An organisation is a group of people working together towards a shared purpose, using structure, resources and processes to deliver goods or services. Organisations exist in different legal forms: private sector (profit-driven, e.g. limited companies, PLCs), public sector (funded by taxation, e.g. NHS, local councils), and third sector (not-for-profit, e.g. charities, social enterprises, mutuals).
Culture is 'the way things are done around here' - shared values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviours. Handy's Four Culture Types (a key model):
Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental. People practitioners use PESTLE to understand how external change (e.g. new employment law, recession, automation) affects people plans.
People practices (recruitment, reward, L&D) should align to these so the workforce delivers strategy - this is the core of 'people practice adds value'.
A people professional is anyone working in HR, L&D or people practice who supports an organisation's workforce and drives business performance through good people management. The role sits between the organisation's strategic needs and the day-to-day experience of employees.
CIPD defines the role through its Profession Map, built on three pillars:
CIPD places huge weight on acting as a trusted adviser: being honest, challenging poor decisions (even from senior leaders), and speaking up when something is wrong. This is often tested through scenario questions - pick the answer that shows courage, honesty and fairness, not the one that avoids conflict.
People professionals must understand the organisation's context - its sector, size, structure and external environment (PESTLE factors: political, economic, social, technological, legal, environmental) - and tailor advice accordingly. A policy that works in a small charity may not suit a large multinational.
CPD is an ongoing, planned process of maintaining and improving knowledge and skills throughout your career. It is not a one-off event - CIPD expects reflection (what did I learn?), planning (what do I need next?) and recording (evidence of the cycle).
Every People Practice decision sits on top of employment law. Get the basics wrong and the organisation faces tribunal claims, reputational damage and cost. As a Level 3 practitioner you need to know the key rights, the qualifying periods and the difference between 'employee', 'worker' and 'self-employed'.
Rights depend on status.
A written statement of employment particulars must be given on or before day one of employment (this changed from within two months to day one, effective 6 April 2020). It must cover pay, hours, holiday, notice, job title and place of work.
This sets out nine protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. It prohibits direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation, and requires reasonable adjustments for disabled employees.
Learn the day-one rights versus the two-year rights as a clear mental checklist, and you will handle most exam scenario questions confidently.
Getting the right people into the right roles is one of the biggest levers people practice professionals have. Poor recruitment costs money through turnover, retraining, lost productivity and, in the UK, potential tribunal claims if the process discriminates unlawfully. A structured approach protects the organisation and gives candidates a fair chance.
Before advertising anything, check whether the vacancy is genuinely needed. This means reviewing headcount, budget, skills gaps and future demand. A job analysis identifies the tasks, responsibilities and outcomes of the role, which then feeds into a job description (duties, reporting lines) and a person specification (skills, experience, qualifications, behaviours needed).
The Equality Act 2010 protects nine characteristics (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage/civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation) at every stage, from the advert to the offer. Selection criteria must relate to genuine job requirements. Reasonable adjustments must be offered to disabled candidates during the process, for example extra time or accessible venues. Right to work checks are a legal requirement before employment starts.
Decisions should be evidence-based, comparing each candidate against the same person specification, not against each other informally. Keep structured notes to justify decisions and support feedback.
L&D is about building the skills, knowledge and behaviours people need now and in the future. In Level 3 you need to know the difference between three related terms.
Organisations identify needs at three levels: organisational (strategy and future skills), team (department gaps), and individual (personal performance or career needs). Common tools include training needs analysis (TNA), performance reviews, appraisals, skills audits and exit interview data.
Kolb's experiential learning cycle has four stages: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualisation, active experimentation. People practice professionals use this to design activities that suit different learners, not just a single style.
Honey and Mumford identified four preferences: activist, reflector, theorist, pragmatist. The exam focus is on knowing that people learn differently and blended approaches work best - not on treating VAK (visual/auditory/kinaesthetic) styles as scientifically proven, since current evidence questions strict learning-styles theory.
Kirkpatrick's four levels are the classic model, and CIPD expects you to name them in order: 1 Reaction (did they like it), 2 Learning (did knowledge/skill increase), 3 Behaviour (are they applying it at work), 4 Results (business impact, e.g. productivity or error rates). Most organisations only evaluate at level 1, which is a common exam trap to flag as a weakness.
CPD is the individual's own responsibility to keep skills current throughout their career, supported by reflective practice - what did I do, what did I learn, what will I do differently.