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Working with OthersSo far we have been looking at keyskills. There are two further 'wider' keyskills and the one we are looking at in this article is 'Working with Others'. There are levels 1 to 3 for this keyskill. It sounds quite simple, you just turn up and work with other people…….but it's not always easy and this key skill will help you loads when you start working with other people in the work place and even in other places such as school, college or groups and clubs. |
You will need to work in a group and on a one-to-one basis looking at things that need to be done and who in the team / group is going to do it. This means working together to make sure you get the job done and monitoring how you are doing and any improvements you can make.
This can help you be a good team member. It would be a nightmare if you were all given 10 tasks to complete a project and because nobody in the group spoke to each other they decided to the same task. You'd then be left with another 9 tasks to do and no time left to do them! So the improvement that could have been made here is to talk to each other before rushing off and doing your own thing!
Think about the things you do now, even simple things like ordering pizzas.
You need to plan - What pizzas does everyone want?
You need to confirm the arrangements - Pizzas don't just grow on trees
and they certainly aren't free, so you need to call and make the order and collect
the money form everyone.
You need to work co-operatively - If someone decides to wander off when
the order is being taken, it holds the whole thing up. Remember, your main aim
is to get pizzas, so work together to achieve your pepperoni goal!
You need to exchange information - You call the pizza place and they have
run out of cheese (doh!), you need to exchange this information with your mates
so that decisions can be made.
You need to agree ways for improvement - Sit and chat and agree on another
pizza place that someone else recommends and try again!
Ok…this might be a bit of a weird example, but it's the same skills and
you can use them in the workplace.
Here's where it gets a bit more complex. You need to plan your work and agree
objectives (how you are going to do it). You need to plan responsibilities (so
you don't get the 'I thought you were doing it' routine!) and working arrangements
(if you have an expert typist and a clerical officer, it's pointless if the
typist is filing and the clerical officer is typing at 1 word per minute!).
You also need to establish and maintain co-operative relationships (remember,
in the world of work, you don't have to be best friends, you just need to work
well together by focusing on the job). Finally you have to review work and agree
ways of improving future collaborative work, which means looking back at how
you worked and agreeing together how you can improve the way you all
work together in the future.
You know the score, if you want further information about other keyskills,
check out other articles on this site. If you need more detailed information
about this keyskill, ask your tutor, careers / connexions adviser or check out
the web or your local careers library.
Good Luck
Jennie Glitherow.
General DfES information on Key Skills
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/keyskills/
Key Skills Student Website
http://www.keyskills4u.com/
QCA website
http://www.qca.org.uk/603.html
At school or college? Look out for
Jennie's future articles which we'll have here for the first Monday of each
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