Developing an HR strategy

Writing up the HR strategy

• -Terms related to strategic approaches to HR, expressing opinions.
• -Listen to a conversation and presentation for understanding of gist, specific technical information.
• -Read a summary of strategic approaches to HR to follow key facts, an HR strategy document with implementation and monitoring plan for understanding of structure.
• -Formal written English, follow a model to create own HR strategy documents.

Solving resourcing problems

• -Discuss company resourcing, describe market conditions, present a resourcing plan.
• -Vocabulary related to resourcing methods and plans, HR collocations, conversational functions for interaction in meetings, describing cause and effect.
• -Read and listen to a current employee profile for key information, a resourcing plan flowchart for understanding of structure and staging, a model resourcing plan.
• -Paraphrase a piece of research in writing.

Recruitment sources and advertising

Identifying suitable candidates

Conducting interviews

Choosing the right candidate

• -Vocabulary for describing personality, interview and candidate assessment methods, functions for introducing and asking follow-up questions, exchanging information, making suggestions, dis/agreeing with selections.
• -Listen to a discussion about person specification, tips on posing interview questions, extracts from 2 interviews.
• -Read a job profile and person specification template for identification of advertising context, specific phrases for inference of new vocabulary, and note-taking, a summary and two psychometric profiles to prepare an oral/ written response.
• -Prepare a summary of candidate requirements.

A CV

The job interview (from the candidate’s point of view)

Ageism

• -Arranging an appointment over the phone/ by e-mail, answering interview questions favourably, establishing rapport with the questioner.
• -Read about controversial interview question types to follow key information, to prepare an oral response.
• -Listen to tips for handling controversial interview questions and building rapport during an interview for specific words, phrases, and information transfer.
• -Tailoring a CV to the job advertisement requirements.

• -Writing a training and development strategy
• -Producing a programme for training courses
• -Designing learning interventions
• -Evaluating training and development

• -More vocabulary for HR strategy documents, training methods, and training personalisation, collocations for HR.
• -Listen to a discussion of development strategy and strategy evaluation, a training session to follow key points, for top-down processing of key phrases.
• -Read a summary of a training programme, an employee development programme web page to scan for important information, both a numerical and a narrative evaluation form for understanding of structure and to compare the two.
• -Formal written English Part 2.

• -Coaching in the workplace
• -Conducting a mentoring session
• -Dealing with staff problems
• -Delivering a counselling service

• -Managing conflict, making recommendations, informal spoken English.
• -Vocabulary for coaching methods, undertaking coaching sessions.
• -Asking open questions.
• -Listen to extracts from a coaching, mentoring and counselling session to compare and contrast structure, discourse, and types of phrases, an informal discussion on a new employee and a workshop on a coaching framework to follow the main points and infer new language.
• -Read an informal email to skim for informal written English, a mentoring contract for understanding of structure and to prepare a written response.

• -Planning for a development review
• -Introducing a new review scheme
• -Delivering an employee briefing
• -Conducting a development review/ performance appraisal interview
• -Preparing a performance appraisal report
• -Equal opportunities and diversity

• -The language of appraisal interviews: diplomatic language, softening disagreement, discussing an action plan.
• -Vocabulary for approaches to employee development review.
• -Describing possibility in the past, describing intentions, plans and possibility in the future.
• -Listen to an action planning meeting, extracts from two briefing sessions, a Q&A session, an employee development review meeting to identify context, topic, and formality, to identify important words and phrases.
• -Read an HR forum discussion, a company case study for gist and inference, and to prepare an oral response.

• -Employment contracts
• -Disciplinary and grievance procedures
• -Writing a disciplinary procedure
• -Investigating a complaint
• -Conducting a disciplinary hearing
• -Dealing with a grievance
• -Stress and workplace injuries

• -Asking questions using intentional intonation, giving and requesting information, summarising opinions.
• -The language of contracts, vocabulary for causes of grievances.
• -Listen to a complaint about an employee to identify key points and conduct information transfer, a disciplinary hearing to identify formality and formal English phrases, a discussion of a grievance and an informal meeting to resolve a grievance with a focus on tone in questions.
• -Read a disciplinary flowchart to prepare an oral response, a disciplinary policy document for understanding of structure.
• -Writing offer and rejection letters, a set of rules of conduct.

• -Salaries and fringe benefits
• -Salary reviews
• -Evaluating a reward system
• -Introducing a new reward system
• -Writing a reward strategy

• -Asking for and giving feedback, dis/agreeing, clarifying, interrupting, talking about figures and numbers, discussing employee surveys and focus groups.
• -Words and phrases for different reward systems (e.g., financial and non-financial rewards), language for interviewing employees.
• -Listen to a discussion of a company’s reward system, a conversation about the launch of a new reward system to follow the main points and conduct information transfer.
• -Read the results of an employee survey/ results of a focus group to prepare an oral summary.
• -Write a reward strategy document, and an e-mail to notify employees of the introduction of a new system.

• -The role of trade unions
• -Labour relations
• -A wage negotiation

• -The language of negotiating (persuading, bargaining, making offers and counters, accepting and turning down offers diplomatically).
• -Read a case study of an industrial relations issue to follow the main points, identify stances, and prepare an oral response, an HR blog to lift practical tips for managing employee relations.
• -Listen to a podcast about the secrets of bargaining for gist and specific information.
• -Write a formal e-mail informing employees of the outcome of a wage negotiation.

• -Creating an HR brand
• -Communicating the brand message
• -Negotiating service level agreements
• -Developing a consultancy role

• -Explaining plans and ideas, managing clashes between ideas.
• -Read a set of corporate objectives, a service portfolio table, a sample careers web page (Marks and Spencer’s) to take notes and produce an oral response.
• -Listen to a conversation about HR branding to identify context, main points, and speakers’ stances, an explanation of a model for branding to take diagrammatic notes, a negotiation of service level agreements for specific words and phrases.
• -Writing: summarising brand platforms, making e-mails sound enthusiastic.

• - Personal skills
• -Job applications
• -Job interviews

• -Present oneself in a positive light during a mock interview.
• -Adjectives and positive phrases for personal qualities, nouns for skills and experience.
• -Review the past simple vs. the present perfect for talking about experience.
• -Read model CVs and covering letters to compare and contrast.
• -Listen to interview questions, answers for note-taking on tips.
• -Compose a successful CV and covering letter.