Developing Interpersonal And Transferable Skills In Health And Social Care: A Personal Reflection

Part 1: LO1 Be able to determine own responsibilities and performance

Part 1: LO1: Self Reflective summary

In this section, I have identified actual responsibilities and performances as per the selected career objective in health and social care setting.

Developing a set of own responsibilities and performance objectives

My job role is to perform the responsibilities of Registered Nurse in Anchor Care Trust which is one of finest health and social care unit in the UK. Holding the designation of Registered Nurse in the health and social care setting is a challenging one. This is because it is very tough and challenging job role in providing appropriate medication and care to the service users before and after the surgical procedure. As stated by Barmhall (2014), own responsibility and self-performance management is also related to the self-management in the healthcare context.

For performing the job role of Registered Nurse in the health and social care unit, it is essential for an individual to hold some of the key responsibilities and interpersonal and transferable skills in order to deliver require quality services to the care users. These responsibilities include management organising as well as planning which is also related to the self-management of the service providers. Individuals related to the health care with good expertise on self-management can hold some unique skills. Individuals can assess as well as compare the performance with others in order to find out the required development. Individuals can behave in a way that must be suitable for the executives and the healthcare service providers determine and set out the customers to develop them to be externally and internally comparison to the organisations. The healthcare providers have the objective of work in the least risky position (Button et al. 2014).

Reaching organizational objectives and improving own skills and dynamics, it is essential to practice teamwork in a workplace environment. In delivering quality services, often it requires for a healthcare service provider to work collaboratively and thereby, team dynamics are an essential part in a key set of responsibilities amid the health and social care service providers (Babu 2016). In addition, working in teams and providing quality services often requires individual’s problem-solving ability. Being a health and social care service providers, it often requires nurturing problem-solving qualities. However, in this scenario, it is essential to encompass good communication skills for comprising the problem-solving ability. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that, encompassing problem-solving ability and team dynamics, the registered nurse needs to comprise effective communication skills in order to communicate with the other functional units and service users for improving the quality of the healthcare services. Additionally, one of the essential interpersonal skills of health and social care service providers include time management skills. It is required to provide services to the care users of exact time and perform all other responsibilities timely inside and outside of the surgical section (Hall 2016). Hence, I think that it is important to have patience while serving care users and in this way, it becomes possible for a nurse to perform the job roles effectively and efficiently in the workplace environment.  

Part 2: LO2 Be able to develop interpersonal and transferable skills

Evaluating own effectiveness against defined objectives

Based on the above-marked discussion, it can be stated that an individual needs to comprise the internal skills for delivering quality services. However, individuals do not comprise all the above-mentioned interpersonal and transferable skills and thereby, it is required to analyse own strengths and weakness so that, it becomes possible to improve the weak areas (Jackson 2015).

Team working is very significant in the healthcare sector as I have been in the multidisciplinary team in my training period where I had to work with people from different background. The job of the people will be accepted after meeting the prerequisite for the quality of the work and customer service and use of resources and authority. I am not very effective on the team working as I have some issues regarding the team working when I have to work with various ethnic groups. Communication skill is another important aspect of working in the healthcare sector where the individuals’ staffs can be determined the correlation between them. Communication skill helps to convey my feelings and expressions to others. My communication is not very good as I am introvert; however, I maintain the responsibilities and duties as per the organisational plans and policies. In addition, the problem-solving skill of mine is quite good as I can take a decision in tough time. In healthcare sector; the service providers must have the problem-solving skills as crisis or danger of safety is significant. I have good interpersonal skills as I had my experience to work in a multidisciplinary team along with multiethnic people. Therefore, I can handle managing changes to develop and place of work.  

Hence, I have done own SWOT analysis in order to recognise my strengths and weakness against the defined objectives.

Strengths	Weakness
· Creative, inspiring, enthusiastic and innovative · Interpersonal skills · Ability to view the ‘Big Picture’ · Good organisational skills · Have patience during the time of workplace crisis · Knowledge of information technology · Obedient · Outgoing and a hard worker	· Lack of communication skills · Lack of detailed planning skills (hence, I like to outline lesson plans and then I become capable to wing it effectively) · Lack of team-working skills and thereby, I am poor in collaborative work · Lack of leadership skills · Lack of time management skills · Team working skills · Problem-solving skills
Opportunity	Threats
· Wider career prospects · Better earning ability · More autonomy · New career direction	· No commercial experience in one of the biggest threats · Little experience of performing in different workplaces · Little experience in training prospects

Table 1: Personal SWOT analysis

(Source: Created by self)

Making recommendations for improvement

From the above-held discussion, I have identified a range of lack of skills that are required to improve to have a greater career prospect. As stated by Button et al. (2014), the healthcare providers can review management to have the change in management also within the organisation. I have conducted the opportunity analysis and I make myself encourage sharing the idea to enhance the work opportunities. I would like to improve the team working and I will try to engage my co-workers as well. For this purpose, I have performed a professional development plan for my effective improvement.

Short-term goals
Target	Actions	Target time frame	Evidence
· Time management skills · Communication skills	1. Set deadlines 2. Keep to-do-list 1. Improvement in body poster 2. Communicate with peers	01.05.2018-10.07.2018	· Responsibilities are done within the deadline · Effective communication with all the team members
Mid-term goals
· Teamwork · Self-management skills · Listening skills	1. Collaborative attitude 2. Be Passionate 1. Maintain to-do-list 2. Improve body poster 1. Keep listening to others	01.08.2018- 01.12.2018	· Work collaboratively with others · High morale · Improved presentation skills
Long-term goals
· Leadership skills · Cross-functional expertise	2. Positive attitude 3. Clear vision 4. Time management skills 1. Communication with other functional units 2. Online test to improve cross-functional expertise	01.01.2019-.01.08.2019	· Lead teams in the workplace effectively · Positive attitude · High morale

Part 3: Post-Appraisal Reflective Account

Table 2: Professional development plan

(Source: Self-developed)

It is worth mentioning that, motivational techniques perform as the catalyst in improving quality of performance. Thereby, with the help of motivational techniques, it becomes possible to make the above-held target and recommendations more effective. One of the most useful techniques is all about rating scales where rating will be provided when each of the target actions is completed. Thereby, it is worth noting that, I will be able to improve my skill level and motivation by focusing on the provided ratings on the rating scale as this will show my improvement gradually.

Reviewing motivational techniques can be used to improve quality of performance

Apart from this, checklist holds a significant position as the motivational technique. According to the viewpoint of Lim et al. (2015), a checklist can be utilised as appraisal technique and thereby, it is one of the key aspects of motivation. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory reduces lower level needs and these types of needs are associated with needs of shelter and physical done. Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs theory does the great role when management tries to motivate the employees as per the need. I expect financial help and the management must try to fulfil the demand. As stated by Jackson et al. (2014), the employees in healthcare also try to have the security which is related to the stability and safety. I seek social motivation which one is related to the loved, belonging and inclusion. In addition, ego is associated with the power, recognition and self-esteem. Moreover, Herzberg’s two factors Theory is associated with the two principal factors; the first one is associated with job dissatisfaction and it is influenced by hygiene factors. Hygiene factors are working condition, policies and rules, supervisor and base and salary. Job satisfaction after completing each task, I become able to improve my motivational level after checking appraisal options on the concerned checklist. On the other side, job satisfaction is influenced by satisfier factors such as achievement, recognition, works itself (Holmberg et al. 2018). For me, I believe that work responsibility, personal growth and advancement are some of the motivational factors in the workplace.

Part 2: LO2 & LO4: Appraisal Meeting

2.1 Have you developed solutions against work-based problems?

Yes, I have developed a range of solutions to effectively manage work-based problems. In the recent time, I have identified that there is lack of coordination amid the healthcare service providers in my workplace and this is entirely because of lack of communication and knowledge management system. Further, it can be stated that the employees in the workplace are less skilled and coordinated and thereby, it is essential for me to resolve the issues considering self-management skills. Moreover, because of the lack of knowledge management skills, each of the employees in the workplace is not aware of their own job responsibilities. Thereby, I have considered a range of solutions against these problems for improving quality in the services and decrease employee turnover. As of my perspective, one of the effective solutions is all about training. It is essential for the team leader to arrange a range of training sessions where each of the team members will be aware of their own job responsibilities. Further, it can be stated that I have identified that lack of listening skills may reduce the work efficiency. Thereby, for improving listening skills, it is essential to listen to each team member’s viewpoint for reaching the organisational goal. Apart from this, I have identified that there is lack of collaborative work nature among the staffs and thereby, the staffs do not respect each other’s viewpoint. As a result of this, there is workplace conflict among the employees in the workplace environment. Hence, it is worth noting that, the effective communication and hence mentoring needs to be developed among the employees by implementing a range of social media sites so that, they become able to connect with each other effectively and workplace conflict can be mitigated. Nevertheless, it is essential for considering a range of tools and methods in order to develop solutions to the above-mentioned problems.  

4.1 Evaluation of tools and methods for developing solutions to problems

From the above-held, I have evaluated a range of tools and techniques that can be used for developing solutions against the above-mentioned problems. These techniques include

Problem evaluation:

It is worth mentioning that, developing effective solution against problems follows the problem evaluation. By identifying the root of the problem, it becomes possible to develop solution against the particular problem. Thereby, evaluation of problem is one of the most effective techniques to deal with the issue within the team.

Gathering information:

After the problem evaluation, it is essential to gather relevant information regarding the issue in the workplace so that, it becomes possible to develop strategies to effectively handle the workplace issues. In this scenario, it is essential to collect primary data by communicating with the employees in the workplace and secondary data such as instruction sheet and others for gathering significant information regarding the issues.

Analysis of the problem:

Another problem-solving method is all about the analysis of the problem through group discussion. The team leader may arrange brainstorming sessions that can be able to provide a clear overview of the situation and thereby, it becomes possible to reach a significant solution to the problem in the workplace.

Implementation of the solution:

After gaining sufficient knowledge and information regarding the problem by implementing the techniques, it is now essential to use another technique and this is all about the implementation of the solution. In this scenario, an effective tool ‘the 5 Whys technique’ can be used to identify the validity of the solution.

2.2 Why have you communicated in a range of styles and proper manner at different levels?

I have communicated with all the organisational levels using a variety of communication style and developing some informal and informal meetings with the team members and other functional units. However, in reference to above, effective communication is required amid all levels of organisation in order to improve the entire mode of business activity. For effective communication, there is a range of communication styles that individuals may consider in the workplace environment. While performing my own job responsibilities, I have concerned a range of communication styles.

Verbal communication:

Spoken: Face to face communication:

As of my perspective, one of the effective communication styles includes face-to-face communication. Often it is required for the senior nurses to communicate with the junior nurses regarding the job role and hence, the face-to-face communication is required to communicate with different organisational level.

Written communication:

Often it is required to develop written communication via emails in order to keep track. Further, the health and social care providers need to communicate with the higher authority regarding the availability of resources and other factors and sometimes, it is not possible to have a face-to-face communication and thereby, it is required to establish written communication with both the higher and lower authorities.

Non-verbal communication:

Along with verbal communication, it is often essential for me to consider non-verbal communication which is one of the significant communication styles in the workplace. As of my perspective, while delivering my own viewpoints and speech, I usually maintain body poster, eye contact and hand posters in order to make the communication session more effective and valuable.

4.3 The potential impact on the business of implementing the strategy

Based on problem-solving method, it can be stated that the implementation of the strategies on the business can be evaluated through the identification of significant impact of these strategies in the entire mode of business operation. By gaining significant knowledge regarding the financial and non-financial impact due to the implementation of the strategy, it can be possible to evaluate the potential impact of the strategies amid the workplace environments.

Financial impact:

As of the above-held discussion, it can be stated that training is one of the solutions that are identified while developing significant problem-solving decisions. Hence, it is essential to arrange funds so that, it becomes possible to improve the significance and the importance of the training program. Further, it is essential to develop communication through the effective use of social media sites and thereby, it is essential to arrange funds in order to allocate the resources in the workplace environment. Thus, it is one of the significant impacts of the strategy on business.

Non-financial impact:

The strategy development has some of the non-financial impacts on the organisation. It can be stated that with the help of this strategy, the employees become able to work collaboratively and hence, I become able to learn how to avoid silos working nature and perform teamwork by enhancing team dynamics significantly. Further, it is worth noting that, staffs will be able to share their knowledge and information regarding the organisational rules and regulations and business objectives and hence, the workplace conflict would be mitigated. Hence, it becomes possible for the company to improve employee retention in the workplace and this is entirely as of my perspective.

Thus, based on the above-held discussion, it can be marked that the solutions have a significant impact on the organisation in terms of financial and non-financial factors.

2.3 What kind of effective time-management strategies have you identified?

Yes, I have identified a range of effective time-management strategies as one of weakness is all about lack of time management skills. Thereby, it is essential for me to nurture potential time-management skills in order to enhance my career prospects significantly. I think that one of the effective time management skills is the development of priority. Set up priority for each of tasks is one of most significant time management skills. However, apart from the set of priority, the development of work objective can be used as the time management skills. Hence, as of my consideration, the set objective for each task may reduce the time consumption significantly. Apart from this, I can add time scheduling as another time management skills where it is worth noting that, the good time management requires tight time scheduling. Hence, it can be marked that, with the help of a weekly planner or to-do-list, it will possible for me to management valuable time effectively.

4.2 Development of proper strategies for resolving a particular problem

Yes, in this section I can state that I have developed proper strategies for resolving one particular problem that is lack of communication among the team members in the workplace. As of pre-defined problems, it can be stated that the lack of communication creates workplace conflict and thereby, it is essential for me to develop proper strategies for resolving the problem. Hence, I have used one of the effective problem-solving tools PDCA cycle as the significant strategies in order to resolve the workplace issue.

Plan:

In this scenario, training can be considered as one of the effective solutions in order to mitigate the particular workplace issue. Hence, it can be stated that the team leader needs to orient employees as per the skill-level before planning training sessions for the employees.

Do:

After having orientation, it is then required to perform time schedule so that, it becomes for all the staffs to attain the sessions significantly.

Check:

After setting the orientation and set the training session, it is essential to check and revise the entire training session. Hence, it can be stated that the communication with the managerial body for setting the training program will enhance the effectiveness of the program.

Act:

At the end of the process, I can state that the team leader needs to act as per the planning. Hence, as of my perspective, this strategy will be beneficial for the organisation as a whole.

Part 3: Post-Appraisal Reflective Account

Roles people play in a team and how they can work together to achieve shared goals

People in a team seek out significant roles to achieve a shared goal and it is worth mentioning that, each individual has own set of responsibilities in the team. According to Belbin model, there are three categories in the team and these are action-oriented, though oriented and other one is people oriented. Hence, in the concerned workplace, each my team member has own key responsibilities and all of us work together for achieving shared goals. In my team, there is a team leader, senior nurse, junior nurse and some other ward boy and assistance. All the team members comprise different roles which they need to perform and execute for delivering quality services in health and social care unit. Team leader in my team is the head of my department and the person is responsible to guide all the staffs including a nurse and other employees. It is worth mentioning that, the person is responsible for allocating work responsibilities to each of members and instructs each of members how to stay motivated and keep the focus on the job responsibilities. Senior nurses are the expert in their jobs and thereby, they use to guide junior nurses and other employees so that, they become able to perform their own responsibilities. Further, it is worth noting that, the senior nurses are responsible to ensure all the given tasks by team leader by effectively carried out by the staffs. Junior nurses are responsible to perform the routine activities and document the patient care effectively (Messum et al. 2017). Thereby, they are responsible to assist senior nurses during the time of critical care. On the other hand, the ward boys are responsible to assist nurses in daily routine practices.

Analysing team dynamics

Thereby, through the above-mentioned was, each member are responsible to perform their own set of responsibilities and achieve shared goals. However, I have observed that workplace conflicts often occur and this is because of the lack of communication. Thereby, it is essential to improve communication to improve team dynamics (Varghese et al. 2018).

Team dynamics is the behaviour or the structure of team in the workplace. It forces that influence the performance and behaviour of the team members. Hence, I have identified my own team dynamics. Each of the team members is dedicated to performing their own responsibilities. However, workplace conflict often creates in the workplace because of the lack of coordination. Lack of coordination between senior and junior members often creates workplace conflict and from my perspective, the lack of effective communication is the reason for lack of coordination (Mishra 2014). Further, it is worth noting that while changing duties among the junior nurses, some of the information is missed and it leads to miscommunication and conflict. Thereby, it is essential to ensure strict documentation of information to improve knowledge and responsibilities.

Alternative ways to complete tasks and achieve team goals

There are some alternative ways that can be considered to complete tasks and achieve goals. For this purpose, weekly meetings can be arranged for the team members to improve the level of motivation. It can be stated that the meeting will be informal in nature and there will be some entertainment program and open dialogue (Solaja et al. 2016). With the help of these ways, it becomes possible to develop communication among each of the members and it will bring each member close to each other. Apart from this, a 360-degree feedback system can be considered where senior members will give feedback to their juniors and hence, coordination between each team member will be improved (Taylor 2016).  

Conclusion:

From the above-held discussion, it can, therefore, be concluded that individuals need to comprise the employability skills for having a greater career prospect in future. Hence, I have provided my own responsibilities as per my job role in the chosen health and social care sector and based on this analysis, I have developed my own strengths and weakness pertaining the employability skills in the workplace. Thereby, I have developed a range of recommendations in the form of the professional development plan in order to improve my skills and competencies. Throughout the study, I have dealt with the work based problem and reached to significant solution by effective use of problem-solving techniques. With the help of this technique, the organisation becomes able to mitigate the problem significantly.

Along with the academic and educational qualifications, it is essential for an individual to encompass a range of interpersonal and transferable skills in order to successfully enter the health and social care sector. In this regard, the study seeks to nurture the opportunity to assess and develop an in-depth understanding regarding the own responsibilities and performance in the workplace of health and social care through the effective reflective practices. For this purpose, the study will identify the skills that are required for effective employment such as transferable and interpersonal skills and dynamics of working with the other employees in the team including communication and effective leadership skills. Apart from this, the study will successfully deal with the everyday working requirement pertaining to problem-solving that includes recognition and specification of problems and ability to solve the issues in the workplace.

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