Lesson#1

Communication and employability skills for IT

Lesson1

Introduction

As well as the technical skills and knowledge required for specific jobs in ICT, you will need a range of non-technical skills and attitudes that are considered essential to employability. So that you achieve this, this module focuses on what are called soft skills.

What does it mean?

Soft skills influence how people interact with each other.

Examples of soft skills are: Analytical thinking, creativity, diplomacy, effective communication, flexibility, leadership, listening skills, problem solving, team building and a readiness for change.

Introduction

One very important set of soft skills relates to communication, which is why communication is included in the title of this module and why you are required to study the principles of effective communication.

This module improve the skills needed to make you an effective employee.

By the end of this module, you should be able to achievethese outcomes:

● Understand the attributes of employees that arevalued by employers● Understand the principles of effective communication● Be able to exploit ICT to communicate effectively● Be able to identify personal development needs andthe ways of addressing them

1.1 Valued attributes of employeesIf you understand the attributes of employees that are most valued by

employers, you will be better able to present yourself to a prospective employer and have a better chance of success in your job search.Some attributes are specific to a given job but many apply to all jobs. Some attributes relate to you as a person, while others relate to the type of organization that you hope to join. Each of these types of attributes is now considered in turn.

1.1.1.1 Technical knowledge

For any given job, a variety of technical skills might be considered necessary. For example, the level of qualifications required, as well as other skills specific to that job.

Examples: 1. Sales 2. Airline employees 3. IT technician

1.1.1 Job-related attributes

This section focuses on the attributes that relate directly to the job.

1.1.1.2 Working procedures and systems

Some jobs involve working procedures and systems which might suit some applicants but deter others.

Shift working that involves working at night or at the weekends can appeal to some people but might not be practical for others.

Antisocial hours can mean a worker doesn’t have ‘normal’ free time with family and friends but might also attract a higher rate of pay. For people with dependent children, shift working may only be possible if crèche facilities are offered or if the earnings are high enough to cover the costs of employing child care.

Some jobs involve a level of risk and health and safety issues, which might excite some prospective employees but could also deter others. For example, people planning to join the fire service may have courage and a sense of duty, but should be aware of the personal danger of attending to fires.

1.1.2 Universal attributes

Regardless of the job and its particular requirements, there are some skills that everyone is expected to have, to some extent. Having these skills will mean you are better able to carry out the tasks for any job. The more competent you are in these universal skills, the more attractive you will seem to a prospective employer. This subsection looks in particular at planning and organisational skills, time management, team working, verbal and written communication skills, numeracy skills and others skills such as creativity.

1.1.2.1 Planning and organisational skills

Planning involves thinking ahead to decide what you need to do to achieve a goal within a given timescale. You might not need to write a plan, but thinking about it and what could go wrong helps to ensure ameasure of success in whatever you set out to do.

HOW . . . TO PLAN

1 First, establish your goal. Your goal should reflect how you see the present situation (its shortfalls) and your future needs. Decide on a goal that can be effectively pursued. You might write down your goal. Some organisations frame their goals in a mission statement.

2 The next step is to decide on your strategy. Consider what might happen if you take a particular line of action, and make sure you take everything into account: the people involved and any constraints such as timescale and your resources.

3 Your strategy will guide you as to how you are going to achieve your goals and this will lead you to a list of objectives.

Cont….Planning and organisational skills

A goal provides general purpose and direction. It is the end result towards which your effort will be directed.

A strategy is a systematic plan of action.

Objectives are like goals except that goals are broad and objectives are narrower. Goals express general intentions while objectives are precise. Goals are intangible (like improving your general fitness) while objectives are tangible (like practising until you can do 20 press-ups in one go).

What does it mean?



The process of planning – establishing goals, deciding on strategy, setting objectives and then matching your performance against your objectives – is a way of measuring your success. If you fail in some respect, this can also help you: to plan better in the future.

Planning may involve just you. For example, you might write yourself a ‘to do’ list with the tasks prioritised, and then check your progress on a regular basis. You may choose to review progress every morning of the first day of the week and write a fresh ‘to do’ list, showing all the tasks to complete by the end of last working day on the week. As the week progresses, you could tick off the things that you have done and think about the remaining things on the list. It may prove impossible to complete all the tasks by the last working day deadline, but prioritising tasks should mean that you complete the most important tasks first.

It should also help you to make more realistic plans: not trying to fit too much into your day or promising to complete work that will prove impossible given your time and resources.

You might find it more helpful to rewrite the ‘to do’ list every day – some tasks may have become irrelevant, while other tasks may become more urgent. However, your day should be spent doing tasks, rather than thinking about what to do. So, the administration of your ‘to do’ list must not become a major task in itself!


Microsoft Outlook’s Tasks feature can help you to maintain your list and prioritise your work.

The Outlook Tasks also offers a reminder feature so tasks that crop up on a regular basis automatically reappear on the list.

Includes notes to yourself as to what needs to be done.

Set up the reminderto pop up on a regular basis.


Planning can also involve a team of people, each member of the team agreeing to complete their own tasks within a given time frame so that the entire team achieves its objectives. The organisational skills in managing a team are more complex and require more sophisticated tools. If a project involves lots of people and many interrelated tasks, the person managing the project might use a planning tool such as a Gantt chart.

The Gantt chart shows how stages of aproject fit together within the schedule.

It reveals the ‘bestend date’.

You can link stages, so the next one cannot start until the previous one has been completed.

It can reveal problems: Kimis expected to work on two stages at the same time.


Organisational skills

Organisational skills involve having a system or routine so that you complete everyday tasks as efficiently as possible.

For example, organising your workspace includes having the things you need most (pens or pencils, your calculator, a stapler, etc.) within arm’s reach and then keeping everything tidily in its place. Around your workspace, you might have books or folders arranged neatly on a shelf and files arranged alphabetically in a hanging drawer. You might have an address book with all your contact lists and a diary showing your appointments.



Organisational skills can also be learnt. First, focus on what it is that you want to organise (your workspace, your books, your CDs, your wardrobe ……) and then consider the purpose of organising and set yourself a target:

● A receptionist might write: ‘I need to organise my workspace so that whenever someone asks me a question I can easily and quickly locate the information I need to answer. This will make me a more reliable source of information.’

● A librarian might write: ‘I need to organise my books so that I can find a particular book quickly. This will be appreciated by those who visit my library.’

Then, ask yourself what options you have. In your own workspace, you could arrange your books by type, putting fiction on one shelf and the technical manuals on another shelf. By segregating the books, you reduce the number of books you need to search through to find the one you want. Libraries arrange books according to the Dewey system and, within that, titles are arranged in alphabetical order of author.

1.1.2.2 Time management

To make the best use of your time, you need to manage it effectively. Consider aids to time management, such as diaries or calendars. There are also techniques that you can adopt to make sure that you do not waste time.

Having somewhere to keep track of appointments (whether on a wall chart, in a handwritten diary or using an electronic calendar) will:

help you to see what will be happening in the next day, week or year.

It should help you to avoid double booking your time. It could also remind you to set aside time between appointments so

that you can prepare properly for each event. As long as you refer to your diary or calendar each morning, you should never forget an appointment or arrive late.

Cont…. Time management

Handwritten diaries have the advantage of (usually) being small enough to carry with you everywhere. They provide a written record of how you have spent your time, and what will be on your agenda in the future.

Electronic diaries are particularly useful in a working environment. For example, Microsoft Outlook has a calendar feature.Within an organisation, online diaries make setting up a meeting easier – you can see who is free and when, and choose a convenient time. You can send the meeting agenda via email and each attendee’s Outlook calendar will be updated automatically.

You can block your time for meetings and other fixed events such as dental appointments.

If the appointment is recurring, the calendar can set aside time for the subsequent meetings automatically.

Calendar features on a mobile phone and PDAs such as a Blackberry can be synchronised with electronic diaries such as Outlook.


Many PDAs, are also portable communications devices using wireless mobile phone technology to provide email, telephone, text messaging and web browsing services. So, someone who travels a lot can use their PDA/mobile phone when offline, but synchronise as soon as they have access to a computer, e.g. via their laptop in a hotel room, or at an Internet café.

What does it mean?

PDA stands for portable data assistant.

Time management also involves using available time in the most efficient way. This means using strategies to prevent events that might result in a waste of your time.

How you will manage your time against:

The interruptions:- On-screen interruptions.- Phone calls - People.


Interruptions can disrupt your work, and these can take many forms: emails, phone calls or people. Handling interruptions efficiently is an important aspect of time management.

Even the process of handling incoming correspondence (paperwork or electronic mail) can be organised so that you do not waste time.

● An in-tray can be a physical tray for paperwork, or an electronic inbox such as that provided by email software like Outlook. Your in-tray might hold letters from customers or suppliers, reports from colleagues, or sample designs for products that you need to look at.

Allocate time to look at this material – but only long enough to identify each item’s content and to establish the urgency of any action you might need to take.

● Material that requires no further action.● Material that does require time and thought and maybe some other

action.● Process incoming mail.


● Material that requires no further action.

Material that requires no further action should either be binned (moved to the Deleted Items folder in Outlook or shredded if it is a paper-based correspondence including sensitive personal details) or filed (electronically in a folder or physically in a filing cabinet).

Do not leave it in the in-tray! If you often don’t have time to file material immediately, at least create a file called ‘filing’ and put the item in there, under the correct alphabetical letter. This will speed up the eventual filing process and will allow you to find things that you have not yet filed in the meantime.


Material that does require time and thought

Material that does require time and thought and maybesome other action: should be given some priority and/or allocated a time

slot. Add it to your ‘to do’ list and put the paperwork

somewhere you will easily find it – in your briefcase if you plan to read it on the journey home or in a pending tray, or the electronic folder called My Briefcase. Do not leave it in your in-tray!


Process Incoming Mail

Allocating a short time each day to process incoming mail should:

Stop you overlooking anything important. It will prevent material piling up in your in-tray

and reduce the amount of time spent thinking about what to do with a particular item.

It should also save time – you will not find yourself hunting through the in-tray looking for something.


Some people work in isolation, but most people work as part of a team. Being a member of a team brings responsibilities. You need to report what you are doing to others in the team and to keep up to date with what they are doing. This flow of communication helps to prevent the ‘left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing’ syndrome.

Every team has a team leader and others in the team may have specific roles to play. It is important that everyone understands exactly what roles are undertaken by which team members, and that everyone co-operates. Team spirit, once established, is a motivating force that can help everyone in the team to perform better.

During your course, you will work sometimes on your own and sometimes within a group. Your success will depend on your own input, but you may need to rely on other team members too. The success of the team is a joint responsibility and cause for joint celebration when it occurs.

1.1.2.3 Team working

HOW TO . . . WORK WELL WITHIN A TEAM

1 Make sure you understand your contribution to the team effort. You might be given a written brief. If not, write down what you believe to be your role and check this with the team leader.

2 Find out who else is in the team and what role they have to play. If you need help, this will allow you to approach the right person straightaway, and reduce unnecessary interruptions for others in the team.

3 Respect the working space of others in your team. If they need peace and quiet to think, make sure you do not invade that space.

4 If you have special requirements, make sure these are known to others. If these are sensitive issues, consult the team leader. He/she will know the rest of the team well enough to know how to handle any tricky situation.

Cont…. Team working

5 If you have a problem concerning another member of the team, try to overcome this by reconsidering your own behaviour as well as that of the other person. You could mention your problem to your team leader, but be aware that others may also have a problem with you. It works both ways!

6 The team leader needs your support. If you have concerns about his/her leadership style, discuss it with him/her. There may be facts unknown to you which result in decisions that may seem strange to you. The team leader may be able to explain why a course of action has been taken – but you may just have to accept that your team leader knows best. Do not discuss your concerns with other team members or try to undermine the team leader.

Cont…. Team working

1.1.2.4 Verbal and written communication skills

Communication within a team and within an organisation is essential for the flow of information.

This communication may be verbal (within a meeting or a one-on-one discussion) or written (an emailed memo or the minutes of a meeting).

Effective communication relies on verbal and written communication skills. Throughout this unit, you will be set tasks to stretch your verbal and written communication skills.

1.1.2.5 Numeric skills

Although most jobs do not require a high degree of mathematical skills, all jobs require some numeric skills.

If you need to do calculations, you must be able to do them accurately. You should be able to use a calculator and know how to check your working by estimating the answer.

1.1.2.6 Creativity

Creativity is needed in all lines of work, not just those involving some artistic output. Employees who can dream up ideas and are able to think laterally and ‘out of the box’ can make major contributions to the success of an organisation. Some companies have a suggestions box – if you make a suggestion that helps the company to improve productivity, reduce waste or make the customers happier, you may be rewarded for your creativity.

Creativity involves original thought and, for this, your mind needs space to let these ideas flow. Artists – writers, painters, musicians – have rituals that they use to prepare themselves for creative activity. Often, because they are freelancers, they can choose the time and place, e.g. going to a desert island or locking themselves away in a studio. Some writers work best first thing in the morning but spend time sharpening pencils before they write the first word of the day. Some need to fuel their creativity with fine wine or have loud music playing in the background. Each has his/her own way.

In a working environment, creativity has to be channelled within an office full of people, with background noise of machinery and conversation. To allow ideas to come through, you might need to create your own space within this busy environment, and find a place where you can think clearly. You may be able to spark off ideas in a team environment, as in a brainstorming session.

The creative process require discipline and practice.

Cont…. Creativity

Lesson#1

Technology

Transcript of Lesson#1