Determine tasks to be done and identify required conditions to work autonomously or in team environment

The scope of role and responsibility refers to the range, extent and parameters of services that will be delivered. During the assessment process of the business’s needs and planning of the program, the scope of responsibility will be identified. Once the scope is defined, roles are clarified and resources can be allocated to ensure that the responsibilities outlined and agreed upon can actually be met. Learning to be a great Leader (click here) is about knowing your people and having a big picture view of everything. 

The role of the leader in any program involving change can be complex. To provide services that meet employee’s personal needs, the leader must have a program that is well developed with quality resources, systems and procedures.

Resources include:

• infrastructure
• facilities
• equipment and machinery
• staff and access to training for staff
• time
• money
• consumable inputs

Plans and strategies must be flexible enough to adapt to changing needs of the employee and of the environment. The employee’s plans are living documents—they should be constantly updated.

Once you have identified the needs of your employees, and you know what you are going to provide, it is important you promptly provide the service. If you cannot provide the service immediately, it is important you provide updates at regular intervals. Employees that are enthusiastic at the start are likely to lose interest if their expectations are not satisfied.

Consultation between supervisors, managers, legal experts and workers will also help identify individual and group training needs. Consultation with staff should be arranged in some form, as they will know better than anyone else what training they need. However, some staff will not know how to communicate their needs and some might be afraid to do so in case they are perceived as being incompetent.

Surveys can be used to identify topics for training and to gather suggestions about the ways in which training can be presented. Surveys can be anonymous so that staff are encouraged to be open and honest about their needs. However, staff should be encouraged to alert you to their needs without fear of recrimination. All of this data will help to identify how effective current training programs are and what changes need to be made.

Consultation is a key element in the development of a program that works. Without consultation, program authors risk creating their plans in a vacuum. Given the practical and action-orientated nature of a personal effectiveness program plan, consultation is a particularly important step for ensuring that the details of the plan, the resource allocations, and the timelines set are realistic, relevant and achievable.

The consultation process

Depending on the size and type of the organisation, there are different ways you can go about carrying out a consultation process. In large organisations, it might be more effective to formalise the consultation process, rather than rely on personal relationships and informal conversations with other stakeholders. In a small organisation, this might be sufficient, although you will still need to pose the question specifically to others and invite their contribution in a way that is genuine and non-threatening.

Formal tools for consultation include:

• information sessions
• invitations for submissions from stakeholders
• meetings, workshops, focus groups, one-on-one interviews
• feedback mechanisms
• communication mechanisms such as email, intranet, newsletters, memos

The invitation to use the consultation tools and participate in the consultation process can be extended generally, but it can also be targeted to special interested parties or groups. An effective approach is to adopt a mix of both strategies. In large organisations, a survey tool might be a good way of gaining input from all stakeholders (including employees), while specific individuals or groups can be consulted in a more in-depth way through meetings, interviews, or formal submissions.