Employee Counselling

 Employee Counselling

 

•Counselling

– Discussion of a problem with an employee, to help the employee cope.  The employee may be provided with advice and reassurance as part of the communication process.

•Employee & Family Assistance Programs

–Comprehensive company programs that seek to help employees overcome personal and work-related problems

 

 

Employee Discipline

 

•Management action to encourage compliance with the organization’s standards

•Preventive Discipline

–Action taken prior to any infraction to encourage employees to follow the rules

•Corrective Discipline

–Action that follows a rule infraction and seeks to discourage further infractions

 

•Due Process

–Established rules and procedures for disciplinary actions are followed and employees have an opportunity to respond to the charges

•Progressive Discipline

–A type of discipline whereby there are stronger penalties for repeated offences e.g. verbal reprimand, written reprimand

 

 

Positive Discipline

 

•Positive discipline takes a problem-solving approach to resolve the performance or behaviour issue:

–Focus on the specific problem, rather than the employee’s attitude or personality

–Gain agreement that a performance problem exists and that the employee is responsible

–Take a problem-solving approach

–Document commitments made

–Follow-up 

 

 

DO’s and DON’Ts of Counseling Your Employee

DO Collect and review information before the career counseling session. Give the employee notice of the meeting, specifying time and place. Tell the employee how long the meeting will last. Give the employee a statement about the purpose of the meeting. Prepare questions and subjects for the meeting that should be covered. Greet the employee in a friendly, unhurried manner. Have a chair ready and in a position where the employee faces the supervisor without obstacles. Have the secretary hold all calls and keep visitors from interrupting the meeting. Help the employee tell his or her story by being accepting, by being interested, and by letting the employee talk. Give the employee a chance to pause and reflect. Ask questions that are open-ended and that call for discussions or expectation. Close the meeting tactfully, set a time for a follow-up if needed, and thank the employee.

DON'T Search for or attempt to review information during the meeting. Call the employee on a moment’s notice and expect a productive meeting. Abruptly end the meeting without notice. Leave the employee wondering what he or she may have done wrong. Wait until the employee arrives to decide what should be accomplished. Give the impressions that there is a big rush to get this over with. Have the employee sit on the opposite side of your desk with piles of paper between the two of you. Let your attention wander to other people or matters in the office. Prod the employee along, get the details wanted, and then talk about your own experiences. Talk rapidly, filling in all voids. Ask questions that are answered with quick "yes" or "no." Hurry the employee out, showing lack of interest and giving a vague promise of a follow-up.

 

 

Counseling is a process through which one person helps another by purposeful conversation in an understanding atmosphere. It seeks to establish a helping relationship in which the one counseled can express their thoughts and feelings in such a way as to clarify their own situation, come to terms with some new experience, see their difficulty more objectively, and so face their problem with less anxiety and tension. Its basic purpose is to assist the individual to make their own decision from among the choices available to them. (British Association for Counselling, Rugby 1989)

Supervisors use controls to help employees achieve objectives. An employee's problem performance is often related to non-job factors. Yet, personal problems generally get worse, not better without professional help. The supervisor is in the best position to spot and handle problems when they arise. He or she can use counseling to provide relief for the troubled employee. Counseling is a behavioral control technique used by the supervisor to solve performance problems. As a counselor, the supervisor is a helper, discusses the employee's personal problems that are affecting his or her job performance, aiming to resolve them. Supervisory counseling is guidance of the employee's behavior.

An employee should be counseled when he or she has personal problems that affect job performance. Supervisors should recognize early signs. Signs of a troubled employee include:

· Sudden change of behavior · Preoccupation · Irritability · Increased accidents · Increased fatigue · Excessive drinking · Reduced production · Waste · Difficulty in absorbing training · Substance abuse

In the role of the counselor, the supervisor listens, limits, and refers. The supervisor uses active listening and reflective listening skills. By listening the supervisor helps the employee to feel valued and understood.

The employee is encouraged to talk and explore and to understand more about how he or she feels and why. The employee can consider options and examine alternatives and may be able to choose a solution to his or her problems. The supervisor can help the employee develop clear objectives; to form specific action plans and to do, with support what needs to be done. The supervisor helps employees help themselves. In counseling, the supervisor limits comments to the employee's job performance, since the supervisor is not an expert in the problem area. The supervisor refers or gives information to the employee. Informing mainly passes along data and information.

Counseling techniques range from directive to non-directive, depending on the situation. Non-directive counseling reflects what is said and felt. For example, a supervisor using the non-directive approach would say, "You feel frustrated because you don't meet Rob's approval." Directive counseling tells and advises. For example, a supervisor using the directive approach would say, "I want you to concentrate on your work and not worry about what the other employees do." Interactive counseling combines them.

The Counseling Process

Step 1. Describe the changed behavior. Let the employee know that the organization is concerned with work performance. The supervisor maintains work standards by being consistent in dealing with troubled employees. Explain in very specific terms what the employee needs to do in order to perform up to the organization's expectations. Don't moralize. Restrict the confrontation to job performance.

Step 2. Get employee comments on the changed behavior and the reason for it. Confine any negative comments to the employee's job performance. Don't diagnose; you are not an expert. Listen and protect confidentiality.

Step 3. Agree on a solution. Emphasize confidentiality. Don't be swayed or misled by emotional please, sympathy tactics, or "hard-luck" stories. Explain that going for help does not exclude the employee from standard disciplinary procedures and that it does not open the door for special privileges.

Step 4. Summarize and get a commitment to change. Seek commitment from the employee to meet work standards and to get help, if necessary, with the problem.

Step 5. Follow up. Once the problem is resolved and a productive relationship is established, follow up is needed.

Substance Abuse

Some problem performance stems from substance abuse. In handling alcohol or drug abuse situations, the supervisor must avoid inferences and stick to actual clues. He or she avoids giving advice. The supervisor gives support and information, if needed, and makes clear that rehabilitation is the employee's responsibility.

 

Career Guidance

Career counseling is a common supervisory activity. In addition to job knowledge and skills, employees need to be punctual, diligent, responsible, and receptive to supervision. Supervisors have an opportunity to help employees understand that developing these behaviors can improve their future success. Development is preparing employees for future jobs. Bringing out the best in employees is the most powerful and most available resource for supervisors to do more with less. Employee development produces "win-win" agreements between supervisor and employee.