5CO02 Evidence-based Practice Question (AC 1.1) and (AC 1.2)

5CO02 Evidence-based Practice Question (AC 1.1) and (AC 1.2)

When looking at the 5CO02 Evidence-based Practice Question (AC 1.1) and (AC 1.2), it’s easy to think we’re getting into a purely academic exercise. But once you actually get into it, it’s surprisingly relevant to real working life. We often find ourselves, whether we’re HR advisors or in broader people functions, trying to make sense of issues using

• what we know
• what we’ve seen
• what’s been proven to work.

Evidence-based practice isn’t about data for the sake of it. It’s more about pulling together multiple threads, numbers, experience, professional views, even gut instinct sometimes, and shaping decisions that feel grounded but flexible.

In this section, we’re walking through what evidence-based practice really involves and how tools and methods can help. That includes looking at how decisions in people practice might feel more structured, more informed, but not overly boxed in. Because people aren’t spreadsheets.

Scenario

Your manager has asked you to complete a briefing paper for her to give to a visiting team of people practice graduates who are particularly interested in how evidenced-based practice is used in the context of people practices. The content needs to give them critical insight into what evidence-based practice is and how it is relevant to people professionals. She has also asked you to include practical examples of the types of data analysis that people professionals use.

Briefing paper – part one

For part one, you need to provide the graduates with knowledge and understanding of what evidence-based practice is and identify approaches that can be taken for effective critical thinking and decision-making that ensures integrity and value is upheld.

You must ensure that you:

Evaluate the concept of evidence-based practice including how approaches to evidence-based practice can be used to provide insight that supports sound decision making across a range of people practices and organisational issues. (AC 1.1)

STEP 1: Understand the context of the case study

You’ve been asked to write a briefing paper for your manager, who will be meeting a team of visiting people practice graduates. They want to understand evidence-based practice (EBP) and how it fits into people management decisions.

You’re not writing an academic report here, you’re writing something professional, informative, and grounded. Think of it like you’re prepping someone for a Q&A session. That tone will help you stay practical rather than theoretical.

Now remember, this is for people who know the theory, but they want to see how it plays out in real-world settings, in our case, that’s the people function of an organisation, not some generic HR textbook.

So our case study sets the scene:
Your manager works in an organisation where there’s active interest in how EBP is applied within people practices. You’re in a position to help shed some light on that, not as a textbook author, but as someone who’s been part of the doing.

STEP 2: Break down the question itself

Let’s divide the question into two parts:

2.1 “Evaluate the concept of evidence-based practice…”

• Evaluate means you need to weigh it up, explain what it is, why it matters, maybe even where it falls short or is misused sometimes.
• Think of it as explaining a tool that’s meant to help people professionals make better decisions.
• This part is more conceptual but still needs to feel grounded. Avoid long theory dumps.

2.2 “…including how approaches to evidence-based practice can be used to provide insight that supports sound decision-making across a range of people practices and organisational issues.”

• This is the practical part.
• You’ll need to show how EBP is actually used to inform decision-making.
• “Across a range” means don’t stick to one example. Cover more than one people practice, perhaps recruitment, employee wellbeing, and performance management.
• Use realistic examples, based on either your organisation or Inter Luxe Hotel Group.

STEP 3: Start with a working definition

Let’s think aloud here.

You might open with something like:

Evidence-based practice, in the context of people functions, is about making informed decisions using a mix of data, professional expertise, stakeholder views, and external research. It’s rarely clean. In real life, it often means taking incomplete information and trying to make the best call you can, ideally backed by more than just instinct or past habits.

That already starts us on the right tone. It’s clear, slightly cautious, and avoids sounding overconfident.

To expand this:

• Mention the four sources of evidence commonly discussed:
  1. Organisational data (e.g., HR metrics, turnover rates, survey results)
  2. Professional expertise (the “gut feel” built from experience, but not just that)
  3. Stakeholder expectations (employees, leadership, maybe even customers)
  4. External research (academic studies, industry benchmarks)

Now, don’t just list them. Use a small example to tie it in.

“At Inter Luxe, for instance, if a cluster of hotels sees rising employee turnover among junior kitchen staff, an evidence-based response wouldn’t jump straight to pay increases. We’d begin by reviewing exit interview data (organisational evidence), consult line managers (professional insight), gauge staff morale through surveys (stakeholder input), and perhaps look at what similar hospitality groups have done successfully (external research).”

Now that’s EBP in practice, it’s real and varied.

STEP 4: Evaluate the benefits, but include a bit of hesitation too

Remember: you’re not writing a perfect sales pitch. You’re walking someone through what usually works, sometimes doesn’t, and often depends.

So what are the good bits?

• Helps avoid knee-jerk decisions.
• Adds credibility when presenting a business case.
• Reduces bias, especially in subjective areas like performance reviews or hiring.

But, be honest about the reality:

There are times when decisions still rely more on who’s in the room than what the data says. In smaller clusters of the Inter Luxe group, especially where managers are pressed for time, there’s a tendency to default to personal judgement. While EBP is encouraged, it’s not always applied rigorously, either due to time, confidence, or simply lack of access to reliable data.

This keeps your evaluation real, not a glowing endorsement, but a balanced reflection.

STEP 5: Show how EBP supports sound decisions in different people practices

Let’s cover three or four areas of people practice.

Recruitment & Selection

When Inter Luxe reviews the effectiveness of a recruitment campaign for seasonal staff in its coastal resorts, an evidence-based approach might combine applicant tracking data (e.g., time-to-hire, source of hire), hiring manager feedback, and turnover rates post-hire. If candidates sourced from Job Centre Plus tend to stay longer than those hired via agencies, that evidence can shape future sourcing strategy.

Employee Engagement

If engagement scores have dipped in city-based hotels, we might triangulate data from pulse surveys, one-to-one interviews with key team members, and observations from regional HR advisors. Say staff in night shifts report feeling disconnected. That’s not something raw data alone reveals, but when the qualitative and quantitative inputs are combined, it’s easier to justify scheduling change or improved supervisor check-ins.

Wellbeing and Absence Management

Inter Luxe recently trialled a stress-reduction programme in two locations. Before rolling it out more broadly, we analysed sickness absence rates pre- and post-intervention, tracked EAP usage, and compared departments with and without the pilot scheme. That blend of internal data and staff experience helps avoid pushing out well-being programmes that look good on paper but don’t deliver much impact in practice.

Learning & Development

We ran a skills audit across kitchen staff to determine gaps in food hygiene knowledge. Staff completion rates of e-learning modules, manager feedback on shift performance, and customer complaints related to food handling all fed into our decision to rework training delivery. It wasn’t just about course completions, it was about what changed afterwards.

STEP 6: Tie it back to the visiting graduates’ perspective

You might end your paper with a gentle nudge that evidence-based practice isn’t about perfection. It’s about trying to make better decisions, based on what you have, with a bit of structure.

For people practice graduates entering the field, the challenge often isn’t understanding EBP in theory, but knowing how to apply it with limited data or in less structured environments. At Inter Luxe, we try to embed the habit early, before recommending a new staff policy, ask what does the evidence say? And if it’s not clear, then what do we need to find out before we act?”

Wrap-up

So, to meet the criteria of AC 1.1, your submission needs to do the following:

• Explain the concept of EBP clearly and in a way that acknowledges it’s not always simple.
• Include examples from multiple people practice areas (recruitment, engagement, wellbeing, etc.).
• Evaluate, that means highlight strengths and limitations.
• Stick to the case study and write as if you were supporting your manager.

People Practice Graduates Inter Luxe Hotel Group

This paper has been prepared to offer some practical insight into how evidence-based practice (EBP) is applied within the people function, particularly in the context of Inter Luxe Hotel Group. You may already be familiar with the concept in theory, but what we’ll do here is look at what it actually looks like in the real world, when things aren’t always neat, and decisions often need to be made with incomplete or conflicting information.

Our role in people practice isn’t just about policies or reacting to immediate issues. It’s about making sound, thought-through decisions, ideally supported by the best available evidence.

What is Evidence-Based Practice?

Put simply, evidence-based practice means grounding decisions in a combination of evidence, not just relying on instinct, or “how we’ve always done things.” That evidence can come from different places, including:

• What we know from internal data (e.g., HR systems, exit interviews, absence records)
• What we’ve learned from personal or professional experience
• What employees and managers are telling us
• What external research and credible sources are showing elsewhere in the sector

You might only have partial data, or staff feedback that conflicts with what reports show. The key is being aware of what you’re basing your decision on, and actively considering more than one angle before moving forward.

Why Does This Matter?

For a people professional, using evidence isn’t about showing off reports. It’s about confidence in decision-making and knowing you’ve made a choice that isn’t purely reactive. That’s important when recommending changes to senior leaders, or when justifying why something needs to shift.

At Inter Luxe, we’ve found that when decisions are based on a fuller picture, they tend to hold up better, even when there are unexpected outcomes. But it doesn’t always happen smoothly. Sometimes we still fall back on assumptions or time pressures get in the way. Being evidence-based is more of a habit to practise than a policy to follow.

Examples Across People Practices

Let’s now walk through how this works in specific areas of our people function.

1. Recruitment & Selection

When recruiting seasonal staff for our coastal hotels, we used to rely heavily on agency referrals. It worked, mostly, but turnover was high. We started to look more closely at our applicant tracking data and compared it with retention rates. Interestingly, those who came via Job Centre Plus tended to stay longer and perform more steadily in guest feedback metrics.

Rather than making assumptions about source quality, we took a more structured approach, combining HR analytics, manager observations, and retention data. That shaped how we approached sourcing the following season.

2. Employee Engagement

In one of our London properties, staff engagement scores dipped sharply after a change in hotel leadership. A basic survey alone didn’t tell us why. We brought in additional sources, focus groups with staff, informal chats with supervisors, and feedback from our HR business partner for that location.

The result? It wasn’t the new manager’s leadership style that was the issue, it was the scheduling changes introduced at the same time. Without triangulating data, we might have blamed the wrong factor entirely.

3. Wellbeing and Absence

We tried a well-being initiative, weekly mindfulness sessions across two hotels. One group showed a drop in short-term absences, the other didn’t. On the surface, the results were mixed.

By digging into the sickness records, staff feedback forms, and even some qualitative input from line managers, we learned that in the second hotel, the timing of sessions clashed with peak operational demands. Participation was low not because staff didn’t want to attend, but because they simply couldn’t. This influenced how we rescheduled sessions across other sites.

4. Learning & Development

We ran a hygiene refresher course for kitchen staff after noticing a spike in food safety complaints. Completion rates were fine, but complaint rates didn’t improve.

Digging deeper, we found that while the course content was accurate, it wasn’t being applied. Post-training conversations with chefs and kitchen supervisors revealed confusion about certain food handling protocols.

We redesigned the training to include more hands-on demonstrations and real-time coaching during shifts, an approach prompted not just by data, but by listening to staff concerns that surfaced after the initial intervention.

Strengths and Real-World Challenges

Evidence-based practice helps us reduce bias, avoid over-reliance on instinct, and make decisions that are easier to defend when challenged. But there are limitations too. At times, we just don’t have access to the right data. Or, data may suggest one thing, but stakeholder expectations pull us in another direction.

In smaller or resource-pressured hotels, EBP can feel like a luxury. You may hear managers say, “I know what my team needs, I’ve been doing this for 20 years.” And sometimes, they’re right. Other times, without a wider view, assumptions can miss the mark.

What we try to do is bring evidence into conversations early even informally. Before acting, ask: what do we already know? What’s missing? What would make us more confident in our decision?

For You, as New People Professionals

When you step into your first roles, it’s easy to think you need perfect information before making a decision. You don’t. But you do need curiosity, and the habit of questioning.

At Inter Luxe, we encourage new practitioners to start by asking simple but honest questions:

• Who’s affected by this decision?
• What’s the current state of play?
• What has or hasn’t worked before?
• What’s the data showing, and what isn’t it telling us?

Evidence-based practice isn’t about finding the ‘right’ answer. It’s about being better informed, sometimes just slightly better, than you would be otherwise.

Evaluate one appropriate analysis tool and one appropriate analysis method that might be applied by organisations to recognise and diagnose issues, challenges, and opportunities. (AC 1.2) 

Now, for this particular question, we’re zooming in on how to use one analysis tool and one analysis method. And not just to describe them. You need to evaluate, so you’re going a bit deeper. Looking at how useful they really are, where they work well, maybe where they don’t. You’re not expected to know everything, but you do need to show you can think critically.

Step 1: Break Down the Question

Let’s start with the basic terms:

Term	What it Means Here
Evaluate	You’re not just describing, you’re weighing things up. Think: “How well does this work? What are its strengths? Any downsides?”
Analysis tool	Something structured and practical like a framework or model you apply to diagnose a problem. It’s visual or conceptual.
Analysis method	A way of doing analysis. Think techniques involving data, quantitative or qualitative, like surveys, interviews, or regression.
Recognise & diagnose	Spot something going on in the workplace (maybe morale is dipping) and understand what’s behind it.

So, you’re giving them one tool and one method, both of which can help a people professional understand what’s going wrong, or what might be improved in a workplace.

Step 2: Choose a Suitable Tool & Method

Let’s pick one of each, based on what a People Advisor at a hotel chain like Inter Luxe Hotel Group might realistically use.

Analysis Tool	Analysis Method
SWOT Analysis	Thematic Analysis of Exit Interviews

We’ll go with these because:

• They’re familiar in HR practice.
• They apply well to people-related challenges like turnover or employee dissatisfaction.
• They’re realistic, no point choosing fancy ones that nobody on the ground really uses.

Let’s go deeper now.

Evaluation of an Analysis Tool – SWOT Analysis

Right. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It’s simple, but surprisingly versatile.

Example from Inter Luxe Case Study:

Let’s say you’re looking at why staff turnover is high at the city-centre hotels compared to the coastal resorts. You might use a SWOT to map internal and external factors.

Area	What You Might Record
Strengths	Strong brand, staff loyalty at some sites
Weaknesses	Long shifts, inconsistent rota scheduling
Opportunities	Upskilling staff with internal leadership training
Threats	Competitors offering better perks, cost of living in cities

This framework gives structure, it forces you to think broadly, not just about what’s wrong, but also about what’s working or might soon become a problem.

Strengths of SWOT

• It’s quick. You don’t need statistical training to do one.
• Encourages strategic thinking, especially helpful when you’re comparing multiple hotel sites.
• Can be collaborative, you can get team managers or staff involved.

Limitations

• It’s subjective. What one person sees as a “threat”, another might call a “challenge worth taking”.
• If you don’t combine it with other data, it can be too vague.
• It’s a snapshot in time, it doesn’t track change over time unless you repeat it.

So it’s useful, especially at early stages when you’re trying to get a sense of the playing field. But you wouldn’t want to rely on it alone, there’s no depth or evidence unless you back it up.

Evaluation of an Analysis Method, Thematic Analysis of Exit Interviews

Let’s talk about exit interviews. At Inter Luxe, you might notice staff leaving at a higher rate in city-based hotels. So your manager asks: “Why are people quitting?”

You might run a thematic analysis, a way of looking for repeated themes across written or spoken data. You read transcripts or notes from exit interviews and group recurring ideas.

Say, from 20 interviews, these themes emerge:

• “Management doesn’t listen”
• “Rotas change last minute”
• “Too few promotion chances”

Now, that’s real data, staff voices. The method doesn’t give numbers as such, but it gives patterns. A theme doesn’t pop up once, it recurs. That tells you it’s worth paying attention to.

Strengths of Thematic Analysis

• It’s based on real people’s words, not abstract categories.
• Flexible, you can apply it to written surveys, interviews, even open-text feedback from staff surveys.
• Good for spotting emotional tone, not just “what” but “how” people express things.

Weaknesses

• It’s time-consuming. Someone has to actually read and code all the data.
• Subjective, it depends on the reader’s interpretation unless you’ve got clear coding guidelines.
• Not easily generalisable, 20 people saying something is useful, but it’s not 2000.

Still, it’s incredibly useful for recognising patterns that numbers alone won’t show. Especially in a high-stakes people setting like hospitality, where emotional labour and wellbeing matter.

Putting It All Together in the Paper

Your manager wants a briefing that’s insightful but practical. So you might structure it like this:

1. Introduction
   • Mention evidence-based practice and why it matters in people practice roles.
   • Explain that people professionals use tools and methods to base decisions on more than just gut feeling.
2. SWOT Analysis as a tool
   • Briefly define it.
   • Apply it to a realistic issue (like turnover in Inter Luxe’s city hotels).
   • Evaluate, acknowledge both strengths and limits.
3. Thematic Analysis as a method
   • Describe what it involves.
   • Apply it to exit interview data.
   • Reflect on pros and cons, especially in relation to your context.
4. Wrap Up (Lightly)
   • Point out that neither approach works alone. The real value is when people professionals mix data types and question assumptions.
   • Suggest that both tool and method, used together, can give a more rounded view.

It’s never neat. Sometimes, even when themes are clear, it’s difficult to act if the budget or culture won’t allow. But having some structure, like SWOT, and some voice, like exit interviews, gives you at least something to stand on.

Final Tips for Writing Your Briefing Paper

• Imagine you’re speaking to new grads be clear, not overly formal.
• Use examples from Inter Luxe so the content feels grounded.
• Don’t try to sound too clever, clarity beats complexity.
• And stick to realistic limitations, don’t promise that any one tool or method will magically fix everything.

Understanding How Evidence-Based Practice Helps People Professionals Diagnose Workplace Challenges

Prepared for: People Function Manager, Inter Luxe Hotel Group
Audience: Visiting People Practice Graduates
Focus Area: AC 1.2 Evaluating an Analysis Tool and Method for Recognising and Diagnosing Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities

Part 1: Using SWOT Analysis as a Practical Tool

Let’s start with something simple but useful, SWOT Analysis. It stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. You may have come across it before in business contexts, but we use it in people practice too.

At the heart of it, SWOT helps us step back and consider both internal and external factors influencing a situation. It forces us to map what’s working and what’s not, before jumping to conclusions.

Application at Inter Luxe

Take our city-centre hotels. In Q1 this year, the resignation rate among front-desk staff was higher than usual. Rather than dive straight into solutions (pay rises, rota changes, etc.), we ran a SWOT with department heads:

Area	What Emerged
Strengths	Recognised hotel brand, some strong team leaders
Weaknesses	Last-minute rota changes, long commute times
Opportunities	More flexible contracts for students or part-time workers
Threats	Competitors offering small bonuses for referrals

Just doing this exercise helped shift the conversation from frustration (“Why do people keep leaving?”) to exploration (“What can we adjust, realistically?”).

What SWOT Does Well

• It’s accessible, any team can sketch one out on a flipchart.
• It encourages wider thinking beyond the surface issue.
• You don’t need huge amounts of data to start, it often sparks deeper analysis.

Where It Falls Short

• It can be very subjective. Two managers might list completely different weaknesses.
• Without linking it to actual data (e.g. staff surveys), it becomes speculative.
• It’s a starting point, not a decision-maker.

So, we tend to use SWOT early on, almost like feeling out the edges of a problem before committing to more targeted analysis.

Part 2: Analysing Exit Interviews Using Thematic Analysis

Alongside tools like SWOT, we often need a method that actually draws on real, lived experience, this is where thematic analysis can be really powerful.

This method involves looking for repeated ideas, patterns, or ‘themes’ across qualitative data, usually interviews, open-text feedback, or reflective notes. It’s not number-crunching. It’s more about noticing what people keep bringing up, and what that tells us.

Application at Inter Luxe

In late 2024, we collected data from exit interviews at our six city hotels. Twenty staff left across three months, most from guest-facing roles. Instead of just glancing at their reasons (“found a better offer”, “relocating”, etc.), we reviewed full interview transcripts.

Three recurring themes emerged:

1. Rota unpredictability – many mentioned shifts being swapped at short notice.
2. Lack of career progression – staff saw no clear route to supervisory roles.
3. Feeling unheard – some tried raising issues but felt dismissed by middle managers.

We didn’t code them by numbers, this wasn’t a survey, but the emotional tone across interviews was consistent. Words like “ignored”, “trapped”, and “tired” came up repeatedly.

What Thematic Analysis Helps With

• Captures what people feel, not just what they say.
• Flexible, you can use it on open-text surveys, pulse check-ins, or exit interviews.
• Reveals tone, frustration, values, things that quantitative tools miss.

But There Are Limits

• It’s time-consuming. Reading and grouping themes takes patience.
• Subjectivity can creep in—you interpret themes based on your lens.
• You can’t extrapolate patterns unless you’ve got a decent sample.

Still, when used alongside tools like SWOT or even engagement survey data, thematic analysis gives you texture. It reminds us that people aren’t just metrics—they’re human, and their words carry weight.

Why Both Work Well Together

One alone isn’t enough. SWOT without evidence can feel like guesswork. Thematic analysis without structure can drown you in data.

At Inter Luxe, we’ve found value in starting broad (SWOT), then zooming in (thematic analysis), and only then considering our action plan. For example:

• The SWOT showed rota inflexibility as a weakness.
• Exit interviews gave the emotional context, stress and burnout.
• That helped justify a pilot rota redesign across two hotel branches.

Quick Reminder

As you move into your roles, remember that data doesn’t need to be fancy to be useful. Start with tools like SWOT to get perspective. Then listen, really listen to what people are saying through feedback and exit interviews. Use thematic analysis to piece together a story.

Some days, the data will align neatly. Other times, it won’t. You might feel stuck between what staff say, what managers expect, and what the business can actually support. That’s the nature of the work. The value comes not from having perfect methods, but from being willing to look, ask, and think critically.

Evidence-Based Practice FAQs

1. What does evidence-based practice mean in HR?
It’s a way of approaching decisions using more than just experience or assumption. You combine data, research, stakeholder feedback, and professional expertise to decide what works—and what doesn’t, in specific people-related situations.

2. Do I always need data to use evidence-based practice?
Not necessarily. It’s not just about numbers. Sometimes, you’ll rely more on practitioner expertise or feedback from employees. That said, it helps to at least refer to trends or patterns where possible.

3. How can this approach help with people-related issues?
It tends to reduce guesswork. Whether you’re addressing absence rates, poor engagement, or leadership gaps, it gives you something to build on, something firmer than “this feels like a problem.”

4. Are there downsides to using evidence-based methods?
There can be. It might slow decisions down, especially if you wait too long for the “perfect” evidence. And in some organisations, the appetite for change based on research may be limited.

5. What counts as ‘evidence’ in practice?
It can vary. External research, organisational data, expert views, stakeholder opinions, all of these can be used. The mix often depends on the issue you’re trying to understand or improve.