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https://fashionretail.padlet.org/silviamauri1/silvia-mauri-my-apprenticeship-portfolio-1gl8ky4kis47lmfc

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Activities and Notes from session 1

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These are my notes for the second session webinar.

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Assessment 1: Professional Discussion Notes

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Assessment 1: Professional Discussion Notes

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Independent research to put into practice.

https://pinnaclewellbeingservices.com/calling-out-inappropriate-behaviour-within-the-workplace/

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Ignoring inappropriate behaviour at the workplace is detrimental to employee progress. In the long run, such ignorance creates a distrustful workforce and an unethical work atmosphere. Ultimately this can lead to the downfall of the brand and the company.

Organisations must therefore own the responsibility to offer appropriate training to their employees to call out bad behaviour. They must train their employees to have zero tolerance to inappropriate behaviour and create an atmosphere where employees stand up against such behaviour without fear of repercussions.

What can one do in the face of inappropriate behaviour?

Here are some actionable steps to consider:

Be Aware of what Constitutes Inappropriate Behaviour

There are many behaviours that can be called inappropriate. But it is important to understand the impact of the behaviour on the victim, the team, and on the workplace culture in general, to assess its severity. Only then, an appropriate action can be taken.

Consistent rude behaviour by a boss is uncomfortable, but it may not warrant a severe reaction, especially if such behaviour is primarily ego-driven.

Small ego-boosting gestures such as thanking the erring individual for his or her contribution to a project, and offering genuine compliments every now and then, highlighting the person's character, have been known to work wonders in such cases. (Source: HBR)

But there are behaviours that are not so easy to solve, nor should be tolerated.

The most common of such behaviours include:

Harassment: Actions intended to severely humiliate, threaten, or intimidate, constitute Harassment. Offenders are known to show aggression through verbal or written means. They may try to bully others into submission through use of physical and sexual violence, or through threats of using the same.

Showing Bias: This includes any action taken on the basis of an individual's gender, race, culture, and religion, among others. Depriving an employee his or her rightful place at a workplace because he or she is different (due to the above-mentioned factors or other) is inappropriate.

Malicious Gossip: Any gossip that results in the spread of false information, damages reputation and creates hostility in the workplace, is inappropriate.

Disruptive Behaviour: Actions that can amount to Disruptive Behaviour include:

Extreme laziness leading to missed deadlines consistently

Being uncommunicative and thereby impacting project quality, frequently;

Yelling and throwing tantrums, or displaying a need to exercise control through such actions, frequently

Showing blatant disregard for official responsibilities

Call Out the Inappropriate Behaviour Immediately Where Possible

It is important to put offenders in place the instant they indulge in inappropriate behaviour. For example, a sexist remark by a superior or colleague during a meeting can be addressed immediately - tell the offender that the sexist remark was in bad taste and that you would expect him or her to treat you with more respect in future interactions.

If such immediate correction is not possible because you are uncomfortable calling out the offender in public, then meet the offender in private and speak your mind.

Seek Help and Support

Talk things out with a trusted colleague, mentor or friend from your own, or a different, department. Talk to them about your take on the behavior and seek their opinion on the issue.

The offender may have indulged in inappropriate behavious before and the victims may not have reported them. If that is the case, talking to others can get a conformation of your perspective. You could even enlist support for the cause.

Talk to people who can help and know what they can do for you. They could speak to the offender on your behalf and issue a warning against such behaviour, which can put a stop to the entire issue without a need for escalation.

Consult the Human Resources Department

In cases where your reprimands have fallen on deaf ears and the inappropriate behaviour continues, take appropriate action in consultation with your HR department.

Ideally, your HR department must have clear policies in place for tackling inappropriate behavior at the workplace. The team must have the necessary training and tools to handle such behaviour.

With such a policy in place, you will be guided on the actions to take, to report inappropriate behaviours. The policy will clearly state actions that fall under the category of inappropriate behaviour. The policy will also state clearly the authorised person to contact, and the actions to document, in such cases.

With such a policy in place, inappropriate behaviors can be curbed early before they escalate and create irreparable consequences.

As a proactive approach, organisations must own the responsibility to educate their teams regarding inappropriate behaviors and set the expectations right at the very beginning. Companies must invest in psychology coaching as part of employee skill and leadership training.

Employees must be trained to try to solve such issues by themselves first. They need to be trained in the correct way of reporting an inappropriate behavior to the upper management in cases where the initial approach fails.

Explain How the Situation is Affecting Your Productivity and the Business

Low morale and psychological impact are possible effects of inappropriate behaviours. But talking personal damage alone may not make not create substantial impact on the upper management when such issues are escalated.

Stress on the effect that such behavior creates on your morale and productivity to get a reaction. Talk about the cost the team, the project, and thus the business, have to suffer, if such behaviors are not addressed immediately.

Be Practical

Adopt a practical mindset and realise that chances of the offender being punished with an exit notice are low.

The upper management may not fire the offender even if your case is proved. The offender may be freed with only a mild reprimand.

But do recognise that you stood up to the offender without meekly tolerating his or her inappropriate behaviour. This action, in itself, should make the offender wary of you and discourage such behaviours in the future.

However, if the abusive situation continues, and you feel the suffering is not worth it, then quit, if your job profile and company policy permit.

If you are worried about your pride taking a fall, or of leaving the offender free to continue his or her inappropriate behaviour, by quitting, then shun such mindset. Your physical and mental wellbeing are more important than winning over the offender. So, take the practical approach and quit.

Pinnacle Wellbeing Services is a leading provider of a wide range of corporate training services. Courses are customised to meet specific needs of participants.

Courses aim to inculcate a practical and winning mindset, build workplace resilience, and meet workplace challenges with greater conviction and resilience.

Course instructors are renowned experts regarded as leaders in their respective fields. Visit us for more information.

#Psychology #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealth #workplace #coaching #business #humanresources #Pinnacle

Sources:
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/impact-inappropriate-conduct-workplace-36418.html http://dmp.wa.gov.au/Safety/What-is-inappropriate-workplace-5052.aspx http://www.xeniumhr.com/blog/human-resources/changing-inappropriate-behavior-in-the-workplace/ https://trailhead.salesforce.com/en/content/learn/modules/workplace_equality_inclusion_challenges/we_inclusion_challenges_bias_in_the_workplace https://www.inc.com/melissa-lamson/managers-squelch-disrespectful-behavior-fast.html https://medium.com/@parkerpconsulting/how-to-have-the-talk-calling-out-inappropriate-behaviour-in-the-workplace-1be15c2283d9 https://www.hcamag.com/au/news/general/how-to-talk-to-staff-about-inappropriate-behaviour/149382 https://hbr.org/2014/10/how-to-deal-with-a-mean-colleague

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Calling out inappropriate behaviour within the workplace

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Ignoring inappropriate behaviour at the workplace is detrimental to employee progress. In the long run, such ignorance creates a distrustful workforce and an unethical work atmosphere. Ultimately this can lead to the downfall of the brand and the company. Organisations must therefore own the responsibility to offer appropriate training to their employees to call out bad behaviour.

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My activities and notes from the second session

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This is my commercial finance project. I looked at how we could improve stock movement tracking and improve shrinkage.
I learnt from my last project and increased my branding, decreased the amount on text on the slides, and practiced staying within the time frame giving.
I still used the correct font and colouring for Ernest Jones in my project as well as the Signet Banner Logo.

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A client profile that matches the type of client I help most.

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L3 RTL Sales, Stock and Service ODT - QUESTIONS VJK

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Evidence: Visual Merchandising in Practice

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Evidence: Visual Merchandising in Practice

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Lucy Quartermaine Display 1 that I redressed.

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Evidence: Visual Merchandising in Practice 

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Evidence: Visual Merchandising in Practice 

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Lucy Quartmaine display 2 that I redressed.

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I decided that we needed a better way to monitor training, a sales tracker and a daily brief sheet. Everything on this I have created myself and implemented its use in store.

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This is my technology for retail project. I look at increasing staff productivity by introducing measures to speed and increase accuracy of price ticket changes.
I used the correct colouring for Ernest Jones and the font the company wants used on all presentations. I am really proud of this and know there are somethings to improve on.

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An assessment. There is a lot of information on here based on marketing and communications.

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Independent research:

https://galenemanuele.com/blog/dos-dont-conflict

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Oops! This page doesn’t exist — Galen Emanuele | Team Culture & Leadership Keynotes

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A world class keynote speaker and communication expert, Galen Emanuele specializes in teaching brands like Microsoft and Expedia how to build team culture and create more engaged teams. Find out to skyrocket your communication, improve your leadership prowess, build teams that thrive, and crush i…

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15/09/2022 - Understanding Asperger's and Colleagues

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15/09/2022 - Understanding Asperger's and Colleagues

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This gave me a better understanding of how to interact with a colleague with aspergers, thus allowing me to communicate better with staff and build a better rapport.

https://livingautism.com/possible-colleague-aspergers-syndrome

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Save as PDF
This article has been revised - to read the updated version please click here.

This is a question I am asked a lot. Of course, diagnoses need to be carried out by the appropriate professionals and no-one can give a diagnosis by proxy; however, I have worked in the autism field for over 18 years and in that time I have coached employees who display autistic characteristics and their colleagues to work more effectively together. The approaches outlined in this article might help you work better with someone who either has a diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome or whose behaviour indicates that they might have the condition.

If you are reading this article and you feel you might have Asperger's Syndrome then you might recognize some of the characteristics in yourself and you might find the strategies helpful. You might also consider getting a diagnosis by approaching your GP. (Please note that with DSM 5, a diagnosis will be for 'Autism', a very wide spectrum which includes Asperger Syndrome)

I have found that the question, "Is it possible my colleague has Asperger's Syndrome?" is usually promptly followed by "He/She is technically really good at their job. They just don't seem to get the relationship side of the job." Or something along those lines.

Below are some possible identifiers of someone who has Asperger's Syndrome. These are only indicators and it is important to stress that an individual may exhibit some of these traits and not have Asperger's. Furthermore, each individual with Asperger's will experience different elements of these indicators and in different combinations. It is probable, however, that they will experience an element from each of the categories.

Some qualities and strengths

Like anyone, those with Asperger's can have particular strengths and qualities and it is important to look at some of the attributes which someone with Asperger's brings to the workplace. These can be as follows:

excellent memory;

precision and attention to detail;

mathematical and technical skills;

a preference for following instructions and abiding by rules;

sticking to structured programmes;

direct, open and honest;

reproduction, imitation and mimicry;

high level of vocabulary;

dealing with projects which have a clear beginning, middle and end.

This means people with Asperger's can thrive in jobs which require precision and detail, such as accountancy, computing, engineering and architecture to name but a few. Because of the mathematical nature of music, they can also be quite musical. In addition, they can blossom in environments which provide clear structures and parameters and few unknowns.

Sensory differences

People with Asperger's can be either hyper-sensitive or hyposensitive. If they are hyper-sensitive then the senses can be more honed than usual and, therefore, sounds can seem louder, lights brighter, smells and tastes stronger; and touch keener; thus, the person can receive environmental information at a much greater intensity. If they are hypo-sensitive, they cannot process sensory input as effectively and, for example, might not feel hot water to the extent that they might get scalded. These sensory differences can mean:

an acute sense of hearing or not being able to hear clearly;

an ability to see in detail or inability to see the whole because of too much detail;

a discriminatory sense of smell and taste;

an extreme sensitivity to touch, textures and pressures or a need for stronger textures and increased pressure.

Differences in communication

People with Asperger's Syndrome can have a high level of vocabulary aided by their excellent memory skills. However, they could find contextualizing of language and abstract language difficult to understand. You might notice difficulties in:

engaging in or understanding small talk;

understanding body language and facial expressions;

understanding sarcasm, jokes, irony (those with Asperger's could have a tendency to be very literal in their understanding);

understanding verbal communication without corresponding verbal cues, for example: notes, diagrams.

Differences in social understanding

Whilst most people pick up social cues which are sometimes illogical or which are dependent upon 'seeing' the entirety of a situation and not just one aspect, people with Asperger's could have some difficulty in detecting subtle and non-verbal communications. Therefore, you might notice that they often do not:

show empathy and understanding of others;

keep eye contact;

speak untruths in order not to offend; understand personal space;

understand social rules which are not based upon logic;

understand the complexities of inter-personal relationships.

Differences in flexibility of thought

Flexibility of thought is the ability to hazard a guess at the unknown, to cope with the unexpected, to act upon a whim. The sense of security brought on by the known can lead to the following:

becoming obsessed with an interest, place or person;

becoming anxious by change, spontaneity and unplanned events;

experiencing difficulties in coping with the unknown (new people, new places, new situations);

experiencing difficulties in remembering sequences without prompts, such as: diary, personal planner, alarm;

experiencing difficulties in comprehending abstract concepts (e.g., formality, spontaneity, fun, anxiety);

reluctance to use own initiative

Perception

The results of having to deal with some of the above hurdles is that people with Asperger's or someone with similar experiences can sometimes be perceived to be:

As a consequence, some employees with Asperger's, or with similar difficulties, can experience a greater incidence of complaints and disciplinary procedures which could be a mystery to them, thus adding to their difficulties.

What can you do to support someone with Asperger's Syndrome in the workplace?

Asperger's is a lifelong condition and although people with Asperger's might have some learning difficulties, such as dyslexia, they are often of average or above average intelligence. Asperger's Syndrome itself is not a learning disability although it can present obstacles to aspects of social and communication learning. The difficulties lie in the lack of understanding of the social nuances of communication and behaviour, dealing with unknown situations and people, problems in thinking through sequences or of consequences to actions, inabilities in forming overarching concepts from detailed information, inabilities to see things from another's perspective and dealing with sensory differences.

Asperger's affects every individual differently. Every individual with Asperger's has their own personality, their own strengths and weaknesses and they have their own difficulties to overcome just like everyone else. However, hurdles can be overcome, anxieties and resultant absenteeism can be reduced and management time can be focused more on enabling and empowering the individual rather than disciplining them.

What can be practically done to help these employees, who are quite often excellent at the technical component of their jobs?

You will have noticed that this article has been written in a more bulleted form than a prosaic one. This is to make it easier for people with Asperger's Syndrome to read, as a mass of words can sometimes be difficult to process. This is an example of a small and simple strategy that can be incorporated in every day working life to enable an employee with Asperger's to give of their best.

Some other helpful strategies are:

Aide-memoires

These help to reduce anxieties brought on by not knowing what has been planned or when events are taking place.

Clear instructions with a beginning, middle and end

This is particularly helpful if a person has difficulty stopping before a project or task has been fully completed, ie must finish no matter what.

Written instructions

Written directions

Clear interim steps

Clear reporting instructions

Training in non-verbal communication

This training can help to reduce anxieties brought on by not understanding the behaviour of others. It also enhances two-way communication and social integration.

Understanding body language

Understanding social communication, e.g., the differences of communicating in a meeting and at a party

Understanding how to soften factual information/communication, e.g., opening and closing of conversations, emails, letters etc.

Training for colleagues to enable them to become aware of the condition

Whether a person actually has a diagnosis of Asperger's or experiences the same hurdles, the most difficult aspect of this way of being is the lack of understanding of the people around them. Therefore, some basic understanding in autism and Asperger's Syndrome in the workplace is beneficial to all.

It's worth the effort

People with Asperger's Syndrome can bring richness to our lives by helping those of us who do not have Asperger's to see the world from a different perspective. They can help us to understand how many experiences we take for granted and how many strategies we pick up naturally which they have to learn cognitively.

If you feel that a colleague of yours fits into the above description, it is important to seek support and information both for them and for yourself.
If you would like training on Asperger's and Autism in your workplace get in touch with Living Autism to find an experienced Autism Consultant Suggested further reading
Attwood, T; 2006. The complete guide to Aspergers syndrome. London: Jessica Kinglsey Publishers.

Bogdashina, O; 2005. Theory of mind and the triad of perspectives on autism and Asperger syndrome: a view from the bridge. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Edmonds, G and Beardon, L (Ed); 2008. Asperger Syndrome and Employment. Adults Speak Out about Asperger Syndrome. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Gillberg, C; 2002. A guide to Asperger syndrome. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Stanford, A; 2011. Business for Aspies: 42 Best Practices for Using Asperger Syndrome Traits at Work. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

If you need help looking for services for an individual with an autism spectrum condition, we can help. Click below for the Autism Placement Support Service.

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IS IT POSSIBLE MY COLLEAGUE HAS ASPERGER'S SYNDROME? - Living Autism

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Save as PDF This is a question I am asked a lot. Of course, diagnoses need to be carried out by the appropriate professionals and no-one can give a diagnosis by proxy; however, I have worked in the autism field for over 18 years and in that time I have coached employees who display autistic characteristics and their colleagues to work more effectively together.

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I have been trying to find a way to explain things better and how to manage repeated mistakes from staff members.

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/manage-employees-making-lots-mistakes-10486.html

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How to Manage Employees Who Are Making Lots of Mistakes

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“Everybody” makes mistakes, but when an employee makes too many, too often, it’s time to step in. Addressing employee mistakes with firmness but compassion means planning before you speak, responding with care and perhaps making internal changes.

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4/9/22-7//9/22 - Leadership skills by Diane Rossit

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4/9/22-7//9/22 - Leadership skills by Diane Rossit

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I took time out to read a book on Leadership Skills.

Leadership Skills - Diane E. Rossiter - Google Libros

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Understanding the role of a leader in the work environment can make the work experience more rewarding and satisfying. By establishing the importance of leaders in almost any group dynamic, Leadership Skills, Second Edition helps students understand the qualities of all successful leaders, such as courteousness, compassion, decisiveness, and willingness to give and receive criticism. The book also distills the essence of what leadership is into points that are easy to learn and cultivate, providing practical advice that may be useful in many settings. For example, it outlines how to lead a project through to successful completion.

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Understanding the role of a leader in the work environment can make the work experience more rewarding and satisfying. By establishing the importance of leaders in almost any group dynamic, Leadership Skills, Second Edition helps students understand the qualities of all successful leaders, such as courteousness, compassion, decisiveness, and willingness to give and receive criticism.

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The first presentation that we had to create for our first assessment. Started on the 30/6/2022

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We were asked to write a reflection on developing self and team reflection.

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This was one of the first real look at a competitors history and stats.

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These are the notes I used to talk during my presentation. I found it helpful to spread the information physically over two screens whilst creating the presentation.

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My answers to that activities set in the session

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My completed activities from the session

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L3 RTL Marketing & Communication 1 - Activities

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A brand positioning map that I created.

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Evidence of outstanding customer service.

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This is a reflection of the events leading up to and after the Tudor installation. It also has photos in which show evidence of a good customer service by myself.

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A reflection on customers, the service I provide, and improving their experience.

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A reflection on a client repair issue and how I handled the situation.