This unit applies to a wide range of staff and forms part of a basic requirement for all jobs within the funeral services industry.

Nil

ELEMENT

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

1

Interact with grieving clients.

1.1

Identify grief responses.

1.2

Respond to grieving clients according to workplace policies and procedures.

1.3

Identify social, cultural and religious differences that may affect grief responses.

1.4

Identify and apply appropriate communication techniques and interpersonal skills when responding to grieving clients.

2

Provide support for colleagues in grief situations.

2.1

Identify colleagues experiencing difficulty in coping with grief according to workplace policies and procedures.

2.2

Identify and apply appropriate communication techniques and interpersonal skills to respond to colleague's grief needs.

2.3

Identify and apply strategies for informal grief support.

3

Deal with personal grief.

3.1

Identify personal grief responses.

3.2

Identify and apply strategies for responding to personal grief.

3.3

Identify and access workplace information resources for meeting staff grief needs.

3.4

Participate in debriefing and peer support sessions with other staff members according to workplace policies and procedures.

Required skills

communication skills, including listening and understanding, using language and concepts appropriate to cultural differences, and using and interpreting non-verbal communication to identify and apply appropriate responses to colleagues or clients who may be experiencing grief

interpersonal skills to relate to people from a range of social, cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds and with a range of physical and mental abilities

ability to maintain confidentiality of client and colleague information

literacy skills to identify and access workplace information resources

teamwork skills to participate in debriefing and peer support.

Required knowledge

physical and emotional manifestations of grief and trauma

strategies for dealing with grief and trauma

social, religious and cultural differences and traditions in relation to the expression of grief and trauma

workplace policies and procedures, in regard to:

identifying colleagues having difficulty in coping with grief

maintaining confidentiality of colleagues

debriefing and peer support systems

professional funeral services industry parameters and protocols for dealing with grief and trauma.

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.

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

Evidence of the following is essential:

the identification and response to client and colleague grief according to workplace policies and procedures and funeral services industry protocols

use of appropriate communication techniques with grieving clients and colleagues from a range of social, cultural and religious backgrounds and implementation of strategies for dealing with own grief

interaction with grieving clients and colleagues on multiple occasions to ensure consistency of performance and ability to respond to different situations.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment must ensure:

demonstration of skills in an environment where grief reactions can be assessed and appropriate responses applied

interaction with grieving clients and colleagues

access to relevant documentation, such as information resources related to grief and trauma.

Methods of assessment

A range of assessment methods should be used to assess practical skills and knowledge. The following examples are appropriate for this unit:

observation of candidate applying appropriate communication techniques and responses to grief and trauma with clients, colleagues and self

role play, demonstrating responses to grief and trauma

written or verbal questioning to assess knowledge and understanding of grief responses

review of portfolios of evidence and third-party workplace reports of on-the-job performance by the candidate.

Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role is recommended, for example:

SIFIND001B Work effectively in the funeral services industry.

Employability skills embedded in this unit should be assessed holistically with other relevant units that make up the skill set or qualification and in the context of the job role.

The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.

Grief responses may include:

crying

fear

pain

depression

anger

sadness

disbelief

denial

shock

violence

humour

relief

withdrawal

confusion.

Workplace policies and procedures may include:

codes of conduct

confidentiality requirements

frequency of debriefing and peer support sessions.

Social, cultural and religious differences may include:

religion of client or colleague

cultural response to death

age of deceased person

relationship of client or colleague to deceased person

circumstances surrounding the death

number of losses experienced by client or colleague

level of family or community support

existence of family conflict

health of client or colleague

disability.

Communication techniques may include:

non-verbal language, such as touch or supportive body language

active listening

active questioning.

Strategies for informal grief support may include:

debriefing

empathic listening

conflict resolution

referral for counselling.

Workplace information resources may include:

location and contact details of grief care services

print references

videos

websites

support groups

grief care service information.

Sector

Funeral Services

Working in Industry

This unit contains employability skills.