technical

counselling and the workplace

relevant to ACCA Qualication Paper F1 and CAT Paper 5

whats your problem?

One of the many people management skills that managers are called on to use is that of counselling providing advice, guidance, and support to employees at all levels. Situations often arise in the workplace where specific, people-centred skills are required. It is therefore important that managers understand what counselling involves, and appreciate the often delicate skills required. The wider importance of counselling for the organisation is that many of the problems it identifies can often be resolved by appropriate motivation methods. Widening and deepening interest in the organisation, and in its many tasks and departments, is a tried and tested method for motivating employees. So what exactly is counselling? It can be defined as a particular situation when an individual takes on the role of a counsellor and agrees to offer attention, advice, guidance, and support to another person on a temporary basis. Problems can be resolved through the neutral and non-judgemental approach that counselling offers. In any meeting, the counsellor should be in a position to help the individual employee (or employees) to identify problems and issues, and possible solutions. The counsellor must adopt a passive role, with interest shown, and effort made to encourage reflection and discussion around issues while allowing the employee to lead and talk. Open questions must be used to help the employee explore ideas and feelings. This is because there is always the risk of leading the employee, and of the counsellor taking over the meeting or session. The counsellor must be an active listener, speaking only to clarify issues and elicit answers when appropriate. Above all, the counsellor must be impartial. Adopting the role of counsellor is not easy, and there are particular counselling skills that must be developed. For example, the counsellor must be able to establish a rapport with the employee, and to clarify and summarise issues as appropriate. The counsellor must ask non-specific questions, use a non-directive approach, listen, and be able to recognise what the employee is actually saying. When required, the counsellor must allow the employee to be silent if they wish to be, to allow the meeting to progress at the employees speed, and anticipate but not lead the employees views on the causes and solutions to the problems. What advantages does counselling provide for the wider organisation? It provides a means of understanding and addressing individual problems, which are very often not directly related to the workplace. It also provides a confidential service for the employee to discuss problems without directly involving management. Over the longer term, an organisation might develop counselling as part of its human resources policy, demonstrating a commitment to its employees beyond that normally expected. John Ball is former examiner for Paper 1.3 September 2006 student accountant 47