopment
ofknowledge
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Contribute to learning and development that will
expand the organisation’s overall capacity and
competence, and will help to introduce and embed
organisational change.
1 Promote learning that will stimulate strategic
awareness, and will develop and help to disseminate
organisationally valuable knowledge.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
86
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The skills and attitudes needed to work effectively in
changed/changing organisational roles, structures and
working environments, and how they can be developed.
2 Learning and development strategies for
organisational culture change.
1 Learning and development initiatives and processes
to stimulate strategic awareness, creativity and
innovation.
2 Learning strategies and processes to develop, share
and disseminate knowledge that is valuable to the
organisation.
Indicativecontent
Indicativecontent
1 Components of organisational capacity: structure,
culture, networks, business routines, systems and
procedures.
2 Helping to expand or contract organisational capacity
through learning and development strategies for re­
skilling, multi-skilling, role and job change.
3 Learning and development initiatives and processes to:
• ensure effective functioning of personnel in crossfunctional, project-based and similar roles
• improve workforce adaptability and flexibility
• aid and embed change in organisational culture.
4 The learning and development professional as change
agent; the tensions and challenges of that role and
ways of responding to these.
1 Learning initiatives and processes to promote strategic
awareness and the identification of strategic issues at
all organisational levels.
2 The importance of unlearning and relearning, and of
learning processes that can stimulate challenges to
established routines and prescriptions in ways that will
help the organisation.
3 Barriers and aids to understanding the knowledge
process, and to generating, sharing and disseminating
knowledge.
4 Types of internal and external learning partnership
that can produce or expand knowledge valuable to
the business.
5 Roles and tasks for the learning and development
professional in ‘knowledge management’.
Learning and Development |practitioner-levelStandards
7 Thedesignanddelivery
oflearningprocessesand
activity
8 Theevaluationandassessmentof
learninganddevelopmentoutcomes
andinvestment
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Contribute to the design and provision of effective
learning processes and activity, using new technology
as appropriate.
1 Evaluate learning outcomes, and help to assess
the returns on the organisation’s past and planned
investment in learning and development.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The planning, design and delivery of learning
processes and activity that will add value for the
organisation and for individuals.
2 The appropriate application of new technology to
training and learning.
1 Methods and models for:
•evaluating the outcomes of learning and development processes and activity
•evaluating the organisation’s past learning and development investment.
2 The identification and assessment of learning and
development processes and activity that will benefit
the organisation in the short- and longer-term future.
Indicativecontent
1 Principles of effective planning, design and delivery
of planned learning events, and their practical
application, including:
• processes to ensure accurate identification of needs
• how to achieve shared ownership of learning programmes and events by the stakeholders. • how to integrate workplace learning with more
formalised training and learning and development
initiatives, when appropriate
• factors involved in achieving effective transfer of
learning.
2 Developments in new technology, and their implications
for learning processes and programmes, and for the
administration and assessment of learning events.
3 How to monitor ongoing programmes and events to
ensure a continued focus on their learning objectives,
and the achievement of intended learning outcomes.
4 How to respond to any contingency calling for
a change in objectives or strategy in a learning
programme or event.
Indicativecontent
1 Models and processes to measure and evaluate the
specific outcomes of learning and development
processes and activity.
2 How to assess the relative effectiveness, efficiency
and feasibility of different learning and development
processes and activity in the particular situation.
3 Ways of calculating the ‘payback’ and ‘payforward’ of
the organisation’s overall learning and development
investment, in order to ensure added value.
4 Essential data and information sources for evaluation
and assessment activity.
87
practitioner-levelStandards|Learning and Development
9 Theroleandtasksofthe
ethicalpractitioner
10Theimportanceofcontinuing
professionalself-development
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Identify and promote learning and development
processes and practices that meet or exceed legal,
mandatory and ethical requirements.
1 Continuously develop their own expertise,
professionalism and credibility in the learning and
development field.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The impact on, and implications of, diversity
of people, style and employment contracts for
learning and development policies and practice and
organisational learning strategies.
2 The information and actions needed to identify and
achieve legally compliant and ethical learning and
development practices and processes.
1 Methods and processes of continuing personal
and professional development, including coaching,
counselling and mentoring.
2 Databases and information sources that provide up-to­
date information about current and emergent theory,
practice and issues in the field.
Indicativecontent
Indicativecontent
1 Sources of information and guidance that help to
identify and clarify ethical issues for the learning and
development practitioner.
2 Ways of creating awareness in the organisation about
ethical issues involved in learning and development
policy and practice, and of gaining commitment to
tackle them.
3 Sources of information and advice that clarify
legal and ethical responsibilities, and help learning
and development practitioners to deal fairly and
consistently with diversified workforces.
4 How to ensure that all learning and development
operations and processes conform to relevant
statutory, legal and ethical standards.
88
1 National occupational and professional standards
in learning and development and their implications
for the conduct of learning and development in the
business, and for the enhancement of the learning
and development practitioner’s competence and
employability.
2 Methods and processes of continuing personal
and professional development, including coaching,
counselling and mentoring.
3 Self-assessment and self-development, and tackling
barriers to the self-development process.
4 Roles and responsibilities of learning and development
practitioners in promoting and participating in external
sectoral and professional networks, initiatives and
programmes.
5 Databases and information sources that enable
learning and development practitioners to regularly
update their knowledge about theory and practice in
the field, and about emerging trends and issues.
Management Development |practitioner-levelStandards
Management Development
Purpose
Management is the focus of this Standard, which is
concerned with maximising the potential of managerial
talent. As the importance of people in achieving sustainable
competitive advantage is increasingly acknowledged,
managers are pivotal to organisational success, both through
their own actions and through their role in the motivation
and development of employees. The main factors that drive
the management development process include:
• changes in the core competencies needed by managers
• a need for organisational culture change, and
the promotion of specific ethical values in an
organisation’s managers
• a requirement for flexible managers who are able to
initiate, implement and adapt to change
• the devolution of human resource responsibilities to
line managers
• the creation of corporate unification after a merger or
take-over
• organisations’ increasing exposure to international and
global markets.
To respond to these factors, management development
may be:
• anticipatory – to prepare managers to contribute to
the long-term success of the organisation
• reactive – as a response to unanticipated changes or
to a need to resolve/pre-empt performance problems
• motivational – geared to individual career aspirations.
This Standard is concerned with the operational expertise
central to management development at business unit
or equivalent level, in for-profit and not-for-profit
organisations of any size and type. Such expertise requires
a broad-based understanding of the contribution that
management development can make to the achievement
of the organisation’s current business targets and its longerterm goals, and to the fulfilment of individual potential.
• learning and development/management development
practitioners at an early stage in their career who have
the desire to understand the nature of management;
increase their awareness of the impact that managers
have on others, and engage with managers. At their
current level of responsibility practitioners are likely
to report to a senior specialist, but to aspire to a
senior management development role, whether in an
employed or self-employed context
• line managers who have managers and supervisors
working to them
• external management development consultants
– especially, but not solely, in the context of small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Practitioners will inevitably be working to the
performance indicators at their own operational level
– for example, a practitioner at an early stage in their
career will tend to work with junior/supervisory levels of
management, while more experienced practitioners will
tend to work with senior managers and those making
the transition to director level.
No developmental activity exists in a vacuum. So it is
inevitable that this Standard reinforces some of the
indicators that also appear in the People Management
and Development and in the Learning and Development
Generalist and Specialist Standards.
It is likely that specialist management development
practitioners will also have been assessed, or seek
assessment, against the Learning and Development
Generalist Standard, or have equivalent expertise. This
Standard would also combine very effectively with the
Standards for Managing Organisational Learning and
Knowledge, Designing and Delivering Training, and
Career Management and Development. It is possible that
the advanced Standard for Personnel and Development
Consulting will be of interest to practitioners in their
future career.
Management development practitioners must consistently
demonstrate through their values, behaviour and practice
that they are able to work with all management levels,
including the most senior. This Standard is therefore
relevant for:
89
practitioner-levelStandards|Management Development
performanceindicators
1Thenatureofmanagementwork
2Thesharedcreationofmanagement
developmentstrategy
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Demonstrate a sound understanding of managerial
work reflecting the contested nature of both
management and leadership.
1 Work collaboratively at all organisational levels to
create management development strategies that are
appropriate for the organisation.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The nature of managerial work, roles, politics and
ethics.
2 The way that managers operate on a day-to-day basis.
3 The impact that managers have on others.
4 The distinctive concepts of managing and leading.
1 The changing environment affecting management
development strategy at national, organisational and
individual levels.
2 Issues involved in working with stakeholders to
formulate appropriate management development
strategy.
3 The development of management development
strategy in line with corporate goals and strategy,
including the identification of difficulties in the process
and how to tackle them.
4 Issues involved in achieving the horizontal integration
of management development strategy with other
human resource strategies and with workplace
practice.
5 Criteria for producing cost-effective management
development strategies.
Indicativecontent
1 The changing nature of managerial roles, tasks and
competencies, including:
• issues of role ambiguity and role conflict
• changing occupational and professional standards
and qualifications for managers.
2 Distinctions between ‘management’ and ‘leadership’,
leadership components in managers’ roles, and
differing models of leadership.
3 Ethical issues and dilemmas for managers.
4 How managers motivate and develop others.
90
Management Development |practitioner-levelStandards
Indicativecontent
1 The external context of management development,
including:
• the relevance of management development to
various UK interest groups and organisations
• dominant ideas among management development
practitioners
• management development in major competitive
environments, especially the USA, Japan and
continental Europe
• the management development implications of
take-overs and mergers, and of other forms of
organisational change and restructuring.
2 The process of formulating management development
strategy and:
• different strategy-making modes
• methods and problems in achieving vertical fit of
management development strategy with corporate
strategy, and horizontal fit with human resource
policy and practice
• the impact of politics on management development
strategy-making.
3 How to tailor management development strategies to
different organisational contexts, including distinctive
approaches for large and for smaller organisations,
management development in for-profit and not-for­
profit organisations, and management development
strategies for diversified workforces.
4 How to work with organisational stakeholders to
formulate and implement management development
strategy, including:
• how to identify stakeholders and their goals in the
strategy-making process
• processes to tackle tensions in stakeholder goals and
expectations
• the need to gain and maintain a partnership
approach to the development and implementation
of management development strategy and plans
• issues of equality of access and opportunity in
management development activity.
91
practitioner-levelStandards|Management Development
3 learningactivitiestoimplement
managementdevelopment
strategiesandplans
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Methods of assessing the past organisational and
individual value of the management development
investment.
2 Assessing the likely future value of different
management development options for the organisation
and individuals.
3 How to identify and secure financial and non­
financial resources needed to implement management
development strategy.
4 Networking and benchmarking and other methods of
keeping track of new thinking and ideas.
5 Challenges in the design of management development
processes and programmes, including:
• how to involve key stakeholders in the design,
delivery, evaluation and continuous improvement of
management development activity
• how to design relevant development programmes for
different levels of management, including those in
transition to director/board-level roles
• how to ensure the acquisition, adoption and
internalisation of appropriate management skills,
knowledge and values.
6 How managers learn, including:
• constructivist approaches to learning
• meta-skills of learning
• learning styles and strategies
• continuous and discontinuous learning
• role-modelling, mentoring, action learning and other
work-based methods
• formal programmes
• self-development methods.
7 The selection and evaluation of modes, methods and
techniques for management learning, including:
• assessing the relative costs, feasibility and impact of
learner-centred and trainer-driven approaches
• processes and methods for the collaborative
monitoring and evaluation of management activity
• frameworks and processes for the management
development audit.
1 Advise on and design management learning activities
that are cost-effective, politically and culturally sensitive,
reflect current good practice and are relevant to needs.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Criteria for implementing cost-effective management
development strategies.
2 How to identify, prioritise and respond to management
development needs at organisational, unit and individual
levels.
3 How to identify and make appropriate use of leading
ideas, trends and practice in management development.
4 The management development design implications
of different learning needs, styles and skills in the
management population.
5 Processes and methods of designing relevant, effective
and efficient management development processes and
programmes.
6 Models, methods and processes for monitoring and
evaluating management development activity.
92
Management Development |practitioner-levelStandards
4 apartnershipapproachtothe
developmentofmanagers’
currentperformance
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1 The performance management process, including:
• the determination of management competencies
needed for effective performance
• the choice, use and value of competency frameworks
in managerial work
• performance appraisal and feedback systems
• management incentive and reward systems
• common barriers to development in performance
management systems, and how to tackle them.
2 How to work collaboratively in management
development activity to improve managers’ current
performance, including:
• supporting individual managers as developers of others
• facilitating the development of groups of managers.
3 Development/use of behavioural and functional
competency frameworks.
1 Work with others to ensure the effective development
of individual managers’ competence and performance in
their current job.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The performance management process, its stakeholders
and its relationship to management development
strategy and practice.
2 The range of management competency frameworks,
and their implications for management development
strategy and practice.
93
practitioner-levelStandards|Management Development
5 Thecollaborative
provisionofmanagement
developmentprocesses
tomeetfutureneeds
6 Thedevelopmentof
managerstooperatein
internationalorglobal
contexts
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Processes and techniques to
recruit and select managers and:
•the psychological contract
between manager and
organisation
•its practical implications for
the recruitment and selection
process
•how to ensure fair and valid
managerial selection.
2 The career development of
managers and:
•how to build mutuality of
interest into the career planning
process
•the design and operation
of fair and effective career
development systems and
processes
•the use of competency and
other frameworks to aid career
development and succession
planning.
3 The contribution of assessment
and development centres to
future-oriented management
development:
•the distinction between
the goals and operation of
‘assessment’ and ‘development’
centres
•the specification and
identification of ‘promotability’
•the use of assessment and
development centres related to
different manager levels
•the evaluation of assessment
and development centres in
the management development
process
•thesupport of managers who
are not yet ready to progress, or
who are unlikely to progress in
the future.
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Advise on collaborative processes
to ensure that managers are
developed in line with the future
needs of the organisation and of
individuals.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 Building mutuality of interest
into recruitment, selection and
continuous development of
managers.
2 Processes and methods to:
•build a stakeholder approach
to future-oriented management
development
•ensure alignment between
the recruitment and selection
of managers and the goals of
management development
strategy
•identify and assess talent
and potential via formal and
informal processes
•develop managers’ potential in
line with the organisation’s and
their own future needs.
94
1 Contribute to the development
of managers operating in an
international or global context.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 The perspective and environment
of international management.
2 The developing global
environment of management
activity and its implications for
management development.
3 Criteria and methods for the
development of international and
global managers.
Management Development |practitioner-levelStandards
7 Theexpansionof
overallorganisational
competence
Indicativecontent
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
1 The perspective and environment
of international management,
including:
•major international trends and
differences in the socio-political
environment and managers
•major human resource and
industrial relations policies,
practices and methods relating
to managers in Europe and
other international competitor
countries
•the background for strategic
planning in the international
context.
2 The developing global
environment of management
activity and its implications for
management development,
including:
•the globalisation of business
through the impact of
innovative technology
•the accelerating pace of global
mergers and their impact on the
business environment.
3 The development of international
and global managers, including:
•criteria for choosing overseas
postings or purchasing countrybased talent
•methods of gaining international experience
•identifying, understanding
and working effectively with
cultural and human resource
management differences.
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Current trends in organisational
design and their implications for
management roles and tasks.
2 Tools for designing and managing
changes in:
•organisational structure and
culture
•business processes and routines
•inter-organisational business and
knowledge networks.
3 The role and tasks of managers
in the development and
management of organisational
knowledge and:
•how to identify and tackle problems in knowledge management
•the importance of a partnership
approach in the knowledge
management process
•management development tools
to support specific strategic
initiatives at corporate and
business unit levels.
1 Contribute to the expansion of
overall organisational competence
by equipping managers to respond
to, design and/or implement:
•organisational structure and
culture change
•continuous learning and improvement processes
•flexible working practices.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 Trends in organisational design
and the implications for
management development.
2 Managing structural, behavioural
and culture change.
3 Management development needs
related to specific organisational
improvement strategies.
4 Ways of tackling managerial
barriers to collective learning and
knowledge development.
95
practitioner-levelStandards|Management Development
8 Thecontinuingself-development
ofmanagementdevelopment
practitioners
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Methods of self-assessment and self-development for
management development practitioners.
2 The identification and use of national occupational
and professional standards and qualifications relevant
for management development practitioners.
3 Information sources to give guidance on current
and emerging ethical issues affecting the practice of
management development.
4 The skills needed by:
•management development specialists to work
as consultants and business partners in the
management development process
•managers, in order to develop other managers
•managers and others aspiring to that level, in
order to assess and continuously develop their own
managerial competence and potential.
1 Continuously develop their own management
development knowledge, values and expertise.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 National and professional standards and qualifications
relevant to management development practice.
2 Current and emerging ethical issues facing
management development practitioners.
3 Methods of keeping abreast with good practice in
management development.
96
Managing Organisational Learning and Knowledge |practitioner-levelStandards
Managing Organisational Learning and Knowledge
Purpose
Knowing and applying a range of learning theories,
concepts and approaches is the foundation for building
and managing effective learning environments and
processes.
The growing importance of information and knowledge
to organisational success and the need to manage the
generation and distribution of these key resources is
now a well-established feature of hi-tech companies. It
is increasingly apparent, however, that all organisations,
whatever their size and business orientation, depend on
the knowledge, skills and expertise of their employees to
ensure that their products and services are delivered in
the most efficient and competitive way possible.
Learning is the fundamental human process by which
information and knowledge are generated, distributed
and used. Increasingly, learning is also seen as a
characteristic of organisations, linked to the key features
of an organisation’s internal environment such as its
culture, structure, management style and practices, and
critically, the impact of formal and informal learning
processes.
Modern organisations increasingly recognise that
generating, sustaining and making knowledge
widely available is crucial for organisational change
and improvement. Anyone involved in learning and
development activities must be able to initiate and
shape processes that contribute to the generation of
organisationally valuable knowledge. They must be
able to support those processes by creating appropriate
environmental conditions within which such knowledge
can be generated, disseminated and effectively utilised.
To be effective, the specialist learning and development
practitioner and the line manager with learning and
development responsibilities must be able to influence
the management of ‘organisational learning’ and
to contribute to the effective utilisation of learning,
generated by a range of different, but complementary,
learning processes and opportunities operating within the
organisation.
Professionals who manage workplace learning
environments and processes must establish a clear
relationship between the rationale for learning, the
experiences that support it, the resources it needs and
the work-related and organisational objectives towards
which the learning is directed. They must also have a
sensitivity and regard for those managing or undertaking
learning activities, recognising that real, sustained learning
happens only when individuals are motivated to learn,
know why they are learning, and are supported by others.
This Specialist Standard is relevant to those who
intend forging a career as learning and development
professionals, but it also provides very real value to
the human resources generalist who needs to acquire
a more strategic vision of what managing people and
their learning environments involves. This Standard
should also be attractive to line managers who need to
understand the implications of organisational learning
and knowledge management for their role.
This Standard has complementary links with the Learning
and Development Generalist Standard, and the Standard
for Managing the Training and Development Function.
The Standard gives recognition to:
• the increasing importance of supporting people’s
learning at work, and the self-management of learning
• the effective management of the workplace learning
environment and the need to provide both formal and
informal learning opportunities
• the way learning – as distinct from specific
interventions such as training initiatives – is
increasingly seen as the fundamental process by which
people at work ‘become more than they were’ and
acquire new behavioural capabilities
• the nature and importance of knowledge, and the
importance of establishing and maintaining an
organisational learning climate where learning leads
to the creation and use of organisationally valuable
knowledge.
97
practitioner-levelStandards|Managing Organisational Learning and Knowledge
performanceindicators
1 Collaborationinbuildingknowledge­
productiveenvironments
2 Collaborativeprocessestosupport
creativityandinnovation
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Work with others to build an organisational climate
where learning will lead to knowledge creation.
1 Work with others to establish effective processes that
support creativity and innovation in the workplace.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The links between organisational structure, culture and
learning.
2 Organisational activities that generate knowledge and
organisational barriers to knowledge creation and
dissemination.
3 The organisational benefits of learning and knowledge
management, in terms of competitiveness and
productivity, and the benefits to the individual of
adaptability, long-term employability and personal
growth.
1 Collaborative, effective and efficient use of resources
to promote creativity and innovation.
2 Processes and models of decision-making.
3 Ways of thinking and models of the problem-solving
process.
Indicativecontent
1 Theories of individual, team and organisational learning.
The concept and management of strategic learning.
2 The influence of organisational culture and structure
on knowledge creation, dissemination and application.
The concepts of knowledge and information, and the
reasons behind the growth in the knowledge economy
and the knowledge-worker.
3 Organisational practices and behaviours that limit
learning, knowledge creation and the sharing of
knowledge and information.
4 Different ways people at work learn eg modelling,
through experience and experimentation, through
action learning opportunities, by working with others
in collaborative ways etc; categories of learning
eg single and double-loop learning, learning how
to learn, expanding and deepening learning and
understanding, levels of learning.
98
Indicativecontent
1 Concepts and models of creativity and innovation.
Collaborative organisational and management
practices that encourage creativity and innovation as
opposed to conformity.
2 Models and processes of decision-making. Different
categories of decisions eg operational and strategic.
Information requirements to support decision-making
processes.
3 Conventional approaches to thinking. Characteristics
of lateral and parallel thinking, and their application to
decision-making.
4 Approaches to problem-solving. Different kinds of
problems, distinguishing underlying causes from
symptoms, distinguishing solutions from outcomes,
both intended and unintended.
Managing Organisational Learning and Knowledge |practitioner-levelStandards
3 Organisationalroles,structuresand
networksthatsupportlearningand
themanagementofknowledge
4Therelationshipbetween
learningandperformance
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Advise on roles, structures and networks for capturing,
sharing, communicating and disseminating knowledge
across and between organisations.
1 Manage the effective transfer of learning coming from
formal training processes, to enhance organisational
performance.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Patterns of organisational communications and
influence.
2 Functional and professional networks and informal
groupings.
3 Organisational and professional value systems.
1 Mechanisms for sharing learning between individuals,
groups and the organisation overall.
2 The application of learning to organisational
problem-solving.
3 The links between job structures and individual
performance.
Indicativecontent
Indicativecontent
1 Variations in organisational roles, structures and
internal and external networks; how they support
or inhibit learning and the development and
management of knowledge.
2 How people communicate in organisations; patterns
of communication and communication networks.
Basic model of the communication process. Strategies
for influencing people.
3 Flexibility in organisational design; designing jobs to
provide challenge and flexibility. Characteristics of jobs
that limit individual contribution and suppress learning
and creativity.
4 The concept and characteristics of formal and informal
organisation, and of formal and informal learning.
Team-based organisational structures; learning in
teams; functional responsibilities and team roles.
5 Professional and personal values, ethical issues in
organisations; professional ethics and professional
networks.
1 Models and theories around the transfer and use of
learning. Barriers to the effective transfer of learning.
2 The difference between individual, team and
organisational performance. Models of human
performance at work that help to identify where learning
can play an important part in enhancing performance.
3 Barriers to sharing learning and knowledge eg
psychological and social tensions within the working
environment. Understanding how personal and
professional conflict can disrupt co-operation and
collaboration at work.
4 The development of strategies to overcome barriers
and blockages to organisational learning eg dealing
with employees’ fear of taking risks and making
mistakes and evaluating the role and effectiveness of
different reward and punishment practices.
5 Models of job performance showing the contribution
of learning and capability in relation to other
influences/factors. How to distinguish between the
potential to perform and actual performance levels.
99
practitioner-levelStandards|Managing Organisational Learning and Knowledge
5 processesandresourcesthatfacilitate 6 Theimportanceofintegrating
learningandsupportlearners
learningwithworking
100
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Recommend processes and resources to support
learners, before, during and after formal learning
events.
1 Directly influence and advise on the optimum
opportunities for integrating learning with working, to
enhance job performance.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The links between learning climates and learning
effectiveness, and mechanisms to provide
psychological and practical support to learners.
2 The relationship between learning styles and learning
outcomes.
3 Generating and using organisational resources.
1 Integrating individual and organisational learning
requirements.
2 Strategies and developments in the provision of workbased learning and development opportunities.
3 Using competency frameworks to establish standards
for development and performance.
Indicativecontent
Indicativecontent
1 Different ways of identifying individual and team-based
learning needs and requirements, and of relating these
to corporate needs.
2 Models of the Learning Cycle and their practical
applications in formal and informal learning situations.
The identification and generation of key learning skills,
such as reflective thinking, continuous self-assessment,
obtaining peer feedback, and constructing learning plans.
3 The advantages and disadvantages of conventional
approaches to learning through training. Alternative
approaches based on learner-centred approaches.
Learning linked to personal and professional
development processes. How to design and use
personal development plans and learning logs.
4 Organisational and managerial support for learners
through building commitment to learn, including the use
of learning contracts. Creating and providing feedback
on a range of internally and externally provided learning
opportunities, both formal and informal.
5 Strategies for generating learning resources and
the funding and expertise needed to optimise
their effective use. Creating and monitoring staff
development/training budgets and developing criteria
for the allocation of resources to different individuals.
1 Individual and social dimensions to the integration
of learning and working. Issues involved in the
prioritising of learning and learners in relation to
changing work requirements and pressures.
2 How to formulate organisation-wide workplace
learning objectives within the context of corporate
planning. Identifying the key policy- and decisionmakers who influence the integration of learning with
working and who evaluate its impact on individual
and team performance standards. Learning and
development linked to competency frameworks and
the use of such frameworks for assessment and
development purposes.
Managing Organisational Learning and Knowledge |practitioner-levelStandards
7 Theassessmentoflearning
3 The management of financial and non-financial
rewards to motivate learners. Sources and
characteristics of constructive feedback on workplace
learning. Recognition and rewards for managers with
responsibilities for integrating learning and working in
the workplace.
4 How to balance tailored and personalised learning
programmes with collectively based approaches. The
theory, practice and skills related to supportive learning
processes such as mentoring and coaching, and the
organisational conditions they require to be effective.
Innovative approaches to the management of learning
and development such as ‘corporate universities’ and
how to manage linkages with external educational
providers.
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Establish effective approaches and mechanisms for
assessing formal and informal learning.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The roles and responsibilities in the assessment of
formal and informal learning.
2 The assessment of learning using different methods
and processes.
3 Using outcomes of assessment to build and reinforce
learning.
Indicativecontent
1 Characteristics of formative and summative approaches
to the assessment of formal and informal learning. The
assessment of learning using normative and criterionbased standards. Assessment methods and practices
appropriate to different learning objectives, eg technical
skill, social skill, an area of competency, knowledge etc;
self- and peer-group assessment methods.
2 The role of the line manager in the assessment of
formal and informal learning and its application
within job boundaries and the wider environment.
Incorporating different contributions on employee
development to produce a multi-dimensional picture.
3 Techniques and approaches appropriate to
the assessment of organisational learning and
performance; the use of performance indicators,
internal and external benchmarking, employee and
customer satisfaction measures. Using the balanced
scorecard technique.
4 The concept of ‘learning potential’. Linking the
assessment of learning potential to personal
biographies. Individual and organisational influences
that determine the potential to learn, develop and
perform.
101
practitioner-levelStandards|Managing Organisational Learning and Knowledge
8 Thecontributionof
communicationsandinformation
technologytoindividualand
organisationallearning
9 Thecontributionoforganisational
learningandknowledge
managementtotheachievementof
organisationalobjectives
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Make the best use of communications and
information technology to support individuals’ workrelated learning and the development of knowledge.
1 Show how knowledge management and the
development of organisational learning add value for
the organisation.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Designing and managing communications systems.
2 The effective use of Internet and intranet systems.
3 Difficulties and requirements associated with the use
of IT-based learning.
1 The roles and responsibilities for initiating and
managing organisational learning.
2 The role of personnel and development professionals
in facilitating learning and creating a knowledgeproductive learning environment.
3 Developing mechanisms for assessing and evaluating
the outcomes of knowledge management and
organisational learning processes.
Indicativecontent
1 Developments in computer-based learning. Using
computers to support home-based and distance
learning. Advantages and disadvantages of using
computers to train employees. Issues of access and
the skills necessary to operate computer software.
2 Using computer conferencing facilities to support
organisational networks and learning communities.
Sharing knowledge and information through access to
shared areas on computer networks. Using shared-area
facilities to support the dissemination of knowledge.
3 The impact of corporate communications policies and
corporate values on the sharing of knowledge and
information and its effective transfer ‘top-down’ and
‘bottom-up’.
4 The characteristics of web-based learning; web-based
learning resources. Using intranet systems as direct
learning opportunities and as resource bases.
102
Indicativecontent
1 The concept and characteristics of learning
organisations. Strategies for moving organisations
towards this state.
2 Implications arising from the growth of knowledgeworkers for the process of managing expectations,
rewards and relationships.
3 The role and contribution of human resources
in influencing organisational environments and
management practices. The structure and agenda
of the human resources function; relationships with
organisational stakeholders. Strategies for assessing and
evaluating changes in organisational learning and the
impact of this on performance criteria and standards.
Managing the Training and Development Function |practitioner-levelStandards
Managing the Training and
Development Function
Purpose
Training and development is potentially a powerful
strategic function. It can make a major contribution
to organisational, group and individual effectiveness,
efficiency, growth and success. It is important that
other functional managers accept the training and
development specialist as a business partner, whether
operations are co-ordinated as a centralised specialist
function or are controlled by line managers.
To be effective, the specialist professional manager of
training and development operations must be able to
establish, manage and evaluate a cost-effective, valueadding function appropriate to the needs of a particular
organisation. She/he must ensure a good ‘fit’ between
the vision and strategy of training and development
and organisational vision and goals. This ‘fit’ is more
important than any form of idealised ‘best practice’.
This managerial-level Standard is relevant for those with
overall responsibility for the whole range of formal and
informal training and development activities within a
business, delivering solutions to meet organisational
needs. The Standard is appropriate to the functional
head of training and development or equivalent, either
in an organisation where training is a support function
or in one providing specialist training and development
services to a range of clients. It applies to:
The Standard incorporates many requirements of the
NVQ/SVQ Level 4 in Learning and Development and
some of the level 5 requirements. It also covers the
management of relevant, efficient and cost-effective
policies and practices for vocational education and
training. To be fully effective, the functional manager in
this area probably also needs to meet the Standard in
Managing Organisational Learning and Knowledge.
• a specialist who sees the management of training and
development as a career route
• a manager for whom a period managing training and
development activities is part of a career path
• a senior practitioner operating as a consultant in a
training organisation.
No personnel or development activity exists in a vacuum.
So it is inevitable that this Standard reinforces and
confirms some of the issues that also appear in the
People Management and Development Standard, and the
Generalist Learning and Development Standard. Because
of its management focus it also relates to some content
in the Leadership and Management Standards.
This Standard reflects changing work roles and
organisational structures and the context where some
responsibility for training and development is devolved to
line managers. It emphasises the need to tailor training
and development activities to organisational objectives
and business needs and includes reference to managing
the development of non-employees and outsourced and
subcontracted work.
103
practitioner-levelStandards|Managing the Training and Development Function
performanceindicators
1 Thecontributionoftrainingand
developmenttothebusiness
2 Thetraininganddevelopment
function
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Manage training and development operations in order
to make a contribution to the achievement of an
organisation’s strategic goals.
1 Plan, establish, manage and improve a training and
development function appropriate to organisational
context, practices and priorities.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The links between training and development and
the business and the integration of training and
development with broader human resources policy and
practice.
2 Strategies that contribute to organisational effectiveness.
1 The structure and roles of training and development
in a variety of organisations and factors to consider
when deciding role and structure.
2 Processes appropriate to the implementation and
monitoring of policy strategy and plans in a variety of
organisations.
Indicativecontent
Indicativecontent
1 Political and legal, economic, sociological and
environmental and technological factors affecting
organisations.
2 Current national and EU initiatives and standards
affecting training policy and qualifications.
3 Current challenges facing organisations: changes likely
to have training and development implications.
4 Aligning training and development with business goals
and needs at corporate, unit and specialist/operational
level. Vertical and horizontal integration of training
and development within organisations.
5 Using training and development strategically as a
source of sustainable competitive advantage.
6 Relationships between training and development
and human resource policies, strategies and practices
such as appraisal, performance management, career
management etc.
104
1 Organisational structures and cultures.
2 Structures and roles for training and development in
a variety of organisations (eg the specialist function,
the line management-led function, the function as a
profit centre, the outsourced function etc). Factors to
consider in deciding the role, structure and priorities
for a training and development function.
3 The systematic approach to managing training and
development through the training cycle.
4 Processes needed for the effective management
of training and development, including project
management. Processes involved in providing advice,
support and consultancy.
5 Positioning the training and development function
in an organisation (eg reporting lines, connections,
power and influence).
Managing the Training and Development Function |practitioner-levelStandards
3Theidentificationoforganisational
traininganddevelopment
requirements
4policyandstrategyissues
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Identify and prioritise current and future organisational
training and development requirements.
1 Develop policy and strategy on training and
development issues, including those relating to externally
recognised qualifications and mandatory training.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Strategies, methods and techniques for establishing
training needs within an organisation and for nonemployees – including the documents and other
sources of information likely to indicate training/
learning needs.
2 The distinction between issues and needs that can be
addressed by training and other non-training issues,
and how they may be recognised.
Indicativecontent
1 The value of needs analysis to organisations and when
it may be necessary. The importance of performance
standards as a basis for identification of needs (and
evaluation). Sources of information (eg performance
data, business plans and objectives, appraisal records).
2 Processes for co-ordinating and prioritising needs.
Methods for establishing needs, at organisational,
departmental or functional and individual levels.
3 Responsibilities for identifying training and
development needs. Recognising the difference
between needs, problems and opportunities that
lend themselves to a training solution and those that
require other management action.
4 The role of the training and development functional
head in collaboration with line managers in the setting
and evaluation of performance standards.
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The purpose and likely content of a written training
policy and alternative ways to establish and
communicate policy.
2 A range of training and development strategies and
the conditions under which they may be appropriate,
including:
• technology-based strategies
• the nature and impact of initiatives by external
bodies in vocational education and training,
including the details and relevance of nationally and
EU-recognised qualifications and standards.
Indicativecontent
1 The advantages and disadvantages of a written
training policy.
2 The purposes and likely contents of written policies.
Why policies are not always effective. Alternative ways
to communicate policy (eg service-level agreements,
contracts, procedures).
3 Choices in the provision of vocational education and
training.
4 Strategies for implementing policy (including
outsourcing, internal and external, formal versus
informal, technological versus traditional delivery).
105
practitioner-levelStandards|Managing the Training and Development Function
5 Themanagementoffinancial
resources
6Themanagementofphysicaland
technologicalresources
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Negotiate and manage the training and development
function’s financial base effectively and efficiently,
whether as a cost, profit or outsourced centre.
1 Identify, generate and manage the physical and
technological resources appropriate for providing
training and development in an organisation.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Factors (financial and non-financial) in establishing and
managing the budget and:
• the advantages and disadvantages of centralised and
decentralised budgets
• the concepts of value-added and cost/benefit
analysis
• external sources of funding.
1 The physical and technological resources needed to
manage training and development.
2 The advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing.
Indicativecontent
1 Managing cost centres and profit centres.
2 Sources of external funding and how to access them.
3 Costing training and development programmes. Traditional and alternative methods of budgeting
(zero-based, project-based, incremental, etc).
106
Indicativecontent
1 Technology-based learning resources and their
integration into training and learning strategies. Using
technology in the management of the function.
2 Physical resources needed for the effective
implementation of training and development
strategies and policies.
3 The case for and against using a dedicated training
centre (eg learning resource centre, residential
management centre).
Managing the Training and Development Function |practitioner-levelStandards
7 Themanagementoftrainingand
developmentprofessionals
8 Collaborationwithstakeholders
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Manage internal and external training professionals,
including their recruitment and development.
1 Support, advise and collaborate with line managers
and other stakeholders, inside and outside the
organisation, in the running of the training and
development function.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The skills and knowledge that training and development
practitioners need and how they may be developed.
2 The identification of training services and providers,
including:
•sources of training expertise within organisations
•factors to consider when negotiating the purchase
of training services
•negotiation and management of contracts
•management of external consultants and other
training providers.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Identification of the stakeholders and their values and
aims in the training and development process.
2 The roles of line managers, both in organisations
where training and development is centralised and
where it is decentralised.
3 Factors in the work environment likely to enhance or
inhibit the performance of individuals and teams.
Indicativecontent
Indicativecontent
1 Characteristics and skills of effective training and
development practitioners; nationally recognised
skill standards and qualifications for training and
development professionals.
2 Building, deploying and managing the training and
development team and ensuring its continuous
professional and career development.
3 Utilising the expertise available within the organisation
to support vocational training.
4 People inside and outside the organisation who can
contribute to the provision and support of training
initiatives (eg as part-time trainers, mentors or
coaches). Managing external consultants and other
training providers, including:
• criteria for selecting external suppliers of services
• drawing up contracts for the purchase of training
services
• negotiating and managing such contracts.
5 Effective support arrangements (including
administration and development).
1 Stakeholder analysis, inside and outside the
organisation to identify the critical relationships.
Primary and secondary customers/clients.
2 Attitudes to training and development within
organisations. Political factors likely to undermine the
effectiveness of training and development.
3 The identification and management of the
expectations of a range of stakeholders (eg senior
management, line management and personnel/human
resources management).
107
practitioner-levelStandards|Managing the Training and Development Function
9Themarketingofthetrainingand
developmentfunction
10Theevaluationofthetrainingand
developmentfunction
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Develop the profile and credibility of training and
development within an organisation using marketing
principles.
1 Use appropriate methods to audit and evaluate critical
training and development operations and processes
in the organisational context, so as to demonstrate
the efficiency, effectiveness and added value of the
training and development function.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Strategies for building and enhancing the image and
reputation of training and development.
2 Marketing principles and practices.
Indicativecontent
1 The benefits of raising the status of the training and
development function. Strategies for building the
status and credibility of the training and development
function.
2 Principles of marketing and how they may be applied
(eg training as a business, customer/client analysis
and segmentation, resource analysis, developing a
marketing plan).
3 The marketing mix, as applied to training and
development (eg training products/services,
promotion, place, pricing).
4 The relationship between training needs and
marketing.
108
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Criteria for deciding an evaluation strategy.
2 Evaluation practice and techniques, including:
•a range of quantitative and qualitative performance
indicators
•using audits and benchmarking as part of an
evaluation strategy.
Indicativecontent
1 Principles of evaluation of:
•the training and development function
•alternative training strategies, arrangements and
activities.
2 The range of purposes of evaluation in relation
to different stakeholders and the uses to which
information from evaluation may be put.
3 A range of strategies, methods and techniques
appropriate for evaluation and their strengths and
weaknesses.
4 The purpose, principles and practices of training audits
and benchmarking.
Managing the Training and Development Function |practitioner-levelStandards
11Theimplicationsofpolitical,
diversityandethicalissues
forthetrainingmanager
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Model good management practice and deal
professionally with political and ethical issues that
arise in the course of managing the training and
development function and its operations, and in
relation to its policies and plans.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Equal opportunities and diversity issues.
2 Critical relationships and political dilemmas in
organisations.
3 The role of the professional training practitioner
in modelling organisational values and good
management practice.
Indicativecontent
1 The legal framework around diversity and equal
opportunities issues.
2 Ethical and political factors likely to be encountered
(eg confidentiality, performance issues, relationship
difficulties).
3 Dilemmas to balance (eg organisational and individual
needs, demands and expectations of different
stakeholders).
109
practitioner-levelStandards|Designing and Delivering Training
Designing and Delivering Training
Purpose
Training is one of the most widely used processes in
the learning and development field, whether in an
organisational or national context. Its purpose is to
produce timely, cost-effective and efficient learning that
is well tailored to needs. Full account must be taken
by trainers of the context in which this purpose must
be achieved if training is to achieve its most important
benefits of:
• removing blocks to desired individual and
organisational performance levels
• building and maintaining competence
• facilitating changes in organisational culture, structure
and processes through carefully targeted initiatives.
Training practitioners must continuously relate their
operations to the human resource and business policy
and practice in the organisations they work for, or to
employment policy and practice in the wider labour
market if that is their main context. They must deliver
activities that are relevant, accessible and well managed,
and that utilise new technology in appropriate and
innovative ways. They must think beyond the operational
confines of the immediate training task, in order to
assess what training events will add most value at
organisational and individual levels. Even in the most
operational situations, they must be able to demonstrate
that they know the ‘few most important things to do’ –
and how to do them equitably, to time, cost and target.
110
This Specialist Standard relates to the processes involved
in the systematic identification of needs, and in the
subsequent analysis, design, delivery and evaluation of
training to meet those needs. It identifies core expertise
and knowledge relevant for:
• training providers who are delivering training for a
variety of clients, including governments, and are
increasingly being required to act also as facilitators
and advisers in relation to training activities. They
must strike an appropriate balance in responding
to their clients’ sometimes dissonant mix of training
needs and expectations
• line managers, team leaders, employed specialist
trainers and any others in an organisation who hold
designated training responsibilities. They too have a
difficult balance to strike in responding to individual,
team and organisational training needs.
The level of the Standard is equivalent to NVQ/SVQ Levels
4/5. A fully competent training practitioner should also
be able to meet the kind of performance criteria set in
the complementary Standard, Managing Organisational
Learning and Knowledge.
Designing and Delivering Training |practitioner-levelStandards
performanceindicators
1 Theorganisationalcontextand
businessenvironment
2Theidentificationoftraining
needs
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Analyse and interpret the broader organisational
context and business environment in order to ensure
that training meets business needs and achieves
stakeholder support.
1 Use effective investigative and analytical methods to
advise and assist clients in identifying needs, at all
organisational levels, to which training is the most
appropriate response.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The business environment, the organisation’s
corporate goals and business targets, its current skill
supply strategy and skill profile and the practical
implications of these for the trainer.
2 Current and likely future skills imbalances across the
external labour market and within the organisation,
and their performance and training implications.
3 Types and choices of trainer roles to fit different
organisational contexts.
1 How to determine and gain agreement on those
organisational and individual needs for which training
is the best solution.
2 Competency frameworks in current or planned use
in organisations; their implications for training needs
identification.
3 Choice, use and monitoring of different training needs
analysis approaches and techniques.
Indicativecontent
Indicativecontent
1 The organisation and its business environment. The
organisational context of structure, corporate and
business strategies, technology and work processes,
and employment relations.
2 Human resources policy and practice in organisations
and in the external labour market; the opportunities
and constraints they present for training design,
delivery and impact.
3 Fitting specific training initiatives to wider organisational
and labour market contexts; how training can aid
planned change in the organisation’s external and
internal labour market. Problematic issues for training in
the change process, and approaches to handling these.
4 How to identify and tackle blocks to the effectiveness
of training that an unfavourable external or internal
organisational context can produce.
5 How training roles are typified in research, and are
chosen, influenced and extended or contracted
in practice. Criteria for choice of roles in different
organisational contexts.
1 Top-down/strategic and bottom-up approaches for
identifying and analysing job-related and individual
needs for which training is the most appropriate
solution; how to provide support and advice on those
needs for which it is not.
2 Principles of performance consulting applied to the
identification of training needs. Criteria for selecting
and using analytical approaches and techniques to fit
the particular situation.
3 Common models and frameworks for aligning training
events with business needs and:
•their strengths and weaknesses
•the skills and processes they involve.
4 Demand-led approaches to training inside or outside
employing organisations; their typical positive and
negative influences on training decisions. How to
achieve relevance and value for training in a demandled training culture.
111
practitioner-levelStandards|Designing and Delivering Training
3 Theplanningof
trainingsolutions
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Work with stakeholders to plan
fair, accessible, effective and
timely training solutions to meet
those needs.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 How to work with stakeholders to
plan training solutions to agreed
training needs.
2 How to identify the costs and
benefits of options to meet needs,
and to assess the likely added
value of each.
3 Sources and utilisation of internal
and external funding, expertise
and other resources for training.
4 How to reach agreement on plans
that will respond to needs in fair,
accessible and effective ways, and
to an appropriate timescale.
Indicativecontent
1 Issues involved in working with
stakeholders to generate options
to meet training needs and:
•development of shared and
realistic perceptions among
stakeholders about training
solutions
112
4Thedesignoftraining
events
•handling the tensions involved
in stakeholder relationships,
including those relating to ethical
training practice and equal
access to training opportunities
•tackling worst-case scenarios
in ways that will aid training
decision-making.
2 Methods of identifying the financial
and non-financial costs and
benefits of different options to
meet training needs, and assessing:
•how to secure and utilise
necessary financial and non­
financial resources and other
support from outside and within
the organisation
•criteria to ensure that chosen
training solutions are feasible,
fair and accessible for all types
of potential learners.
3 How to plan training events that
respond to organisational and
individual needs and contexts;
drawing up and agreeing plans
that will:
•meet learning needs arising
from changes in business
strategy
•meet needs on departmental,
team and individual bases
•meet the needs of diversified
learner types and cohorts
•fit an appropriate timescale,
whether through short formal
and informal training events,
or through longer training
programmes.
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Collaboratively design training
events (including formal
programmes) that are securely
grounded in principles of learning
and make efficient and effective
use of available resources.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 How to achieve collaborative
design of training, including
agreement on measures to
determine the success of training
events (including short- and longterm programmes).
2 The implications for training
design of organisational factors
and learner characteristics.
3 Criteria to guide the use of formal
and informal learning and training
methods in different kinds of
training event.
4 The choice, assessment and
organisation of training materials.
5 The design of support processes
and systems for learners.
Designing and Delivering Training |practitioner-levelStandards
5Thedeliveryoftraining
Indicativecontent
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
1 The principles of learning in
which training design, delivery,
transfer and evaluation should be
embedded.
2 How to identify and work with
partners in the design process;
how to handle conflict with the
aim of achieving continuous
collaboration.
3 Formal and informal learning
processes and methods that can
be incorporated into training
activity, including:
•their fit with the learning
cohort’s characteristics and
workplace culture
•the value they can produce,
given their financial and non­
financial cost
•how to integrate chosen
methods into training design.
4 How to choose or design, pilot,
and assess training materials; how
to incorporate them into training
events.
5 How to incorporate learner
support systems and processes
into the design of training events.
Practitioners must be able to:
1 How to work with other
organisational and external
personnel in delivering training
events. Trainer roles, styles and
behavioural characteristics, and
how to adapt these to learners’
expectations and to the objectives
of training events.
2 The operation of effective learning
and instructional processes during
training events, including:
• how to build and sustain a
conducive learning climate in
short- and longer-term training
events
• how to establish and maintain
effective learning, coaching and
counselling relationships with a
wide variety of learners
• how to identify difficulties
experienced by learners in
different types of training and
employment situations, and
tackle these equitably and
effectively.
3 Methods of monitoring training
delivery and adjusting to ongoing
contingencies.
1 Organise fair, accessible, effective
and timely delivery of training.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 How to achieve an effective
training team.
2 The implications for the delivery
of training events of different
trainer roles and styles.
3 The implications for the fair,
accessible and timely delivery of
training events of diversified types
and categories of learners.
4 How to establish a climate
conducive to learning.
5 How to tackle equitably and
effectively the difficulties that
learners experience in different
types of training situations.
6 How to establish and maintain
effective learning, coaching and
counselling relationships with
learners, during and after training.
113
practitioner-levelStandards|Designing and Delivering Training
114
6 Theincorporationofnew
technologyintothetrainingprocess
7 Thetransferoflearning
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Incorporate new technology as appropriate into the
training and learning processes.
1 Advise on, and help to ensure, effective transfer of
learning.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Applications of new technology in the planning and
design of training events.
2 Electronically-based assessment of training and of
trainees.
3 Electronically-based aids to training administration.
1 The implications for trainers, learners and other
stakeholders of positive and negative transfer of
learning into and out of the training situation.
2 How to work collaboratively to achieve or improve the
positive transfer of learning.
Indicativecontent
Indicativecontent
1 How to incorporate new technology in the design of
training events, with special reference to:
• keeping up with good practice and innovation
• identifying and tackling human problems typically
associated with the introduction of new or more
advanced technology in training situations.
2 The uses of electronically delivered methods and
media in the delivery and assessment of training and
learning and:
• their implications for the trainer
• criteria for selecting feasible and appropriate
approaches in specific situations.
1 The theory and practice of transfer of learning; ways
of tackling problems that can arise in the transfer of
learning into and out of the training situation.
2 How to involve stakeholders in:
• gaining commitment to achieve effective transfer
of learning into and out of the training situation,
including the provision of support systems for
learners
• identifying major issues of concern related to learning transfer
• reaching agreement on how these should be tackled
in current and future training initiatives.
Designing and Delivering Training |practitioner-levelStandards
8Theevaluationoftraining
9Themanagementandmarketing
oftrainingevents
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Carry out feasible, timely and cost-effective
monitoring and evaluation of training programmes,
and agree with stakeholders any necessary changes to
training provision and practice.
1 Manage, administer and market training activity, using
new technology as appropriate.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 How to identify the stakeholders in the evaluation
of training events and ways of reconciling differing
stakeholder goals.
2 Criteria for the selection of evaluation processes and
methods.
3 How to work collaboratively to monitor, evaluate and
continuously improve training events.
Indicativecontent
1 Differences between monitoring, validation and
evaluation and:
•how to establish the monitoring process and gain
agreement on how to operate it
•formative and summative techniques for validating
the learning of trainees
•evaluation models, approaches and methods, and
their application to different kinds of training events
•criteria to apply in designing and implementing the
monitoring, validation and evaluation of training
outcomes (eg information needed, purpose,
expectations of stakeholders).
2 Ways of responding to contingencies affecting
training:
•typical organisational and individual issues, problems
and responses
•planning and carrying out training audits and ensuring action on outcomes.
Knowledgeindicators
1 The main tasks involved in ensuring well-managed and
well-marketed training activity.
2 Databases and advisory sources that explain the legal
and ethical responsibilities of the managers of training
events.
3 The application of new technology to the
management and marketing of training.
Indicativecontent
1 The effective and efficient management of training
events, including:
•the choice, organisation, management and
evaluation of subcontracted training services for
various training events
•budgeting and managing finances for learning events
•identifying and dealing with issues concerning equality of access, and with confidentiality and ethics, related to training events.
2 The role of marketing in raising and spreading
awareness about training events and their impact.
3 The main tasks involved in organising and delivering
effective and well-marketed training events and:
•how to obtain resources to facilitate those tasks
•how to position and market training events to ensure they meet needs
•how to collaborate with stakeholders so that training events achieve their desired outcomes
•how and when to apply new technology to the
marketing process.
115
practitioner-levelStandards|Designing and Delivering Training
10Thecontinuousprofessional
developmentofthetraining
practitioner
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Models of core competencies of effective trainers;
continuing professional development and:
•achieving external accreditation of skills, knowledge
and attainments
•regularly updating expertise and knowledge
•identifying and making appropriate use of good
practice and innovation in the field, related to
training tasks and the training process
•developing and participating in trainer networks.
2 Relevant codes of practice and practitioner guidelines
for trainers, including:
•sources of information and advice on training issues
in the field, and on matters relating to the training
and effectiveness of training professionals
•official reports on training practice and problems
and their implications for the development of
training practitioners.
1 Take responsibility for their own continuing
professional development.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Models and research relating to the core competencies
and behavioural characteristics of effective trainers.
2 Techniques of self-assessment and of continuing selfdevelopment for the training practitioner.
116
Employee Reward Standards |practitioner-levelStandards
Employee Reward Standards
Employee Reward
Pensions
Performance
Management
117
practitioner-levelStandards|Employee Reward
Employee Reward
Purpose
Employee Reward covers how people are rewarded in
accordance with their value to an organisation. It is about
both financial and non-financial rewards and embraces
the strategies, policies, structures and processes used to
develop and maintain reward systems. The ways in which
people are valued can make a considerable impact on the
effectiveness of the organisation and is at the heart of the
employment relationship.
The aim of employee reward policies and practices is to
help attract, retain and motivate high-quality people.
Getting it wrong can have a significant negative effect on
the motivation, commitment and morale of employees.
Personnel and development professionals will be
involved frequently in reward issues, whether they are
generalists or specialise in people resourcing, learning
and development or employee relations. An integrated
approach to human resource management means that
all these aspects have to be considered together so that
a mutually reinforcing and interrelated set of personnel
policies and practices can be developed.
Personnel and development practitioners are expected to
play their part alongside line managers in maximising the
contribution of people to the achievement of corporate
purposes. They must understand the business context
and the importance of adopting a strategic viewpoint
when meeting business needs in partnership with their
colleagues.
118
This Standard defines how thinking performers can meet
these requirements in the field of employee reward. It is
relevant for:
• any personnel/human resources practitioner at a
relatively early stage in their career, responsible for
a range of basic personnel operations and wanting
to develop deeper and broader knowledge and skills
and make a professional contribution to the employee
reward process
• externally-based consultants providing advice and
services in many organisational types, sectors and
settings.
Employee Reward |practitioner-levelStandards
performanceindicators
1 Theemployeereward
contribution
2 Theconceptual
framework
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Contribute to the identification of
an appropriate employee reward
strategy from an analysis of an
organisation’s corporate strategy,
and take part in the preparation
of reward plans.
1 Assist in preparing an employee
reward policy statement and
specify a process for ensuring its
continuous review.
2 Participate as a team member in
consultation or bargaining about
the design, implementation and
operation of a pay system.
1 The corporate, national and
international context; the impact
of the internal and external
environments, including national
and global competition, on
reward strategies and practices.
2 The influence of organisational
culture on reward strategy and
practices.
3 The key economic theories and
concepts that affect reward
policies and practices and rates of
pay, including:
• external and internal labour
markets
• supply and demand
• efficiency wage theory
• human capital theory
• agency theory.
4 The psychological contract and its
significance and impact on reward
practices.
5 Motivation theory, especially
expectancy theory and goal theory
and:
• the significance of the concepts
of intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation
• the link between money and
motivation.
6 The role of financial and non­
financial rewards in a total reward
system.
7 The significance of the concepts
of equity, fairness, consistency
and transparency as they affect
reward policies and practices.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 The process of reward
management; its components and
aims.
Indicativecontent
1 The concept of an employee
reward system, and its component
processes, practices, structures,
schemes and procedures.
2 Elements of employee reward
and their interrelationships,
including base pay, contingent
pay, allowances, total earnings,
employee benefits, total
remuneration, non-financial
rewards and recognition schemes.
3 The role and aims of employee
reward in the context of the
organisation’s corporate and
personnel and development
strategies.
4 The impact of minimum wage
legislation.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 The concepts of reward system,
reward structure and reward
levels.
2 The role of reward strategies and
policies in an organisation, and
their potential for supporting
change when integrated with
personnel and organisational
strategies and policies.
3 The factors affecting reward
philosophies, strategies, policies,
practices and levels of pay in
organisations in the public, private
and voluntary sectors, including
pay determination through
collective bargaining.
4 The key economic, psychological
and motivational theories that
influence reward policies and
practices.
119
practitioner-levelStandards|Employee Reward
3 employeerewardprocesses
4 Jobevaluation
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Provide accurate and timely advice to line
management, colleagues and employees on all aspects
of employee reward policy and practice and the
composition of an individual’s reward package.
1 Advise senior management on:
• whether to introduce job evaluation and take part
in the design and implementation of an appropriate
scheme
• the design or modification of a pay structure and
methods of introducing it
• general and individual pay reviews.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
120
Knowledgeindicators
1 The part that financial and non-financial rewards play
in attracting, retaining and motivating people.
2 The factors that influence employee satisfaction with
their rewards and the reward system, such as equity,
fairness, consistency and transparency.
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The objectives and limitations of job evaluation
processes.
Indicativecontent
Indicativecontent
1 Reward philosophies and their influence on reward
strategies and policies.
2 Reward strategy and:
• key features
• integration with corporate and personnel strategies
• developing reward strategies.
3 Reward policies and issues such as:
• pay stance
• reconciling the needs for internal equity and external
competitiveness
• formulating policies.
4 Reward planning and:
• auditing and analysing the reward system
• diagnosing key issues
• developing the system.
5 Approaches to employee reward in a range
of organisations and new developments in
this field.
1 The purpose and key features of job evaluation
processes.
2 Basic methodology and:
• selecting benchmark jobs
• deciding evaluation factors.
3 The techniques of job and role analysis, and the
assessment and definition of competence and
capability.
4 Types of job evaluation, including:
• non-analytical approaches such as ranking, job
classification, internal benchmarking
• the analytical approach (point-factor rating)
• market pricing.
5 The advantages and disadvantages of each type in
different contexts.
6 The limitations of job evaluation, especially in a
flexible or process-based organisation.
7 Computerised job evaluation systems.
8 Introducing and maintaining job evaluation.
Employee Reward |practitioner-levelStandards
5 payandbenefit
surveys(external
benchmarking)
6 paystructures
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Contribute to local or national pay and benefit
surveys.
1 Promote fairness in reward practice and:
• help to analyse a pay structure to assess whether it
contains sex or other discrimination, and suggest ways
of ensuring that a job evaluation scheme is free of
bias
• conduct an equal pay audit to identify any cases
of pay discrimination and advise on methods of
eliminating them.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The concept of a market rate in local and national
labour markets.
Indicativecontent
1
2
3
4
The concept of a market rate.
Sources of data.
Criteria affecting the quality of data.
Presenting, interpreting and using the data.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The criteria for an effective pay structure and
contingent pay schemes.
Indicativecontent
1 The purpose of a structure, and criteria for
effectiveness.
2 Types of structure, including:
• graded
• broadbanded
• job family
• pay spine
• spot rate.
3 The advantages and disadvantages of each type of
structure in different contexts, and factors affecting
which to choose.
4 Pay structures for manual workers.
5 Designing, introducing and operating pay structures,
taking into account the need for equity, fairness,
consistency, transparency and external competitiveness,
and the need to manage change.
121
practitioner-levelStandards|Employee Reward
7 paydiscriminationand
equalpay
8 Contingentpay
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Promote fairness in reward practice and:
• help to analyse a pay structure to assess whether it
contains sex or other discrimination, and suggest ways
of ensuring that a job evaluation scheme is free of
bias
• conduct an equal pay audit to identify any cases
of pay discrimination and advise on methods of
eliminating them.
1 Analyse the case for or against the introduction of
a contingent pay scheme (paying for performance,
competence, contribution or skill) and advise on its
introduction, implementation and auditing.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The significance of relevant legislation, including the
law on equal pay and the limitations on providing
advice on pensions specified in the Financial Services
Act 1986, the Pensions Act 1995 and the National
Minimum Wage Act 1998.
Indicativecontent
1
2
3
Reasons for pay discrimination.
The legal framework and:
• Article 141 of the Treaty of Rome 1957
• the Equal Pay Act 1970
• the Equal Pay (Amendment) Regulations 1983
• leading British and European cases
• the impact of legislation and case law.
The Equal Opportunities Commission Code of Practice
on Equal Pay.
4 Designing and introducing a non-discriminatory pay
structure.
5 Developing job evaluation schemes free of sex or
other bias.
6 Processes for auditing and monitoring equal value
issues.
122
1 The factors that influence employee satisfaction with
their rewards and the reward system, such as equity,
fairness, consistency and transparency.
Indicativecontent
Paying for performance, competence, contribution or skill
1 Arguments for and against contingent pay.
2 Criteria for contingent pay.
3 The development and introduction of contingent
pay schemes and the management of the change
processes involved.
4 The nature, advantages and disadvantages of various
forms of individual contingent pay and circumstances
when each might be appropriate, including:
• individual performance-related pay
• competence-related pay
• contribution-related pay
• skill-based pay.
5 Shop-floor incentive schemes and:
• piecework
• work-measured schemes
• measured day work
• performance-related pay.
6 Team pay – its features, advantages and disadvantages and the requirements to be met when introducing it.
7 Rewarding organisational performance and:
• profit-sharing
• gain-sharing
• profit-related pay
• employee share schemes.
Employee Reward |practitioner-levelStandards
9 performancemanagement
10Managingthereward
systemforspecialgroups
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Advise on the management of change when
introducing or modifying elements of the reward
system.
1 Take part in processes to involve employees in the
design or modification of reward systems and advise on
methods of achieving transparency by communicating
to employees on reward issues and practices.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The principles underlying performance management.
Indicativecontent
1 Issues concerning the agreement of performance
objectives and standards and their role in measuring
effective performance.
2 Problems of assessing and measuring outcomes.
3 The aims, nature and processes of performance
management.
4 Performance management as a means of valuing
people.
5 Links between performance management and pay.
6 The process and methods of performance rating,
methods of rating and arguments for and against it.
1 New developments in employee reward and their
application within the organisation.
Indicativecontent
1 Directors and senior executives and:
• executive incentive, bonus and share-option schemes
• the impact of the Cadbury, Greenbury and Hample
reports
• the role of remuneration committees.
2 Expatriate rewards and:
• home-based and host-based approaches and their
respective advantages and disadvantages
• tax considerations, allowances and benefits.
3 The nature, advantages and disadvantages of systems
for sales and customer service staff, including
minimum wage issues and:
• basic salary
• commission only
• salary plus commission
• bonus schemes
• other methods of motivation.
123
practitioner-levelStandards|Employee Reward
11employeebenefitsandpensions
12Managingandadministering
employeerewards
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Evaluate the case for introducing flexible benefits.
1 Contribute to the administration of employee reward
policies and processes and evaluate effectiveness and
value for money.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The basis on which flexible benefit systems work.
Indicativecontent
1 Employee benefits policy and strategy, its aims and
development and:
• types of benefit and how to choose appropriate
benefits
• administering benefits
• auditing the benefits system
• controlling benefit costs.
2 Designing appropriate benefit packages for different
occupational groups; evaluating the case for
harmonising benefits; single status.
3 Designing, developing, implementing and reviewing a
flexible benefits system.
4 The influence of government policy, including taxation
on benefits policies and share schemes.
5 Basic features of pension arrangements and:
• social and demographic issues, including equalisation
• state and occupational provision, and issues of
portability in a flexible labour market
• characteristics of defined-benefit and definedcontribution schemes, and arguments for and
against each
• stakeholder pensions
• providing information and advice to employees,
to comply with the Financial Services Act 1985
and the Pensions Act 1995.
124
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The use of computer modelling in costing alternative
reward policies and proposals.
2 The skills line managers need to implement reward
practices and policies and how these skills can be
developed.
Indicativecontent
1
Responsibility for employee rewards and for their
administration and:
• the role of the personnel professional
• devolving responsibility for employee reward to line
management.
2 Employee reward procedures for:
• grading jobs
• determining levels of pay on appointment or
promotion
• hearing appeals.
3 Preparing employee reward forecasts and budgets,
costing the changes and ensuring value for money.
4 Conducting general and individual pay reviews.
5 Monitoring and evaluating reward policies and
practices.
6 Advising managers on pay practices and decisions.
7 Communicating to employees:
• collectively on reward proposals and policies
• individually on pay arrangements that affect them.
8 Involving employees in the development of reward
systems.
9 Employing reward management consultants.
10 Using IT as a tool for administering employee
rewards, including computer modelling to calculate
the costs of alternative reward policies.
Pensions |practitioner-levelStandards
Pensions
Purpose
Pensions represent a significant cost for employers and
the state. The pensions element of the total reward
package has become a more complex and demanding
subject for the personnel practitioner. For example:
• employees now have the right to opt out of an
employer’s occupational scheme in favour of a
personal pension, or no private pension at all
• there is now a limit on the amount of an employee’s
earnings on which a tax-approved pension can be
based
• new disciplines have been imposed on personnel
practitioners with respect to the management of
pension schemes and the elimination of discriminatory
practices between male/female employees and fulltime/part-time employees.
Other parts of the Standard focus on the provision
of information and advice to scheme members and
potential scheme members. Personnel practitioners also
need to be aware of the impact of stakeholder pensions
and an outline of the latest developments in this field.
The personnel and development professional who
holds this expertise and gives appropriate and accurate
advice makes a real and valuable contribution to the
organisation. Competent management of the pensions
field is of real benefit to the individual employees and to
the organisation as it optimises the value of the pension
element of the reward package and provides an effective
and cost-effective service within the business.
The Pensions Standard is designed to meet the needs
of personnel practitioners and consultants rather than
those specialising in finance functions. It focuses on the
provision of occupational pension schemes and their
place within wider employer reward policy and strategy.
In particular, it develops the ability to give accurate and
constructive advice to senior management on:
• questions of scheme design
• the appropriate balance between pensions and other
elements in a reward package
• the increasingly complex legal framework that pension
funds now operate in.
125
practitioner-levelStandards|Pensions
performanceindicators
2employerandemployee
objectives
1 pensionprovision
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Make a major contribution to
the formulation of an employer’s
pension policy, ensuring it is free
of sex bias and meets reward
management objectives.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 The reasons for the historical
development of occupational
pensions and their current position.
Indicativecontent
1 The history of occupational
pension provision and:
• the early Civil Service schemes
and private sector pension funds
• the development of tax relief
• growth in the occupational
sector since 1945
• present coverage and the
current position.
2 The historical development of
state pensions and:
• the State Earnings-Related
Pension Scheme (SERPS)
• the development of personal
pension and stakeholder
schemes
• the Social Security Act 1986
• the Pensions Acts 1985 and 1995
• the Financial Services Act 1985
• the Welfare Reform and
Pensions Act 2000.
126
3 The main types of pension
provision, both state and private,
including:
• the impact of stakeholder
pensions on occupational schemes
• top-up arrangements (eg
additional voluntary contributions
and ‘buying years’).
4 Demographic trends and
projections and:
• the economic significance of
pension funds
• investment principles
• labour market trends.
5 In an occupational pension scheme,
the functions and roles of the:
• employer
• trustees
• pensions manager
• actuary
• auditor
• fund manager.
6 The balance of power in pension
schemes and:
• the distribution of powers
between trustees
• the use of surpluses
• determining the contribution
level
• setting investment policy
• amending the scheme
• augmenting benefits.
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Carry out a survey of employee
perceptions concerning an
organisation’s pension policy.
2 Advise managers on the
appointment of trustees, and
their role.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 The objectives of employer
pension provision and framing the
organisation’s pension policy so
that it can meet those objectives.
2 The potential role of pension
provision in competitive reward
strategies.
3 The potential effects of
occupational pensions on labour
markets.
Pensions |practitioner-levelStandards
3 Definedbenefits
schemes
Indicativecontent
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
1 The reasons for occupational
provision and:
• welfare objectives
• retaining and attracting staff
• managing employee retirement
and industrial relations
considerations
• the role of pension provision in
employee reward strategies.
2 Employee perceptions of
occupational pension schemes
and:
• reasons for joining or not
joining
• employee concerns about
security
• the extent of employee
knowledge about pension
schemes
• the advantages and
disadvantages of opting out of
occupational pensions in favour
of private pension arrangements
or stakeholder schemes
• factors affecting pension
provision for beneficiaries other
than employees.
Practitioners must be able to:
1 The principles of defined benefits
schemes and:
• final salary and average salary
forms
• the variety of formulae/scheme
designs
• public sector schemes
• the comparison between
different designs in terms of
funding, retirement income and
complexity.
2 The advantages and
disadvantages of defined-benefit
schemes for employers and
employees; the extent of coverage
and employer risk.
3 The administration of final-salary
schemes.
1 Advise senior managers on the
advantages and disadvantages
of the defined-benefit, definedcontribution and hybrid forms
of pension, in the context of the
organisation’s needs.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 The distinction between definedbenefit and defined-contribution
schemes and the potential
advantages and disadvantages
of each.
2 The principles behind the
calculation of:
• final salary pensions and lump
sums
• transfer values
• early retirement benefits.
127
practitioner-levelStandards|Pensions
4 Defined-contribution
andhybridschemes
5Theregulationof
occupationalpension
schemes
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Advise senior managers on the
advantages and disadvantages
of the defined-benefit, definedcontribution and hybrid forms
of pension, in the context of the
organisation’s needs.
2 Advise managers of the
advantages and disadvantages of:
• providing insured or selfadministered schemes
• the options and responsibilities
relating to stakeholder pensions.
1 Advise senior managers on
the regulation of occupational
pension schemes and its
implications for the organisation.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 The distinction between
occupational pension schemes
and stakeholder schemes and the
employer’s responsibility to provide
access to stakeholder schemes.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 Legislation concerning:
• the disclosure of information to
pension scheme members
• the responsibilities of pension
fund trustees
• tax relief.
2 The implications of the Financial
Services Act 1995 on the provision
of information to employees.
3 The implications of legal
requirements concerning equal
treatment of men and women
and the treatment of part-timers
on occupational pension schemes.
Indicativecontent
Indicativecontent
1 The principles of definedcontribution schemes and:
• types of hybrid scheme
• extent of coverage
• the reasons for recent growth of
defined-contribution forms.
2 The potential advantages and
disadvantages of definedcontribution schemes for
employers and employees; the
advantages and disadvantages
of hybrid schemes and the
administration of defined and
hybrid schemes.
128
1 Regulation and:
• the functions of statutory and
advisory bodies, including
the Occupational Pensions
Regulatory Body (OPRB)
• taxation principles and benefit
limits
• regulation of additional voluntary
contributions
• Inland Revenue approval
• regulations in respect of selfadministered schemes
• contracting out of, and back
into SERPS.
2 Disclosure of information
regulations, information to be
provided automatically and
information to be provided on
request.
3 The legal status and responsibility
of trustees, including pensioner
trustees and the principles of trust
law.
4 Key recent legal developments,
including:
• the Barber Judgement and
subsequent European Court of
Justice (ECJ) rulings on pension
ages
• the position of part-time
workers
• self-investment limits
• transfer rules
• voluntary membership
• rules for controlling directors.
5 The status of pension rights in
cases of:
• employer insolvency
• unfair/wrongful dismissal
• transfer of business ownership
• early leaving
• early retirement
• death in service
• divorce.
Pensions |practitioner-levelStandards
6pensionspolicyandadministration
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1
1 Prepare and review standard literature on
occupational pension schemes in accordance with
regulations on the disclosure of information.
2 Brief new employees on the pension benefits the
organisation offers and their membership rights.
3 Answer questions from employees about:
• scheme rules concerning the level of employee
contributions
• additional voluntary contributions
• death-in-service benefits
• late retirement
• provision for early retirement
• ill-health retirement.
4 Advise employees concerned about business insolvency,
the transfer of businesses and security of funding.
5 Provide accurate advice to early leavers on their
options regarding occupational pension benefits.
6 Calculate the value of an individual’s pension benefits
and lump sum prior to early retirement or at normal
retiring age.
Knowledgeindicators
Costs associated with the administration of different
kinds of pension arrangements.
2 Advantages and disadvantages of:
• insured and self-administered arrangements
• contracting in and out of SERPS
• sponsoring approved or unapproved schemes.
3 The management of an occupational pension
scheme’s investments and the custody of the fund.
4 The basis for deciding which staff groups should be
entitled to scheme membership.
5 The potential role of pensions in cafeteria benefits
systems.
6 Paying contributions into employees’ personal pension
plans.
7 Basic actuarial principles and:
• the calculation of transfer values
• contribution refunds
• early retirement pensions
• retirement lump sums
• final pensions.
8 Special arrangements for senior executives and
‘top hat’ schemes.
9 Small self-administered schemes.
10 Restrictions on tax benefits for high earners.
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 New developments in pension provision, government
regulation and legislation.
129
practitioner-levelStandards|Performance Management
Performance Management
Purpose
Performance management is a strategic approach
to managing the business. Its aim is to improve
organisational effectiveness and add value by enhancing
existing capabilities and building new ones. It is largely
concerned with the continuous development of the
organisation’s broad strategic capabilities and the specific
capabilities of individuals and teams. It is strategic in the
sense that it deals with:
• the broader issues that the business has to face in its
changing environment
• the general direction in which the business intends to
go to achieve longer-term goals.
Performance management is not owned and driven by
the personnel function, but by management in general
and individual managers in particular. But personnel and
development practitioners have an important strategic
role to play as business partners in:
• helping managers and individuals to develop the
performance management processes and skills they
need to meet business needs
• advising on how to align corporate and individual or
team objectives so that added-value outcomes are
achieved.
130
Performance management provides personnel and
development specialists with a real opportunity to be
proactive and innovative in influencing corporate strategy
and contributing to bottom-line results.
Performance Management |practitioner-levelStandards
performanceindicators
1 Theperformance
management
contribution
2performance
management
processes
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 The aims and role of performance
management.
2 The overall process – performance
planning, monitoring and
reviewing performance, preparing
personal development plans.
3 Performance management as an
integrated and holistic process
that improves organisational
as well as individual and team
effectiveness.
4 The significance of performance
management as a means
of improving organisational
effectiveness, by integrating
corporate, individual and team
objectives and contributing to
culture-change programmes.
5 The integration of performance
management processes with
other personnel and development
activities, especially resourcing,
development, reward, and
with quality management
and continuous improvement
initiatives.
6 The contribution performance
management can make to the
continuous development of
employees and the organisation.
7 Performance management as a
means of valuing people.
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Use the organisation’s strategic
goals, core capabilities and values
as the basis for aligning individual
and corporate objectives and
values.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 The nature and context of
performance management and:
•the internal context of the
business and the external
national and international
contexts
•the need to apply performance
management in the context of
the organisation
•the lack of any single best
or right option, or universal
practice
•the need to set clear aims,
identify key principles and
evaluate the impact of
performance management
against aims and principles.
1 Present a business case to
management for the development
of strategic performance
management processes.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 Performance management as a
natural management process and
a bundle of interrelated processes,
and not a rigid or prescribed
system.
2 The features and application of
360-degree feedback processes.
Indicativecontent
1 Performance planning and
development agreements.
2 Setting objectives, performance
standards and performance
measures and:
•the nature of objectives
•the characteristics of good
objectives.
3 Identifying competence
requirements.
4 Measuring performance and levels
of competence.
5 The characteristics and uses of
360-degree feedback.
6 Conducting performance reviews;
focusing on the future rather than
the past.
7 The case for and against rating
performance and:
•methods of rating
•achieving fairness and
consistency.
131
practitioner-levelStandards|Performance Management
3performancemanagementskills
4performancemanagementand
employeedevelopment
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Advise on the aims of performance management and
how to evaluate its processes against those aims.
1 Persuade line managers and employees that
performance management is more than the ‘dishonest
annual ritual’ of traditional appraisal by pointing
out the benefits for the organisation, managers and
individuals.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The distinction between performance management
and traditional performance appraisal schemes.
2 The skills that managers and individuals need to carry
out performance management activities; how these
skills can be developed.
3 New developments and how they can be applied in
organisations.
Indicativecontent
1 Defining and agreeing:
•objectives
•performance standards
•performance measures
•competence/skill requirements.
2 Conducting performance review meetings.
3 Providing feedback and gaining commitment to action.
4 Drawing up and agreeing performance improvement
and personal development plans.
5 Coaching, counselling and mentoring.
132
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Performance management and its power to:
•align individual and team objectives and values with
those of the organisation
•link and integrate complementary personnel
processes, especially resourcing, development and
reward.
2 The tension between performance management as a
developmental process and its role in performance or
competence pay.
Indicativecontent
1 Preparing, agreeing and implementing personal
development plans.
2 The role of the line manager or team leader in
coaching, counselling and mentoring their team
members.
3 The use of performance management to identify
learning needs and to encourage and support selfmanaged learning.
Performance Management |practitioner-levelStandards
5performancemanagement
andemployeereward
6Introducingperformance
management
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 In partnership with line management, define the
performance management principles that fit the
organisation’s culture and help develop the key
processes (including concluding performance
agreements, monitoring performance throughout the
year, conducting formal performance reviews and
preparing and implementing personal development
and performance improvement plans).
1 Advise on, and help to develop, the performance
management skills of others in:
•agreeing objectives, performance standards and
competence requirements
•establishing and using performance measures
•providing feedback
•identifying development needs
•coaching, counselling and monitoring.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Pay for performance, competence or contribution
schemes and the role of performance management in
relation to these schemes.
1 How to develop fair and ethical performance
management processes that offer equal opportunity,
manage diversity and prevent discrimination.
Indicativecontent
Indicativecontent
1 The links, if any, between performance management
and reward.
2 Performance management as a means of valuing
people.
3 Reconciling the tension between performance
management as a developmental process and as a
basis for performance-pay decisions.
4 The nature, advantages and disadvantages of pay-for­
performance systems.
1 The importance of involvement and communication
in gaining the commitment and ownership of line
management and employees.
2 The importance of the development of learning
programmes for the acquisition of required skills.
3 Defining aims and principles.
4 The development programme: involvement,
communication, design, pilot testing, training,
evaluation.
5 Approaches to developing performance management
skills.
133
practitioner-levelStandards|Performance Management
7evaluatingperformance
management
8Managingunderperformers
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Involve managers and employees in the development
of performance management processes, and
communicate to them the purpose of performance
management, their role and the benefits of the
process.
2 Advise on the purposes of documentation and its use.
1 Monitor the development and implementation
of performance management and evaluate its
effectiveness through the use of audits.
2 Monitor performance management to ensure the
process complies with equal opportunity, diversity, and
anti-discrimination policies.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 How performance management can be used:
•to value people and to provide for intrinsic
motivation
•with teams as well as individuals.
1 Methods of:
•measuring performance
•defining and assessing levels of competence/
capability
•identifying and handling capability problems
•managing under performers.
Indicativecontent
1 The importance of evaluation.
2 Methods of evaluation: questionnaires, attitude
surveys, focus groups.
Indicativecontent
1 The role of the organisation in creating a climate that
encourages high-performance work practices and
commitment.
2 Approaches to managing under performers.
3 Capability procedures.
4 Performance management and discipline.
5 Handling problems at performance management
meetings.
.
134
Performance Management |practitioner-levelStandards
9 performancemanagementroles
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
1 Performance management as a process owned by
managers, individuals and teams.
2
The specific role of line managers and team leaders in:
1 Advise on:
•
links
between
performance
management
and
operating performance management processes
•any
contingent pay schemes and the case for and against •using performance management skills
•supporting the efforts of their teams and team
rating performance
members to improve their performance and develop
•approaches to achieving consistency and fairness.
their skills.
2 Advise and support line managers on improving
3 The role of the personnel and development practitioner
motivation, handling under performers and using
capability and disciplinary procedures.
in:
•encouraging the use of performance management
•participating in the design and development of
Knowledgeindicators
performance management processes
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
•gaining commitment through involvement and
critically evaluate:
communication
•providing training and helping people to learn the
skills required
1 The contribution that performance management can
make to continuous improvement and development,
•monitoring and evaluating the application of
performance management.
and quality management.
Practitioners must be able to:
135
Employee Relations Standards |practitioner-levelStandards
Employee Relations Standards
Employee Relations
Employment Law
Health and Safety
137
practitioner-levelStandards|Employee Relations
Employee Relations
Purpose
Employee relations is concerned with how to gain people’s
commitment to the achievement of the organisation’s
business goals and objectives in a number of different
situations. It is also about ensuring that organisational
change is accepted.
This Standard widens and deepens the coverage of
employee relations in the People Management and
Development Standard, with the aim of achieving
professional competence in this area.
The Standard embraces the strategies, policies, structures
and processes used to develop and maintain employee
commitment. It will also broaden and deepen the general
management skills of influencing and negotiating with:
• managerial colleagues, both inside and outside the
people management function
• individual employees, on grievances and discipline
• employees as a group, as well as their representatives.
Personnel and development professionals are frequently
involved in employee relations issues, whether they are
generalists or specialise in people resourcing, employee
reward or learning and development. An integrated
approach to human resource management means that
all these aspects have to be considered together so that
a mutually reinforcing and interrelated set of personnel
policies and practices can be developed.
138
Personnel and development professionals are expected
to play their part alongside line managers in maximising
the contribution of people to the achievement of current
and evolving business objectives. In partnership with their
colleagues they need to understand the business context
and the importance of taking a strategic viewpoint when
meeting business needs and managing change.
This Standard defines how thinking performers can meet
these requirements in the field of employee relations. It is
relevant for:
• any personnel/human resources practitioner at a
relatively early stage in their career, responsible for
a range of basic personnel operations and wanting
to develop deeper and broader knowledge and skills
and make a professional contribution to the employee
relations process
• externally-based consultants providing advice and
services in many organisational types, sectors and
settings.
Employee Relations |practitioner-levelStandards
performanceindicators
1employeerelations
managementincontext
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Contribute to setting the strategic
direction for an organisation’s
employee relations policy and
practice.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 The various means and methods
available for effective workplace
decision-making and management
policies and approaches to gain
the commitment, co-operation
and empowerment of the
workforce.
2 The organisational, regional,
national and international context
and their potential impact on
current employee relations
policies, issues and practices.
3 The implications of European
Union membership and the
internationalisation of employee
relations policies, issues and
practices.
Indicativecontent
1 The changing economic, social,
political and technological
environment of employee
relations.
2Thepartiesinemployee
relations
2 The social dimension of the
European Union and:
•the Commission
•the Council of Ministers
•the Parliament
•the Court of Justice
•the European Trades Union
Confederation (ETUC)
•UNICE, CEEP, framework
agreements and directives.
3 The role of the Government as an
economic manager, through its
fiscal and monetary policies etc
and its implications for employer/
employee interests.
4 The role of the Government as
legislator and:
•employment protection
legislation
•maternity and parental leave
•equal opportunities legislation
•individual rights in relation
to trade union membership
(statutory recognition for
collective bargaining purposes)
•the law relating to industrial
conflict
•the health and safety legal
framework
•the role of employment
tribunals and the Labour Court
(Ireland).
5 The role of state agencies,
including:
•the Advisory, Conciliation and
Arbitration Service (ACAS)
•the Central Arbitration
Committee (CAC)
•the Labour Relations
Commission (Ireland)
•the Certification Officer
•the Health and Safety
Commission.
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Supply appropriate advice on the
basic rights and obligations of
employers and employees arising
from the contract of employment
and associated legislation.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 The range of internal factors
within an organisation that
may affect the management of
employee relations in the public,
private, voluntary and not-for­
profit sectors.
Indicativecontent
1 Management and:
•objectives and styles of
employee relations management
•business strategy and the
employee relations strategy and
policies to achieve the business
strategy
•managing with or without trade
unions
•the role of the line manager and
employee relations in change
•the changing role and function
of employer associations (eg
Confederation of British Industry
(CBI), the Retail Consortium and
(in the Republic of Ireland) the
Irish Business and Employers’
Confederation (IBEC)
•management representative
bodies at the EU level and at
the EU sector (industry) level.
139
practitioner-levelStandards|Employee Relations
3 employeerelations
processes
2 Employees and:
•different forms of employee
voice, such as consultation and
information giving and receiving
bodies (consultative committees,
works councils)
•staff/employee associations
•the role, function, status and
values of trade unions
•the role and functions of the
Trade Union Congress (in the
Republic of Ireland, the Irish
Congress of Trade Unions) and
European and international
employee representative bodies
•health and safety
representatives.
3 The state as an employer and:
•the exemplar and reflective role
of the state as an employer
•the state as a model employer
•the implications of the
liberalisation of public sector
product/service markets on
employee commitment in the
public sector and quasi-public
sector employing organisations.
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Provide advice on the
appropriateness of adopting
different forms of employee
involvement/participation and
how to implement them.
2 Participate as a key team member
in the effective implementation of
organisational change.
3 Participate as a key team
member in the consultation and
communication process.
4 Monitor and evaluate the
effectiveness of the organisation’s
strategies, policies, procedures
and processes to develop and
maintain employee commitment.
5 Facilitate the resolution of
differences with management
colleagues within and between
the management functions, as
well as employees individually
and/or collectively.
6 Draft policies and procedures
dealing with employee grievances,
discipline, redundancy, job
grading, harassment and bullying,
and ensure their effective
implementation and management.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 The impact of organisational
change on relationships within an
organisation.
140
2 The mechanisms in both non­
union and unionised enterprises
designed to reconcile the different
interests of employers and
employees for mutual gain.
Indicativecontent
1 The range of techniques for
practising employee involvement
in organisations, including:
•communication strategies and
policies
•problem-solving
•task-based involvement
•quality circles
•team briefing
•representative participation
•financial involvement.
2 Advice, conciliation, mediation
and arbitration.
3 Unilateral decision-making by
employers.
4 Employee participation in
management decision-making
by information and consultation
bodies, by worker directors, by
collective bargaining (scope,
level, formality, bargaining units,
single-table bargaining etc) and
by health, safety and environment
committees.
5 Industrial sanctions, including
strikes and lockouts.
6 Legal regulation to provide
common standards, for example:
•national minimum wage
•working time regulations
•parental leave
•disciplinary procedures
•transnational consultation and
information regulations
•statutory codes.
7 The role and function of health
and safety committees.
Employee Relations |practitioner-levelStandards
4 Outcomes
5 employeerelationsskills
OperationalIndicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the
organisation’s strategies, policies, procedures and
processes to develop and maintain employee
commitment.
1 Participate in the preparation of a case at an
employment tribunal on behalf of an employer.
2 Review and monitor an organisation’s safety and
environment policies and programmes in line with
current legal requirements and ensure their effective
implementation and management.
3 Promote good occupational health by raising
awareness through health surveillance and training.
4 Advise on contemporary developments in employee
relations and their potential impact on the
organisation’s policies and practices.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The key features of the individual employment
relationship, including the psychological contract.
Knowledgeindicators
Indicativecontent
1 Agreements and their:
•types – substantive, procedural, partnership,
technological, single-union/no-strike and workforce
•authorship – solely by management (as
predominates in non-union firms) or jointly (as
normal in unionised organisations)
•levels and formality – informal as against formal
•scope – the subjects covered.
2 The impact of employee relations on economic
efficiency.
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The mechanisms that ensure organisations achieve a
safe and healthy working environment.
2 The skills managers need for:
•grievance handling
•discipline in the workplace
•group problem-solving
•resolving differences within interest groups
•negotiating with different interest groups
whether unionised or non-unionised employees,
management colleagues or managers from other
management functions
•managing and implementing change programmes.
141
practitioner-levelStandards|Employee Relations
Indicativecontent
1 Negotiation, its definition and:
•groups that management negotiates with, including
other managers, the workforce, customers and
suppliers
•different types of negotiating situation, including
intra-management, grievance, bargaining, group
problem-solving
•the style of negotiations in different situations with
different parties
•the different stages of the process and the ‘ritual’ of
negotiation.
2 Bargaining, its definition and:
•the management skills needed to prepare for and
conduct bargaining
•preparation of claims, offers and counter-offers etc
•skills in concluding bargaining
•techniques in searching for the ‘common ground’
•skills in writing the agreement
•sources of information.
3 Grievance, its definition and:
•the management skills needed – including analysis,
defining aims, determining strategy and tactics – to
prepare for and conduct management grievance
handling with individual employees or groups
•interviewing skills
•presentation skills
•the skills needed to find the common ground and
resolve employee grievances.
142
4 Discipline and:
•the skills needed for handling disciplinary
proceedings
•interviewing skills
•devising and reviewing procedures and the
importance of ‘natural justice’ in procedures
•criteria for evaluating whether the disciplinary
procedure is operating effectively
•the law relating to unfair dismissal
•the concept of ‘gross misconduct’
•the importance of ‘good practice’ or best fit as
opposed to the legal minimum
•preparing evidence for management’s case at an
employment tribunal.
5 Redundancy and:
•the skills needed to manage redundancy effectively
•the relevant law on redundancy to consider
when negotiating, devising and implementing a
redundancy agreement or arrangements.
6 Managing change and:
•the skills needed to interpret and evaluate whether
a new employee relations practice that works in
one enterprise can be transplanted successfully to
another
•communication, influencing and negotiating skills to
achieve the implementation of change in the light of
changing business objectives.
Employment Law |practitioner-levelStandards
Employment Law
Purpose
The volume of employment law has increased rapidly
because of national legislation, the social dimension
of the European Union, and case law based on
interpretation of both national legislation and European
decisions. Many areas that were considered relatively
straightforward have become increasingly complex and
more detailed. Personnel professionals need to advise
other managers on existing law.
A personnel professional who meets this Standard will be
able to ensure their organisation retains its competitive
advantage by not falling foul of the law. In the event of
legal action by an employee, the personnel professional
will be a valuable resource who can:
• take instructions quickly
• analyse the situation effectively
• represent the company at an employment tribunal, if
necessary.
However, the professional personnel and development
practitioner needs to take employment law beyond mere
compliance. To add real value they should be capable of
anticipating and evaluating proposed changes in the law,
so that the organisation can plan, prepare and implement
sound personnel policies. Personnel professionals
must also be able to advise management about the
implications of existing and impending legislation on
resources and business objectives.
143
practitioner-levelStandards|Employment Law
performanceindicators
1Theinstitutionsofemploymentlaw
2 Individualemploymentlaw
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Read and explain an Act of Parliament and a European
Directive.
2 Give advice on the stages at which the content
of proposed legislation can be influenced by an
organisation.
1 Work with, and find their way through, legal
materials, including precedents, case law and
legislation.
2 Analyse legal materials capably and confidently.
3 Act as the primary adviser to the organisation on
employment law, and thus make a contribution that
helps prevent the organisation falling foul of relevant
legislation or regulations.
4 Use appropriate sources of information and find the
information needed to keep up to date with case law
etc.
5 Represent their organisation in employment tribunal
proceedings, or instruct/brief a solicitor if or when
appropriate.
6 Prepare the organisation’s witnesses who are to give
evidence at an employment tribunal.
7 Explain the law – actual and intended – in language
and concepts that non-legal management colleagues
understand and can absorb.
8 Implement relevant and appropriate practice in:
• recruitment
• employment and contracts
• termination of employment
• employee relations policies
• procedures based on legal principles and codes of
practice.
9 Advise on and evaluate the likely impact of actual
and intended legislation on the organisation’s policies,
practices and resources.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The role of the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC)
in determining claims for statutory trade union
recognition and derecognition.
2 The influence of ACAS in resolving individual and
collective employment disputes.
3 New developments in legislation and case law in both
the UK and EU, and their impact potential on an
organisation’s policies and practices.
Indicativecontent
1 The civil and criminal court structure.
2 Employment and employment appeal tribunals; the
labour court system.
3 The Central Arbitration Committee (CAC), Advisory
Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), the Health
and Safety Commission (HSC) and the Commission for
Racial Equality (CRE).
4 The European Court of Justice, the Court of Human
Rights.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The legal principles associated with the employment
of people, both individually and collectively.
2 The influence of European Union employment law,
particularly the impact of EU Directives and the way
they are transposed into national legislation.
144
Employment Law |practitioner-levelStandards
2 Individualemploymentlaw(cont)
3 Collectiveemploymentlaw
3 The role of employment law in delivering the
organisation’s business objectives.
4 How individual employee employment law enshrines
good (best fit) personnel practices.
5 The benefit to the organisation of having a personnel
and development practitioner with expertise in the
relevant laws and regulations.
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Knowledgeindicators
1 The nature and terms of the employment contract,
the impact of employment protection legislation and:
• maternity rights
• time-off provisions, including parental leave and
caring for dependants
• holidays
• working time
• pay and deductions.
2 The law relating to:
• advertising
• interviewing
• fixed-term contracts
• temporary, part-time and casual employment
• use of probationary periods
• use of union and non-union labour.
3 Legislation and case law covering:
• race, gender and disability discrimination
• dignity at work (harassment, bullying, whistleblowing)
• equal pay
• privacy
• human rights.
4 Termination of employment and:
• the concept of breach of contract
• legislation and case law relating to unfair dismissal
• redundancy procedures and payments
• the Transfer of Undertakings regulations.
5 Individual employee rights to be represented by a
trade union (Employment Relations Act 1999).
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Advise on and evaluate the likely impact of actual
and intended legislation on the organisation’s policies,
practices and resources.
1 The legal principles associated with the employment
of people, both individually and collectively.
2 The influence of European Union employment law,
particularly the impact of EU Directives and the way
they are transposed into national legislation.
3 The role of employment law in delivering the
organisation’s business objectives.
4 How individual employee employment law enshrines
good (best fit) personnel practices.
Indicativecontent
1 The law relating to:
• collective bargaining and agreements
• freedom of association
• disclosure of information
• time off for trade union duties
• statutory trade union recognition and derecognition.
2 The law relating to industrial conflict and:
• the boundaries of lawful action
• damages for unlawful action
• the labour injunction; picketing
• dismissal in industrial disputes.
3 Transnational information and consultation.
145
practitioner-levelStandards|Employment Law
146
4Confidentialinformationand
intellectualproperty
5Healthandsafetyatwork
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Advise on and evaluate the likely impact of actual
and intended legislation on the organisation’s policies,
practices and resources.
1 Advise on and evaluate the likely impact of actual
and intended legislation on the organisation’s policies,
practices and resources.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The benefit to the organisation of having a personnel
and development practitioner with expertise in the
relevant laws and regulations.
1 The benefit to the organisation of having a personnel
and development practitioner with expertise in the
relevant laws and regulations.
Indicativecontent
Indicativecontent
1
2
1 The legal framework and:
• safety representatives and committees
• safety policies
• the enforcement of health and safety legislation
• the rights and obligations of individual employees.
2 Rights and duties of employers and employees in
relation to:
• injuries at work
• negligence
• breach of statutory duty
• working time
• stress.
Patents, inventions and copyright.
Protection of confidential information and:
• the Data Protection Act
• the Access to Medical Reports Act
• the Access to Health Records Act
• references.
Health and Safety |practitioner-levelStandards
Health and Safety
Purpose
The underlying aim of health and safety is to promote
the well-being of employees and others affected by
the operation of any business, service or organisation.
When a workplace is safe and people see that their
well-being is respected, it is likely to improve morale and
support other human resource policies. Work itself can
have positive or negative long-term effects on employee
health. It is an increasingly important aspect of health
and safety to ensure that risks to physical or mental
health are identified and controlled.
Organisations successfully managing health and safety
recognise that health and safety policies align with
their other human resource management policies.
Human resource management often encompasses the
organisation’s health and safety function, particularly
in low-risk organisations not directly linked to
manufacturing or sophisticated technologies.
This Standard is designed for those personnel and
development practitioners who take responsibility
for ensuring the health and safety of the workforce,
recognising that health and safety is the direct
responsibility of the line managers reinforced by
legislation. This means that the personnel and
development practitioner will need to interpret
and provide guidance to line managers on specific
requirements.
This Standard reflects the development of health and
safety under the influence of the Management of Health
and Safety Regulations 1999, where employers are
obliged to have access to competent health and safety
advice. There has also been a rise in litigation from civil
claims and strong pressure from insurance companies
on employers to invest in ‘risk management’ as well as
tighter audits of management action by the Health and
Safety Executive. Other factors are that national and
international standards are constantly being refined and
there is increasing public awareness of health and safety.
By playing a central role in preventing accidents and
illness at work and limiting the risk of adverse effects
on other stakeholders, the personnel professional adds
real value. Accidents and illness affect not only those
directly involved. They impact on productivity, morale, the
organisation’s image – and the bottom line, as downtime
and the costs of insurance, investigation and possible
legal penalties have to be met.
Health and safety is an all-embracing multi-disciplinary
topic and requires a knowledge of a wide range of
subjects: law, risk/safety management, occupational
health and hygiene, ergonomics and human factors.
This Standard does no more than introduce these
topics appropriately. The personnel and development
professionals will gain enough knowledge and
understanding of the topics to know when they have
reached the limits of their competence and when to seek
advice from specialists. This in itself is a valuable skill as
personnel and development practitioners move on in their
careers and perhaps become responsible for managing
health and safety functions at boardroom level.
147
practitioner-levelStandards|Health and Safety
performanceindicators
1 Safetymanagement
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Key health and safety terminology – hazard, risk,
precautionary principle, danger, accident, dangerous
occurrence, disease.
2 Identifying work hazards that may cause accidents or
ill health.
3 Risk assessment methods and techniques and where
to use them.
4 How to control the risks identified using the hierarchy
of workplace precautions and controls, and specify
the criteria for the types of workplace precaution and
control.
5 The cost of controls and the legal requirements of
‘so far as is reasonably practicable’ stipulated in the
Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
6 The elements of a safety management programme
such as HSG65, BS8800 or OHSAS 18001 and the
management of subcontracting and the need to
monitor and continually improve such programmes.
7 The nature, role purpose and requirement of an
organisation’s safety policy.
8 Health and safety training requirements.
9 Arrangements for fire prevention and emergency
procedures.
10 Consultation and communication with the workforce,
health and safety specialists and others affected by
work activities.
11 The nature and methods of rehabilitation for
vulnerable groups of workers, including young people
and those with disabilities (Disability Discrimination
Act 1999).
1 Develop, organise, plan and implement an
organisation’s safety policy:
• in line with current legal requirements
• in a way that is meaningful to employees at all
levels.
2 Measure and review performance against the
policy and make recommendations for continual
improvement.
3 Recognise hazards in the workplace and develop an
effective process of risk assessment and control that
can readily be accessed by employees.
4 Specify health and safety training requirements and
contribute to the arrangements for appropriate
training.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The key elements, costs and benefits of a health and
safety management programme.
2 Risk assessment and its relevance to the workplace.
3 The requirements for:
• consultation and communication with the workforce
• the need for accident reporting and investigation.
148
Health and Safety |practitioner-levelStandards
2Thehealthandsafetylegal
system
3 Occupationalhealthandhygiene
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Advise on legal issues relating to health and safety.
1 Promote good health by raising awareness through
health promotion and surveillance schemes.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The key requirements in civil law and statute relating
to health and safety issues, major offences that may
arise, and how these are enforced.
2 The role and functions of major agencies such as
the HSC, the HSE, the DETR and local authority
enforcement officers.
3 The concept of competence in relation to health and
safety requirements.
Indicativecontent
1 Historical development of health and safety law,
including the influence of the European Union.
2 The principles of the UK legal system and its national
variations, including common law, statute law,
hierarchy and functions of the courts.
3 Civil and criminal liabilities, including relevant
precedent-setting case law.
4 The enforcement of health and safety law and:
• the roles of enforcement officers
• remedies available to employers
• reporting procedures.
5 Specific legislation – the Health and Safety at Work
Act 1974 and related regulations (in particular
the Management of Health and Safety at Work
Regulations 1999).
6 The nature of modern goal-setting legislation and
the status of ACOPS and HSE guidance, including
implications of duty of care.
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The importance of good health and the concept of
work-induced ill health or injury.
Indicativecontent
1 Basic human physiology and the functions of key
elements – the central nervous system, blood, kidneys,
lungs, liver.
2 Routes of entry of hazardous substances.
3 Agents that have adverse effects on the body
– physical, chemical and biological.
4 Exposure-level criteria and methods of monitoring.
5 Methods for controlling agents and their hierarchy
(COSHH Regulations 1999).
6 Health surveillance techniques and:
• health questionnaires
• management of health records.
7 Health promotion strategies.
8 The role and function of occupational health services.
9 Psycho-social issues affecting the health of individuals.
149
practitioner-levelStandards|Health and Safety
4 ergonomics
5Humanfactors
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Specify health and safety training requirements and
contribute to the arrangements for appropriate
training.
1 Set up and develop communication and consultation
channels with employees, contractors, emergency
services and others.
2 Investigate workplace incidents and make
recommendations arising from the results.
3 Recognise and deal with emerging issues relating to
the well-being of people in the workplace, such as
stress and violence to staff.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The role of specialists in health and safety:
occupational physicians, occupational health nurses,
general safety practitioners, occupational hygienists,
ergonomists.
Knowledgeindicators
Indicativecontent
1 The human factors that affect health and safety
performance.
1 Principles of ergonomics, with particular relevance to
health and safety issues – body structure, movement.
2 The basic principles of the cause of musculo-skeletal
disorders and how to avoid them – manual handling,
workstation design, repetitive tasks.
3 Practical ergonomic tools, techniques and checklists.
150
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Indicativecontent
1 Organisational, job-related and personal factors in
health and safety and risk perception (distinguishing
between individual or group attitudes and why people
behave unsafely).
2 Relating good health and safety practice to the
processes of recruitment, selection, placement,
transfer, training, development and learning, taking
those with special needs into consideration.
3 Causes of accidents, including behavioural
characteristics.
4 The consequences and outcomes of accidents.
5 Stress – the causes and stress management techniques.
6 Violence to staff at work – the causes and techniques
to manage it. Alcohol and drugs policies, no-smoking
policies.
People Management and Development Standards
People Management
and Development
151
practitioner-levelStandards|People Management and Development
People Management and Development Purpose
People Management and Development is a compulsory
core for all candidates, whether on the Professional
Development Scheme or seeking entry via competence
routes. It is the spine of the entire Professional
Development Scheme and CIPD Standards.
Its purpose is to cover the essential knowledge and
understanding which is then developed and extended
in the other generic Standards. To achieve this purpose
People Management and Development:
• covers all key elements of personnel and development
in the main generic areas of resourcing, development,
relations and reward
• provides sufficient knowledge and understanding for
all personnel and development specialists to:
– give informed advice and solutions at workplace
and establishment level
– contribute to improvements in organisational performance
– undertake basic human resources processes across
the board.
It is also designed so that practitioners develop the
essential ability to:
• understand how their work is integrated with that
of other personnel and development specialists, line
managers, consultants and other stakeholders
• gain the commitment of other stakeholders to their
recommendations, advice and solutions
• demonstrate the way in which these
recommendations, advice and solutions can add value
for the organisation.
152
This People Management and Development Standard:
• aims to develop core knowledge and skills in each of
the generic areas of personnel and development, so
the response and approach to people management
and development issues is integrated, effective and
professional
• is a springboard for further learning and continuing
professional development – not an end in itself;
it is axiomatic that personnel and development
practitioners have a professional responsibility to
engage in CPD
• is indicative rather than exhaustive; practitioners must
keep up to date with developments in the field and
changes in the law and international activities, and
develop their knowledge and understanding of policy
and practice
• sees change management as a core issue –
to be considered in relation to each subject rather
than treated as a stand-alone topic.
As with all Professional Development Scheme Standards,
the notion of the thinking performer informs the
performance indicators and indicative content. To
be successful, interventions must be relevant to the
circumstances, be seen to contribute to organisational
goals and performance, have to make a contribution
to the development of professional expertise and be
presented accurately and effectively.
People Management and Development |practitioner-levelStandards
performanceindicators
1 Shapingthemanagementand
developmentagenda
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1 The changing nature of work and employment: the
contribution of people to organisational objectives;
conflict and co-operation, commitment, loyalty and
identity; changing organisational forms, flexibility and
the reshaping of work.
2 Legal and political frameworks for people
management and development: the role of the state
and employment law in shaping the agenda for
people management and development, common
law, national and European legislation; government
departments and agencies and their relationship with
employing organisations; employment tribunals, ACAS
and other relevant bodies.
3 Economic and institutional frameworks for people
management and development: national, sectoral and
local patterns of labour supply; initiatives in training,
learning and skills; trade unions and employers’
organisations; labour market and employment data in
Britain and at an international level.
1 Implement appropriate people management
and development policies that maximise the
contribution of people to organisational objectives
and wider societal needs.
2 Supply accurate and timely advice on the rights and
obligations of employers and employees arising from
the contract of employment and associated legislation,
bearing in mind conflicts of interest and issues of
confidentiality.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The implications for the effective management and
development of people that arise from the changing
nature of work and employment.
2 The context within which people management and
development takes place in terms of government
actions, legal requirements and wider societal needs.
3 The relationship between employing organisations
and the economic and institutional frameworks within
which they operate.
153
practitioner-levelStandards|People Management and Development
2Thecontributionofpeople
managementanddevelopment
expertise
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Research and change management skills: planning
and designing projects, setting objectives, establishing
parameters and managing available time, building and
working in teams; accessing, analysing and presenting
data, using statistical sources and information
technology, writing and presenting reports;
processes of change and influence, persuasion skills,
communicating with other people and gaining their
commitment, overcoming barriers to change.
2 The growth and development of a specialist personnel
and development function: welfare, administration,
negotiation, legal expertise, organisation and human
resource development, the strategic partner; the status
and influence of the personnel and development
function; the role of the CIPD.
3 Ethics and professionalism in people management and
development: moral and practical issues in relation to
the management of people; the nature and extent of
disadvantage and discrimination on race, sex, disability,
age and other grounds; positive benefits from equal
opportunities and the management of diversity; codes
of conduct and practice; personal and organisational
responsibility for learning and continuing professional
development.
1 Access, use and interpret data from a range of
internal and published sources in preparing and
presenting reports.
2 Contribute effectively to the planning, design and
implementation of projects.
3 Manipulate people management and development
databases, and provide advice on how to interpret the
information and results they produce.
4 Demonstrate an ethical approach to people
management and development.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The role of research and change management skills in
organisations.
2 The role of information technology in supporting
people management and development.
3 The nature and importance of ethics, professionalism,
equal opportunities and managing diversity.
154
People Management and Development |practitioner-levelStandards
3 Integratingthepeoplemanagement
anddevelopmentcontribution
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Contribute to the effective implementation of
appropriate people management and development
policies in different types of organisations.
2 Work in partnership with other stakeholders to help
overcome blockages and barriers to change.
3 Make recommendations about the advantages and
disadvantages of outsourcing some or all elements of
people management and development.
4 Provide and use benchmarks and other measures to
assess the contribution of people management and
development to organisational success.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The meaning of strategic management and its
implications for people management and development.
2 How different aspects of personnel and development
are integrated with each other, with business strategy
and with organisational structures and cultures.
3 The ways in which people management and
development is implemented by line managers,
functional specialists and consultants, and how these
interact with each other.
4 The contribution that people management and
development can make to organisational success.
Indicativecontent
1 Organisational strategy and the management
of people: the nature and meaning of strategic
management and strategic objectives; strategy
formulation as a planned, reactive and incremental
process; human resource management as a driver, as a
strategic partner and as an agent of implementation;
the resource-based view of the firm and its application
to people management and development.
2 Vertical integration and ‘best fit’: contingency and
configurational models of organisation strategy
and their application to people management and
development; converting organisational and human
resource strategies into practice, blockages and
barriers to implementation; organisational cultures and
structures; the systematic implementation of people
management and development at the workplace.
3 Horizontal integration and ‘best practice’: human
capital advantage and high commitment management,
bundles of human resource practice; integration
between different elements of people management
and development; best practice human resource
management, organisational performance and
employee well-being; knowledge-based organisations
and people management and development; variations
in people management and development between
organisations and situations.
4 Line managers and people management and
development: partnerships between the personnel and
development function and line managers, conflicts
and ambiguities; the role of line managers in people
management and development, and the benefits
and shortcomings of devolving human resources to
line managers; developing the contribution of line
managers to organisational performance.
5 Consultants and people management and
development: the roles of internal and external
human resources consultants and their contribution
to organisational performance; expert/resource and
process consultants; the rationale for outsourcing
human resources and other activities, responsibility for
performance, and the legal implications of outsourcing.
6 Measuring the contribution of personnel and
development to organisational performance: criteria
for evaluating the contribution; ratios, service
level agreements and benchmarking; marketing
and developing the personnel and development
function; gaining support for personnel and
development interventions; models of the personnel
and development function and analysing reasons for
variation.
155
practitioner-levelStandards|People Management and Development
4peoplemanagementand
developmentinpractice
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Implement and operate cost-effective processes for
recruiting and retaining the right calibre of staff for
their organisation.
2 Contribute to the design, development and delivery of
learning and training and to utilise measures to evaluate
their effectiveness in supporting organisational goals.
3 Work in partnership with other stakeholders to
develop procedures and processes that enhance the
commitment of employees and resolve conflict at work.
4 Provide advice about how to motivate and reward
people so as to maximise employee contributions to
organisational performance.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 How effective recruitment, selection and performance
management can contribute to organisational
effectiveness.
2 How effective learning and training processes
can contribute to enhanced employee skills and
organisational performance.
3 How effective employment relations can contribute
to increased employee potential and commitment.
4 How effective reward management practices can
contribute to enhanced employee motivation and
satisfaction at work.
Indicativecontent
1 Cost-effective recruitment and selection: human resource
planning and vacancy determination; job analysis,
job descriptions, person specifications, accountability
profiles and competency frameworks; recruitment
methods and advertisements; choosing appropriate
selection methods.
156
2 Managing performance for added value: induction and
employee socialisation; objective setting and performance
review; performance improvement, managing poor
performers and attendees, counselling and support.
3 Maximising the skills and contributions of people:
shaping the culture for performance improvement
through workplace learning and knowledge
management; employability and career management;
individual and organisational learning, the learning
cycle and differences in learning styles.
4 Managing learning processes for organisational success:
identifying training needs and devising learning plans to
meet organisational goals and employee needs; planning
and organising learning, selecting appropriate methods for
different situations; evaluating the effectiveness of training
events and learning processes.
5 Structures and processes for effective employment
relations: management objectives and styles; managing
with and without unions; employee involvement,
communications and consultation; collective bargaining,
partnership agreements and workplace union organisation.
6 Resolving differences and gaining employee
commitment: grievance and discipline handling,
contributing to bargaining; the role of procedures and
the value of agreed mechanisms for resolving issues
at work; line managers and employment relations; the
importance of satisfactory personnel records.
7 Motivating staff and rewarding contributions: pay
determination, choosing and implementing appropriate
methods of payment and benefits; time-based systems,
performance-related reward and competence-related
pay; profit-sharing and employee share ownership.
8 Delivering equity and fairness in rewards: job evaluation
and grading; pay levels and structures, internal and
external labour market comparisons, differentials; equal
pay for work of equal value; harmonisation and non­
financial rewards and benefits.
Leadership and Management
Standards
Managing Information for
Competitive Advantage
Managing in a Strategic
Business Context
Managing and
Leading People
Managing
for Results
157
practitioner-levelStandards|Leadership and Management Standards
Leadership and Management Standards
158
Managing for Results
159
Managing and Leading People
165
Managing in a Strategic Business Context
171
Managing Information for Competitive Advantage
179
Managing for Results |practitioner-levelStandards
Managing for Results
Purpose
In all sectors and at all levels managers must have the
knowledge, understanding and skills to enable them
to grasp the right opportunities for themselves and the
organisations in which they work, or may work in the
future.
The manager of the future faces many challenges and
opportunities. Not least of these is the need to provide
direction, gain commitment, facilitate change and
achieve results. In a world where competition and survival
are key concerns it is important that the focus is on
customers, internal and external, quality and continuous
improvement.
The manager has responsibilities both inside and outside
the organisation and must balance demands from
each to ensure success in both, often in changing and
uncertain circumstances. Managerial work remains
complex and fragmented and job descriptions containing
the word 'manager' continue to differ in the extreme.
It must be acknowledged that some aspects of
managerial work are aligned with the organisational
performance infrastructure, or critical failure factors,
that provide the bedrock in terms of what is acceptable
and necessary. Managers should also be leaders and
visionaries in minor and major ways. They must think and
act to improve both their own and the organisation’s
performance. This differentiation is what ensures that
they, their staff and their organisations become the best
at what they do.
It is essential that Managing for Results seeks to analyse
the very nature and value of the role of the manager in
a variety of contexts and at all levels, from supervisor to
director. A critical evaluation of the contribution made by
managers and management should prompt the debate
that there is no one ‘right way’. There are, however,
fundamental activities, competences and competencies
that need to be present in any organisation.
agreeing objectives, establishing mutual expectations
with other managers, colleagues, team members,
customers and suppliers, and also understanding systems,
structures and processes relevant to the role.
The content is outlined under four broad headings and
these must be considered not only in terms of how they
apply but also when and why they are appropriate. The
related arguments need to be based on logical reasoning,
actual good practice, recent research and emerging
trends and new ideas.
The practice of management
Delivering change
Enhancing customer relations
Enabling continuous improvement
40
20
20
20
per
per
per
per
cent
cent
cent
cent
Thepracticeofmanagement
This element critically examines the role of the manager
and the existence of ‘management’.
The managerial role: a critical review of the rationale for
management.
The managerial contribution: creating and maintaining
the infrastructure and optimising performance through
the differentiators.
It can be argued that there are distinct and unique
behaviours that can be identified, fostered and
developed. Managers will always be leaders to a greater
or lesser extent, but will leaders always be managers?
What qualities differentiate the two and what tensions
can this elicit? The manager must bear responsibility
for their own contribution as well as that of others.
They must be able to reflect on and identify their own
values, motivations, capabilities and capacity, and be
able to obtain feedback and constantly seek to improve
themselves.
Self-management and development are key factors;
managers need to develop an understanding of their
role and their ability to undertake it, to be aware of
their responsibilities and relationships and the potential
contribution that they can make. This will include
159
practitioner-levelStandards|Managing for Results
Deliveringchange
enablingcontinuousimprovement
Organisations and people naturally resist change but
this isn't possible in the fast-moving environment of the
twenty-first century. Managers are key players when it
comes to embedding a climate for change, where people
feel able and positively encouraged to think creatively,
where innovation is fostered and new ideas supported.
This calls for an infrastructure that allows for identifying,
planning and implementing change. Managers need an
understanding of how and why organisations work, grow
and develop in order to effect meaningful and positive
change.
Nothing stands still in today’s organisation. Managers
must ensure standards are met and maintained while
constantly striving to do better. It is important in this
element to understand the meaning and importance of
quality as a basic, fundamental requirement. This element
also recognises the need for continuous improvement,
from monitoring through to empowerment and
innovation. It is evident that some organisations may
need to totally transform themselves in order to survive
and to meet the challenges of the future. Whatever the
extent of this transformation, there are questions to be
asked and lessons to be learned by all managers.
enhancingcustomerrelations
Customer care is about looking after customers to
ensure their wants, needs and expectations are met and
exceeded, thus creating customer satisfaction and loyalty.
It is estimated that nearly three-quarters of customer
loss is due to indifference to customers. Product and
service design and delivery need to be firmly based on a
thorough understanding of the customer, their needs and
expectations. Developing and maintaining good customer
relations, internal and external, will provide a sound
performance infrastructure. Anticipating the needs and
exceeding the expectations of customers makes all the
difference.
160
Managing for Results |practitioner-levelStandards
performanceindicators
1 Thepracticeofmanagement
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Evaluate and challenge the role of the manager in a
variety of contrasting contexts.
2 Assess the opportunity for and the contribution of
managers and management to the effectiveness of
the organisation.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and critically evaluate:
1 The nature of management.
2 The managerial contribution to organisational success.
Indicativecontent
performanceinfrastructure
1 Evaluating and adopting appropriate management
standards and styles. The similarities and differences
between managers and leaders and potential tension
and conflict between them. Planning, organising,
setting targets and agreeing objectives. The
appropriate deployment of managerial approaches;
leading, coaching, facilitation, delegation.
2 Developing and operating a network of lateral,
functional and vertical relationships with senior and
junior colleagues, peers, teams, individuals, and
internal and external partners.
3 Communicating persuasively and convincingly
in a manner appropriate to the audience and
circumstances. Understanding organisational politics
and influence, power and authority.
4 System and process management, including health
and safety, and the conflicts and challenges that these
may present. Assessment of working conditions and
remedies to address unsatisfactory situations. Industrial
and professional codes of practice, procedures,
organisational and legal requirements.
5 Developing self and others through the identification
of individual potential, values, motivators, capabilities
and capacity. Knowing how and when to give, receive
and act on feedback. Methods of management
development; self-development, executive coaching,
mentoring, personal networks, action learning sets.
performancedifferentiators
1 Appraisal of the factors that individually and
collectively contribute to the ‘added-value’ orientation
within the management role and within management
more generally.
2 The significance of strategic and visionary thinking for
effective management and the managerial role. How
to foster innovation and creativity.
3 The pivotal contribution of the line/middle manager
in promoting appropriate behaviours; role model,
exemplar, guide, coach and mentor.
4 Developing a shared vision and providing direction.
Gaining support for the organisation’s vision and
strategy. Inspiring and motivating others to make their
full contribution and continually refining strategy and
gaining support for plans.
5 Self-management strategies and opportunities;
evaluating the impact of own performance and
seeking out opportunities for development.
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practitioner-levelStandards|Managing for Results
2Deliveringchange
Operationalindicators
performancedifferentiators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Identifying the need for change, proactive
intervention, reactive/remedial recovery; identifying
equilibrium, disequilibrium and stability.
2 Making the business case for change; with the drivers,
benefits and risks identified, realisation of short-term
wins as well as longer-term deliverables; planning for
change, identifying barriers and solutions.
3 Communicating plans for change using media and
styles appropriate to the people and situations.
Promoting understanding and showing empathy
with others’ needs, feelings and motivations. Taking
personal responsibility for making things happen.
4 Agreeing goals and objectives, monitoring and
evaluating progress. Ensuring flexibility of response
and making adjustments while not losing sight of
long-term goals.
1 Plan and implement a programme of change.
2 Advise on the development and maintenance of
organisational structures and systems.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The ways in which organisations grow and change.
2 The elements that lead to the successful
implementation of change.
Indicativecontent
performanceinfrastructure
1 Engaging in a critical review of organisational
dynamics; comparative organisational types,
structures, functions (marketing, operations, research
and development, finance etc) and cultures, the
relationship between them and the impact of these
on the conduct and nature of the business and its
capacity to change.
2 Developing and embracing a change culture, fostering
innovation and risk. Assessing the organisation’s
current position and customer perceptions in the sector
or market relative to key competitors. Considering the
need to embrace a change culture even when there
is no obvious competition, but for the purpose of
providing more efficient, effective services.
3 Critically analysing and reviewing models and theories
of change management, their application and relative
effectiveness.
4 Evaluating corporate culture, its significance,
interpretation, causes and effects, links to internal and
external change.
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Managing for Results |practitioner-levelStandards
3enhancingcustomerrelations
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Design and gain acceptance of a planned programme
for the improvement of service to internal/external
customers.
2 Advise on approaches to customer relations that will
maximise customer satisfaction.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The nature of customer service and its relative priority.
2 How to assess customer needs, the importance of
keeping customers and the means by which this may
be assured.
3 The importance of customer service in all sectors and
organisations.
Indicativecontent
performanceinfrastructure
reliability, responsiveness, competence, credibility,
access. Mechanisms for dialogue with customers;
surveys, questionnaires, focus groups.
4 Specific applications of customer service values for
internal customers and for use in monopolistic and
public sector environments.
performancedifferentiators
1 Critical review of the evidence about changing
customer dynamics and the need to go beyond
satisfaction.
2 Creating a customer-centric culture; ensuring the
competencies, creative and innovative skills are
available to design, develop and deliver products and
services based on customer needs. A critical evaluation
of the factors behind the creation of such a culture;
attitudes and behaviours for individuals, unit functions
and organisations.
3 Identifying target customers for goods and services,
communicating availability and benefits, and helping
customers to select the products and services that best
suit their needs.
4 Assessment of the contingent lessons to be learned
from ‘world-class’ service enterprises.
1 Critical evaluation of the infrastructure factors
essential to the development and maintenance of
acceptable levels of customer-perceived performance;
understanding the distinctions between customers,
users, payers and clients.
2 Evaluating and distinguishing between models of
customer service; service level agreements, preferred
supplier status, telesales, help-lines, accounts
management, call centres.
3 The crucial elements of customer ‘satisfaction’; the
need to establish and maintain a good relationship
with customers and potential customers that gives
them confidence that their requirement will be met,
on time, with cost-effective solutions and adequate
support availability. The meaning of customer service;
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practitioner-levelStandards|Managing for Results
4enablingcontinuousimprovement
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Advise on the importance, requirements and
implications of continuous improvement, from quality
control and assurance through to transformation.
2 Foster a culture of continuous improvement.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Quality and continuous improvement techniques.
2 The conditions and behaviours that promote quality
and continuous improvement.
Indicativecontent
performanceinfrastructure
1 Critical assessment of the rationale for continuous
improvement and transformation; the continuous
improvement framework, strategy, infrastructure,
problem-seeking activities, problem-solving groups,
problem-solving tools.
2 Evidence-based review of infrastructure models
of continuous improvement; quality management
systems and process compliance; establishing systems
required to ensure products and services meet
standards, auditing compliance with these systems
and their contribution to organisational goals and
objectives. Identifying tension and conflict between
quality assurance and production/delivery targets.
3 Evaluation of differentiator applications for continuous
improvement; proactive, opportunity-seeking, intuitive
experimentation, empowerment; using methods for
identifying and overcoming the barriers to continuous
improvement.
164
4 Assessment of the internal/external imperatives for
continuous improvement in specific organisations and
sectors.
5 Critical evaluation of the standardised/holistic
approaches to quality rectification, maintenance and
quality improvement.
performancedifferentiators
1 Assessment of the factors that generate a continuous
improvement transformation culture; top-down
management, leadership, consistent focus, challenging
goals, comprehensive people involvement.
2 ‘Holding the gains’; identifying and maintaining
better practices and processes, cost savings, improved
customer service.
Managing and Leading People |practitioner-levelStandards
Managing and Leading People
Purpose
The underpinning purpose for Managing and Leading
People is that it compels students to consider, evaluate,
analyse and apply a set of principles, values and
approaches to people leadership and management that
(a) minimise and/or eliminate the barriers that typically
inhibit performance, and (b) mobilise the energies of
people in ways that enable them to maximise their
added-value contribution to both their own development
and corporate goals.
Using the infrastructure/differentiator framework,
therefore, Managing and Leading People seeks to
address each of these elements:
• An evidence-based assessment of the criteria for
and the characteristics of successful organisational
cultures, together with the causes/symptoms of
organisational decline.
• Analysis of the strategic and business-related benefits
to be gained from the design and implementation of
aligned and integrated programmes intended to
create (or sustain) organisational success through a
psychologically-engaged workforce – including, where
appropriate, the employees of outsourcing suppliers
and subcontractor organisations contractually
committed to the client’s values.
• Dispassionate evaluation of possible ways in which
the performance and commitment of people in
organisations can be optimised, and the obstacles
to employee engagement minimised or removed.
• The deployment of appropriate and defensible
methodologies in order to construct specific
mechanisms to resolve any performance issues
involving people within their own organisation and
to develop authoritative proposals for increased
levels of people involvement, engagement and
contribution.
• The contingent application of analytical tools as a
diagnostic route to constructing plans for remedial
action, performance improvement, transformational
change and corporate excellence.
Philosophically, the Managing and Leading People
domain is founded on the belief – itself based on
authoritative evidence – that despite the competitive,
technological and other pressures applied to UK
organisations over recent decades:
• many employees in many organisations remain
massively under-utilised and under-developed
• 'in the majority of organisations people are not viewed
by top managers as their most important assets'
(Guest et al. (2000) Effective People Management.
CIPD.)
• people productivity in the UK economy remains lower
than that achieved in many other comparable societies.
By themselves the core Leadership and Management
Standards cannot reverse or influence this state of affairs,
but Managing and Leading People acknowledges the
situation and as a result focuses on practical routes to
improvement. As a recent CIPD publication expresses it,
‘People management represents the catalytic condition
– the essential "X-factor" – that combines other factors
into a formula for high performance.' (Raising UK
Productivity: why people management matters. (2001)
CIPD.)
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practitioner-levelStandards|Managing and Leading People
The content outlined below incorporates three separate
elements:
Theframework
This element sets the context – past, present and future
– to the world of work and organisations. It explores the
attitudes and beliefs, players and influences that exist
and the extent to which these help or hinder people and
their organisations as they strive to achieve success.
Theperformanceinfrastructure
This element is included to ensure completeness, and also
because a basic knowledge and understanding of the
systems, processes, and routines that underpin people
leadership and management is essential as a springboard
for differentiator applications. Candidates already familiar
with the basics of people resourcing, learning and
development and performance management may be able
to progress quickly through this element.
Theperformancedifferentiators
This element, the biggest of the three, examines and
analyses the characteristics of successful organisations and
of high performance people. Having established what these
are, it is crucial to evaluate how and to what degree they
may be emulated, and the extent to which such emulation
is desirable. The element incorporates evidence from
166
research and published corporate case studies over a range
and representative of a cross-section of business sectors.
Benchmarking, comparative analysis and aspirational
role-modelling are considered as further stimulants for
continuous improvement and transformations within units/
functions/organisations as a whole.
As a general guideline, candidates should devote their
study time across these elements in the proportions
20:20:60 respectively, a recommendation that reflects the
importance attached to assessment and evaluation of the
strategic, managerial and organisational ‘differentiators’
that can unleash impressive levels of people engagement
in their own development and in their commitment to
corporate purposes.
Managing and Leading People |practitioner-levelStandards
performanceindicators
1Theframework
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Analyse the significance of current and predicted
changes in the external environment, so far as
the attitudinal, behavioural, and skill requirements
associated with employees are concerned.
2 Assess the nature and extent of the people-related
factors that inhibit the achievement of organisational
success, within their own organisations and others.
3 Challenge, authenticate and apply the infrastructure/
differentiator model to specific personal/team/
function and corporate scenarios.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The principal factors in the external environment
(both current and predicted) and their impact on the
deployment of people across the world of work as a
whole.
2 The elements which typically prevent or determine
the design, installation and delivery of strategies,
leadership behaviours, processes and practices that
lead to high performing people and organisations.
3 The principles behind, the logic and the practical
implications of the performance infrastructure and
performance differentiators framework.
3 The changing requirements for people; flexibility,
responsiveness, entrepreneurialism, diversity, portfolio
working, new patterns of core competencies,
employability.
4 Common characteristics of poor-performing
organisations; culture, leadership, strategic clarity,
approaches to people management, underlying values,
performance criteria, stakeholder priorities.
5 Factors that inhibit organisational concerns for highoutput people management and leadership applied to
specific organisations and sectors.
6 Evidence of what is needed to 'do things right' and
deliver acceptable levels of people behaviour and
legal/ethical compliance; adherence to process and
its problematical relationship with high-performance
outcomes.
7 Evidence of what is needed to 'do the right things'
and deliver genuine people involvement, commitment,
engagement, discretionary behaviour and added-value
contribution. The human capital perspective and its
translation into organisational practice.
8 Analysis of the infrastructure/differentiator model’s
application with ‘successful, less successful and
unsuccessful' organisations. Links to alternative
approaches for identifying the features of successful
organisations (eg high-performance working).
Indicativecontent
1 The changing environment for organisations;
globalisation, technology, societal values, work ethic.
2 The changing requirements for organisations;
product/service differentiation, ‘customer’/’consumer’
dynamics, continuous improvement and change, cost
reduction, stakeholder influences.
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practitioner-levelStandards|Managing and Leading People
2Theperformanceinfrastructure
3Theperformancedifferentiators
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Evaluate the existence of system/process efficiencies,
including legal/ethical compliance, throughout those
routines that support effective people leadership and
management in organisations generally and within
their own organisation in particular.
2 Assess the degree to which such routines exemplify
acceptable levels of efficiency, against appropriate
performance criteria, in their own organisations (and
in others), and to recommend/implement remedial
action where necessary.
1 Establish suitable, defensible and widely credible
criteria for defining and measuring organisational
‘success’.
2 Evaluate the reliability and validity of the available
research evidence about those factors, which facilitate
organisational ‘success’.
3 Apply the principles of ‘successful’ organisations to
any given unit/function/corporate scenario in order
to develop recommendations and/or action plans to
sustain or stimulate a high-performance culture.
4 Consider and evaluate their own work-related
attitudes and behaviour against the thinking
performer paradigm and, if necessary, construct
personal goals and action plans designed to address
both remedial and continuous improvement issues.
5 Create business-like proposals and action plans for
advancing high performance strategic, managerial and
operational practices within any given organisational
scenario.
6 Analyse the correlation between people leadership
and organisational success, its actual and potential
impact in any unit/function and corporate setting,
and construct reasoned recommendations for
improvement/transformation where required.
7 Develop recruitment, selection and performance
management programmes that lead to the acquisition
of high-performance people and encourage the
retention of corporate contributors who will be
motivated through positive job design, empowerment
and role ownership.
8 Facilitate learning and development programmes,
producing outcomes that will add value to the
organisation and promote self-belief and self-esteem.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The rationale for system/process efficiencies, including
legal/ethical compliance, throughout the routines that
support effective people leadership and management
in organisations.
Indicativecontent
1 The fundamentals of people resourcing; a critical
overview of systematic recruitment and selection,
including the methods deployed, the relevance of
psychometric and other diagnostic tools, and the
validation of recruitment/selection procedures.
2 Learning and development; a critical overview
of learning and development strategies/practices
in organisations, including approaches to the
identification of learning needs for both individuals
and organisations, and methods for evaluating the
cost-effectiveness of corporately-funded learning
activities.
3 People performance; a critical overview of systematic
strategies for reviewing, rewarding and recognising
employee effort and achievement at work; systematic
techniques for addressing performance issues and
other people-related problems, such as absence.
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Managing and Leading People |practitioner-levelStandards
Knowledgeindicators
5
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The principal research evidence concerning the factors
that promote organisational success through people.
2 The evidence concerning the effectiveness of the
thinking performer paradigm and its related concepts.
3 The people leadership values, behaviours, mechanisms
and specific practices, that contribute to the
development of successful organisations.
4 The strategies for encouraging, rewarding, recognising
and celebrating employee attitudes and behaviours
that contribute positively to desired organisational
outcomes.
6
7
Indicativecontent
1 Review and evaluation of research outputs related to
organisational ‘success’, high-performance working
and case-study scenarios derived from acknowledged
high-performance or ‘world-class’ organisations, or
organisations whose ‘success’ is measured against
other meaningful criteria, in order to identify
distinguishing characteristics (‘differentiators’) to be
used as benchmarking instruments.
2 Assessment of contingent factors in the achievement
of a ‘successful’ corporate culture; internal and
external factors, the influence of stakeholders
(owners, regulatory agencies, customers etc), the
quality of leadership, the perceived contribution of the
personnel/HR function etc. The barriers to generating
organisational ‘success’; what they are, why they exist,
how they may be overcome or minimised.
3 Relevant theories and models of motivation at work,
leadership styles and job design.
4 Mechanisms through which engagement, contribution
and commitment can be optimised; recruitment and
selection, learning and development, performance
management and reward.
8
9
10
Analytical evaluation of what ‘high performance’
signifies when applied to people (collectively
or individually); such concepts and tools as the
thinking performer paradigm, intrapreneurialism and
organisational citizenship (discretionary) behaviour,
including an assessment of the circumstances in
which such attitudes and behaviour can flourish.
Critical assessment of the evidence concerning the
competencies associated with ‘employability’, the
organisational/individual benefits and risks derived
from a conscious concern for ‘employability’, and the
elements required when seeking to create a positive
psychological contract based on trust and respect.
The barriers to high-performance attitudes and
behaviours in a work-related context, how they may
be overcome or minimised.
The central concepts associated with effective people
leadership in the organisation; the usefulness of
leadership theories, vision and values, top-down rolemodelling, the importance of strategic alignment and
integration (‘bundling’), bridging the gap between
(corporate) rhetoric and (behavioural) reality.
The roles of key contributors to effective people
leadership in the organisation; the central directorate,
the executive team, middle management, first-line
supervision, team leaders and other significant
stakeholders; the special significance of peopleleadership in both centralised and devolved
structures.
The people/position equation and the attitude/skill
dilemma; recruiting and selecting people to fit
the strategic vision while reaping the benefits of
diversity; an assessment of the risks and opportunities
associated with cultural conformity.
Critical appraisal of the evidence concerning job
design and employee performance; an evaluative
overview of motivation theories, input competencies
and output accountabilities, empowerment and other
strategies for generating role-ownership. Performance
management within a high-performance enterprise;
the strategic imperatives, measuring what matters,
fostering creativity and challenge in all employees as
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practitioner-levelStandards|Managing and Leading People
11
12
13
14
170
part of the embedded culture, resolving the problems
associated with the practice of performance review.
Learning and development; defining, acquiring,
imparting and nurturing the attitudes and
skills associated with individual/unit/functional
contributions towards organisational success,
the promotion and care of ‘talent’, the nature
of ‘employability’ and the benefits/risks linked to
employability programmes.
Reward and recognition; strategies for facilitating
the attitudes and behaviours that advance
organisational success, including the significance of
both financial and non-financial inducements. People
participation and contribution; communicating and
sharing information about organisational progress,
mechanisms for involving people in strategic,
managerial and operational decision-making, the
effectiveness of cross-functional project teams and
other approaches to address remedial and continuous
improvement issues.
Analytical evaluation of examples of (apparently)
sustained high-performance organisations in
action; examples of cultural transformation (both
towards high performance and away from it),
the development and use of diagnostic tools for
application across a range of corporate scenarios,
predicting future performance on the basis of research
evidence about, for example, the organisational life
cycle, and the benefits, advantages, opportunities and
dangers associated with the transfer of organisational
learning, especially between business sectors.
Overcoming the barriers to high performance within
the management team, the management/functional
groups and the workforce.
Managing in a Strategic Business Context |practitioner-levelStandards
Managing in a Strategic Business Context
Purpose
Organisations and those responsible for managing them
are increasingly subject to environmental turbulence
and uncertainty. The external contexts within which
businesses, public services and voluntary organisations
operate are no longer stable and predictable but
increasingly volatile and subject to change.
In this respect they concern the achievement of
performance differentiation.
As a result, managers have to identify, devise and
implement appropriate strategies to ensure organisational
survival, plan to achieve their goals and objectives
and respond to market and contextual uncertainties.
Managers also have to take account of the normative
values and ethical standards within which organisations
and society operate.
The Standards are divided into nine clusters, although
many issues cut across these and draw on ideas or
practices that are identified in just one of the nine.
For teaching and learning purposes the approximate
percentage of time that is recommended should be
devoted to each is as follows:
The main purpose of these Standards is to ensure that
personnel and development professionals are able
effectively to identify, examine and analyse the major
contexts within which organisations operate and to
contribute to the formation of responses which take
account of contextual diversity, continuous change and
ethical ambiguities. Particularly significant in this respect
are developments in the business environment which
are directly relevant to personnel and development
managers, which require them to respond and about
which they are required to advise senior managers.
Developments in labour markets and in employment
regulation are the main examples.
A further purpose is to arm personnel and development
professionals with information and understanding about
the business environment more generally, in order to
increase their credibility and influence at senior levels of
their organisation.
The Standards are partly concerned with contextual
factors, such as regulation, that affect the performance
infrastructure of organisations and which require
compliance on the part of leaders and managers. They
also aim to give students knowledge and understanding
of developments in the business environment, which
provide opportunities for organisations to compete more
effectively and/or to provide improved standards of
service to customer groups.
There is greater emphasis within this module on
knowledge and understanding, rather than on skills and
competences.
The competitive environment
The technological context
Globalisation
Demographic trends
Social trends
Government policy
Regulation
Developing strategy
Social responsibility and ethics
10
10
10
10
10
10
15
15
10
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
cent
cent
cent
cent
cent
cent
cent
cent
cent
Thecompetitiveenvironment
These Standards aim to ensure that CIPD graduates are
familiar with the major features of a market economy
and how organisations gain and subsequently maintain
competitive advantage. The ways that organisations
successfully respond to changes in markets for goods,
services and labour are significant here, as is the role
played by financial markets and institutions in the
operation of market economies. The ways in which
public and voluntary sector organisations interact
with markets, and increasingly play an active role in
their operation, also form part of these Standards.
Developments in labour markets and their significance
for organisations are particularly important.
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practitioner-levelStandards|Managing in a Strategic Business Context
Thetechnologicalcontext
CIPD graduates should have a broad grasp of the major
technological developments affecting organisations.
Information technology, telecommunications and
the development of Internet-based activity is the
most significant general area of technology with
which graduates should be familiar, but other areas
are important too, especially insofar as they impact
either directly or indirectly on particular industries or
organisations. Basic familiarity with developments in
the fields of transportation, biotechnology, medicine,
energy and robotics is also necessary. Understanding of
the actual and potential impact of new technology on
employment markets is especially important for personnel
and development professionals. The desirability of many
technological advances is contested and is often the
subject of ethical critiques. These debates also form a part
of these Standards.
Globalisation
Another controversial development in the business
context, both from a theoretical and a practical
perspective, is internationalisation or globalisation. CIPD
graduates are expected to have a good grasp of trends in
this field and of the major debates that surround them.
Of particular significance is the impact of globalisation
on employment markets and practices, illustrated by
widespread hiring of overseas nationals to fill skilled jobs
in the UK and the outsourcing of some organisational
functions to other countries. On the institutional side,
the major developments of significance are EU-related,
their implications for UK employers forming a significant
part of these Standards. Graduates should also, however,
have some basic understanding of the role played by
other major international institutions whose decisions
impact on UK organisations.
Demographictrends
The evolution, planned and unplanned, of the size
and nature of our working population is a key area
which personnel and development professionals need
to understand and be in a position to advise their
172
organisations about. While the focus in these Standards
is on the UK, broad familiarity with European and
wider global population trends is also necessary. Future
projections are significant, especially insofar as they have
potential implications for the future supply of labour,
the age profile of the workforce, retirement/pensions
issues, and markets for goods and services. Government
responses to demographic trends and their impact on
organisations are critical issues, as are wider public policy
debates about population issues.
Socialtrends
The principal aim of these Standards aim to ensure
that CIPD graduates are familiar with social trends that
have implications for organisations in general and for
employment markets in particular. Changing gender
roles are of greatest significance, but CIPD graduates
should also be familiar with other major trends such
as the growth of consumerism, increased geographic
mobility, declines in trade union membership and in
political participation and developments in the position of
ethnic minorities. Attitudes towards work, marriage and
family, religion, morality and government are important.
The evolution of our social structure in terms of income
distribution, social class and social mobility also have a
significance for organisations and their labour markets, as
well as being trends which are influenced by employing
organisations. Finally, these Standards focus on the major
social problems of our age and, in particular, on the role
that is played by organisations in contributing to them
and their amelioration.
Governmentpolicy
Many areas of government activity impact directly
and indirectly on organisations and on the activities of
personnel and development professionals in particular.
These Standards aim to equip CIPD graduates with an
understanding of the major debates about government
policy, its aims and effectiveness. Familiarity with rival
opposition platforms is also important, as is the ability
to develop original critiques based on experience and
evidence. Economic and employment policy have the
clearest direct impact on personnel and development
Managing in a Strategic Business Context |practitioner-levelStandards
activities, but any policy area which has a long-term
effect on labour markets or on organisational activities
is significant. CIPD graduates should be familiar with
major developments in education policy, social policy
and trade policy, as well as the Government’s long-term
industrial strategy. Developments at the EU level are also
important, as is a broad understanding of alternative
approaches pursued around the globe. Finally, CIPD
graduates need to be able to advise organisations on
how the direction of government can be influenced
through lobbying activities, participation in consultation
exercises and via the activities of employers’ associations.
Regulation
The practical outcome of policy debates is often
regulation and sometimes de-regulation. These
Standards focus on the major ways in which the state
and its agencies regulate organisational activity and
the purpose of such regulation. Central are the major
principles of employment regulation and the ways in
which it is enforced, as these are matters about which
personnel and development professionals are required
to give advice and which drive much personnel and
development policy. The detail of employment law is
covered in other sets of Standards, so these only require
a broad overview. The major areas are discrimination law,
dismissal law, the regulation of employment contracts,
health and safety law and regulations aimed at helping
people combine their work and family lives. Other areas
of regulation have an impact on organisations generally
and are thus matters about which CIPD graduates need
to have an understanding. Competition and consumer
law are the main examples, but regulation of specific
sectors will often have a major practical impact on
individual organisations. Knowledge of current and
future regulation and its practical significance should be
combined with the ability to present thoughtful critiques
backed up with persuasive evidence. The main contours
of the legal system are also covered.
Developingstrategy
These Standards focus less on the business context and
more on the way in which organisations can develop
responses to developments in their environments which
are strategic in character. The operationalisation of
business strategies are covered in other areas of the
Leadership and Management Standards, so the focus
here is on the development of strategy and on effective
strategic leadership. While organisational strategy in
general terms is covered, the emphasis as elsewhere in
these Standards is placed on personnel and development
strategy, the role of personnel and development
professionals in forming strategy and on long-term,
considered responses to developments in the personnel
and development environment. These Standards require
students to engage with theories about strategy and
the major different views of strategy formation that are
found in the literature. They also focus on the many
constraints on the fulfilment or implementation of
strategic objectives.
Socialresponsibilityandethics
The final group of Standards focus on ethics, corporate
social responsibility, environmental sustainability and
professionalism. To a great extent these cut across the
other eight clusters of Standards and should inform
students’ thinking on technology, globalisation, social
trends and regulatory issues. However, aspects can
be studied in isolation and students should be able to
engage with the major theories and debates in these
fields. The ability to reflect on the approaches taken by
particular organisations should inform study of these
Standards. There is a specific focus on the notion of the
organisational stakeholder, on ethical dilemmas and on
the conflicts that often arise between the most ethical
courses of action and those which suit the interests of
the organisation.
173
practitioner-levelStandards|Managing in a Strategic Business Context
performanceindicators
1Thecompetitiveenvironment
2Thetechnologicalcontext
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Review the major current trends in an organisation’s
employment markets and take appropriate action in
response to their short- and long-term implications.
2 Analyse the competitive environment of organisations
through the use of SWOT, PESTLE and network analyses.
3 Advise on the potential contribution of the personnel
and development function in situations of intensified
competition.
1 Identify ways in which technological developments
affect the personnel and development function and an
organisation’s employment markets.
2 Contribute positively to the formation of
organisational responses to technological change.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Major developments in employment and the
labour market; their causes and consequences for
organisations.
2 The concept of competitive advantage and ways in
which it is gained and retained in the contemporary
business environment.
3 Capital markets and the roles played by major
financial institutions.
4 Contemporary trends and debates about the role
of public sector organisations and their operating
environments.
Indicativecontent
1 The structure and workings of market economies,
determinants of supply and demand, and the major
features of the financial system.
2 Sources of competitive advantage; different
competitive strategies and their implications for
personnel and development activity.
3 Causes of and responses to intensified competition;
economies of scale, mergers and acquisitions.
4 The business context for public sector and voluntary
organisations.
5 Key short- and long-term labour market trends.
174
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Technological developments and their potential impact
on the business environment of organisations.
2 The evolution of a knowledge economy and its
implications for organisations.
3 Likely long-term applications of evolving technologies.
4 Debates about the desirability of technological
developments in terms of their impact on people and
the environment.
Indicativecontent
1 Major current and likely future technological
developments in information technology and other
fields (examples would include biotechnology,
transportation, telecommunications, energy supply,
medicine and robotics).
2 The direct impact of technology on organisations.
3 The impact of technology on markets for goods and
services and on employment and labour markets.
4 Resistance to the evolution of some new technologies.
5 Debates about the increasing significance of
knowledge in organisational and economic life.
Managing in a Strategic Business Context|practitioner-levelStandards
3Globalisation
4Demographictrends
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Assess the likely impact of trends towards
globalisation on the particular business sectors and
organisations.
2 Advise on the role played by international institutions
in shaping the business environment.
1 Evaluate the short- and long-term implications of
demographic developments for organisations.
2 Advise managers on the likely impact of demographic
developments for organisations.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Major contemporary debates about globalisation and
its consequences.
2 The current and likely future evolution of the EU.
3 The implications of EU membership for organisations.
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Current and likely future demographic trends in the
UK and internationally.
2 The reasons for recent patterns of population
increases and falls.
3 The concept of population ageing and its implications
for organisations.
Indicativecontent
Indicativecontent
1 The causes and extent of globalisation processes.
Major debates about the significance and desirability
of globalisation.
2 The response of governmental organisations to
globalisation processes.
3 The impact of globalisation on markets for goods and
services and on employment and labour markets.
4 The role and function of the EU and its major
institutions. Debates about the evolution of the EU.
5 Major international bodies which impact on the
business environment of organisations.
1 Patterns of birth and death rates in the UK and
globally. Emigration and immigration trends and
forecasts.
2 The size and make-up of the working population.
3 Implications of demographic trends for markets for
goods and services and for employment and labour
markets.
4 Implications of demographic trends for government.
5 Debates about responses to demographic trends in
the UK and internationally.
175
practitioner-levelStandards|Managing in a Strategic Business Context
5Socialtrends
6Governmentpolicy
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Report on social trends and their relevance for
organisations.
2 Advise on the potential role played by employers in
creating, exacerbating or ameliorating social problems
in the UK and internationally.
1 Advise on the impact for organisations of current and
future government policy.
2 Positively contribute to activities aimed at influencing
the direction of government policy.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Causes of key social trends and social problems in the
UK and internationally.
2 Debates about ways of reducing social problems and/
or their impact.
3 Patterns of change in social attitudes and their
significance for organisations.
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The objectives of government and EU policy on trade,
industry, education and in the wider social field.
2 Critiques of current policy and of rival opposition
platforms.
3 The current and likely future impact of government
policy on organisations.
Indicativecontent
Indicativecontent
1 Major current social trends; changing social attitudes
and the evolving social structure.
2 Implications for markets for goods and services and
for employment and labour markets.
3 Major social problems, debates about causes and
possible solutions.
4 The role played by organisations in shaping social
trends and attitudes.
176
1 Major policy developments and debates in industrial
and economic policy, education policy and social
policy.
2 Implications of developments in these fields for
markets for goods and services and for employment
and labour markets.
3 International variations in government policy.
4 The evolution of EU policy in the social, industrial and
economic fields.
5 The main ways in which organisations seek to
influence the development of government policy.
Managing in a Strategic Business Context|practitioner-levelStandards
7Regulation
8Developingstrategy
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Analyse the significance of existing and new
regulation for particular industrial sectors and
organisations, particularly in the employment field.
2 Contribute effectively to debates about organisational
responses to existing and new regulatory measures.
3 Suggest ways in which an organisation can seek to
influence the evolution of its regulatory environment.
1 Contribute to the processes of strategy-making and
strategic review.
2 Lead strategy-making in response to environmental
developments which primarily affect personnel and
development.
3 Advise on effective strategic leadership in response to
environmental developments.
4 Develop and lead programmes resulting from
developments in labour markets, employment
regulation and other fields which directly affect people
at work.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Knowledgeindicators
1 The evolution of governmental and EU regulation of
business activity.
2 The objectives of new regulation/deregulation
3 Debates about the need for and desirability of
regulation from an organisational perspective.
Indicativecontent
1 Principles of the laws of contract and tort. Principles
of criminal law.
2 Competition and consumer law, its aims and impact.
3 Major features of and new developments in
employment law, its aims and impact.
4 The major features of health and safety law, its aims
and impact.
5 The impact of regulation on particular industrial
sectors and labour markets.
6 Influencing governmental and regulatory
organisations.
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Diverse approaches to strategy-making; the concepts
of strategic search, choice and implementation.
2 The major constraints on an organisation’s activities
created by its business environment.
3 The role played by the personnel and development
function in developing organisational strategies.
Indicativecontent
1 Debates about different approaches to strategymaking and their relative merits.
2 The major tools and techniques of environmental
analysis.
3 Major stages in strategy-making from formation to
evaluation.
4 Internal and external constraints on strategy and how
to overcome them.
5 The role played by organisations in shaping the
corporate environment.
6 Debates about effective strategic leadership.
177
practitioner-levelStandards|Managing in a Strategic Business Context
9Socialresponsibilityandethics
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Identify and advise on ethical dilemmas faced by
organisations.
2 Carry out a stakeholder analysis and advise senior
management about the impact of decision-making on
particular stakeholder groups.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The relevance of business ethics and corporate
social responsibility for organisations and managerial
decision-making.
2 The concept of professionalism and its consequences
for an organisation’s relationships with stakeholders.
3 Environmental sustainability.
Indicativecontent
1 Major debates about corporate ethics.
2 Stakeholder theories, accountability and
professionalism.
3 Corporate social responsibility; ethical responses to
developments in the competitive environment.
4 Relationships with customers and suppliers; ethical
approaches to pricing policy, health and safety, sales
and advertising, employment.
5 Debates about organisational ethics and the
compatibility of social responsibility with business
results.
178
Managing Information for Competitive Advantage |practitioner-levelStandards
Managing Information for Competitive Advantage
Purpose
Effective and efficient conversion of resources into
goods and services that meet the present and future
demands of their customers is central to the success of
all organisations.
In this module, the view is taken that successful
management of information will depend on:
1 The efficient collection and processing of data through
information and communication systems to support
managerial decision-making in the area of resource
use and conversion.
2 The effective design and management of information,
communication and knowledge systems.
3 The effective use and interpretation of information by
managers in the decision-making and problem-solving
processes.
Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
and its use in organisations is evolving rapidly. Worldclass organisations have long since moved on from
rudimentary applications that mechanise administrative
procedures and increasingly realise its strategic potential
– that in the twenty-first century, ICT will be about
increasing competitive advantage through enhanced
problem-solving, decision-making and organisations'
internal and external communication.
There are two broad dimensions to this. Internally, it
means using ICT to improve learning and the transfer
and availability of knowledge and information for
employees, all with the ultimate objective of enhancing
the quality of decision-making and improving profitability
or level of service throughout the organisation.
Externally, it involves using ICT to scan the environment,
to network, and to benchmark in pursuit of world-class
performance in the provision of goods and services.
Networking will also involve developing creative
relationships with customers and suppliers – the kind of
partnership sourcing that is now being exploited by many
organisations to foster innovative product design, and
new processes and means of distribution.
Thus, ICT forms the bedrock on which the effective
management and conversion of information and
resources will be secured.
The rate at which ICT is becoming homogeneous in all
organisations means that cutting-edge ICT developments
are likely to give competitive advantage for only a relatively
short period, since the ICT infrastructure of organisations
will swiftly incorporate the new developments.
For this reason, it is considered important to distinguish
in this module between performance infrastructure and
performance differentiators, the former encompassing
the factors which are essential for organisational survival,
and the latter leading to organisational excellence.
Outstanding performance will require cognitive skills
such as evaluation and critical analysis together with
the behavioural skills of adaptation and innovation
management. Performance at this level will also require
up-to-date knowledge of ICT applications in the human
resource and general management fields though research
and wider reading.
The overriding purpose of these Standards is to ensure that
the ‘thinking performer’ will, through the effective use of
information and organisational knowledge, be able to:
1 resolve complex issues in a systematic and creative
way, recognising and taking account of all the
important variables in a problem scenario
2 make convincing and sophisticated decisions in
complex and unpredictable situations with greater
awareness, understanding and assessment of risk
3 avoid simplistic and naïve assumptions and uncritical
acceptance of the status quo
4 be aware that concept and theory may not deal
with the whole of the complexity of a problem and,
therefore, be able to evaluate the reliability and
validity of any research in order to understand its value
to the problem solving process.
179
practitioner-levelStandards|Managing Information for Competitive Advantage
performanceindicators
1 Managinginformation
performanceinfrastructure
performancedifferentiators
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Manage information systems efficiently.
2 Use information to make decisions.
3 Communicate information to others.
1 Evaluate the design of information and knowledge
systems.
2 Analyse and review information and knowledge
systems.
3 Develop and manage organisational knowledge
systems.
4 Manage projects effectively.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Knowledgeindicators
1
2
3
4
Communication processes in organisations.
Basic data structures.
Systems attributes.
The range and nature of organisational information
systems, to include supplier management systems.
Indicativecontent
1 Communication models.
2 Data analysis – entities, attributes and relationships;
systems and data flow diagrams.
3 Database models – file management systems,
hierarchical, network and relational databases.
4 Current software applications for data processing,
report generation, modelling and communications.
5 Systems attributes; boundary, environment, open,
closed, lag, positive and negative feedback, the
control model.
6 The organisation from an information perspective
eg types of organisational information system;
informational requirements of different organisational
functions and activities, to include partnership
sourcing, customer–supplier relationships and
networking.
180
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The strategic role of Information Systems (IS) and ICT.
2 The role of e-commerce within the business systems
domain.
3 Organisational decision-making processes.
4 Systems concepts.
5 Information systems design methodology.
6 Knowledge management processes and systems.
7 Systematic and intuitive approaches to problem-solving.
8 Up-to-date software applications in the human
resource and general management fields.
Managing Information for Competitive Advantage |practitioner-levelStandards
2 Managingfinance
performanceinfrastructure
Indicativecontent
Operationalindicators
1 The contribution of IS/ICT to the attainment of
competitive advantage/competitive effectiveness for
organisations.
2 Decision-making processes in organisations – eg
rational, limited rationality, disorder, conflict, symbolic,
emergent – and the role of information; risk and
sensitivity analysis.
3 Knowledge management processes and systems.
4 Systems concepts; definition of a system, structure
and process, holism, emergent properties, complexity,
systems diagrams.
5 The organisation from an information perspective,
eg types of organisational information system;
informational requirements of different organisational
functions and activities, to include procurement
management systems.
6 Methodologies for systems analysis and design, eg
Structured Systems Analysis and Design Method
(SSADM).
7 Problem-solving frameworks, methodologies and
techniques.
8 Developments in human resource management and
general management IT applications.
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Manage financial resources to achieve goals and
objectives through the budgetary planning and control
process.
2 Interpret information from key financial statements.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and critically evaluate:
1 Financial statements and their meaning.
2 The budgetary process.
3 Flow of money in a business.
Indicativecontent
1 Structure, content and interpretation of simple
balance sheets, profit and loss accounts and trading
statements.
2 Ratio analysis – definition and interpretation.
3 Basic costing concepts and techniques; analysis of
costs, marginal costing, standard costing.
4 Cash flow and cash budgets.
5 Budgetary planning and control.
181
practitioner-levelStandards|Managing Information for Competitive Advantage
3 analysisofdataandpresentation
ofinformation
performancedifferentiators
performanceinfrastructure
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Evaluate business plans for functional organisational
projects.
2 Critically appraise proposals for capital projects.
3 Analyse financial and other information used in
making outsourcing decisions.
4 Evaluate the financial implications of sustainable
development.
1 Search for and collect data from primary and
secondary sources.
2 Use appropriate software to process and interpret
data.
3 Generate reports for informing managerial decisionmaking.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and critically evaluate:
1
2
3
4
The business planning process.
Capital budgets and project appraisal.
Outsourcing – the 'make or buy' decision.
Concepts of sustainable development.
Indicativecontent
1 Structure and content of business plans.
2 Project appraisal; discounted cash flow (net present
value), accounting rate of return, pay-back, cost–
benefit analysis.
3 Marginal costing.
4 Financial aspects of sustainability in relation to
resource management.
182
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Basic statistical concepts.
2 Application of statistical concepts.
Indicativecontent
1 Sources of data; government, public authority,
proprietary databases.
2 Statistical concepts; probability and probability
distributions, sampling, estimation and inference,
hypothesis testing, regression and correlation, time
series analysis, index numbers, decision theory,
control charts.
3 Use of current software applications for computation
and presentation of statistics.
Managing Information for Competitive Advantage|practitioner-levelStandards
performancedifferentiators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Analyse and process complex data and interpret the
information produced.
2 Select appropriate presentation formats for
communicating complex information.
3 Use appropriate software to model complex problems.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Statistical modelling techniques.
Indicativecontent
1 Statistical concepts; probability and probability
distributions, sampling, estimation and inference,
hypothesis testing, regression and correlation, time
series analysis, index numbers, decision theory, control
charts.
2 Use of software applications for computation and
presentation of statistics.
183
Applied Personnel and Development
Standards
Management Report
Continuing Professional Development
185
practitioner-levelStandards|Applied Personnel and Development Standards
Applied Personnel and Development Standards
186
Applied Personnel and Development
187
Management Research Report
188
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
191
Applied Personnel and Development Standards |practitioner-levelStandards
Applied Personnel and Development Standards
Purpose
In order to be admitted to Graduate membership of
the CIPD, candidates are required to satisfy the Applied
Personnel and Development Standards, no matter what
route to membership they choose:
•
•
•
•
educational – both nationally and internally assessed
professional assessment
NVQ/SVQ
accreditation of prior certificated learning (APCL).
The Applied Personnel and Development Standards
contain two aspects, both of which will be assessed:
1
2
management research report
CPD/learning log.
The core competencies of the thinking performer are also
included as indicative content in these Standards as they
define the qualities the CIPD expects from its Graduate
members.
Successful completion of the Applied Personnel and
Development Standards will not in itself lead to any
grade of membership if completed on its own. However,
Graduate membership of the CIPD will be achieved
only when the candidate has met the Standards of this
field and those in the other three fields contained in the
Practitioner Standards, ie Leadership and Management,
People Management and Development, and four
electives.
At the heart of the Applied Personnel and Development
Standards is the central concept of the thinking
performer. This is defined as:
• thinking – that is both operational and not limited
to their current organisational level, and with an
appreciation of organisational strategy
• performer – operational capability at a business unit
level.
187
practitioner-levelStandards|Management Research Report
Management
Research Report
Purpose
The CIPD considers that the development of a
management research report is the element of
assessment that comes closest to demonstrating
professional competence.
performanceindicators
1 projectmanagement
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Identify a suitable project for their management
research report, in terms of its feasibility and relevance
to an organisation, as well as to key issues in
personnel and development.
2 Plan and design a project that demonstrates an
awareness of strategic issues and has the potential
to make a contribution to improvements in
organisational performance.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The rationale for their choice of project aims and
management research report.
Indicativecontent
1 Planning and designing a project that has relevance
to the organisation and is likely to add value to the
organisation and the individual.
2 Understanding the importance of having clear
objectives, terms of reference and, if appropriate,
hypotheses.
3 The principles of time management, ordering of
priorities and project development.
4 Awareness of blockages and barriers and how to
overcome these.
188
Management Research Report |practitioner-levelStandards
2Thesubstanceoftheproject
3Collectingdata
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Demonstrate a satisfactory knowledge of existing
literature, of contemporary personnel and
development practices, and of policy issues in the
subject area chosen for the management research
report.
1 Access and interpret data from primary and secondary
sources in compiling material for their management
research report.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The contribution that personnel and development
can make to performance at an organisational,
professional and societal level.
2 The nature and importance of a number of major
issues in the existing personnel and development
literature and contemporary personnel and
development practice.
Indicativecontent
1 Drawing on appropriate Professional Development
Scheme Standards, having a systematic understanding
of the literature that is central to the investigation
and of examples of human resource practice in other
organisations.
2 Understanding the importance of vertical and
horizontal integration (internal and external fit), and
of the role and influence of human resources within
organisations.
Knowledgeindicators
1 The range of primary and secondary sources from
which information can be gathered for a management
research report.
2 The advantages and disadvantages of different
research methods and their relevance to different
situations.
Indicativecontent
1 Knowledge of sources of material and evidence, both
internal and external to the organisation, and of
published sources; understanding of different methods
of data collection.
2 Collection (eg interviews, questionnaires, participant
observation and documentary analysis) and of the
circumstances in which they might be used.
3 A rationale for choice of method and a comparison
with other methods.
189
practitioner-levelStandards|Management Research Report
4 presentingandanalysingdata
5 Conclusionsandrecommendations
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Make appropriate and correct use of techniques, such
as interviews, questionnaires, participant observation
and documentary analysis, in gathering data for their
management research report.
2 Analyse the data that have been collected for their
management research report, by the use of qualitative
and quantitative methods as appropriate.
1 Draw realistic and appropriate conclusions from their
management research report.
2 Present their management research report in a clear,
logical and systematic manner in order to persuade
key decision-makers of its merits.
3 Prepare a plan for implementing the recommendations
made in their management research report within a
reasonable time frame.
4 Undertake a critical review of their management
research report and identify ways in which their
project could have been undertaken more effectively.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
Knowledgeindicators
1 The use and value of different analytical tools for
interpreting data.
2 The structure and content of a management research
report.
3 The principal techniques of communication and
persuasion that are used when writing and presenting
a management research report.
190
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The principal techniques of communication and
persuasion that are used when writing and presenting
a management research report.
Indicativecontent
Indicativecontent
1 Clear and logical presentation of data in line with
terms of reference, with diagrams and charts as
appropriate.
2 The systematic analysis of data collected, explanation
of any patterns and indication of how to deal with
conflicting evidence.
3 Skills of report writing.
1 Drawing of sensible conclusions from data collected
and presented, realistic and timely recommendations,
including costings where appropriate for
implementation of findings, and awareness of
potential sources of resistance to recommendations.
2 Consideration of professional and ethical issues.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) |practitioner-levelStandards
Continuing Professional
Development (CPD)
1 Theself-managedCpD
process
Purpose
The CIPD policy is that:
• All members are expected to
structure their learning and keep
a record of their CPD.
• It is a requirement that all
professionally qualified members
provide evidence of CPD when
applying to upgrade their
membership.
• CPD is a requirement for all full
members. The Institute will survey
CPD activity.
The essential principles are:
• Development should be
continuous in the sense that
the professional should always
be actively seeking improved
performance.
• Development should be owned
and managed by the individual
learner.
performance
indicators
• CPD is a personal matter, and the
effective learner knows what he or
she needs to learn. Development
should begin from the individual’s
current learning state.
• Learning objectives should be clear
and, wherever possible, should
serve organisational or client
needs as well as individual goals.
• Regular investment of time and
learning should be seen as an
essential part of professional life,
not as an optional extra.
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Systematically manage their
own continuing personal and
professional development,
using appropriate strategies,
frameworks and techniques.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 Philosophies, principles and
practices of CPD and life-long
learning.
2 CIPD policies.
3 Techniques and strategies for the
self-managed CPD process.
191
practitioner-levelStandards|Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
2 presentingCpD
evidence
3 learningopportunities
andreflection
4 personaldevelopment
plans
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Provide evidence of this selfmanaged CPD process, in a
format of their choice.
1 Reflect and learn from their work
and professional experience, as
well as from formal and informal
learning opportunities.
1 Identify personal improvement or
development needs and translate
these into learning objectives and
personal development plans.
Knowledgeindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 The range of learning
opportunities, formal and
informal, work-related and
personal, that are available to
individuals (and are all recognised
as appropriate by the CIPD).
2 How to develop reflection skills,
alone or by sharing learning with
others.
3 The value of reflection in terms
of personal learning and helping
others to learn and develop.
1 Individual/work goals and
objectives.
2 Support networks available to the
professional.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to
understand, explain and critically
evaluate:
1 Different ways to present evidence
of the CPD process.
192
Advanced Practitioner Standards
Strategic
Personnel and
Development
International
Personnel and
Development
Organisational
Change and
Transition
Personnel and
Development
Consulting
193
advancedpractitionerStandards
advancedpractitionerStandards
194
Strategic Personnel and Development
195
International Personnel and Development
200
Organisational Change and Transition
204
Personnel and Development Consulting
210
Strategic Personnel and Development |advancedpractitionerStandards
Strategic Personnel and Development
Purpose
People and development issues belong at the top of an organisation’s strategic
agenda. Strategic personnel and development approaches have the potential to put
personnel and development at the centre of the core business and the operational
processes that drive organisations.
Strategic personnel and development aims to develop,
deliver and manage high-quality personnel and
development policies and practices which, when they are
effectively undertaken:
• contribute to the organisation’s strategic intent
• help to produce and mark out high-performing
organisations.
The strategic approach focuses clearly on the importance
of personnel and development to organisational success.
Instead of personnel and development being seen as
support functions or add-ons to the core business, they
are seen as key factors in developing and maintaining
organisational success and a competitive edge.
Among these issues are:
• the identification of key business or organisational
goals
• the integration of human resources into the strategic
thinking, direction-setting, planning and operation of
the organisation
• the development of employees’ knowledge,
capabilities and skills to enable improved
organisational performance and responsiveness and
facilitate organisational learning.
The aim of this Standard is to provide an analytical and
multi-perspective framework to enable the student
to recognise, identify and evaluate key personnel
and development issues which critically impact on
organisational performance and strategic direction.
195
advancedpractitionerStandards| Strategic Personnel and Development
performanceindicators
1 Theconnectiontobusinessstrategy
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Competitive positioning and personnel and
development
• value-adding/value-sapping personnel and development
• quality enhancement and personnel and development
• distinctive competence and personnel and development
• contributing to the organisation’s strategic intent.
2 Operational and strategic considerations; the
contribution of a coherent set of personnel and
development strategies to an overall strategic intent.
3 Business performance, ‘fit’ and coherence and the
strategic links between personnel and development
and competitive outcomes.
4 The involvement of personnel and development in
major culture change programmes
• how to articulate cultural matters in personnel and
development strategy
• the case for embedding personnel and development
issues in corporate core values; ethical considerations.
5 The contribution of strategic personnel and
development in creating synergy across business units
• horizontal strategy
• ‘fit’ versus ‘split’ issues
• the ‘everything but’ rule.
6 The impact of globalisation on personnel and
development and the role of international personnel
and development as a transmission belt for personnel
and development practice; global versus local
orientations.
7 The strategic implications for personnel and
development of mergers, acquisitions, strategic
alliances and joint ventures.
1 Diagnose the strategic capability and degree of
sophistication of the strategic personnel and
development effort in a given organisation.
2 Conduct an environmental analysis, including key
external personnel and development factors, and
identify issues that influence organisational policy.
3 Formulate an approach to strategic personnel and
development which:
• reflects a full understanding of business imperatives
and internal and external contextual forces
• meets the needs of key stakeholders.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The relationship between personnel and development
activities and the strategic imperatives facing the
organisation.
2 The contribution that strategic personnel and
development can make to achieving the organisation’s
strategic intent.
196
Strategic Personnel and Development |advancedpractitionerStandards
2 personnelanddevelopment
constructsandframeworks
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Models of strategic personnel and development,
including:
• normative models
• the classic Harvard model
• contingency perspectives for matching employment
practices to business strategy.
2 The use of strategic planning models in the
contemporary business context.
3 The relationship between structural forms and
strategic personnel and development; the impact
of virtual and network organisations; locationindependent working.
4 Alternative frames of reference for evaluating strategic
personnel and development, specifically:
• structural versus cultural versus political versus symbolic lenses
• unitary versus pluralistic mind sets
• command and control versus reward-driven versus
commitment versus developmental perspectives
• balancing contractual compliance/performance versus learning oriented/people development orientations.
5 Choosing and formulating strategies; ‘fix and
maintain’ versus ‘build and develop’ versus ‘move and
relocate’ versus ‘liberate and recreate’ approaches.
1 Carry out a strategic appraisal of an organisation’s
strengths and weaknesses, paying particular attention
to its human resources.
2 Develop personnel and development structures and
processes that enhance the organisation’s ability to
respond to strategic issues/problems.
3 Adopt a ‘multiple lens’ perspective for orchestrating
and evaluating strategic personnel and development.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The difference between deliberate and emergent
approaches to strategic personnel and development
and the strengths and limitations of the sequential/
rational approach (ie strategy analysis, formulation
and implementation).
2 The rationale behind differing approaches to strategic
personnel and development, in a range of practical
organisational case examples.
3 Arguments for and against differentiating strategic
human resource management from strategic human
resource development.
4 The relationship and interplay between personnel
and development considerations at operational and
strategic levels.
5 Contingency and normative models of strategic
personnel and development.
197
advancedpractitionerStandards| Strategic Personnel and Development
3Thecontributionofthepersonnel
anddevelopmentfunctionto
strategicpersonnelanddevelopment
issuesandthinking
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1 The contribution of the personnel and development
function to the strategic personnel and development
effort; arguments for and against having a dedicated
personnel and development function and viewing
personnel and development as a single functional area
in strategic terms.
2 A business focus on personnel and development and:
• running personnel and development as a strategic
business unit
• marketing the personnel and development function
• anticipating and responding to pressures for changes
to products and services.
3 The organisation’s value chain; primary versus
support value chain; vertical integration (backward
and forward); the insourcing versus outsourcing
continuum.
4 The relationship between the personnel and
development practitioner and the strategic
management process; the ‘business partner’
in context.
5 The relationship between the personnel and
development practitioner and functional management:
the development of the internal ‘consultant’ role.
6 Evaluating the strategic personnel and development
effort; the balanced scorecard; best practice and
competitor benchmarking.
1 Establish whether, and why, personnel and
development is seen as adding value; develop
value-adding strategies.
2 Identify and apply the key organisational roles and
responsibilities needed to develop and sustain the
strategic personnel and development effort.
3 Demonstrate the interpersonal skills needed to
generate commitment among key stakeholders and
business partners for a changing strategic personnel
and development agenda.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The difference between ‘strategic personnel and
development’ and ‘managing the personnel and
development functional areas strategically’.
2 The place of the personnel and development function
in the organisation’s value chain.
3 The implications of the insourcing/outsourcing debate,
for strategic personnel and development.
198
Strategic Personnel and Development |advancedpractitionerStandards
4 Strategicpersonneland
developmentthemes
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Bundling personnel and development practices to
achieve strategic coherence and consistency; soft
versus hard contracting and strategic choice.
2 Teams, team-based work and high-performance work
systems.
3 Talent and:
• the search for talent
• the concept and implications of a talent war
• whether the ‘employer of choice’ is rhetoric or reality
• career development as a means of attracting and
retaining talent
• market-driven approaches to retaining talent
• implications of strategies for core workers (talent)
versus peripheral workers.
4 The role of individual competence within the
organisation; ‘employability’, ‘performance’ and
‘performance management’; relationship to other
personnel and development issues – reward
management, career development, retention strategy
and employee relations.
5 Corporate learning philosophies, including:
• intellectual capital
• knowledge management
• learning organisations
• corporate universities
• learning as a distinctive source of competitive advantage.
6 The identification and development of strategic
management competencies, especially:
• responsiveness
• innovation
• emotional intelligence.
1 Evaluate the case for and against introducing socalled high-performance personnel and development
practices in a given organisation.
2 Benchmark the organisation’s strategic personnel
and development practices against a ‘best practice’
example.
3 Develop an appropriate personnel and development
strategy to deal with mergers, acquisitions, strategic
alliances and joint ventures.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Whether and how ‘bundling’ personnel and
development practices can add to the overall strategic
personnel and development contribution for a given
organisation.
2 Research into the relationship between business
results and so-called high-performance personnel and
development practices.
3 The significance of, and responses to, emergent
PESTLE forces and their impact on strategic personnel
and development (including virtual working, new
contractual forms, changing career expectations, global
shortage of `talent’, new industrial relations climate).
4 The significance for the strategic personnel and
development effort of intellectual capital, knowledge
management, learning organisations, corporate
universities and top management’s growing interest in
all aspects of learning and learning-related issues.
5 The identification and development of strategic
management competencies (skills and behaviours).
199
advancedpractitionerStandards| International Personnel and Development
International Personnel and Development
Purpose
Business is increasingly global, and very few organisations can ignore the international context.
A few organisations are truly transnational, owing their character to an amalgam and synergy of
influence from all the countries in which they operate.
Many organisations have international dimensions
and either:
• have international customers, or
• are in foreign ownership, partnership or strategic
alliance, or
• own foreign businesses themselves.
Some organisations apparently have few international
dimensions, but in an increasingly global arena they
may still:
• seek to draw understanding, information and
knowledge from abroad
• recruit employees from other countries
• benefit from a greater background understanding of
the international context.
All these different aspects can influence the character,
culture and ways of organising and managing people,
and these influences are not always automatically and
immediately helpful for an organisation pursuing its
objectives. The personnel and development professional
is in a position to make a real and valuable contribution
to the organisation’s current and future success, by
helping the organisation and its managers understand
and apply the knowledge and skills needed for success in
an international context.
200
This Standard is intended for personnel and development
professionals who aim to contribute to aspects of people
management and development in an international
context, whether as generalist or specialist practitioners.
This includes, for example:
• professional managers of expatriate staff
• personnel and development practitioners in UK or Irish
companies under international ownership
• personnel and development practitioners who operate
internationally.
International Personnel and Development |advancedpractitionerStandards
performanceindicators
1Humanresourceplansand
organisationalcontext
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Help formulate and communicate human resources
strategy and practices for organisations operating
across national boundaries, including the European
Union (EU) and its member states, the contiguous
USA, Japan and south-east Asia.
2 Provide informed up-to-date comment on the
implications of local/regional issues for international
business management.
3 Develop and maintain an up-to-date awareness of the
sensitivities of cross-national organisational interfaces
and:
• establish/maintain rapport and avoid alienation
though ignorance
• identify what should/might and can be done, and
what should not, and give attention to the positive
priorities.
4 Assess the relative strengths and weaknesses of HR
support resources and mechanisms in a subsidiary/
associated companies and gain acceptance for making
appropriate constructive adjustments.
5 Operate with appropriate sensitivity and responsiveness
in cross-cultural situations; assert viewpoints in
a culturally sensitive way, avoiding offence or
misunderstanding, and exercising influence and
persuasion in situations where communications are
difficult.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Different aspects of national culture, their sources and
implications for international organisations.
2 Organisational impacts of international economic/
business factors and:
• international labour economics
• competition and trade
• social and political influences
• regulations and barriers
• the role of the state in employment matters in the
EU and its member states, the contiguous USA,
Japan and south-east Asia.
3 The contributors to and different aspects of national
culture, the implications for organisations and:
• issues in cross-cultural communication
• operating under different cultural models
• acknowledging and assimilating differences using
appropriate communication media.
4 Workplace organisation and employment relations
processes in the EU and its member states, the
contiguous USA, Japan and south-east Asia.
5 Structures and roles of personnel and development
functions in different countries.
6 The impact on personal economic, social and domestic
lives of expatriate appointments, for oneself and
others.
Indicativecontent
1 Global economic, social and political trends and:
• their impact on international businesses and local
labour markets
• the role of international institutions and agencies.
2 The elements of an international human resources
strategy and its flexible implementation in different
local contexts and cultures.
3 The constituents of national and organisational
‘culture’.
4 The management of cultural differences and
behavioural expectations in an international context.
201
advancedpractitionerStandards| International Personnel and Development
2Recruitmentandselection
3Traininganddevelopment
Operationalindicators
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Locate and organise people resources to meet local/
regional/international human resource management
needs, including permanent, consultancy, support and
temporary staff.
2 Organise recruitment and selection procedures for
different countries.
1 Diagnose learning needs, install learning programmes
for staff entering international/cross-cultural situations,
(including experiential learning and off-the-job
learning initiatives) and monitor their effectiveness.
2 Diagnose needs and plan for effective learning,
generally, in different cultures, and specifically crosscultural awareness learning for specific cultures
programmes for the development of effective
binational and multinational teamworking.
3 Recognise the limitations of one’s own international/
intercultural knowledge and capabilities, and where/
how to tackle those limitations.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Methodologies of expatriation practice; selection,
decision-making, preparation, adjustment,
repatriation; reasons for failure.
2 Selection procedures and the appropriateness and
acceptability of various selection methods in different
national contexts.
Indicativecontent
1 Employee resourcing in an international context and:
• societal norms and values
• legal constraints and obligations
• attitudes towards work
• careers and the employment relationship.
2 Recruiting across national frontiers and expatriate,
local/national and consultant/contract/temporary staff.
202
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain
critically evaluate:
1 Structured means of cross-cultural collaboration,
including techniques and processes for creating
effective bicultural and multicultural teams.
Indicativecontent
1 Employee development in an international context and
developing:
• the competencies of the ‘international manager’
• cross-cultural awareness.
2 Selecting, building and developing international/
multicultural teams at staff, project and board levels.
International Personnel and Development |advancedpractitionerStandards
4 performancemanagement
andemployeerelations
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Monitor and assess how changes in employee
management and development in one country might
impact on operations in others.
2 Install appropriate communications/information and
monitoring systems for local/regional/international,
relating to internal/external purposes.
3 Plan and implement change in different
organisational/cultural contexts.
4 Handle discipline and grievance issues in unfamiliar
situations.
5 Manage or professionally influence local payment and
benefit systems, including transnational and expatriate
management reward systems.
6 Manage the people-related ambiguities arising in
international contexts.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Special needs in relation to health in different
environments and geographical climates, and stress
management in ‘hostile’ environments.
2 Employment and other laws and practices in other
countries and:
• historical and other sources of differing methods of
HR operation
• management structures and processes in different
countries.
3 Means and reasons for different individual and
collective representation, communications,
co-ordination and negotiation in different countries.
4 The role and effects on organisations of international
bodies such as the EU and its component parts,
the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD), General Agreements on Tariffs
and Trades (World Trade Organisation) and the United
Nations (UN).
5 Different social security and pay and benefit systems in
different countries.
6 Concepts of transnational co-ordination and control,
and centralised, decentralised, regional and local control
models.
Indicativecontent
1 International and local payment systems, employee
benefits and expatriate rewards.
2 Institutional arrangements, processes and practices of
national employee relations systems, with particular
emphasis on EU member states, the USA and AsiaPacific countries.
3 Trends and comparisons in national employment law
systems, with particular focus on EU member states,
the USA and Asia-Pacific countries.
4 The relevance and appropriateness of various
approaches to employee communications and:
• involvement and decision-making in different international contexts
• works council and other systems
• ‘task’-related participation.
5 Information systems in international human resources
planning and career management.
6 The particular pressures of an international job
and the impact of stress, conflict and ambiguity on
physical and mental well-being and the range of
preventative and coping strategies.
203
advancedpractitionerStandards| Organisational Change and Transition
Organisational Change and Transition
Purpose
In most organisations the management of change and transition is considered to be a core activity in the
achievement of survival and growth, whether it is the relatively ‘light touch’ or a more radical transformation.
Significant shifts in the economic, political, social, and technological environments mean that organisations
need to increase their capability to respond creatively to new challenges and ways of working.
Whether the change processes are essentially unplanned
and discontinuous, planned and strategic, or incremental
or revolutionary, they have profound implications for
people management and development. Change of any
sort evokes the need for innovation, creativity, learning
and culture change, all of which lie legitimately within
the sphere of interest of personnel and development.
Professionals working in personnel and development can
be central actors in the management of change in such
matters as people resourcing, learning and development,
reward structures and the development of new sorts of
employee relations all in a strategic context. Personnel
and development professionals at a senior level need to
demonstrate the contribution they can make in helping
people in the organisation to:
• recognise and interpret the relationship between
organisational vision, capability and the internal
and external environments
• mobilise processes that enable change processes at
the appropriate level for the requirements of the
organisation.
204
The purpose of this Standard is to enhance understanding
of issues and controversies in the management of
change, transition and transformation and relate them
to personnel and development. It is concerned with
the development of the capabilities that personnel and
development professionals need to play a powerful and
proactive role in this dynamic and complex arena.
Organisational Change and Transition |advancedpractitionerStandards
performanceindicators
1Thecausesandcontextofchange
andtransformation
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Identify the influence of the political, social and
economic environment on the organisation and
change as a reactive or proactive response.
2 Undertake diagnosis of the influence of such events
and processes as mergers, acquisitions, strategic
alliances, downsizing, delayering.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The implications of globalisation, mergers, take-overs,
acquisitions and strategic alliances in the development
of organisations as dynamics in the change and
transformation processes.
Indicativecontent
1 The emergence of the virtual and network
organisation.
2 The influence of concepts such as best value and
changing stakeholder requirements.
3 The identification of triggers for change within the
organisation.
4 The relationship between change and innovation in
organisations.
205
advancedpractitionerStandards| Organisational Change and Transition
2 Changeprocessesandtheir
implications
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Identify the relevance of the major models of planned
change and the different levels of risk they carry, and
relate them to different organisational situations.
2 Help to build those processes, routines and systems
that ensure transfer of information and understanding
from individuals and small groups to the organisation
as a whole, to influence strategic decisions and
produce the foundations for new capabilities.
3 Judge what will and will not work in the change
management context and ensure that the personnel
and development role in the change management
process is clearly adding value by helping to drive
organisational improvements.
4 Make informed choices between large- and smallscale approaches to change management.
5 Assess the level of change required at different epochs
in the organisation’s life cycle; issues of style and
speed of change.
6 Analyse the elements for successful change at each
stage of the process.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Different levels and types of the strategic change
process:
• from ‘light touch’ to radical, transactional to transformational, continuous to discontinuous
• and the ways each level and type of change is likely to have different effects on people and organisational performance.
2 The ways organisation members understand,
identify and use different triggers of change and
transformation, both internal and external.
206
3 Processes for the evaluation of success, failure and risk
in the change process, recognising the implications of
success or failure for future change processes in the
organisation.
4 Strategies and techniques for the successful
implementation of the change-management effort
– project management, participation and process
management.
Indicativecontent
1 The dynamics of change and:
• the strengths and limitations of Lewin’s fundamental
change model
• the assumptions that underlie different approaches
to change.
2 The strengths and weaknesses of the planned
change approach.
3 The distinctions between emergent, planned and
discontinuous approaches to change.
4 The role of the senior management group and the
chief executive officer in the change process.
5 The scope of managerial decision-making in relation
to change, transition and transformation.
6 Issues of `top down’ and `bottom-up’ change and
reconciling them both.
7 Risk assessment/management in change and
transformation situations.
8 Processes that mature, successful organisations can
use most effectively in the change processes.
9 The critical significance of diagnosis to identify the
need for, and the processes of, change, transition and
transformation.
Organisational Change and Transition |advancedpractitionerStandards
3Transitionandtransformation
processes
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1 The significance of visionary processes in the
management of change.
2 Transactional versus transformational changes.
3 The implications of the differences between, for
example, alpha, beta and gamma change.
4 Chaos and complexity theories to explore what
underpins transformation.
5 The key stages and processes of managing transitions.
6 The advantages and disadvantages of transformational
leadership.
7 The advantages and disadvantages of such
transformational change technologies as:
• organisational development
• total quality management
• managing intellectual capital
• business process re-engineering
• whole system intervention.
8 Systems-wide changes and the relationship to
organisation structure and culture management.
9 Organisational learning, double-loop and deutro
learning; the organisation as communities of practice
and knowledge.
10 The paradoxes of organisational change and
transformation.
1 Stimulate creativity in order to challenge and
regenerate the knowledge base and attitudinal base
of the organisation in relation to change issues.
2 Generate structures and cultures that ensure that:
• personnel and development practitioners creatively,
constructively and constantly question and consider
their role as reflective practitioners
• they value and use the essential ambiguity of the
change process and are realistically sceptical about
change technologies and approaches to change.
3 Develop holistic/total system consideration of the
change issues and proposed remedies.
4 Maintain the momentum of change through executive
action, strategic advice and consultancy, on processes
and initiatives to help change any inhibiting and
dominating mind sets and cultures in the organisation.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The relationships between strategic vision, leadership,
power and control, and:
• the development of effective teamwork in the
dynamics of change, transition and transformation
• the development of a climate of learning and willingness to change.
2 The role of personnel and development in the
development of a realistically sceptical approach to
transformational interventions such as organisational
development, business process re-engineering and
total quality management and:
• how to distinguish between change technologies
that are fads and fashions and those that add real
value and can endure
• the relationships between technology-driven
processes of change and the human dimension.
207
advancedpractitionerStandards| Organisational Change and Transition
4Theeffectofchangeonpeople
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Emotional intelligence, emotional capability and
spiritual knowledge – fads or enduring aspects of the
change and transformation processes.
2 The levers for change; surfacing dissatisfaction with the
status quo.
3 Ethical issues in the management of change, transition
and transformation.
1 Develop strategies and techniques for the successful
implementation of change, by helping to develop
and sustain across the organisation a framework for
generating stakeholder commitment to transition and
change while maintaining current operations where
appropriate.
2 Develop strategies to deal with issues around
resistance to change and:
• resistance as a political label and/or a positive contribution to change
• contingency approaches to dealing with resistance
• the differences between resistance and apathy.
3 Identify and evaluate the advantages and problems
associated with the ambiguity of the change process.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The relationship between individual and collective
learning at a strategic level and:
• the development of the organisational knowledge
bases as a key aspect of organisational survival and
advance
• the contribution of the personnel and development
professional to the development of this process.
2 The cycle of adjustment models and the role
and contribution of personnel and development
professionals at each of the stages.
3 Personal mastery of change as a key aspect of the
learning organisation in order to create and sustain
change.
208
Organisational Change and Transition |advancedpractitionerStandards
5Thepersonneland
developmentrole
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Strategic alliances with other key stakeholders in the
development of change and transformation processes.
2 The role played by personnel and development
professionals with staff in post-change situations
– such as the ‘survivors’ of a merger or delayering
– during the transition and on transformation.
3 Approaches to the psychological contract and
levels of commitment in a changing organisational
environment.
4 Identification of and responses to reconfigured
competencies and capabilities at all levels in the
organisation.
5 Handling the dynamics of internal and external
consultancy approaches at a strategic level.
6 Handling political and power issues in relation to the
development of strategic alliances with stakeholders.
7 Establishing appropriate strategic and ethical
positioning of the personnel and development
function.
8 The role of personnel and development professionals
in developing people to deal with the ambiguities and
uncertainties of change.
1 Identify and secure the commitment of the necessary
internal and external resources, including internal
and external expertise, process consultants and
organisational consultants.
2 Develop champions of change, including line and
other functional managers, who are sensitive to:
• changing needs and the dynamics of the organisation
• the organisation’s environment in the context of:
• intra- and inter-organisational politics and power
• the organisations’ stage of growth and strategic
direction.
3 Identify personnel and development priorities in the
change management process and their relationship to
the priorities of other stakeholders.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The strategic and value-adding role of personnel
and development in managing the psychological,
emotional, spiritual and sociological processes involved
in the different stages of the change process.
2 The role of personnel and development professionals
in managing and implementing planned change,
transition and transformation – acting as executive,
expert, adviser and consultant.
3 The ethical issues for the personnel and development
professional in the management of change, transition
and transformation.
4 Techniques for understanding the likely impact of
change, transition and transformation on HR systems,
culture and practice.
209
advancedpractitionerStandards| Personnel and Development Consulting
Personnel and Development Consulting
Purpose
Successful candidates on a personnel and development consulting programme will have achieved
the PDS qualification or pursued an equivalent route to graduate membership of the CIPD.
The qualification is intended for:
The Standards can be used:
• Chartered MCIPD or Chartered FCIPD personnel and
development professionals operating as consultants
– either internal consultants employed by the
organisation to which they are providing services, or
externally appointed under a contract for services
• senior managers of all disciplines contracting for the
services of personnel and development consultants in
a wide range of personnel disciplines.
• Chartered MCIPD or Chartered FCIPD interim
personnel and development managers providing
both generalist and specialist personnel services.
• as a stand-alone qualification in its own right
• as part of a masters or equivalent level academic
programme
• selectively as part of an organisation’s management
development programmes.
The personnel and development Advanced Practitioner
Standards are intended to aid the improvement of
performance, skills and knowledge in:
• strategic diagnosis and project planning of an
organisation’s need for personnel and development
consultancy
• planning, managing and evaluating the consultancy
business and the consultancy project
• information-gathering techniques, diagnostic tools
and consultancy interventions aimed at constructive
changes in organisational effectiveness and efficiency
• corporate ethics, governance, values and conflict
resolution.
210
Personnel and Development Consulting |advancedpractitionerStandards
performanceindicators
1Strategicdiagnosisandprojectplanning
ofanorganisation’sneedforpersonnel
anddevelopmentconsultancydiagnosis
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1 The nature and implications of current influences and
trends in business and organisations and the impact
of personnel and development regulations, policies
and practices from an international, national and
organisational perspective as appropriate.
2 Holistic and heuristic models of organisation processes
and systems.
3 The nature of organisation cultures and values.
4 The politics of power and influence within an
organisation.
5 International dimensions – global aspects,
international and national agencies as they impact on
personnel and development within an organisation.
6 Practical examples, including comparisons of
differences between organisations in the UK and
worldwide where appropriate.
1 Diagnose and assess the advice or services the
business, organisation or individual needs for
performance improvement in the context of CIPD
Standards and codes of conduct – taking account
of the added-value benefits for the client, value for
money and the client’s economic health.
2 Benchmark the client against other organisations’
best practice and, where appropriate, against other
countries or international organisations.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The political, economic, sociological and cultural
factors that can affect an organisation’s performance
in the market place and why a personnel and
development consultant needs to take these factors
into account.
2 The roles and different accountabilities of in-house
and external consultants and the different types of
consultant, including expert, diagnoser/prescriber and
process consultant.
3 The different types of consultancy organisation and an
assessment of their strengths and limitations.
4 International and cross-cultural aspects of consulting,
including differences in:
• laws
• behaviours
• communications and decision-making processes
• economic factors (including currency exchange).
211
advancedpractitionerStandards| Personnel and Development Consulting
2planning,managingandevaluating
theconsultancybusinessandthe
consultancyproject
Operationalindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
1 Produce a marketing and sales plan for their personnel
and development consultancy, having identified where
the consultant can add value from their advice or
services, and how other consultants use, market and
manage projects.
2 Write proposals for the advice or service(s) to be
provided, setting out the:
• range, any limitations and expected outcomes
• legal aspects, professional liabilities and any special
conditions
• charges and payment terms, warranties and
procedures for resolving difficulties and terms for
engagement/disengagement.
3 Justify the nature, range and appropriateness of
required advice or services against all reasonable
alternatives, and specify and schedule the necessary
resources to undertake the project, including human
and technological resources.
4 Review the process and:
• during the assignment, regularly confirm that the
selected intervention is still appropriate and take any
necessary action
• at the end, evaluate the outcomes and process for
oneself and the client, highlighting the value of the
outcomes and any remaining areas for improvement.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 The contractual aspects of consultancy services and the
legal aspects and ethical issues, legal, moral, personal
and professional (including the CIPD Code of Professional
Conduct) that the consultant may encounter and have to
take account of in different circumstances.
2 Planning, selecting and allocating support resources and:
• how to budget and control costs during an assignment
• assessing the client’s capacity to pay, before starting
work
• credit control and how to deal with non-payment.
212
3 Methods of maintaining and managing the interface
with the client, including regular updates and
resolving problems or difficulties.
4 Estimating the risk and the probability of success,
including statistical methods, limitations, elapsed time
and resource impacts.
5 Concluding a contract or initiative in the specified
time or, when appropriate, before the deadline.
Indicativecontent
1 The development of consulting.
2 The nature of consulting and different consulting
roles.
3 Continuing professional development to maintain
employability and competence.
4 The economics of consulting.
5 The interplay between time, scope and cost.
6 Estimating and costing work.
7 Project and budgetary control.
8 Implications of unrealistic estimates of time and cost.
9 Estimation of risk and probability of success, including:
• statistical methods
• limitations
• elapsed time
• resource impacts.
10 The management of risk.
11 Testing, proving/validating and laboratory techniques.
12 Customer satisfaction measurement.
13 Market research and identifying niche markets.
14 Matching the consultant’s expertise to market needs.
15 Selling consultancy, and public sector tendering.
16 Maintaining a client base and records.
17 Identifying the need for consultancy intervention.
18 Agreeing with the commissioning client the nature of
the problem, the scope of the project, the parameters
the consultant will operate within, the roles of others,
timing, resource allocations and costs.
19 Initial research, and the content of the proposal letter
or contract.
20 Legal considerations and liability for client and
consultant.
21 Break clauses and termination of a contract.
Personnel and Development Consulting |advancedpractitionerStandards
3Information-gatheringtechniques,diagnostic
toolsandconsultancyinterventionsaimed
atconstructivechangesinorganisational
effectivenessandefficiency
Operationalindicators
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to:
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and
critically evaluate:
1 Identify the primary and any secondary clients, advise
on the risks and resolution of ambiguity or conflict
between them and clarify any differences in their
expectations or requirements, particularly where it
could affect the outcome of the assignment.
2 Select and use appropriate diagnostic tools and
gather, record and interpret information and data,
from a scoping study or otherwise.
3 Influence those not yet in favour of a course of action,
using written material, presentations, group and
individual meetings as appropriate.
4 Offer alternative intervention processes – not singlesolution consultancy – and select and apply the most
appropriate in the circumstances.
5 Use political and interpersonal skills to increase the
likelihood that the client will accept and implement
the consultancy recommendations.
6 Deliver a high-quality consultancy project that meets
the client’s needs in the most efficient and effective
way both for the client and for the consultant’s own
business.
1 The framework for stages of intervention and the
necessary conditions for success at each stage, namely:
• market niche research and planning
• selling
• ethics of advertising and publicity
• initial contact
• engagement
• commencement
• content stage review
• disengagement.
2 Data-gathering and diagnostic methods appropriate to
the range of advice and services on offer and:
•their relative strengths and weaknesses
•single and multiple methods.
3 The concept of intervention, the contingencies of
effectiveness and approach and:
•intervention processes and techniques, and why they
are or are not appropriate in different circumstances
•why and how to change from one role or process to
another.
4 Different approaches to influencing, persuasion and
overcoming resistance, and their use in different
circumstances.
213
advancedpractitionerStandards| Personnel and Development Consulting
Indicativecontent
1 Qualitative and quantitative methods, including
statistical sampling techniques and computer analysis.
Avoiding bias, solution-centred approaches and
summarising with:
•run charts
•histograms
•shape/centre/spread
•source and variation
•glyph/radar chart.
2 Criteria for selecting appropriately from the wide
variety of methodologies and techniques available,
given the particular circumstance and the respective
strengths and limitations. (Practical applications need
to be demonstrated alongside theoretical knowledge.)
3 Typical information-gathering techniques, including:
•interviews
•group discussions
•observation
•questionnaires
•workshops
•secondary research (existing data).
4 Techniques appropriate to particular circumstances
such as:
•brainstorming
•checklists
•computer support software
•decision trees
•Delphi techniques
•flowcharts
•force field analysis
•mind-mapping
•repertory grid methods
•secondary analysis
• SMART analysis
• SWOT analysis
• other new and well-tested methodologies, as appropriate.
214
5 Process approaches and methodologies. The theory,
strengths, limitations and practical application of
a variety of individual and group process tools
and methodologies for assisting new thinking,
commitment, conflict resolution and creative
development, including:
•action-centred leadership (Adair)
•neuro-linguistic programming
•thinking hats (De Bono)
•synectics (Nolan)
•intervention analysis (Heron)
•process consultation (Schein)
•other new and well-tested methodologies, as
appropriate.
6 Influencing and communications
•persuading, and influencing methodologies and the
use of political and social skills to gain acceptance
and/or implementation of consultancy interventions
and proposals.
•barriers to communication in different contexts, and
their resolution.
•communication audits
•the design and development of appropriate
solutions to communication problems.
Personnel and Development Consulting |advancedpractitionerStandards
4Corporateethics,governance,
valuesandconflictresolution
Operationalindicators
Indicativecontent
Practitioners must be able to:
1 CIPD codes, legal and probity requirements in the
public sector, including codes for tendering.
2 Private industry regulatory bodies.
3 Dealing with ethical conflicts between the various
codes.
4 Social, relativistic and transcendental values: differing
cultural interpretations of ethicality and criteria for
measuring ethical and non-ethical action.
5 The consultant’s responsibility for ethical conduct, their
own value set and the implications when working in
an organisation with similar or differing ethical values.
6 Establishing the success of a project or outcome –
ethical considerations of ends and means in a project.
7 Diversity versus equality.
8 Personnel and development problems, issues and
conflict resolution, including an international context
in multinational or multicultural organisations.
9 Human rights in a work context.
10 The rights of any secondary client.
11 The consultant’s responsibility for dealing with
infringements of rights, and techniques for doing so.
12 Selected case studies such as Enron, Shell, Equitable
Life, Harold Shipman, Humberside Police and data
protection, and other recent cases as appropriate.
1 Identify and resolve ethical conflicts between the
organisation and professional codes (eg CIPD and
other external codes) so the client gains insight into
the issues in the organisation and with customers, and
can begin to resolve ethical ambiguities and dilemmas
for themselves.
2 Identify when a client’s actions or behaviour falls short
of acceptable standards of probity and corporate
governance and to determine what action needs to
be taken and wherein lies the responsibility of the
consultant.
Knowledgeindicators
Practitioners must be able to understand, explain and critically evaluate:
1 The importance of ethical issues in a consultant’s work and the ways a consultant may assist a client to identify and deal with ethical problems and ambiguities within their organisation.
2 The need for confidentiality in all its contexts, the hazards and penalties for breach and the reasons a consultant should comply with the CIPD and other confidentiality arrangements.
3 Ethical issues that must be considered in the management of a consultancy project.
4 The different roles and accountabilities of the adviser
and diagnoser/prescriber, compared with line and
specialist managers and directors; the potential
tensions, conflicts of interest and values that may
emerge and strategies and techniques for dealing
with them.
215
professionalStandards | Abbreviations
Abbreviations 216
ACAS
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration
Service
IBEC
The Irish Business and Employers’
Confederation
ACOPS
Approved codes of practice
IiP
Investors in People
ADR
Alternative dispute resolution
ILO
The International Labour Organisation
ASEAN
Association of Southeast Asian Nations
IMF
The International Monetary Fund
BPS
The British Psychological Society
IS
Information Systems
CAC
The Central Arbitration Committee
IT
Information Technology
CBAAPS
The CIPD Certificate in Business Awareness
and Advanced Professional Study
MCIPD
Chartered Member
NAFTA
The North American Free Trade Agreement
CBI
The Confederation of British Industry
NVQ
National Vocational Qualification
CCIPD
Chartered Companion
OECD
CEEP
The European Centre of Enterprises
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development
CERLAP
The CIPD Certificate in Employment
Relations, Law and Practice
OPRB
Occupational Pensions Regulatory Body
PDS
The CIPD Professional Development Scheme
CIPD
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and
Development
PESTLE
political, economic, social, technological,
legal, environmental
COSHH
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health
SD
Standard Deviation
CPD
Continuing Professional Development
SEm
Standard Error of measurement
CPP
The CIPD Certificate in Personnel Practice
SERPS
State Earnings Related Pension Scheme
CRE
The Commission for Racial Equality
SMART
CRS
The CIPD Certificate in Recruitment and
Selection
Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and
timebound
SME
small and medium sized enterprises
CTP
The CIPD Certificate in Training Practice
SSADM
DETR
Department of Environment, Transport and
the Regions
Structured Systems Analysis and Design
Method
SVQ
Scottish Vocational Qualification
EAT
The Employment Appeal Tribunal
SWOT
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats
ECJ
The European Court of Justice
TUC
Trade Union Congress
ETUC
The European Trade Union Confederation
TUPE
EU
The European Union
Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of
Employment) Regulations 1981
FCIPD
Chartered Fellow
UN
The United Nations
GATT
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
UNICE
GCE
General Certificate of Education
Union of Industrial and Employers’
Confederations of Europe
HSC
The Health and Safety Commission
WTO
The World Trade Organization
HSE
The Health and Safety Executive
Issued: June 2005 Reference: 3409
Chartered Institute
of Personnel and
Development
151 The Broadway London SW19 1JQ Tel: 020 8612 6200 Fax: 020 8612 6201
Email: cipd@cipd.co.uk Website: www.cipd.co.uk
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© Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development 2005