Workplace change
Workers are expected to be adaptable, flexible and willing to learn, in the rapidly changing forest and wood products industry. Where work becomes increasingly complex, communication skills become important and transparency about expectations is essential.
Developing a process to systematically approach changes in the workplace or workplace roles provides clarity and ownership by those involved. Change in the workplace requires workers to adapt to a new situation, which can create uncertainty. Workplace change requiring new skill development should be approached with sensitivity to enable the worker to learn new skills while not feeling their capacity to undertake their job is threatened. One approach to this is to make learning informal and engaging. An example of this could be to use the ‘’Trouble shooting guide’’ with a worker to create a guide for a situation required in the workplace.
The scenarios and activities outlined below can be adapted to your workplace. They aim to build the capacity of individuals, and therefore the workplace, in response to change.
Read through the following scenarios to see how some companies are considering gaps in employees’ foundation skills, to deal with workplace change.
Scenarios |
Activities |
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Planning for harvest and haulage contracts |  Scenario | Activity – harvest rates View answersActivity – Haulage rates View answers  Checklist – Negotiating contracts
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Identifying foundation skills in job descriptions | Â Â Scenario | Â Sample – Job description | |
Dealing with upgraded equipment | Scenario | Â Sample – illustrated procedure | |
Solving problems |
  Scenario |  Activity – Solving problems | |
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Acknowledgments
© Commonwealth of Australia 2015. This program has been produced by ForestWorks with the assistance of funding provided by the Australian Government through the Department of Education and Training. These documents can be altered for training purposes only.