Unit 5: Supervisory Skills in the

Hospitality Industry
Unit code: J/600/9151
QCF Level 3: BTEC National
Credit value: 8
Guided learning hours: 30

Aim and purpose

The aim of this unit is to enable the candidate to develop the necessary knowledge and understanding of
how to supervise, lead, and train staff. This covers the legislative requirements including the supervisory
responsibilities associated with ensuring that the organisation’s working environment and staff are fully
compliant with legal requirements.
Importance is also placed on identification, monitoring and recording risk assessments and the production
and application of health and safety policies and procedures.

Unit introduction

The ability to lead and supervise teams is critical to the success of a hospitality business. However, teams
can be ineffective and lack direction, with members that cannot work together. This unit introduces learners
to the principles of team leadership and supervision in a hospitality context. It focuses on assisting learners
to put theory into practice when leading teams, ensuring that their teams achieve the required objectives.

Learners, therefore, need to be aware of the different types of teams operating within hospitality
businesses. This unit considers the role of teams and how working in teams benefits both individuals and
businesses. Learners will also explore the necessary pre-conditions for teams to be effective and objective
focused.

Understanding and applying team supervision and development skills is a key requirement of this unit.
Learners will be introduced to the principles of team building, how teams can be managed effectively, and
the factors that threaten team development within hospitality businesses.

The ability to measure the effectiveness of team performance and achievement is a requirement for any
successful hospitality business. Learners will explore the key factors used to monitor work performance
and team achievement. They will also be encouraged to review the role of the supervisor and manager in
hospitality businesses, and their impact and influence on team achievement.

Learners will have the opportunity to explain and show team leadership skills. These skills can be developed
and measured in practical situations where learners have to demonstrate personal organisation, flexibility
and other interpersonal skills when leading a team towards achieving the desired objectives.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this unit a learner should:

1 Be able to apply and monitor good health and safety practices
2 Be able to explain how to apply staff supervisory skills within a small team.

Supervisory Skills in the Hospitality Industry – Pearson BTEC Level 3 Nationals (QCF) specification
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Unit content

1 Be able to apply and monitor good health and safety practices

Health and safety practices: sources of support in meeting health and safety legislative requirements
eg Health and Safety Executive (HSE); relevant health and safety requirements; carrying out risk
assessments; the importance of carrying out risk assessments; the process of carrying out risk
assessments (identifying the hazards, deciding who might be harmed and how, evaluating the risks
and deciding on precautions, recording findings and implementing them, reviewing the assessment
and updating if necessary); recording and storing relevant information; the purpose of recording and
reporting procedures; health and safety policies and procedures; health and safety requirements
legislation in relation to the professional kitchen; compliance with legislation; responsibilities of
supervisors in relation to health and safety

Monitoring health and safety policies and procedures: review and evaluate work practices; possible
adaptation or reallocation of tasks

2 Be able to explain how to apply staff supervisory skills within a small team

Types of team: formal and informal; temporary project/task teams versus permanent groupings
Characteristics of a good team: contribution to departmental and organisational effectiveness; ‘positive
synergy’; reduction of alienation; unit of accountability; focus of human resource contribution/
performance; opportunities (to foster innovation, to share expertise, to implement change, to identify
and develop talent, to spread knowledge base, to reduce reliance on one individual)
Team building: recruitment; induction; motivation; training eg deputisation, coaching, mentoring; clear
articulation of performance expectations; planned staff development eg of skill sets and morale;
conduct of appraisal interviews; delegation; team knowledge eg awareness of team members’
strengths, weaknesses and sensitivities; capacity to support all team members; retention of team
members
Leadership skills: ability to motivate and lead a team; ability to take initiative; effective self-presentation;
effective communication skills; ability to envision; charisma; ability to encourage and build morale/
confidence; awareness of need for consultation; ability to ask appropriate questions; willingness
to be held accountable and take responsibility; ability to defuse and resolve conflict; professional
management of stress and anger; flexibility to respond to the unexpected; decisiveness; willingness to
seek support when necessary; ability to self-evaluate and recognise own weaknesses
Stages of team development: forming (reaching consensus about issues); storming (managing internal
conflict constructively); norming and performing (determining and implementing solutions to problems);
adjoining (implementing action plans, reviewing and evaluating team performance)
Monitoring team performance and achievement: identify and agree team objectives; use of performance
indicators; regular review of performance against targets; support and development of team
members performing below target; possible revision of team responsibilities; review and evaluation of
teamworking arrangements; application of corrective measures to remedy team underachievement;
maintain team focus
Supervision: by peers; carried out as required by relevant legislation, regulation, guidance, standards,
inspection requirements and requirements of the provision and service
Importance of supervision: promoting effective communication and staff development; exchanging
information and feedback that supports the supervision; purpose (monitoring tasks and workload,
solving problems, supporting staff in dealing with complex situations and moral and ethical dilemmas)

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Assessment and grading criteria

In order to pass this unit, the evidence that the learner presents for assessment needs to demonstrate that
they can meet all the learning outcomes for the unit. The assessment criteria for a pass grade describe the
level of achievement required to pass this unit.

Assessment and grading criteria

To achieve a pass grade the To achieve a merit grade the To achieve a distinction grade
evidence must show that the evidence must show that, in the evidence must show that,
learner is able to: addition to the pass criteria, in addition to the pass and
the learner is able to: merit criteria, the learner is
able to:
P1 source support to meet M1 explain how the provision
health and safety legislative of staff training and
requirements effective supervision
P2 conduct self in the workplace support health and safe
to meet relevant health and practices of staff
safety requirements
[SM 2, 3, 4]
P3 carry out risk assessments
P4 record and store relevant
information
P5 implement and monitor
health and safety policies and
procedures
P6 identify the requirements of
health and safety legislation
in relation to the professional
kitchen
P7 explain how organisations
ensure compliance with
legislation
[IE 2]
P8 explain the responsibilities
of supervisors in relation to
health and safety
P9 identify sources of support
in meeting health and safety
requirements
P10 explain the importance of
carrying out risk assessments
P11 describe the process
of carrying out a risk
assessment
P12 explain the purpose of
recording and reporting
procedures

Supervisory Skills in the Hospitality Industry – Pearson BTEC Level 3 Nationals (QCF) specification
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 Assessment and grading criteria
To achieve a pass grade the To achieve a merit grade the To achieve a distinction grade
evidence must show that the evidence must show that, in the evidence must show that,
learner is able to: addition to the pass criteria, in addition to the pass and
the learner is able to: merit criteria, the learner is
able to:
P13 carry out a staff training M2 explain the importance D1 evaluate their own ability
needs analysis to meet health for a hospitality business to implement practices and
and safety requirements of effective management procedures for supervision
[TW 1] and development of staff in the context of legislation
through supervision. and staff development
P14 produce effective training
policies.
materials
[CT 1, EP 3]
P15 describe the range of
supervisory tasks within the
hospitality industry
P16 describe the purpose of
supervision
P17 describe characteristics of
leadership
P18 identify leadership styles
suitable for different
situations
P19 describe the benefits of team
development
P20 identify the characteristics of
a good team
P21 explain different methods of
training.

PLTS: This summary references where applicable, in the square brackets, the elements of the personal,
learning and thinking skills applicable in the pass criteria. It identifies opportunities for learners to
demonstrate effective application of the referenced elements of the skills.

Key IE – independent enquirers RL – reflective learners SM – self-managers

CT – creative thinkers TW – team workers EP – effective participators

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Essential guidance for tutors

Delivery

This unit helps learners to appreciate the importance of teamworking and team leadership in the hospitality
industry and focuses on the practical skills required when building and leading teams. The unit can be
delivered with reference to actual examples of workplace team operations in different types of hospitality
businesses. Guest speakers can be used to demonstrate the breadth of team approaches and the team
leadership skills employed in different hospitality businesses.

Learners can use their own experiences of working in teams as a useful way of approaching the subject,
for example from part-time employment, previous employment or work experience. Learners will also
find it beneficial to visit businesses within the hospitality industry to assess team performance in different
businesses. Occupationally-related television programmes such as Fawlty Towers, Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen
Nightmares and Jamie’s Kitchen (or appropriate TV programmes at the time of teaching) are useful in
illustrating both effective and ineffective features of team activity and team leadership.

Role play and practical situations should be used as much as possible in developing team leadership and
supervisory skills. To cover the supervisory aspects of this unit, learners should have the opportunity to
demonstrate team leadership skills in a hospitality context. If real work situations are not available (the
centre’s training restaurant, coffee shop, etc), then role plays can be used. These can be particularly useful
for practising how to deal with difficult team members or conflicts between team members. Learners
should develop criteria to evaluate performance relating to each scenario and practise evaluating their
own and others’ performance. Recording role plays using video and/or audio cassettes would assist self-
evaluation.

Case studies and scenario-based activities can also be used to enable learners to demonstrate their team
leadership skills.

This unit could be integrated, or delivered jointly with, Unit 6: Food and Drinks Service. This would offer the
opportunity to organise and supervise a team in the delivery of food and drink service. Another possibility
would be to integrate delivery with Unit 21: Events Organisation in Hospitality or Unit 22: Planning and
Managing a Hospitality Event, either of which could provide opportunities for learners to demonstrate their
team leadership skills.

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Outline learning plan

The outline learning plan has been included in this unit as guidance and can be used in conjunction with
the programme of suggested assignments.

The outline learning plan demonstrates one way in planning the delivery and assessment of this unit.

Topic and suggested assignments/activities and/assessment

Introduction to the unit and the programme of learning and assessment.
Group discussion about health and safety practices.
Visits to hospitality businesses and observation of health and safety monitoring procedures – follow-up
poster showing health and safety monitoring policies within the businesses.
Exercise – learners carry out risk assessments.
Role play exercises – learners conduct themselves in the workplace to meet relevant health and safety
requirements.
Assignment 1 – Applying and Monitoring Good Health and Safety Practices
(P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, P7, P8, P9, P10, P11, P12, M1)
Learners apply and monitor good health and safety practices.
Group discussion about types of team and characteristics of a good team.
Exercise – learners carry out a staff training needs analysis to meet health and safety requirements.
Learners visit two different businesses and find out about the range of supervisory tasks within the
hospitality industry, plus follow-up discussion.
Learners interview two different employers to find out about leadership styles suitable for different
situations.
Assignment 2 – How to Apply Staff Supervisory Skills within a Small Team
(P13, P14, P15, P16, P17, P18, P19, P20, P21, M2, D1)
Based on visit, learners produce a booklet on how to apply staff supervisory skills within a small team.

Assessment

Any evidence submitted for criteria requiring the practical demonstration of skills, eg role plays or the ability
to work independently, must be supported by observation sheet(s) signed by the assessor and identify how
specific criteria have been met.

The sub-headings in this section mirror the funnelling opportunities in the grading grid. They suggest how
assessment can be grouped to allow learners to progress to the higher grades; however, they are not
prescriptive.

P1 – P2 – P3 – P4 – P5 – P6 – P7 – P8 – P9 – P10 – P11 – P12 – M1

To achieve P1, learners need to research support available to meet health and safety legislative
requirements within the hospitality industry.

To achieve P2, learners need to demonstrate supervisory skills in a hospitality context to meet relevant
health and safety requirements. Ideally this should be achieved during a period of work experience or
in the centre’s training restaurant. Other units may also offer opportunities for demonstration of these
skills. Observation sheets completed by the assessor are ideal evidence. If this is not possible, a series of
simulated role-play exercises can be used to measure this criterion. These exercises should be recorded
using video and/or audio cassettes so that learners can review their performance.

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P3 requires learners to assess risks that might cause harm to people in a selected hospitality business and
determine whether enough precautions were taken or more should be done to prevent harm.

For P4, learners are required to record and store relevant information using appropriate industry templates
of documents.

To achieve P5, learners need to produce a checklist of criteria that they would use to monitor health and
safety policies and procedures. Each criterion on the checklist then needs to be described more fully
to ensure that learners appreciate the complex cyclical process from objective setting to performance
evaluation.

For P6, evidence could be in the form of a report which shows knowledge of the requirements of health
and safety legislation in relation to the professional kitchen.

P7 requires learners to explain how hospitality businesses ensure compliance with legislation.

For P8, evidence could be in the form of a written piece of work, such as a poster or information bulletin for
staff, which shows knowledge of the responsibilities of supervisors in relation to health and safety.

For P9, evidence could be produced in the form of a report identifying sources of support in meeting health
and safety requirements.

Evidence for P10 could be in a written format and should give an explanation of the importance of carrying
out risk assessments.

For P11, learners must describe the steps involved in carrying out a risk assessment. This will include:
identifying the hazards; deciding who might be harmed and how; evaluating the risks and deciding on
precautions; recording findings and implementing them; reviewing the assessment and updating if
necessary.

To achieve P12, learners must explain the purpose of recording and reporting procedures, including
injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences, as well as ‘near-miss’ incidents.

Evidence for M1 further develops and builds on the evidence provided for P5 and could be in a written
format.

P13 – P14 – P15 – P16 – P17 – P18 – P19 – P20 – P21 – M2 – D1

To achieve P13, learners must carry out a staff training needs analysis to meet health and safety
requirements. Learners should be critical when pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of ways of
meeting health and safety requirements. This could be evidenced through a written piece of work, such
as an article for the trade press or a training manual for a business. It could also be presented verbally,
perhaps as a training session.

For P14, learners must produce effective training materials to support staff in a selected hospitality
business. The development and design of the training materials should give learners an opportunity to be
innovative and creative while producing materials that meet the needs of the staff and the business they
are producing the materials for. The materials produced should inspire and engage staff and help them
transfer their new-found knowledge and skills back into the workplace.

For P15, evidence could be in the form of a report describing supervisory tasks for two different jobs within
the hospitality industry.

P16 requires learners to describe the different functions of supervision. The evidence could take a written
format, possibly after a group discussion.
For P17, learners must describe characteristics of leadership. Evidence could be in a written format.

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For P18, learners need to make a presentation or submit a report identifying leadership styles suitable for
different situations. Ideally this will be based on learners’ experiences working in the hospitality industry in a
part-time job or during a period of work experience. Care will have to be taken not to identify the business
or the manager. Where this is not possible, a research-driven, scenario-based assignment could be used.

For P19, learners need to describe the benefits of team development. The evidence could take a written
format, possibly after a group discussion.

For P20, evidence could be in the form of a report identifying the characteristics of a good team in
hospitality. Learners should show that they appreciate what is required for a team to be successful.

For P21, learners could visit a hospitality business to observe different methods of training and then explain
their findings. This could be within a hotel, a town centre fast-food restaurant, the centre’s refectory, or any
other suitable hospitality business.

To achieve M2, learners could make a verbal presentation or submit a written report explaining the
importance for a hospitality business of effective management and development of staff through
supervision. This exercise could be based on an actual hospitality business, combining theory and practice,
or learners could take a purely theoretical approach.

Evidence for D1 is based on learners’ ability to self-reflect and evaluate their effectiveness in providing
staff supervision. Again this criterion can be based on previous employment, current part-time work, or
industrial work experience in the hospitality industry.

Programme of suggested assignments

The table below shows a programme of suggested assignments that cover the pass, merit and distinction
criteria in the assessment and grading grid. This is for guidance and it is recommended that centres either
write their own assignments or adapt any Pearson assignments to meet local needs and resources.

Criteria covered Assignment title Scenario Assessment method

P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, Applying and Monitoring Learners take the role of Role play or work
P7, P8, P9, P10, P11, Good Health and Safety team supervisor in a hotel placement
P12, M1 Practices and are required to apply
and monitor good health
and safety practices.
P13, P14, P15, P16, P17, How to Apply Staff Learners take the role of Learners design and
P18, P19, P20, P21, M2, Supervisory Skills within assistant HR manager and prepare a booklet for
D1 a Small Team are expected to design team supervisors
and produce a booklet
on how to apply staff
supervisory skills within
a small team for all team
supervisors.

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Links to other BTEC units

This unit forms part of the BTEC Hospitality suite. This unit has particular links with the following unit titles in
the Hospitality suite:

Level 2 Level 3
Food and Drinks Service
The Principles of Food Safety Supervision for
Catering
Events Organisation in Hospitality
Planning and Managing a Hospitality Event

Essential resources

The use of real examples will make the unit relevant and show how different businesses have developed
approaches to team leadership and supervision. Role-play exercises and case studies will support this
approach.

Industry work experience and realistic work environment experience in the centre training restaurant will
provide an invaluable source of information for the unit.

Employer engagement and vocational contexts

Links with local employers should be developed to enable tutors to put the unit into a vocational context
through work placements or visits. Speakers from the local hospitality industry could also be used to
provide specialist knowledge and relay examples of teamworking practices. Work placements will provide
learners with first-hand experience of working in a team within a hospitality environment as long as they are
well structured and have clear expected learning outcomes.

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Delivery of personal, learning and thinking skills

The table below identifies the opportunities for personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTS) that have been
included within the pass assessment criteria of this unit.

Skill When learners are …

Independent enquirers P7 explaining how organisations ensure compliance with legislation [IE 2]
Creative thinkers P14 producing effective training materials [CT 1]
Team workers P13 carrying out a staff training needs analysis to meet health and safety
requirements [TW 1]
Self-managers P2 conducting self in the workplace to meet relevant health and safety
requirements [SW 2, 3, 4]
Effective participators P14 producing effective training materials [EP 3].

Skill When learners are …

Reflective learners evaluating experience and learning to inform future progress [RL 5].

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 Functional Skills – Level 2

Skill When learners are …

ICT – Use ICT systems
Select, interact with and use ICT systems
independently for a complex task to meet
a variety of needs
Use ICT to effectively plan work and
evaluate the effectiveness of the ICT
system they have used
Manage information storage to enable
efficient retrieval
Follow and understand the need for safety
and security practices
Troubleshoot
ICT – Find and select information
Select and use a variety of sources of researching ways of monitoring good health and safety
information independently for a complex practices
task
Access, search for, select and use ICT- researching and selecting information on the requirements
based information and evaluate its fitness of health and safety legislation in relation to the professional
for purpose kitchen
ICT – Develop, present and
communicate information
Enter, develop and format information
independently to suit its meaning and
purpose including:
z text and tables
z images
z numbers
z records
Bring together information to suit content
and purpose
Present information in ways that are fit for
purpose and audience
Evaluate the selection and use of ICT tools
and facilities used to present information
Select and use ICT to communicate and
exchange information safely, responsibly
and effectively including storage of
messages and contact lists

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Skill When learners are …
Mathematics
Understand routine and non-routine
problems in a wide range of familiar and
unfamiliar contexts and situations
Identify the situation or problem and the
mathematical methods needed to tackle it
Select and apply a range of skills to find
solutions
Use appropriate checking procedures and
evaluate their effectiveness at each stage
Interpret and communicate solutions
to practical problems in familiar and
unfamiliar routine contexts and situations
Draw conclusions and provide
mathematical justifications
English
Speaking and listening – make a range of explaining the responsibilities of supervisors in relation to
contributions to discussions and make health and safety
effective presentations in a wide range of
explaining the importance of carrying out risk assessments
contexts
explaining the purpose of recording and reporting procedures
Reading – compare, select, read and identifying the requirements of health and safety legislation in
understand texts and use them to gather relation to the professional kitchen
information, ideas, arguments and
opinions
Writing – write documents, including producing effective training materials.
extended writing pieces, communicating
information, ideas and opinions, effectively
and persuasively

RR210720 Unit 5 Supervisory Skills in the Hospitality Industry issue 3

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