Required skills

Required skills include

communicating effectively with people from different organisational levels and diverse cultural backgrounds

using available communication equipment eg telephone online and hard copy directories email fax intranet and internet

listening attentively and clarifying messages and instructions to confirm their meaning

responding to calls and messages within accepted enterprise timelines

locating relevant sources of information

providing accurate information in an effective and timely manner

understanding colloquial scientific and technical terminology appropriate to theexpected level of knowledge in the workplace

legibly and accuratelycompleting relevant workplace documents

promoting cooperation through personal interactions

Required knowledge

Required knowledge includes

enterprise customer service standards and procedures

standard operating procedures SOPs for routine technical tasks undertaken by candidate

principles of effective interpersonal interactions

equal opportunity antidiscrimination and antiharassment requirements

communication protocols

relevant health safety and environment requirements

products and services provided by the enterprise

layout of the enterprise and laboratory

role of laboratory services to the enterprise and customers

organisational structure

Specific industry

Additional knowledge requirements may apply for different industry sectors For example

Manufacturing food processing and construction materials testing industry sectors

instructions to production staff when altering production mixes as a result of laboratory analysis

Biomedical industry sector

verification and signature requirements for the receipt and release of human specimens such as blood transfusion products blood alcohol samples and urine for drug testing

The Evidence Guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria required skills and knowledge range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package

Overview of assessment

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit

Assessors should ensure that candidates can

communicate with people effectively by listening attentively and clarifying messages and instructions to confirm their meaning

provide accurate and timely information using appropriate terminology

complete workplace documents legibly and accurately

use personal interactions to promote cooperation

Context of and specific resources for assessment

This unit of competency is to be assessed in the workplace or simulated workplace environment

This unit of competency may be assessed with

MSLA Contribute to the achievement of quality objectives

MSL933002A Contribute to the achievement of quality objectives.

Resources may include

enterprise procedures and documents

communication equipment for example telephone online and hard copy directories email fax intranet and internet

Method of assessment

The following assessment methods are suggested

review of messages and workplace documentation prepared by the candidate

feedback from peers customers and supervisors

observation of the candidates performance of a wide range of technical and administrative tasks

questions to assess understanding of relevant workplace procedures

In all cases practical assessment should be supported by questions to assess underpinning knowledge and those aspects of competency which are difficult to assess directly

Where applicable reasonable adjustment must be made to work environments and training situations to accommodate ethnicity age gender demographics and disability

Access must be provided to appropriate learning andor assessment support when required

The language literacy and numeracy demands of assessment should not be greater than those required to undertake the unit of competency in a work like environment

This competency in practice

Industry representatives have provided the case studies below to illustrate the practical application of this unit of competency and show its relevance in a workplace setting

Manufacturing

A technician in a petroleum refinery asked a laboratory assistant to go down to the cat and take a sample of the bottoms not realising that the assistant had only just started work with the company The assistant looked at the technician in amazement not knowing whether to pretend to understand maintain self esteem or clarify the instructions for the task The assistant decided on the latter to ask for clarification and the technician repeated the instructions without using jargon The laboratory assistant then proceeded to the catalytic cracker to take the sample as per the appropriate standard operating procedures

Biomedical

The regular collection staff were not present when a flustered client came into the outpatient clinic with a domestic container full of straw coloured fluid The receptionist knew what urine collection containers usually looked like and this was clearly not one The receptionist called for help from the laboratory in the absence of collection staff A technical officer was sent The officer quickly realised that a recollection would be requested and because this would be inconvenient to the patient tried to seek an explanation from them as to why the correct container was not used The technical officer then explained as clearly and gently as possible the reasons for the recollection and why the substitute container could not be used The officer confirmed that the patient was clear on the collection procedure and checked that the labels on the new container were correct

Food

The front office staff of a small food processing company were responsible for many tasks and could not always ensure that they were in the office to receive customers and answer phone calls This meant that urgent inquiries were not always immediately attended to and some customers became irate if they were unfortunate enough to have made several inquiries while the office staff were absent

The company laboratory was adjacent to the reception area and laboratory technicians would attend to customers if they happened to see them waiting The laboratory technicians realised that they could improve companycustomer relations They organised for a buzzer to be installed that connected the reception desk to the laboratory and the reception phone to redirect to the laboratory if it was not answered within a reasonable period of time Since they could not always attend to the specific needs of the callers they developed a standard format for recording messages that were passed back to the reception staff The laboratory assistants were also trained to receive personal and phone inquires in an appropriate manner The company found that even though the laboratory technicians could not always satisfy the immediate demands of customers the customer satisfaction level was greater when customers were attended to personally than when they were connected to an answering machine or not received at all

Codes of practice

Standards, codes, procedures and/or enterprise requirements

Communication

Items of equipment

Interpersonal communication

Occupational health and safety (OHS) and environmental management requirements