Employee Counseling in Organization

Meaning:
Employee counseling is a psychological health care intervention which can take many
forms. Its aim is to assist both the employer and employee by intervening with an active
problem-solving approach to tackling the problems at hand.

Employee Counseling in Organization: Objectives, Types and Steps in Counseling

Because of such divergent needs for employee counselling, its characteristics also differ. It
may be an exchange of feelings between two people (hence an act of communication), or
help to an employee to overcome his/her emotional problems (hence an act of problem
solving), or to coach or guide an employee to achieve his/her goals (hence a developmental
support), etc
Objectives/Functions of Counseling:
Whatever may be purpose of counselling, objectives/functions of counselling can be
categorized into six major areas which are detailed as follows:
Rendering advice:
It is the function of coaching by the counsellor, who may be the immediate boss or a
professional. Here the counsellor listens to the problems of the employees and then guides
them to the right direction. Reassurance it is the function of restoring the confidence of the
employees, helping them to feel courageous, to gain strength, and to develop positive
thinking. In cases, where employees are entrusted with challenging assignments, reassuring
them is very important, to help them realize that they can achieve the results.
Clarifying the thinking:
It is the function of encouragement to the employees to be rational and realistic. Employees
often lose their emotional balance in executing their assignments and jobs, and hence
commit decisional errors. Helping them to be rational by clarifying their way of thinking,
puts them back into the realities and enables them to achieve the results.
Release of emotional tension:
It is the process of relief from frustration and stress. The counsellor allows the employees to
share their grief. In the process of sharing, employees get relief from their emotional
tensions. This does not lead to a solution by itself, but it breaks the ice, allowing the
counsellor to understand the possible ways for solution.
Communication:
It is a process of sharing the information and understanding, through upward and downward
communication. Upward communication flows from the employees, who bring their feelings
and emotional problems to the notice of the management. Downward communication flows
from the counselors, who help the employees get an insight into the activities of the
organization.
Reorientation:
It is a process of encouragement to bring internal changes in goals, values, and mental
models, helping employees to leverage their strengths and guarding against their
weaknesses.
Functions of Counselling
The main objective of Counselling is to help the employee attain a better mental, emotional
and physical health.A counsellor is the one who can help a person realize a better tomorrow
by the attainment of self- confidence, self-development, patience and self-growth. The
objectives of counselling are achieved through the counselling functions.The counselling
functions are the activities that can be done by counselling. The functions are:
Advice:;
Advice giving is not desired for counselling, as it s a process of self- growth which advising
would hamper. But many a time's counsellors do have to advice so as to show/ guide the
counselled towards a path of action.
Reassurance:
Counselling has to provide reassurance to the employee that he or she is progressing well
and moving towards achieving the desired goal. Reassurance here can be meant as
encouragement also. This is mostly in the case of the mid career managers where counsellor
can only reassure that everything will work out Employees' Counselling fine and also
encourage him or her to work as the desired goal is within reach.
Communication:
Counselling is mostly about proper communication. A proper communication is required to
pass the employee problems to the management and also to air the views of the
management to the employees. Communication skills such as listening, providing feedback
and so on are required for an effective counselling session.
Release of Emotional Tension:
Counselling gives a scope to the employees to release their emotional tension. Emotional
outbursts help the employee to release one's anger and frustration to a sympathetic
listener,which in turn helps in subsiding the tension.
Clarified Thinking:
Discussing one's problem with someone helps the person to see those points and facts
which have been overlooked earlier due to emotional involvement with the problem. The
counsellor is not required to guide the person in such a case, as only listening to the
outpouring will help.Once the counselled person starts speaking very soon many facts are
clarified as the counselled starts thinking aloud which in turn results in rational and logical
thinking and helps in solving the problems, real or imaginary.
Reorientation:
Reorientation is a result of clear thinking which helps an employee to assess oneself - one's
potential and limitation and in accordance to them set new goals and values. Reorientation
leads a person to have a better self-image and it also helps to treat the patients of
depression. A clear self-image leads to be a more confident person and also a more effective
worker.
Types of Counseling:
Depending on the reasons for counseling, a counselor can make use of several types of
counseling, as detailed below:

Directive counseling:
In this type of counseling, the counselor plays the role of an empathetic listener and then
takes decisions about the right courses of action for the employees. The counselor also
motivates the employees to follow the suggested courses of action.
Non-directive counseling:
The counselor uses this type of counselling, not only to listen but also to provoke the
employees to explain the problems. On understanding the problems, the counsellor
determines the courses of action and then facilitates the employees to identify on their own,
the possible solutions to those problems. Since finding solutions to problems is left to the
employees who are being counselled, we also call it client-centred counselling.
Participative or cooperative counselling:
It is in between the earlier two types of counselling. Here, both the counsellor and the
counselled develop close mental relationships, exchange ideas, feelings, knowledge, and
information, to overcome the problem of the counselee. Since the possible-solution inputs
are also collected from the counselee, we call it participative counselling.
In organizations, managers have to adopt suitable types of counselling depending on the
reasons, type of employees for whom the counselling is intended, and the underlying
situation that prevails at a particular point of time. Directive counselling is preferred in those
cases, where the employees are unable to decide their courses of action.
Non-directive counseling is for those who are knowledgeable and capable enough to
decide, once the problems are explained to them. Participative counselling is effective in
cases where organizations are trying to change, which may be for mergers and acquisitions,
technological changes, business process reengineering, policy related changes, etc.
Most of the merger cases fail due to emotional blocks of the employees. Videocons success
in transforming the Philips unit, after acquisition, is attributable to participative counselling.
All senior executives were initially told to put in 80 per cent of their time in talking to people
and helping them to get their doubts and apprehensions clarified.
This helped the company to enable the people to relate with the transformation
process, shedding their age-old legacy bound thoughts and beliefs. However, another Philips
unit. Total Plastics Solutions, acquired by their employees could not be transformed. Hence,
the manager as counsellor has to adopt a contingency view of counselling, irrespective of
his/her preferred style.
Steps in the Counselling Process:
Irrespective of the reasons and the style adopted for counselling, the counsellor has to
adopt certain common steps, to make the process successful.
Such stages or steps are:
Initiating:
At this stage the counsellor establishes a rapport with the employee concerned, developing
mutual understanding and promoting openness. This ensures inculcation of confidence in
the mind of the person being counselled and in the process, to gain acceptance from that
person.
Exploring:
At this stage the counselee is urged to describe in his/her own words, the situation, feelings,
problems, and the needs. Here, the counsellor endeavours to let the counselee understand
his/her own weaknesses and shortcomings and in the process develop a sense of mutuality.
Mutuality is positively relating and interacting with the people. To promote mutuality, the
counsellor has to have empathy in his communication, negotiation and mediation skills.
Also, his/her personal attitude should be that of caring and respect for the counselee and
should also show an eagerness to cooperate.
Framing of action plan:
To make the counselling process successful, the counsellor has to frame an action plan, duly
charting the dos and donts. Thus, counselling is used by organizations as a tool to help the
employees to bring about attitudinal changes in themselves and to adjust with the changing
situations, duly promoting the sense of mutuality.
However, it is also important to understand that counselling, per se, cannot improve the
work environment, or make the workers productive. Along with the other tools, counselling
has to be used as a supplemental effort to bring about the required improvements and
changes in the behaviour of the employees
Benefits of effective counselling
1. Helps employees to tackle with the problems effectively
2. Employees are able to sort their problems
3. Helps in decision making
4. A new way to look at the perspective.
5. May reduce the number of absenteeism of employee
6. It may prevent termination from employer or resignation from employee.
 7. It reduces the cost of hiring new employee and training new staff.
8. Possibility of smooth coordination between employer and employee
Qualities of counsellor
1. The counsellor should be either a professional counsellor or any senior, experienced,
mature employee.
2. The counsellor should be a good patient listener.
3. Counsellor should be able to understand the problem of employee and should be able
to give a proper advice.
4. Counsellor should be able boost the employee for his/her career path and show a
positive way.
5. Counsellor should be able to sort out the official problems of the employee.
6. Counsellor should not compare the employee with other employees.
7. Counsellor should be able to understand the situation of the employee.
8. Counsellor should have warm manners and social etiquettes.
9. Excellent communication skills
10. Counsellor should have sufficient time to understand and listen about the employee
problems. It does not means that counselling should go on for hours