This unit is for people learning how to run small tasks or projects at work. It’s been part of ILM courses for a long time.

Alright, if you’re doing ILM Level 3, you’ll see Unit 320 in your course. It’s not a big topic. It just teaches you how to plan and carry out something simple at work, like setting up a new system or organizing a short training.

ILM short for the Institute of Leadership and Management. It’s based in the UK. They make courses for people who want to lead teams or move into a team leader role.

This blog explains what Unit 320 is, what the assignment wants from you, and how to go about doing it in your own way. So keep reading this guide, and be a better leader. 

What is Unit 320 About?

So ILM has different units. It’s for people working or trying to move up at work. Each part teaches a different skill. These parts are called units. Unit 320 is just one of them. It’s not a hard one; all it needs from you is thinking a little bit. 

This one is about learning how to do a small project at work from start to finish. You pick something that needs to be done. You make a plan. You follow the steps. Then you look back and see how it went.

The project can be anything, simple, like improving how a task is done, or even helping your team work better. The core point here is to show that you can organize the work in the best way and follow through. 

This unit is part of the course because it teaches planning, problem solving, and basic leadership. These are things that are useful in any job, not just for managers.

Who Is This Unit For?

This unit is designed for all who want to take on more responsibilities while working on something. You don’t necessarily have to be a manager to use it. But this meant for all those who lead a small team or even someone who’s asked to handle tasks that need proper planning and follow-up. 

You can take tanbigle benefit of this unit if you are: 

• working in a team and starting to take the lead on things
• helping organize tasks or sort out small problems
• Thinking about stepping into a team leader or supervisor role
• already leading a small group and want to improve how they plan work

The ILM Level 3 Unit 320 is used by most learners in roles like:

• team leader
• shift supervisor
• senior staff member
• Or someone aiming for one of those jobs soon

Some people who take this unit haven’t done a full project before. That’s fine. You don’t need much experience. The unit is there to help you try something small from your job and manage it like a project. That way, you’re not starting from zero. You’re using something you already do, and showing how you planned it and followed it through.

You might not have a team leader title, but if you’ve helped sort stuff at work before, this unit lets you take that and use it in a proper task from start to end.

For example, you notice a new team member is often late, so you create a simple plan to improve punctuality. You set up a monthly reward for the most on-time employee. You explain it to the team, track the results, and by the end of the month, people are showing up earlier, including the new person.

Let’s Have a Look at the Simple Breakdown of the Assignment

The Unit 320 assignment is split into two parts. Each part checks something different. These are called learning outcomes. Under each outcome, there are small tasks to complete. These are called assessment criteria (AC).

Below is the explanation of each with an example. 

Learning Outcome 1: Knowing how to manage a simple workplace

AC 1.1 – Pick a simple project in your workplace

This simply means deciding on something that needs to be done or improved at your workplace. This could be anything small enough that you can carry and complete, maybe setting up a short training or fixing something that slows down the team’s performance. 

Example: You notice your team is always late with filing reports. So, you decide to set up a better checklist and reminder system to help with that.

AC 1.2 – Use a tool to check if your project is worth doing

Here, you look at the cost and benefit. Does the project deserve the time and money you invest? Or in other words, is it feasible? You don’t need anything complex. A basic table can work, which shows cost vs benefits. 

Example: You plan to spend 50 USD printing new signs for the office. It saves 3 hours of repeated questions every week. Time saved is worth more than 50 USD, so it’s worth it.

AC 1.3 – Make a plan for the project

You need to show how you planned the project. What steps did you take? When did each step happen? You can use a timeline or a list.

AC 1.4 – Set goals and checkpoints

You should set one main goal and a few small targets along the way. This helps track if the project is on the right path.

 Example: Main goal – reduce delays in reporting. Target – by week 2, 80% of the team uses the new checklist.

AC 1.5 – Review is the overall project experience 

After you do your decided project, write down all the process in plain language. What happened. What worked and what didn’t? And also based on the current state, do you need anything to improve next time, or not? 

Example: The checklist helped most people. A few didn’t use it. Next time, you might give a short training to explain it better.

Learning Outcome 2: Understand the results of your project

This part is to check the outcomes of the project, what went right and what did not. Here are two assessment criteria, or AC., which are:

AC 2.1 – Say where you saved time or money

Was there a benefit from the project? Is there any obvious difference in terms of money and time for the company?

Example: As per the earlier example, before you print new signs for the office, team members asked the same question again and again. Now they check the signs or the checklist. That saves time.

AC 2.2 – Explain other changes (not about money)

Here you talk about things like better teamwork, fewer mistakes, happier staff, or better service. Even if you didn’t save money, there can still be good results.

Example: The team felt more in control. Later on, they did not have to ask every time then. 

What Is ‘3 of 320’?

Mostly, this part can confuse people. But it shouldn’t confuse you. Look, whenever you see something like 3 of 320 in an assignment. Don’t panic. It’s simple

It usually means Task 3 of Unit 320, which we have already described. Many training centers break the unit into parts. Task 3 is often the last stage or part, where you talk about what happened after your project.

And yes, you learned it above while reading learning Outcome 2. It’s where you explain what turned out better, what value it brings, or what the project changed in a real scenario. It could be time saved, an easiness for the team, or anything else that made a difference.

Here is how I faced this in my Time

When I did this unit, I made a small change to how shift notes were shared in my team. After that, handovers were quicker and there were fewer mistakes. In Task 3, I wrote about those results, and that covered what the question needed.

So if you come across “3 of 320,” it’s likely asking you to explain the outcome of your project, plain and simple.

How you Choose a Simple Workplace Project

For this part, the idea is not to be too complex or above the average. You can pick any simple project, just to prove to yourself that you can plan a project, carry it out, and show the result it can bring. 

Think about your job, look around what’s going wrong or needs to be improved. That can be the best idea you can pick for your workplace project. 

To be more specific, here are some of the ideas that can help. 

• Implementing a new strategy to track team performance.
• Organizing a training program for new team members.
• Creating a checklist to reduce mistakes

There are three questions you have to ask yourself before choosing, which can make things even easier:

• Do I have a valid reason why I’m doing this?
• Is the project feasible? which means easily implementable.
• Will there be a result I can write about?

So the simpler the idea, the simpler it will go. The professor will not mark you based on how big or complex the project was. But they will mark based on how you plan and explain it. In other words, will it solve an issue that you or your team currently face?

If you’re not sure how to start your Unit 320 assignment, you can also look at services like Scholarlytic, where assignment help is offered for educational support only.

What You Should Avoid Doing Your Unit 320 Project

Although we explained the project was easy so far, some things can go wrong. Not because it is hard to manage, but in case of improper planning or missing some steps. These small things can affect your marks, so it helps to know what to watch out for.

Here are the common scenarios that are considered poor practice. 

• If you choose a big plan, something small would’ve worked
• Not writing the steps of the process, if you only say, “I did it”
• You forgot to mention what changed after the task
• If you skip the cost vs benefit part 

Keep everything simple. And yes, that’s the key. If a small, simple strategy can work in a particular situation, then why bother going the extra mile? Be yourself, and show what you did along the process and what the result was. 

Conclusion

When I came across this unit during my studies, I felt a bit lost. But later, I realized it’s much simpler than I thought it was. What I learnt is that Unit 320 is not as heavy as it looks at first. Overall, the purpose of applying this unit is to show how you can independently plan something small, carry it out accordingly, and explain what changes are due to this.

All you have to do is keep it simple. Take your time. And make sure you explain what happened at the end. And that’s all. If you keep this in mind, you’ll be fine with it. 

Bonus Tip

If you want to learn more about ILM or other leadership courses, the Institute of Leadership and Management website has helpful info and free tools for learners.