BSBSTR501 Establish Innovative Work Environments Assessment 2
BSBSTR501 Establish innovative work environments
Assessment 2 – Project Portfolio Instruction
This assessment task requires the student to review a case study and answer questions, and then conduct two roleplay meetings with staff members.
Assessment Resources
- Project Portfolio template
- Case Study
Assessment criteria
Students must complete all of the activities listed and submit:
- a completed Project Portfolio
- signed Observation Checklists
Complete the following activities:
1. This project is about establishing an innovative work environment. You need to demonstrate that you can implement at least two different procedures and practices that foster innovation within your chosen organisation.
You are required to lead or manage a workplace team, cross-organisation team or a self-formed team of individuals to enable and support innovation across all areas of work practice within the organisation.
You will also need to team up with people who work for, or are involved, in this organisation as you need to collaborate with the stakeholders on more than one occasion. Fellow students can be involved in these meetings and play the roles of stakeholders as relevant.
You will be collecting evidence for this unit in a Project Portfolio. The steps you need to take are outlined below.
Complete Page 1 of your Project Portfolio.
2. Carefully read through the relevant documents, policies and procedures. Use Section 1 of your Project Portfolio, to record the following information:
- List at least two stakeholders, by considering those within the organisation who will be impacted by innovation and those who could play a role in conceptualising and supporting innovation.
- Identify and outline at least two organisational objectives.
- Use the internet to find and outline industry relevant legislation and codes of practice – this may include legislation relating to work conditions, etc.
- List at least three current organisational practices (behaviours and actions).
- Describe the current work conditions of the staff (consider space, lighting, access to facilities, flexible work arrangements, etc.), and how it supports or inhibits innovation.
- Research and outline at least three working conditions that support innovative practices in the workplace in general.
- Identify a working condition in your organisation and for which a policy or procedure can be modified in order to foster innovation.
- Update any existing policy or procedure to ensure the successful implementation of a work practice that fosters innovation. Attach evidence of the updated policy or procedure to Section 1 of your Project Portfolio. Clearly indicate where you made changes (add a separate heading, section or add changes to text in another colour).
- Describe any risks involved in changing this policy or procedure to accommodate innovation.
- Identify at least two resources available for establishing an innovative environment by considering human resources, financial resources and physical resources.
Make sure you have answered all questions in Section 1. Submit to your assessor for review.
You are also required to attach certain documents as part of your evidence – review the documents you need to attach as outlined in Section 1 of the Project Portfolio and make sure you attach these upon submission.
3. Build and lead a team
You are required to meet with a group of at least three students who will act as your work team throughout the project.
Use the first part of Section 2 in your Project Portfolio to prepare for the meeting. At the end of the meeting, continue completing Section 2 of your Project Portfolio by recording team member feedback and ideas. See Section 2 of your Project Portfolio for more details.
At the meeting, you must lead the team and maximise opportunities for innovation by:
- Explaining the importance of innovation in light of the overall organisational objectives
- Setting at least three ground rules for how the team should share and evaluate each other’s ideas.
- Communicating which policy or procedure you changed and using it as an example to explain the concept of innovation within the organisation.
- Gathering team feedback about the change you made to a policy or procedure
- Facilitate a brainstorming session to gather team ideas for further enhancing the work environment, including physical environment and work conditions.
- During the meeting your assessor will be looking to see that you can use techniques to maximise opportunities for innovation:
- Presenting your own ideas for enhancing the work environment and explaining concepts using suitable structure and language
- Using active listening and questioning to discuss and clarify information and to confirm your understanding of team member ideas
- Facilitate a climate where the team feels comfortable suggesting and discussing improvements and new ideas
- Conduct the meeting in a way that builds rapport and foster strong relationships with coworkers and participants are encouraged to be innovative.
4. Create a plan for innovation
Use the internet to explore and analyse the suggestions you have received from team members during the meeting. Research how other organisations have integrated these ideas into their work culture and how it has benefitted the company.
Write an Innovation Feasibility Report for enhancing the work environment using the ideas of your team members as well as some of your own ideas. Use the Innovation Feasibility Report included in Section 2 of your Project Portfolio to:
- Outline at least three ideas, associated tasks and note down your thoughts about the impact a change to the work environment, will have on the organisation and its staff
- Specify the resources needed to implement each idea, including the person/s responsible
- Outline any risks involved in the implementation of each idea and how you plan to mitigate the risk.
You will discuss your Innovation Feasibility Report with the stakeholders in the next activity step.
5. Collaborate with stakeholders.
Meet with the stakeholders (your assessor) to discuss your Innovation Feasibility Report and ask for their feedback to further develop your ideas. At the meeting,
- discuss how the ideas set out in the Innovation Feasibility Report contribute to an innovative work environment and how the existing workspace will support the innovation.
- Highlight the risks associated with each innovation and how you will respond.
Use the feedback you receive from the stakeholders to further develop your ideas, select your resources and update your Innovation Feasibility Report accordingly, indicating where you made changes, by using a different colour or highlighting.
6. Assist team members
As part of implementing an idea from your Innovation Feasibility Report, develop a procedure that will assist your team members to adapt and perform in their new work environment. This should be an idea which requires you to take a risk.
Attach your procedure to Section 2 of your Project Portfolio.
Distribute the procedure to your team by email.
The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.
It should introduce and summarise the contents of the attachment.
Attach evidence of your email to Section 2 of your Project Portfolio.
7. Encourage an innovative work environment
Assume that you have the approval of the stakeholders to implement your innovations. As part of the implementation of the ideas, you will provide a coaching session to the team on the following topics:
- how to develop a creative mindset
- how to work collaboratively
- how to develop positive workplace relationships
You will also encourage the team to evaluate innovative ideas.
This will be a 10-minute session and you may use slides, visual aids or video clips in your coaching session.
Everyone in your group will have a turn to be the manager and present their coaching to the rest of the group (a 10-minute session per student). Make sure your coaching session reinforces the value of the innovation in line with the objectives of the organisation.
You will also take part in a roundtable team discussion of 5-10 minutes, at the end of the coaching session to:
- brainstorm ways of celebrating and encouraging innovation
- Shortlist a few ideas and put it to a vote to select two ways that innovation will be celebrated in the organisation
The assessor will advise you of the date and time of your coaching session so that you can prepare in advance.
Use Section 2 of your Project Portfolio to outline the main points and attach your slides or links to the videos you use.
Make sure you have answered all questions in Section 2.
You are also required to attach certain documents as part of your evidence – review the documents you need to attach as outlined in Section 2 of the Project Portfolio and make sure you attach these upon submission.
8. Share information with stakeholders
Write a Feedback Report to the stakeholders containing the following:
- An introduction containing a summary of two innovative ideas you have implemented
- Outline the practices and procedures you have established in order to implement the ideas
- Include the skills your team applied to establish an innovative work environment
Your report should be no longer than one page. Save your report as a Word document and attach it at the end of Section 3 of your Project Portfolio.
Prepare an email to the CEO of the college and attach your email to Section 3 of your Project Portfolio.
The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.
It should introduce and summarise the contents of the attachment.
Attach evidence of your email to Section 3 of your Project Portfolio.
9. Provide training
Host a workshop to develop the innovation skills of the team.
Meet with the group of students who have been acting as your work team throughout the project.
The workshop should include a free online training session or YouTube video/s to use as formal training and you will take part in a breakout session after the training.
Watch the training as a team and break into pairs for a discussion time.
During the breakout sessions, team members will practice their communication skills, by:
- suggesting improvements to recent workplace innovations and Sharing their workplace experiences relating to innovation and how their experience has contributed to the development of their skills
At the end of the breakout sessions, come together as a team and discuss the suggestions for improvements.
Make sure you have answered all questions in Section 3.
You are also required to attach certain documents as part of your evidence – review the documents you need to attach as outlined in Section 3 of the Project Portfolio and make sure you attach these upon submission.
10. Submit your completed Project Portfolio
Make sure you have completed all sections of your Project Portfolio, answered all questions, provided enough detail as indicated and proofread for spelling and grammar as necessary. Remember to submit all necessary attachments as indicated.
