CIPD Level 7 Advanced Diploma in Strategic People Management

Our flexible approach means you can pick between evening, weekend or online classes. Click on each one to find out what you will learn in each unit.

This core unit will extend your skills and understanding of the interaction between the commercial business environment and future developments in the world of work, employment and the people management. You will research a range of contemporary people practices including those relating to ethics and sustainability, employee well-being, equality, diversity and inclusion.

You will learn

• How leaders and managers working in people practice are responding to globalisation and its significance for work and employment.

• Investigate the current and future thinking within organisations around technological developments and how new agendas are evolving.

• Evaluate social, demographic and economic trends and how developments in public policy affect people practice.

• Learn about effective leadership of change, innovation and creativity, including the key interrelationships between ethics, sustainability, diversity and well-being.

• Analyse policy, practice and corporate social responsibility and the ways in which people professionals can apply and promote them for organisational productivity.

This core unit highlights the importance of using evidence-based, outcomes-driven and principles-led practice in support of the fundamental purpose of the people profession. You will explore how people professionals create value and deliver outcomes for organisations and employees, and how contributing to the success of business goals improves performance and improves the employee experience. You will also study the benefits of delivering policy and practice coherently and in line with organisational goals.

You will learn

• How to explain the advantages and benefits of aligning people practice strategies with organisational objectives and learn about the ways in which organisations integrate people practice with culture, brand and values including the evaluation of data sources aimed at shaping people practice.

• Develop an understanding of contemporary people practice through evaluation in the fields of resourcing and performance management.

• Delve into the fields of learning and development and organisational design and development. Understanding the role and influence of people professionals is a key part of your learning for this unit.

• Debate the merits of the different and varied ways in which people practice is organised and structured in organisations.

• Evaluate the practical and ethical challenges presented by data analytics and technological developments.

This core unit is about supporting successful employees and promoting ethical behaviours to champion better work and working lives and develop business acumen. You will learn about fundamental theories and concepts and how they are important for promoting inclusiveness and influencing others through fair and transparent behaviours.

Using core skills including critical thinking, communication and teamwork the unit will also provide you with an in depth understanding of how actions and inclusive behaviour impact on ethics and the organisation.

You will learn

• How to critically assess different ethical standpoints in people practice and how ethical behaviour maintains high standards.

• How to consider business improvement in relation to working lives evaluating the promotion of well-being, fairness and the contribution of personal integrity within organisations as well as evaluating the benefits and costs of collaborative methods both internally and externally across a variety of business boundaries.

• Learn how to achieve and maintain challenging business outcomes through an understanding of the business, and self-awareness and improvement to support your career progression.

• Justify the benefits of maintaining a passion for learning, evaluate the need for continuing professional development and the merits of evidence-based critical thinking.

• Demonstrate behaviours associated with effective influencing and decision making as well assessing the benefits of networking.

Qualified people professionals will be required to research relevant topics and write reports that can persuade key stakeholders in the organisation to change or adopt a particular policy and practice. This core unit will equip you with the skills to be able to define, design and undertake a business research project. It focuses on developing ability to produce an integrated report based on evidence and to include your own recommendations and critical reflection.

You will learn

• How to plan a business research project including examination of themes that would add value to the organisation.

• Critical evaluation of key publications and terms of reference will be undertaken, and a range of questions established to support the project focus and developed outcomes.

• Distinguish between primary and secondary data, conduct cost and benefit analysis, and research ethical issues around data collection for your project.

• Design an appropriate strategy for analysing and organising your data and finally develop conclusions and business-focused recommendations as an outcome of the project and reflect on how you could improve future project design and delivery.

This specialist unit focuses on different perspectives of employment relations and the cooperation and conflict that varies between workplaces. There is a key role that external institutions play in forming people management policy and practice within organisations, and a wide variety of emerging models, outcomes and relationships which must be managed carefully.

You will build awareness of effective employment relations procedures and policies and gain in-depth knowledge, skills and confidence to:

• Understand different perspectives on employment relations and the cooperation and conflict that varies between workplaces including employer strategies and trade unions to sustain mutuality and voice.

• Justify the growth of low-quality jobs and the decline of high-quality roles in different parts of the economy and how to support voice which will contribute to improved levels of organisational performance and employee outcomes.

• Analyse the role of collective bargaining in determining pay and review the advantages and disadvantages of arbitration, conciliation and mediation and their role in the resolution of work disagreements.

• Examine the design and implementation of grievance and disciplinary procedures to help mitigate risk and resolve problems.

This specialist unit focuses on best-practice strategies to engage and retain the most valuable employees for improved performance. It covers the everyday practicalities and longer-term strategic issues associated with resourcing organisations ethically and fairly and to maximise staff performance and the organisation. These activities take place in a competitive context in which different employers aspire to recruit and retain the most talented and experienced people.

• Learn about the impact of the business environment on resourcing and talent management and the significance for strategy and practice, explaining and debating the relevance to organisations and presenting advice on workforce and succession planning.

• Evaluate attraction and retention, comparing ways in which organisations build and maintain positive reputations in key labour markets.

• Learn about which technologies can be used to improve recruitment and retention, evaluating measures designed to reduce employee turnover.

• Evidence policy and practice in selection and induction, including developments in job analysis and debates about employee selection, referencing legal compliance and staff underperformance in organisations.

In this specialist unit you will learn how to plan, implement and evaluate consistent reward structures in order to support any strategic business goals. It focuses on the role of strategic reward to attract, motivate and retain people at work in order to direct the actions and behaviours of individuals, teams and the organisation towards the achievement of business goals.

Different financial and non-financial benefits will be applicable depending on the organisational context, but these must always be fair and equitable. The unit contains the elements required to design, introduce, manage and evaluate effective and fair reward strategies and how the associated policies and practices link and impact on other people practices.

• Learn the key factors that influence the design of reward policy.

• Critically justify the value of benchmarking and reward strategy choices.

• Develop in depth understanding of the total rewards approach and the impact of base and incremental pay and benefits in attracting and motivating employees.

• Assess the benefits and challenges of performance appraisal and its links to pay progression.

• Examine the ethical issues that may arise from forms of reward and how the principles of transparency and equity are the cornerstones of responsible and effective approaches to reward.

This optional unit focuses on the main reasoning of employment law such as employer defences and claimant remedies. You will examine the common issues relating to employment law which arise in organisations with a view to preparing a defence or helping to settle claims before a hearing. Integral to this is the legal system, the main sources of law and the evolution of contemporary employment regulation in the UK.

• Develop an understanding of UK employment law and the legal framework for employment regulation in the UK.

• Explain the major sources of employment law and its evolution, the role and function of the courts and other employment law institutions and the principles of law in the fields of precedent, vicarious liability and continuity of employment.

• Cover the Equality Act and its application including interpretation of the protected characteristics aimed at protecting workers from unlawful acts of discrimination.

• Analyse contracts of employment and debate the principles of wrongful, constructive and unfair dismissal.

• Explore the law in relation to health and safety at work and personal injury, regulation on hours and wages, maternity and parental employment rights and the regulations relating to confidentiality at work.

Effective organisational design and development is crucial for businesses to thrive. Influencing organisational structure is a key part of effective people development. This optional unit will give you the knowledge, skills and confidence to re-shape your organisation to meet the business challenges of the future. You will develop understanding of the range of options for organisational design and how these align with strategic objectives. Learn how to:

• Critically evaluate theory and concepts in relation to ODD to gain an understanding of its principles and any key issues that underpin them.

• Examine the meaning and value of ODD and review the rationale for and the complexity of organisational design, considering a range of organisational forms and the contextual relevance of these.

• Develop understanding of different methods and approaches to organisational development and how these align with organisational goals.

• Explore the role of people professionals in the creation of new organisational forms.

• Examine responses and approaches to change, including strategies for employee engagement and reflection on personal skills and behaviours that influence successful implementation.

When organisations become international, they can face major challenges and complexities in their scope and activities. This optional unit explores how and why organisations trade and operate internationally, the different forms that international business operations take and some of the practical and ethical issues that international organisations face from a people management perspective.

• Analyse the different ways in which organisations operate, trade and expand overseas, discussing the ethical issues in the field of international management and employment.

• Learn about how and why people management practices vary between different countries and regions around the world.

• Focus on the staffing of international organisations, and effective management of expatriate staff and the major alternative staffing strategies which international organisations follow.

• Focus on the practicalities associated with managing people in an international context, specifically in the fields of performance management, diversity and inclusion, reward management, communication and employee voice, talent management and development, and flexible working practice.

This optional unit explores strategic workplace diversity and inclusion in terms of communication and training, addressing workplace behaviour and analysis of trends. It focuses on the historical and present-day role of trade unions and line managers in promoting a fair work-place culture key to managing workplace effectiveness.