7CO02 Brief Details Unit: 7CO02 – People Management and Development Strategies for Performance Release: June 2026, Version 1 Moderation window: Nove
7CO02 People Management & Development Strategies | June 2026 June 2026 7CO02 Brief Details Unit: 7CO02 – People Management and Development Strategies for Performance Release: June 2026, Version 1 Moderation window: November 2026 Assessment ID: CIPD_7CO02_26_01 Case organisation: Essona Assessment: Four answers of approximately 1,000 words each 7CO02 People Management and Development Strategies for Performance November 2026 moderation window
Deadline date 28th August 2026
Learner Assessment Brief
Assessment ID / CIPD_7CO02_26_01
Level 7 Advanced Diploma in
Strategic People Management Strategic Learning and Development Version 1 – Released June 2026 Expires June 2027 Study Centre information only: Last moderation window is September 2027 Centre number:
Centre name:
Learner number (1st 7 digits of CIPD Membership number):
Learner surname:
Learner other names:
Unit code:
7CO02
Unit title:
People management and development strategies for performance
Assessment ID:
CIPD_7CO02_26_01
Assessment start date:
Assessment submission date:
First resubmission date for centre marking – if applicable
Second resubmission date for centre marking – if applicable
Declared word count
Declared word count resubmission 1 – if applicable:
Declared word count resubmission 2 – if applicable:
Introduction Your knowledge and understanding of the material covered in this core unit will be assessed through your answers to four of the questions listed below. Your assessor will let you know which questions you are to answer. You are expected to complete all the learning for the unit, irrespective of which questions you are asked to answer.
The four questions will be drawn from different learning outcomes, featuring one assessment criterion in each learning outcome. These questions encompass a wide range of generalist HR, OD & L&D subject areas.
You will write four answers of approximately 1000 words to the questions posed and submit them together in a single document. This constitutes your assessment for this unit. The total word count for the assessment will therefore be 4000 words, plus or minus 10%. The bibliography or list of references is not included in the total word count.
You must demonstrate within the submitted evidence (through headings and sub-headings) which learning outcomes and assessment criteria you have addressed. We are unable to moderate your work if this is not included.
As this is an Advanced Level Diploma, it is important that you are able to demonstrate not only good knowledge and understanding of the material associated with each learning outcome, but also the ability to develop an original argument and justify it persuasively with reference to wider reading. Examples of approaches taken in a range of organisations are also an effective means by which to justify your arguments.
The six main criteria that CIPD requires centres to use when marking your assessment are outlined below, but it maybe that not all these criteria are present in every question.
focus depth and breadth of understanding strategic application and professional advice research and wider reading persuasiveness and originality presentation and language Watch the supporting video for this unit: centreshub.cipd.org/siteassets/assessments/advanced/june-2026---7c002-people-management-and-development-strategies-for-performance.mp4
Relevant podcasts
For more information on this unit’s key issues, listen to CIPD’s podcast, HR People Pod.
Episode 30: Enabling high performance working: A growth mindset
Episode 33: Enabling high performance working: The organisation lens
Episode 40: Priorities for the People Profession in 2026
Case Study Essona is a UK-based, medium-sized retailer, employing around 1,200 people across its head office, distribution hubs, and 40 high street stores. The stores sell a carefully curated range of home, fashion and wellness products sourced from independent makers, that collectively express mindful and sustainable living.
The organisation positions itself in the market as a customer-centric, ethically responsible lifestyle brand, with four core values: trust, curiosity, care and accountability. Although these values are central to the brand identity, staff surveys suggest they are not consistently reflected in everyday people management practices.
Essona’s ambitious organisational strategy emphasises the importance of innovation, customer loyalty and a high performing workforce capable of delivering exceptional customer service. The strategy also sets out an ambition for the retailer to be more agile and digitally enabled, with a strong e‑commerce offer to complement the store presence. The wording of the strategy document references empowering people and creating a collaborative culture where ideas are valued, experimentation is encouraged and people development is key. However, to date, the approach to people management practice at Essona has followed a low road, cost minimisation model with strong elements of hard HRM. The People Team is small, consisting of a people manager (who is not part of the Senior Leadership Team), three people management officers (with responsibility for head office, stores and distribution hubs respectively), an L&D specialist and two administrative assistants. With such limited resources, day-to-day people practice is devolved to line managers.
Budget-driven decision-making, limited investment in learning and development, and a focus on short-term staffing efficiencies exemplify the low-road stance. Workforce planning tends to be reactive and performance management is compliance oriented. In addition, decision making is siloed, cross functional collaboration rarely occurs, and line managers often default to command-and-control styles of management despite the organisation’s stated values of trust, curiosity and care. As a result of these operational and cultural norms, Essona is slowly realising that current people practices do not align well with the organisation’s strategic goals and values.
Whilst Essona’s brand is well known, since the pandemic the retailer has experienced year-on-year declining sales and intense competition from retailers with a strong online presence. To address these problems the Senior Leadership Team has renewed its attention to the organisational strategy and developed a clear five-year action plan to ensure the digital transformation and operational optimisation that is central to the strategy is prioritised, and that the people culture and practices in the organisation are fit for the future.
Part of the plan involves improving the capacity of the People Team and paying greater attention to how people management can contribute to organisational performance. To lead this work and demonstrate a clear commitment to the strategic importance of people practice, Essona has recently appointed Maya Choudhury to the newly created Senior Leadership Team position of People Director.
In her first few months in post, Maya makes the following key observations:
Skills shortages are emerging in digital, data analytics, and supply chain roles and the organisation is struggling to attract and retain the talent it needs. Employee turnover is a challenge in customer facing teams too, with exit interview data pointing to examples of uncaring and biased line managers, poor learning and development and limited career prospects. It is evident that learning and development provision has suffered from years of budget constraints. Much of the current offering consists of outdated e-learning modules and informal on-the-job instruction. There is no structured approach to talent management or succession planning. Performance management is viewed as administrative, and the annual appraisal cycle is treated purely as a tick box exercise. Objectives are often unclear, feedback is infrequent, and rewards are currently not aligned to performance or capability. Little attention has been paid to equity, diversity and inclusion or employee wellbeing, and Maya is concerned about the potential for grievances and/or the organisation developing a poor employer reputation. Recruitment and selection practices are basic and inconsistent, raising questions about their reliability and validity. Pay practices have developed over time and there are potential pay inequalities that have not been addressed. Reflecting on these issues, Maya firmly believes that a move towards a high-performance working practices (HPWP) model is necessary if Essona’s organisational strategy and associated five-year action plan is to succeed.
Questions LO1 Understand and debate the ways in which people management practices and strategies are connected to organisational outcomes and add value. Question 3
Examine the merits of Essona’s low cost/low road (with strong elements of hard HRM) approach to people management practice, and the way this links or detracts from effective business performance. (AC 1.3)
LO2 Understand current strategic practice in major areas of people management and development work. Question 6
Drawing on the CIPD report, Resourcing and talent planning 2024 and on the CIPD Factsheet and accompanying video – Performance management: An introduction (published 29 January 2026), evaluate current developments in the fields of resourcing and performance management, including the ways in which these could help Essona to address weaknesses in these critical areas. (AC 2.2)
LO3 Understand the role and influence of people management professionals. Question 10
Critically assess the nature of ethics and professionalism in people practice and the role of the CIPD, including how an appreciation of all three of these themes is important for the effective management of the Essona’s people management function. (AC 3.2)
LO4 Understand ways in which people management practice varies in different contexts. Question 15
Assess how Essona’s people management practices might need to vary if the organisation decides to expand internationally or deepens global supply‑chain partnerships. (AC 4.3)
Marking Grid Learners will receive a Pass, Merit, Distinction or Refer/Fail result at unit level.
You should mark in line with the generic grade descriptors provided on the last page of this brief.
You must provide a mark from 1 to 4 for each Learning Outcome in the unit. You must provide constructive, developmental feedback for each Learning Outcome where you award a mark of one, so refer/fail. If it is your Study Centre’s policy, you can also provide constructive, developmental feedback for learning outcomes where you award a mark of two or above. In both cases, you must provide rich summary feedback at the end of the feedback form, following the instructions provided there.
To pass the unit assessment learners must achieve a 2 (Pass) or above for each of the learningoutcomes.
The overall mark achieved will dictate the grade the learner receives for the Unit, provided NONE of the learning outcomes have been failed or referred.
Overall mark
Unit result
0 to 7
Refer / Fail
8 or 9
Pass
10 to 13
Merit
14 to 16
Distinction
Learners’ result should be recorded in a marking grid similar to the example below.
Marking grid: Learning outcome
Mark
LO1
2
LO2
3
LO3
3
LO4
2
Overall mark
10
Unit Result
Merit
Generic grade descriptors
REFER/FAIL / 1
PASS / 2
MERIT / 3
DISTINCTION / 4
Focus
Fails to address all the questions either sufficiently fully or directly.
An adequate attempt to address all the questions fully and directly.
A good attempt to address all the questions relatively well and directly.
An excellent attempt to address all the questions very well and directly.
Depth & breadth of understanding
Inadequate knowledge and understanding in respect of one or more of the questions. Limited depth and breadth of analysis.
Adequate knowledge and understanding across the questions. Satisfactory breadth and depth of analysis.
Full and solid knowledge and understanding across all the questions. Good breadth and depth of analysis.
Very full knowledge and understanding across all the questions. Excellent breadth and depth of analysis.
Strategic application & professional advice
Fails to provide appropriate or well-justified advice and/or recommendations. Lacks a strategic approach.
Provides adequately justified advice and informed recommendations. Some strategic application.
Provides solid and thoughtful advice and well-informed recommendations. Clearly strategic in orientation.
Provides excellent advice and very well-informed recommendations. Strategically oriented in all respects.
Research & wider reading
Limited original research and/or appropriate wider reading for the assignment. Limited or no referencing.
Evidence of sufficient research and appropriate wider reading for the assignment. Satisfactory in-text referencing.
Evidence of significant research and thoughtful, appropriate wider reading for the assignment. A good standard of in-text referencing.
Evidence of considerable research and excellent, appropriate wider reading for the assignment. An excellent standard of in-text referencing.
Persuasiveness & originality
Limited development of persuasive and original arguments. Inadequate use of examples.
An adequate attempt to develop original arguments and to justify these persuasively. Includes appropriate examples.
Some strong original arguments are presented which are mainly justified persuasively. Good use of examples.
Mostly strong original arguments are presented and justified very persuasively. Excellent use of examples.
Presentation & language
An inadequate standard of presentation or language. The assignment is poorly written and/or poorly structured. It is not at the level required for a management presentation.
A solid standard of presentation and use of language. The structure and ideas are satisfactory for a management presentation.
A strong and professional standard of presentation and use of language. The structure and ideas are well crafted for a management presentation.
An outstanding standard of presentation and use of language. The structure and ideas are very well crafted for a management presentation
