Self-assessment Essay

Human Resource Management involves the management of individual skills and talent and ensuring that they work towards achieving organizational goals. Whether one is kick-starting their career or a seasoned professional, developing effective communication skills, good organization skills, influencing and persuasion skills, and conflict management skills are important. Developing these skills calls for a reflective section where the professionals get to know what they already have and what they want to focus more on. Reflection learning is majorly used in many professions. Through the reflection process, professionals review events and experiences and learn from them (Helyer, 2015). The two main ways in which this happens include experimental and vicarious learning. As a human resource professional, mastering various skills assists in managing people. In the future, I may face challenges that require earlier planning in terms of mastering various work-related skills. The three main skills that I look forward to master include effective communication skills (verbal and nonverbal skills), conflict management skills, and influencing skills.

HR teams interact with people daily through both written and verbal communication. Communication skills refer to the ability to convey meaning from one entity to another through mutually understandable signs, symbols, and rules (Lawson et al., 2019). Through communication skills, HR professionals can smooth over issues before they escalate. In my future career, having effective communication skills is key. I look forward to developing skills related to clear writing. Good clear writing skills help HR professionals avoid miscommunication. It also assists in minimizing back and forth emails.

  Conflict management skills are also effective in my future career. According to a study by Adu et al. (2015), conflict management skills play a significant role in an organization since it not only prevent conflicts among coworkers but also assists in solving issues when they come up. Conflicts come as a result of differences in interests, different thought processes, and perception, among other elements. Since I will be dealing with other junior professionals, conflicts may arise that require resolving. Effective conflict management, in this case, limits a conflict’s negative aspect while increasing the positive ones. The main aim of developing conflict management skills is to enhance group learning, outcomes, and effectiveness (Adu et al., 2015, p.368). Through effective conflict management, I will help my team towards approaching uncomfortable situations, including exit interviews, salary grievances, among others. Influencing skills refers to the ability to influence people round your way of thinking without any force or coercion. As a future organizational leader, influencing skills will help attain various goals and objectives.

Assessing my Level of Skills

On exploring my level of the above three skills, I will narrate previous experiences where I effectively and even ineffectively used the skills. Additionally, I will rate my skills using three numerals (1-good, 2-average, 3-poor). On communication skills, I believe that my verbal communication skill is average (2). However, I look forward to sharpening my written communication skills. For instance, I am interested in learning precise communication that relates to writing emails, job descriptions, internal letters, and company newsletters, among many others. Occasionally, I struggle in business writing, and I should work towards it. Overall, my communication skills can be rated 2. My conflict management skills also require sharpening. Currently, I am aware of the various conflict management strategies that I may implement in the future. Examples include collaborating, compromising, and accommodating. Over the years, despite having the theoretical knowledge on conflict management strategies, chances to resolve conflicts have been minimal. In one instance, I used the compromising strategy to resolve a workplace conflict I had with a friend. Working in an organization as an HR professional will expose me to some of these challenges. Overall, my conflict management skills can be rated 2.

The ability to influence and persuade subordinates has become an important managerial skill nowadays. In his work, Hilliard (2019) argues that such a skill helps managers achieve work goals and objectives without using force. Effective influencers leave their subordinates “better off” after every interaction (Hilliard, 2019, p.67). In terms of influencing skills, there are many things that I look forward to sharpening my art of persuasion. In college, I participated in activities where I was required to influence other students towards making various decisions. After such an exercise, I felt like I did well. However, I look forward to learning ways of influencing subordinates. Influencing strategies, including I, look forward to influencing my subordinates without any coercion or force in the future. Overall, my influencing skills can be rated 2. From the ratings, it is evident that my skills are average. Even though I have learned them, there is still much work towards sharpening them.

Action Plan

When it comes to communication skills, I look forward to learning about business writing. In this case, I will learn how to write internal letters, writing of emails, and company newsletters. In this case, I will use the four actions indicated in figure 1. I plan to ensure the action plan success through reviews from my friends and mentor. I also plan to engage in personal reflection. The resources required in all the processes include a journal, pen, online tutorials, and past resources. In the conflict management skills action plan, I also plan to take four months. I will also take four improvement steps. When it comes to measuring success, I will take a personal reflection and examine the way I’m handling conflicts within the organization. Four steps will also be taken towards improving my influencing skills. Through personal reflection, I will check whether my influencing skills are adequate or not.  The process will also take four months.

Action Plan

Communication Skills Improvement Action Plan

Written communication skills- in this case, I am looking forward to learning the written communication skills. Various skills I will learn are the writing of emails, job descriptions, and internal letters, and company newsletters.

Steps to take -Action 1: Get books on written communication skills (HR related) (January) -Action 2: Ask my senior to teach me on the same (February) -Action 3: Review my past materials (books and videos)on a similar topic (March). -Action 4: Talk to my colleagues and tell them I’m planning to learn written/business writing and ask them to give me feedback (April) Action: Take an online class on communication skills(January -April)

Measuring Success I plan to measure my success through writing business letters and have my colleagues review. I will also have my mentor see my work and get advice. I will also engage in a personal reflection to check what I have learned and what I haven’t.

Completion Date I plan to improve my communication skills in four months. However, it can be changed if less time is used to cover some topics

Resources Needed –A journal and a pen -Online tutorials -Past resources (books and videos)

Figure 1

Conflict Management Skills Action Plan

Conflict Management Skills Improvement Action Plan

Conflict Management strategies (collaborating, compromising, and accommodating)

Improvement Steps Action 1:Practise  active listening and communication skills (May) Action 2: Stay and recognize conflicts(June) Action 3: Learn about emotional intelligenceand stress management(July) Action 4:Take an online class for conflict management(August)

Measuring Success I will know I am improving through a personal reflection and through effectively handling conflicts in the organization.

Completion Date I will work on my conflict management skills for four months.

Resources Needed –A journal and a pen -Online tutorials -Learning resources (books and videos)

Figure 2

Influencing Skills Action Plan

Influencing Skills Improvement Action Plan

Improve on influencing and Persuasion skills (without any coercion or force)

Improvement Steps Action 1:Practise  active listening and communication skills (September) Action 2: Learn good communication skills (November) Action 3: Learn about successful and ethical influencing (December) Action 4:Take an online class for Effective communication and persuasion skills(September to December)

Measuring Success I will know I am improving through a personal reflection and effective persuasion within the organization

Completion Date I will work on my conflict management skills for four months.

Resources Needed –A journal and a pen -Online tutorials -Learning resources (books and videos)

Figure 3

Bibliography

Adu, I., Muah, P., Sanda, M. & Sarfo, F. 2015. The Role of Conflict Management in Improving Relationships at Work: The Moderating Effect of Communication. Journal of Emerging Trends in Economics and Management Sciences. 6. 367-376.

Helyer, R. 2015. Learning through reflection: the critical role of reflection in work-based learning (WBL). Journal of Work-Applied Management, 7(1), pp.15-27.

Hilliard, B. 2019. Persuasion & Influence: the Science and Art of Effective Presentations. Mona Vale, Woodslane Press.

Lawson, C., Gill, R., Feekery, A., Witsel, M., Lewis, M., & Cenere, P., 2019. Communication Skills for Business Professionals. UK: Cambridge University Press.