The 4 Steps to Effective Counselling

Counselling at work is not about psychological therapy. It is about confronting and correcting individuals whose performance is not up to par. Read on to find out how to conduct effective counselling for your staff.

1. Gather and give information 
Not all employees come to you and confide that they need help. As a counsellor, you will need to gather relevant information from the employee and in return, respond to the employee’s need for information.

2. Agree on performance standards
For the employee to perform at an “acceptable” level for his work, the employee needs to understand and agree with the definition of what is expected of him. The job of the manager as a counsellor is to communicate the standards of work that is understood by the employee. The counsellor can try to use the following questions to check on understanding:
- Do you understand the requirements of the job?
- Is there any aspect of the task that you are unsure about?
- Do you feel that you need additional resources to help you execute the tasks properly?

3. Correct the performance 
Once the employee has committed to the new performance standards, the counsellor will need to observe and correct behaviour to the standards that was previously agreed upon. The counsellor will need to focus on helping the employee become more productive and having confidence in his abilities to carry out the job.

4.Render support
At this stage, the counsellor directs the employee to the resources needed to improve his performance. Counsellors do not just inform or highlight the issues, but they point employees to the right tools that offer the opportunities to be better. Counsellors may introduce people such as a mentor to guide the employee or peers who have the relevant skills. Sometimes, the counsellor may refer the employee to attend seminars, read books or go for training to solve the performance issues.