BSBOPS501 Student Guide

STUDENT
GUIDE
BSBOPS501
MANAGE BUSINESS
RESOURCES
Level 7, 251 Adelaide Terrace, Perth 6000 WA, Australia | Phone: (08) 9221 1261 |
Level 3, 38 Currie Street Adelaide, SA| Phone: (08) 7200 3422 |
www.kcbt.edu.au | info@kcbt.edu.au
Contents
Overview 4
Topic 1: What are the customer requirements? 5
Topic 2: Delivering quality products and services to customers 17
Topic 3: Evaluating the customer service provided 24
BSBOPS501 Manage business resources | 2
Overview
The Student Guide should be used in conjunction with the recommended reading and any further
course notes or activities given by the trainer/assessor.
Application of the unit

This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to manage resources according to planned
business strategies. It includes analysing resource requirements, developing resource plans,
allocating resources, and reviewing and reporting on resource usage.
The unit applies to individuals with a role in allocating and monitoring the use of physical and/or
human resources to meet defined business objectives.
No licensing, legislative or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of publication.
Learning goals
Learning goals include:
 You are able to analyse resource requirements.
 You are able to develop resource plans.
 You are able to allocate resources.
 You are able to review and report on resource usage.
Topic 1: Planning to acquire resources
Resources for business

When we talk about resources, we are talking physical resources, digital resources, or human
resources. These resources are the things we require to complete strategic projects in business.
Resources help us to get a job done, whether it be a short-term on ongoing project, or the setting
up of a new department or business expansion due to a growth. Sometimes, resources need
replacing as their lifespan is only a certain expected timeframe (think vehicles or machinery).
When managing business resources, the objective of the business should be taken into account to
ensure the purpose and function of the resource is relevant. This is about making sure that the right
resources are acquired to get the job done efficiently, on time and in budget.
The required specifications of physical resources (such as machinery or facilities) and human
resources are usually identified project by project. Whereas, when developing digital resources, a
business will usually have a predetermined look and feel that represents their business in a
professional way.
When preparing to acquire business resources, a range of information will need to be identified.
Information sources you might want to access as part of developing plans to acquire resources are
described in the table below.
Information source Description Examples
Colleagues/Employees Colleagues may be part of the same Team member

team, or from another team.
CFO
Manager of a different team
External consultants For more complex organisations, Resource requirement

external consultants may be required specialists
to create consistency across all
Management consultants
operational plans and resource
allocations.
Strategic plan Actions in the operational plan stem Strategic objective of

from the objectives in the strategic “Strengthening club culture” is
plan. (Operational plans can be addressed in the operational
developed without a strategic plan). plan by the action “hold social
events”
Budgets and forecasts These provide financial information Forecasted sales may impact
required to allocate resources and how many sales
establish KPIs. representatives are
employed.
Legislation Laws that have been made by the Fair trade laws
Information source Description Examples
state and/or country and must be

followed.
WHS
Corporations Act
Privacy Act
Regulatory authorities Authorities that regulate legislative Environmental Protection

compliance Agencies
Australian Financial Security
Authority
Organisational policies These are created by the Templates

and procedures organisation to explain and guide
Hierarchy of control
expectations. Policies show the
“why” behind an action. Procedures, Employment process
explain the “how” with step-by-step Performance review process
instructions for specific tasks.
Industry standards Standards may be internationally ISO standards

accepted practices, government
Standards issued by
requirements or industry regulations.
regulatory authorities
Codes of practice Codes of practice provide WHS codes of practice

information on a specific issue and
help you achieve legal standards.
Regulatory authorities often provide
information on codes of practice.
Best practice examples The concept of “best practice” refers Literature reviews
to good practices, procedures or
Case studies
guidelines that have been proven to
achieve successful results. Analogy thinking e.g. “Uber of
public transport”
Table 1: Sources of information
Legislative and regulatory requirements

There is a range of legislation relating to resource management, both Commonwealth and state-
based. Examples of relevant Commonwealth legislation includes:
 Fair Work Act 2009
 Fair Work Regulations 2009
 National Employment Standards
 Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009
 Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009
 Fair Work (State Referral and Consequential and Other Amendments) Act 2009
 Fair Work Amendment (State Referrals and Other Measures) Act 2009
 Corporations Act 2001
 Independent Contractors Act 2006
 Privacy Act 1988
 Competition and Consumer Act 2010
 Occupational Health and Safety (Commonwealth Employment) Act 1991.
Examples of some of the relevant state-based legislation (for Queensland) is as follows:
 Right to Information Act 2009 (Qld)
 Public Records Act 2002 (Qld)
 Queensland Information Standards
 Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld).
It is important to identify all relevant legislative and regulatory information that applies to your
particular State and situation. This should be assessed when considering each resource, due to
the many resource variations.
Legislative requirements for information entry, storage, output, and quality of document design and
production will vary dependent upon the nature of the data and information being stored, and in
which state or territory in Australia.
Activity: Research and discuss
Research legislation relevant to your workplace or industry of interest (such as

mining, manufacturing, transport, building, education or health) that may be
associated with acquiring resources needed for a project or operational activities.
You may consider Corporations Act, Workplace Health and Safety Acts (industry
specific), Fair trade laws, Privacy Acts, Corporate governance legislation, Chain of
responsibility legislation, Employment practises legislation, Equal employment
opportunity legislation, Discrimination (age, sex, disability) legislation, Reporting and
compliance legislation, Natural justice and procedural fairness.
Take notes and keep them for future reference.
Your trainer will facilitate a group discussion to summarise legislation related to
operational plans.
Human resources
Essentially, human resources are people. When looking at human resource needs, you need to
identify the people required to complete the operational activities of the organisation. This includes:
 personnel responsible for decision-making (e.g. when escalation is required)
 special resource managers (e.g. CFO, HR manager, ICT manager)
 colleagues (e.g. person actually performing the activity).
Human resources may be internal (e.g. existing staff members or new employees) or external (e.g.
consultants).
Human resources can either be recruited from outside the business, or the job roles can be filled
by current employees.
If you decide to use existing employees to action operational activities, make sure they are skilled
and provide training if necessary. If you decide to recruit employees from outside the business,
adhere to the organisation’s human resource management policies and procedures as well as
legislative requirements.
Activity: Reflect
Have you ever been applied for a job and been for an interview? How did you find
out about the role? What did you like about the process? What would you do
differently if you were in charge of recruitment at the organisation?
Requirements will vary from organisation to organisation and may include the use of:
 social media e.g. LinkedIn  internal recruitment departments
 online advertising e.g. Seek  word of mouth.
 external recruitment consultants
Image by Tracy le Blanc on Pexels
Activity: Reflect
Think back to what you learnt about “sources of information” earlier in the topic. Did
you identify any legislative requirements for recruitment?
Activity: Explore
Explore a few of the recruitment policies and procedures below:

Website 1: https://www.sydney.edu.au/policies/showdoc.aspx?
recnum=PDOC2011/120&RendNum=0
Website 2: https://www.tourism.australia.com/content/dam/assets/document/1/7/1/u/
d/2008597.pdf
Website 3: https://hrexpert.com.au/resources/recruitment-selection/recruitment-policy/
Activity: Discuss
In a group, discuss the similarities and differences between the policies and
procedures you’ve just read.
Generally, recruiting new staff members will include:
 creating a job description
 advertising the position
 conducting interviews
 evaluating candidates and choosing the most suitable person
 communicating interview results to all applicants.
The table below provides more details on each of these steps.
Recruitment Description Details

step
Create job Before deciding to hire a new You need to:

description employee, it is important to
 set out the individual tasks and/or projects
document the job role and
that need to be completed by the person
responsibilities.
(as required by the activity in the
operational plan)
 document how you will measure the

individual’s progress towards the goals
(think about the KPIs you established)
 set a remuneration band (based on

budget and market averages).
Advertise the The position must be You could also ask a recruitment agency for
position advertised (sometimes this is help in recruitment. Generally, a recruitment
a legal requirement). agency will cost more, but the recruitment
process will take less time and is likely to
reach a larger number of potential employees
in a shorter amount of time.
Conduct an All potential employees need Increasingly, organisations are using Targeted
interview to be interviewed and their Behavioural Interviewing (TBI) to assess the
skills and suitability skills and suitability of candidates. This method
assessed. In order to assess is based on the belief that past behaviour is a
a candidate’s skills, you can better indicator of future behaviour than are the
ask them technical questions answers to hypothetical questions. Candidates
based on the job description. are asked to give specific details about a time
It is important that the person in the past when they have used a relevant
conducting the interview has technical skill or soft skill.
a clear idea of the level and
In answer to each question the interviewer is
degree of skill required to
looking for:
carry out the role. The
questions should be  some background on the situation
prepared prior to the
 the specific actions that the candidate
interview.
carried out (not the team)
In order to assess a
 the result of those actions (not the overall
candidate’s suitability to a
achievement of the team).
role you can also ask
questions relating to the ‘soft
skills’ that are required for
the role.
Evaluate Avoid bias and any conflict of On completion of the interview the interviewer
Recruitment Description Details
step
candidates interest as you compare needs to make a judgement call based on the
and choose candidates to one another. facts that were gathered.
best one Usually more than one
person must agree on who The interviewer must decide whether:
the best candidate is.  the candidate has the necessary skills to
reach the goals
 the candidate has the necessary level of

maturity to carry out the responsibility in a
discrete and professional manner
 the candidate is a good fit to the dynamics

of the existing team and whether any
changes will have positive or negative
impact
 the candidate will be committed to the

company and challenged by the role
 the salary offered matches the

experiences of the individual and
therefore the candidate will not start to
look elsewhere for work.
Communicate Communicate the interview Be prepared to provide constructive feedback

results results to all applicants in a on why an applicant was unsuccessful.
timely manner.
Table 2: Recruitment processes
Activity: Brainstorm
As a group, brainstorm ways jobs can be advertised.

Activity: Watch
Watch the video on how to conduct a job interview.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0zyf05GlIg (04:14)
Hiring an employee is a lengthy and expensive process. Therefore, put measures in place to
minimise staff turnover and make sure that high performing current staff do not leave so that the
knowledge base within the company is protected.
In order to retain current high performers, keep employees challenged with new information,
projects and change and ensure that the salary that they receive is competitive with similar roles in
the market. Be inclusive in your work practices and provide training.
In order to retain new staff, make sure that the role outlined in the interview process matches the
role the person is actually doing. Offer a thorough induction program.
Physical resources
Physical resources include equipment, hardware, software, facilities and transport. The operational
plan of a business should specify exactly what resources are required and plan for the resources to
be put in place.
A physical resource may be specialised (e.g. a specific machine to produce a product or software
required to manage a process) or general (e.g. office furniture, computers and phones).
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is becoming increasingly important as a tool to automate
routine work practices and should be considered as a potential resource for a business.
Activity: Watch
Watch the video explaining RPA.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW95yb6J1eU (03:35)
Activity: Research and discuss
Work in small groups to research how RPA may be used in an industry or work team
of your choice.
Share your research with a larger group for their future reference (e.g. by sharing a
link to your document or video presentation).
Your trainer will facilitate a group discussion to summarise your findings.
How do I go about acquiring physical resources and services?

When acquiring physical resources, it is important to follow the organisation’s policies and
procedures. For example, an organisation may have a purchasing policy, which sets out how
goods and services are to be purchased or how suppliers should be chosen.
A purchasing/procurement policy may specify:
 the overall process for procurement
 quotes that may be required
 details of preferred suppliers
 process for additional expenditure
 tender processes
 supplier identification
 invoicing procedures for goods and services procured.
Image by Negative Space on Pexels
Activity: Read
Browse the following examples of policies and procedures that outline organisational
resource acquisition requirements:
Article 1: https://www.iso.org/files/live/sites/isoorg/files/about%20ISO/
working_with_iso/docs/Procurement_Procedures.pdf
Article 2: https://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/2163/?dsn=policy.document;field
=data;id=3662;m=view
Documentation or digital resources
When developing documents or digital interface resources, it is important that they are formatted
according to the style of the business. To manage this, it is common for a business to create a style
guide for new resource creation. The style guide may include information such as:
 company colour scheme
 company logo
 consistent corporate image
 content restrictions
 established guidelines and procedures for document production
 house styles
 observing copyright legislation
 organisation name, time, date, document title, filename, etc. in header/footer
 use of templates
 naming conventions.
There are various documents that may be created as a resource. The creation of documents may
be by a range of commercial, organisational or web-based software packages including:
 databases
 desktop publishing
 spreadsheets
 word processing.
Documents may include:
 letters
 emails
 brochures
 reports
 proposals
 spreadsheets
 policies and procedures Image by mentatdgt on Pexels
 web publishing.
How to I protect my resources?

Intellectual property (IP) is the property of a person’s mind or their proprietary knowledge.
Intellectual property could be an invention, trademark, design, brand or the application of an
idea.
Activity: Explore
Take your time to explore the following links to better understand IP:
Website 1: https://business.gov.au/Planning/Intellectual-Property/Intellectual-
Property-explained
Website 2: https://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/understanding-ip
Activity: Discuss
After exploring the websites, discuss:
 how IP is related to the operational plan and acquiring resources
 which type of resources are typically registered for IP rights
 what is required to obtain IP rights for certain resources
 how IP can be used to protect resources acquired by a business
 the importance of data privacy in the digital world.
Stakeholder engagement and consultation

When planning for business resources, it is crucial to engage with stakeholders. Stakeholders can
be internal and external.
Internal stakeholders could include anyone from within the organisation affected by business
decisions e.g. staff. External stakeholders could include customers and technical advisers,
manufactures or other people from outside of the organisation.
Stakeholder engagement is the process by which an organisation involves people who may be
affected by the decisions it makes or can influence the implementation of its decisions.
They may support or oppose the decisions, be influential in the organisation or within the
community in which it operates, hold relevant official positions or be affected in the long term.
An underlying principle of stakeholder engagement is that stakeholders have the chance to
influence the decision-making process. This differentiates stakeholder engagement from
communications processes that seek to issue a message or influence groups to agree with a
decision that is already made.
It's important to have conversations with people during the planning phases so the right decisions
can be made.
Resource Plans
In order the determine what resources are required for business strategies, a resource plan should
be created in line with the business objectives and the relevant strategies the resource is required
for.
Activity: Discuss
If effectiveness is “doing the right thing” and efficiency is “doings things right”, then
productivity is “doing the right things right”.
In a group, discuss how the explanations of effectiveness, efficiency and productivity
apply to the resource requirements of acquiring resources to meet activities outlined
in an operational plan and overall profitability of the organisation.
When creating a resource plan, it is important to consider the following:
 acquisition and allocation of resources
 timelines and relationship to business strategies
 contingency plans and processes
 costs and budgets.
You will need to consider the timelines for when resources are required. Often in complex projects
there are multiple resources required to be utilised at a time or within close succession of each
other. You will need to map which resource is required, when they are required, how long they are
required for and any dependencies that must be completed before the resource can start its job.
Costs and budget

Resources will need to be accounted for in budgets. The tasks completed and the timeframes will
have an impact on how much the resource costs. It is typical for resources to be paid hourly or per
project.
Finding the right resources for the job

Once you have your resource plan, you will want to start finding the resources you need. The type
of resource to be acquired, and the way in which it is done, will depend on the objectives of the
business and the strategies they are deploying.
Different businesses have different policies and procedures on how they go about acquiring
resources. They will also have different policies and procedures depending on the channel they
wish to pursue.
For example, in a resource
acquisition process, when hiring a
human resource, there are multiple
channels that you may go through, all
with their own procedures which must
be followed. An advertisement on a
job-seeking website has different
procedures to that of a recruitment
agency, or the local newspaper
business, and so on. By spending the
time to establish processes that work
for your business, you will ultimately
cut down on research and processing
time later, as the relevant information
Image by Pixabay on Pexels
will be readily available.
Some of the different ways in which a business may acquire a resource include:
 release an expression of interest for internal staff
 appoint internal resources based on skills, experience and workload
 advertise jobs on digital job seeker platforms which may also include:
o submission of resume
o written responses to selection criteria
o interview
 acquire the services of a recruitment agency to find the right candidate
 release a tender setting out the requirements of the job and resources required
 select from an established panel.
Budget
Determining budgets
Budget is an important part of resource management as it is a major factor in making decisions.
When deciding which resource to acquire, budget will need to be taken into account alongside the
business objectives. For example, when acquiring resources, a business may be time poor and
appreciate the services of a recruitment agency who will manage the entire recruitment process for
them, freeing up their time to focus on other business matters. However, the recruitment agency is
likely to be more expensive than some of the other options, which will be more labour intensive
(and in business we know time is money). In this instance, the business needs to weigh up which
option is ultimately more cost effective.
Further, when acquiring resources, businesses are likely to want to go with the most experienced
person for the job, the latest digital technologies which provide advanced results, and the best tools
and machinery which allows for the job to be completed at the fastest pace. All of this comes at a
high cost, however, with this investment, it is likely that the project will be completed quickly and
achieve good results. If a business takes less experienced or advanced resources, more time may
be spent on training, etc, and therefore is likely to take longer to achieve, which will also be a cost
to the business.
The payment method that a business provides (for example: payment by project or paid by the
hour) will also have an impact on the types of resources the business is better off acquiring.
A proper costs analysis should be undertaken to ensure that businesses capture all costs and there
is no unexpected expenditure required later.
You can access information on project budget and financial resources, including budget
development, budget use, budget measurement and budget updating at the following site:
https://mymanagementguide.com/project-budget-and-financial-resources/#:~:text=Project
%20budget%20management%20is%20a,delivering%20the%20expected%20project%20goals.
Aligning budget and goals

In order to get the most value from your resources, a resource allocation review should be
conducted. This review focusses on time, money and expertise and where they are each being
utilised.
In order to undertake a resource allocation review, a business may consider the following:
 determine objectives of the business
 determine budget and sources of income
 decipher where resources are required
 determine the criticality of resources
 determine whether investment is required short-term or long-term and over what time period
 determine root cause of any resource requirements and assess whether there is a long term
sustainable solution (for example, is staff turnover is high in one particular business unit and
you are frequently required to recruit, determine what the reason for the turnover may be and
address it).
Once a business has considered the above information, they will be better placed to prioritise their
resource allocation. They may wish to engage their stakeholders in this process.
Activity: Watch
Watch the video explaining different types of budgets for a business.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elS2jLPhlsw (04:26)
Activity: Read
For more information about financial forecasting and budgeting, read the articles
below:
Article 1: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/writing-a-business-plan-financial-
projections-1200842
Article 2: https://business.gov.au/Finance/Accounting/How-to-create-a-budget
Risk management
There are several risks that occur within any business. It is best practice to determine what these
risks may be to your particular business objectives, and how they may be prevented and mitigated,
or managed.
The table below sets out some examples of human and physical related resources, and the risks
which may eventuate, and how they could be managed.
Resource Risk Risk Rating Controls
Human: Contractor Contractor leaves Medium  Ensure contract

engaged to before project is states sufficient
undertake project complete notice period
work
 Have a shortlist of
contractors or
other staff who are
available at short
notice
Human: Employee Employee produces Low  Engage people

employed as work that is not to with relevant
business manager standard qualifications and
experience
 Provide training
on specific tasks
Resource Risk Risk Rating Controls
 Performance
management as a
last resort
Physical: Database Technical difficulties Low  Ensure contract

implemented to mean documents are states that
manage all records not saving properly technical
assistance is
available as
required
Physical: Fleet Vehicle breaks down Low  Ensure regular

vehicle used by staff servicing of fleet
to attend client vehicles
appointments
 Fleet vehicles
renewed after
250,000kms.
Table 3: Risk management
Risk rating key: Low Medium High Extremely High
When a business is defining their risk management procedures, they may consider the following
approach:
 brainstorm as many potential business risks as practicable and put into a table
 assess the risk rating that may apply (is the likelihood of the risk low, medium, high, extremely
high?)
 colour code the risk rating for ease of identification and management
 apply risk controls that will decrease as far as possible, any chance of the risk eventuating
 define who the risk applies to
 allocate accountabilities for who is responsible for managing the risk
 come up with a risk management plan for how the risk will be managed if it does eventuate.
Some risks can be controlled more so than others, and some controls are more easily managed
than others. In some cases, policy decisions or government directions can mean that a business
practice needs to change, or even cease. It is recommended that you consider and cater for this
prospect in your risk planning.
In 2014, the Commonwealth government released its Risk Management Policy (RM Policy). The
policy is available for all Australian businesses to adapt to their specific circumstances and
provides information on risk management, including:
 its benefits  risk appetite and tolerance
 guidance on developing a good risk
management framework.
The RM Policy is available here: https://www.finance.gov.au/government/managing-
commonwealth-resources/implementing-commonwealth-risk-management-policy-rmg-211
Contingency plans and processes

It is important to consider what will happen if a resource breaks down or becomes unavailable. For
example, if it is a human resource, and you have contracted the person to complete a task, what
succession plan is in place should the contractor leave before the job is finished? If it is a physical
resource, for example a machine required to do a job, what contingency is in place should the
machine break down?
To make a contingency plan:
1. identify all the risks associated with the activity or the resource used to complete the activity:
a. risks that affect the business overall (e.g. fire, theft)
b. risks specific to the associated activities (e.g. website not developed on time)
2. identify what areas of the business or operational plan each potential risk affects
3. put an action plan in place to address risks in the quickest time possible with the least
disruption to the overall performance of the organisation.
Topic 2: Monitoring and reviewing resource use
Once your plan has been implemented and the resources have been brought into the organisation,
it doesn’t end there. The use of the resources needs to be monitored and the systems that were
implemented to monitor the resources needs to be followed. Reporting needs to happen throughout
the business so that the efficiency and effectiveness of using the resources can be monitored and
improvements made where necessary.
How do I monitor performance of my resources?

Each activity in an operational plan must be monitored. Data is required to monitor whether or not
the activity (and resources used to complete that activity) are on track to be achieved as planned.
Depending on the organisation, what is monitored and how it is monitored will vary. You can
consider:
 Financial resources (is the allocated budget being met? Is additional spending required?)
 Physical resources (is the equipment/hardware/software being used efficiently and effectively
by staff?)
 Human resources (are people doing their jobs as laid out in their job description?)
The use of balanced score cards is a performance management approach which considers both
financial and non-financial contributions of employees to business strategic and operational goals.
Typically, a balance scorecard will list targets for teams or individuals that address a broad range of
key results areas such as financial, customer satisfaction, professional development, etc.
Benchmarking a business is a way of measuring performance against competitors and therefore
can give information about potential improvement, for example identifying opportunities for
improvement, new ideas and innovative practices and forecasting the impact of any changes and
see how to prepare for growth.
Activity: Read
Read the articles on how to monitor business performance:

Article 1: https://gordontredgold.com/5-ways-to-monitor-your-business-performance/
Article 2: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/monitor-improve-workplace-operations-
48158.html
Technology plays a key role in monitoring operational performance.
Activity: Research
Work together in small groups to research how technology can be used to monitor
the performance of either financial, physical or human resources (choose one).
As part of your research:
 identify processes that are used to monitor the resource
 explain how technology can aid the process
 provide an example.
Share your research with the larger group (e.g. via presentation, email or link to a
document).
Read and keep the shared research documents for future reference.
How do I give feedback?

Workplaces need timely, accurate and constructive feedback in order to succeed.
Provide constructive feedback to team members on as they perform the given tasks associated
with the operational plan. They can use the feedback to improve.
Feedback can be given informally (e.g. a quick discussion during lunch) or formally (e.g. as part of
a performance review). Whether its informal or formal, general principles for clear feedback should
be considered.
there must be no ambiguity. The message must not be open to various

Clear
interpretations.
Brief it must be to the point without being curt or rude.
Targeted or the communication needs to be crafted to suit the person or audience to

customised whom the message is sent.
Well-timed communication has to be regular and provided in a timely manner.
it should give the rationale for directions, instructions or information

Explanatory
provided.
the communication should seek to encourage and enthuse employees,

Positive
where possible.
Activity: Read
Read the article on how to deliver effective feedback in the workplace.

Article: https://hub.highspeedtraining.co.uk/feedback-in-the-workplace/
Take notes and keep them for further reference.
Remember that as part of your feedback, identify any additional support required by the team or
individual.
Activity: Practical
Work together with another student.

Using the suggestions for constructive feedback provided above, give feedback to
your partner.
As part of your interaction with your team, it’s important that you continuously look for ways to
establish connections and genuinely understand their needs, strengths, weaknesses and potential.
An under performer may be identified as part of this process.
Many continuous improvement methodologies exist. A few of them are described in the table
below.
Method Description
Agile Agile promotes people to work where, when and how they choose by
promoting maximum flexibility and minimum restraints to optimise their
performance and deliver the best product or service.
Six sigma Six Sigma is focuses on eliminating any defects in products or service
delivery and strives to achieve consistent and reliable results.
Lean management Lean management has a background in manufacturing and is an

approach that supports incremental process improvement over time to
increase efficiency and quality. Lean management eliminates factors that
waste time, effort or money or that do not provide value to the client.
Kaizen Kaizen is the Japanese word for “change for the better”. Similar to Lean
management, Kaizen focuses on continuous improvement by making
many small changes over time. Kaizen holds every person accountable
for continuous improvement.
Table 4: Continuous improvement methods
Activity: Reflect
Many workplaces have established their own continuous improvement methodology

to manage their processes. If you have a workplace, does your work use a specific
method? If you are not currently working, think back to a place you used to work or
have volunteered at.
As you seek to improve the operational performance at work, make sure you provide any
necessary support.
Key performance indicators

A key part of any business plan is to set performance objectives and measures.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) can be used to measure the performance of activities that are
critical to the success of an organisation as documented in the business plan. They are an
excellent measure of the contribution of a team or an individual to the organisation.
The purpose of a Key Performance Indicator is to provide an objective performance measure in a
key activity. This enables organisations to set and communicate their performance targets, and to
measure whether or not they are being achieved. Areas of improvement are identified and
highlighted making way for changes to be implemented that lead to measurable performance
improvements.
It is important not to have too many KPIs or the impact and importance of them is reduced.
KPIs will differ depending on the nature and objective of the organisation and the resources being
used. They will also differ depending on the focus, values and culture of the organisation.
Therefore, it is important to take care when selecting the KPIs of your team or organisation and
ensure that they represent the business.
Examples of KPIs related or resource use include:
 quality
 speed
 sustainability.
Once you have selected the KPIs that represent the goals of your team you need to determine how
they will be measured. This is very important as it impacts on the validity of the entire exercise.
Let’s consider an example of the KPI of ‘Timely delivery to the client’. Suppose that the contract
that we have with an existing client outlines that your team needs to deliver a summary of all the
client’s transactions on the last Thursday of each month. In addition, the contract has a clause
which states that the fee the client pays for this service is reduced by 20% each day that the
statement is late and continues to accumulate even to the point where your company owes the
client money. In this case the KPI of ‘Timely delivery to the client’ is warranted. No doubt there are
a number of stages that the document needs to pass through before it is delivered to the client.
There should be a timeline for these stages and each timely completion should contribute to the
overall KPI.
Activity: Read
It is important to set the right measures for success. Read more at the link:
http://www.bgateway.com/business-guides/grow-and-improve/benchmark-business-
performance/setting-targets-and-key-performance-indicators
Take any notes to summarise what you have read and keep for future reference.
Refining performance measurement systems

Once the resource is up and running it will be important to test those performance objectives and
measures identified through the planning stage. It may be that the measures need to be refined.
For example, original performance measures may in the end be unrealistic and therefore measures
need to be updated to be more realistic.
It may also be that the measures identified were not specific enough and need to be more specific
or that the measures identified were not relevant.
In all the above cases, plans and systems should be updated to include the refined performance
objectives and measures. All stakeholders should also be involved in this process.
Benchmarking and trend analysis

Another way of monitoring resource performance is through benchmarking.
Benchmarking a business is a way of measuring performance against similar-sized businesses

in an industry. It gives you essential information about how to improve a business. For example,
sustainability targets.
There are many ways to benchmark a business including:
 buying financial benchmarking data to:
o compare your business's income, expenses and profitability against your industry averages
o examine the financial data of similar businesses
 contacting a business or industry association for information about industry standards to

measure performance against
 researching and comparing the business's products, services and practices with your
competitors.
Benchmarking helps to:
 see where is possible reduce costs and improve efficiency
 assess the productivity of the business compared to how many employees there are
 identify opportunities for improvement, new ideas and innovative practices
 highlight opportunities for making a business more competitive
 forecast the impact of any changes and see how to prepare for growth.
Trend analysis can also be used to check performance. Trend analysis is the process of comparing
business data over time to identify any consistent results or trends. You can then refine business
objectives and plans to respond to these trends in line with the business goals .
Read more about performing a trend analysis at the following link:

http://www.business.qld.gov.au/business/business-improvement/trend-analysis-business-
improvement
Activity: Watch
Benchmarking allows you to compare your business to industry best practice and
your competitors.
Video: https://www.business.qld.gov.au/starting-business/planning/market-customer-
research/benchmarking/video
System monitoring
The time taken to determine whether a resource usage system is operating correctly or not, will
depend on the actual purpose of the system.
Some examples are:
 If a computer system used to monitor car usage has been altered and is not working correctly,
problems may appear with the very first car used under the system.
 A monthly accounting system that has been slightly altered, may not show any obvious
problems until one or two months have passed.
You need to work out:
 how long it takes to establish whether the system is working or not
 a date for review
 the acceptable standard of work, how it will be measured, and the process of monitoring this.
Monitoring can be done by:
 observation of people undertaking tasks and using the system
 feedback from users of the system
 reviewing records and reports about the system
 spot checks.
Security
This can include issues such as:
 confidentiality agreements
 passwords
 safeguards against computer viruses.
Changing needs
This can be a change in the nature and purpose of the system/organisation, a change in user
requirements, a growth or decline in system size or technological advances in administration
systems.
Further modifications
Further modifications may be required such as:
 additional equipment, training
 negotiation of timeframes for system implementation
 redefinition of administrative roles and duties
 specialised software.
Reporting
Using the refined measures, it is important to provide regular reports on the efficiency of the
resources.
All reports of the business must include clear and concise information that can easily be
understood by anyone reading it.
The purpose of the report will be to provide information on how the resource is performing, as well
as suggestions on how to improve performance as required.
A report should also be able to provide information on any aspects of the resource use that are not
going well or have failed and any variations that need to be made.
A report usually has headings, such as the date, to, from and subject. The body of a report is
usually divided into sections and subsections, depending on its purpose. It usually starts with a
brief statement about the purpose of the report. It can also include data collection methods that
were used in gathering information for the report. Some reports are directed at problem solving and
can contain complex analytics and visual representations.
The longest section in a report contains a discussion of the findings. These details can be
organised into sub-sections and presented in a way that highlights the most important aspects of
the analyses.
It is important to summarise results and findings into the last section of a report. The conclusions
and/or recommendations resulting from the analysis should be listed in order of importance.
In general, a report should:
 address information requirements
 expose patterns, trends, problems and opportunities
 present information in way that is suited to different stakeholder interests.
Activity: Report
Search the internet for a resource usage report that can be used within an
organisation.
Submit your report to your assessor trainer/assessor for feedback.
It’s now time to bring everything together that you have learned so you can prepare for
assessment. Complete the project below.
Activity: Project
For your assessment for this unit, you will be required to develop, implement and
review at least three resource plans. For this mini-project, you need to plan
everything for at least one resource. This can be any resource including physical,
digital or human.
Complete the following steps:
Select a business or field of interest and choose a resource to focus on. Select an
activity that the business would want to undertake and a reason for the activity. For
example, decrease the number of customer complaints (increasing customer
satisfaction) by employing a new customer service representative. Or increase
production to increase profit by purchasing a new printer.
Identify the resource you want to focus on and draw up a plan for the acquiring the
resource and implementing it into the business:
 Who would you need to consult with and how could this be done?
 Which legislation and regulatory requirements need to be considered?
 How could this resource be shared across departments or projects?
Develop a plan for this resource, making up assumptions as you go. You will need to
conduct research on what other similar businesses in the field re doing and consider
best practice efficiency targets:
 What are the costs?
 What are the timelines? For example, does it need to be ordered form overseas,
is there a waiting period, how long does assembly and installation take?
 How will the resource be delivered?
 What risks might present in acquiring this resource? How can they be mitigated?
 How can you plan for contingencies if there is a delay in acquisition or problems
initially?
 What procurement policies might need to be followed and what would be the
best way to receive approvals?
 How could the efficiency of this resource be measured? How often should it be
measured and reported on?
Flesh out your planning. You can work alone, in pairs or as a group and discuss your
ideas and plans as you investigate the details of this resource acquisition. Speak to
your trainer if you need more guidance.

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STUDENT

Application of the unit

 You are able to analyse resource requirements.

 You are able to develop resource plans.

 You are able to allocate resources.

 You are able to review and report on resource usage.

Resources for business

Information source Description Examples

Colleagues/Employees Colleagues may be part of the same Team member

External consultants For more complex organisations, Resource requirement

Strategic plan Actions in the operational plan stem Strategic objective of

state and/or country and must be

Regulatory authorities Authorities that regulate legislative Environmental Protection

Organisational policies These are created by the Templates

Industry standards Standards may be internationally ISO standards

Codes of practice Codes of practice provide WHS codes of practice

Table 1: Sources of information

Legislative and regulatory requirements

 Fair Work Act 2009

 Fair Work Regulations 2009

 National Employment Standards

 Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009

 Corporations Act 2001

 Independent Contractors Act 2006

 Privacy Act 1988

 Competition and Consumer Act 2010

 Occupational Health and Safety (Commonwealth Employment) Act 1991.

Examples of some of the relevant state-based legislation (for Queensland) is as follows:

 Right to Information Act 2009 (Qld)

 Public Records Act 2002 (Qld)

 Queensland Information Standards

 Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld).

Activity: Research and discuss

Research legislation relevant to your workplace or industry of interest (such as

 personnel responsible for decision-making (e.g. when escalation is required)

 special resource managers (e.g. CFO, HR manager, ICT manager)

 colleagues (e.g. person actually performing the activity).

 social media e.g. LinkedIn  internal recruitment departments

 online advertising e.g. Seek  word of mouth.

 external recruitment consultants

Explore a few of the recruitment policies and procedures below:

Generally, recruiting new staff members will include:

 creating a job description

 advertising the position

 evaluating candidates and choosing the most suitable person

 communicating interview results to all applicants.

Recruitment Description Details

Create job Before deciding to hire a new You need to:

 document how you will measure the

 set a remuneration band (based on

 the candidate has the necessary level of

 the candidate is a good fit to the dynamics

 the candidate will be committed to the

 the salary offered matches the

Communicate Communicate the interview Be prepared to provide constructive feedback

Table 2: Recruitment processes

As a group, brainstorm ways jobs can be advertised.

Watch the video on how to conduct a job interview.

Watch the video explaining RPA.

Activity: Research and discuss

How do I go about acquiring physical resources and services?

 the overall process for procurement

 quotes that may be required

 details of preferred suppliers