Essential Things to Know About Employee Counselling Service

A company's success and continual growth depend on its employees' well-being. Because of this, most employers try to maintain the good health of their workforce. Good health refers not just to physical health but also to mental health. When it comes to maintaining the mental health of your workforce, employee counselling services can help.

What is employee counselling?

Employee counselling is a service employers provide to help employees with personal or work-related issues that may affect their performance at work. This confidential service allows employees to speak to a trained counsellor in a safe and supportive environment.

Such workplace counselling sessions mostly involve employees experiencing high levels of work-induced stress. Such stress may influence the capacity of the employees to meet deadlines and offer their best for the company.

Employee counselling sessions are meant to be confidential, which means employers are bound to respect the privacy of their employees and cannot ask for details about the session. Employees should feel safe and comfortable to seek help without fear or reprisal or discrimination.

Why is counselling crucial?

There are many reasons why employers arrange employee counselling. It can help in:

• Relieving stress

Offering to counsel to employees will help relieve their stress by providing a safe space for discussing the challenges and issues of their workloads that may be overwhelming them.

• Improving employee morale

Wrong management techniques and high-stress levels mostly impact employees' morale in the workplace. Hence, regular counselling sessions can help improve the morale of the team members.

• Enhancing productivity

It is possible to boost employees' productivity levels by addressing workplace stresses and identifying ways to resolve these. When employees' stress levels are reduced, they will have a higher ability to undertake more work or adhere to the deadlines of their projects.

• Creating positive environment

When the management expresses its support to employees, it will create a positive work environment in the company.

• Enhancing the engagement of employees

When the management conducts employee counselling meetings regularly to discuss their challenges and address their stress, the workforce's productivity is boosted to a high degree. In addition, employees will feel better engaged in their roles and communicate openly with the management.

How Are Employee Counselling Sessions Held?

The following are the main methods of EAP counselling:

• Arrange meetings

For starters, the management must arrange meetings for employee counselling wherein workplace stress issues can be discussed. The meeting can be arranged when employees report stress in handling workloads or when the manager notices a dip in the performance of team members. The meeting must be scheduled at a time convenient for the manager and the employees. Conducting sessions in maximum privacy to discuss personal, sensitive issues is essential.

• Deal with issues

At the meeting, the crucial task is to deal with issues that may be causing stress. Make the scenario comfortable for employees to discuss such matters openly. Trained counsellors who may be present must listen keenly and pay full attention to the raised issues. Get rid of all the distractions from the meeting, like phone calls or text messages. They could ask questions like the following to address the leading issues: which part of the work is most stressful? Which part is most challenging? How can they be helped to manage stress effectively?

• Choose the best kind of counselling

There are three kinds of employee counselling: Directive, Non-directive and Participative. In directive counselling, the appointed counsellor plays a significant role. In the non-directive method, the counsellor is inactive, and the employees deal with their issues independently. Finally, participative counselling combines both methods - employees work with the counsellor to work things out.

• Decide on counsellor

After determining the kind of counselling, it is time to decide who the counsellor will be. Either the manager undertakes the job, or the company appoints a professional counsellor. In some companies, a counsellor in their HR department may conduct employee counselling sessions.

• Offer feedback

The counsellor who has been appointed must offer feedback to employees about how to overcome stress. In a directive approach, they must specify an employee's tasks to relieve stress. In a non-directive mode, employees can work out solutions independently, albeit with the approval of the management.

• Follow-up

Following the counselling session, it is critical to follow up with employees. By doing this, it can be ensured that they are following the recommended strategies for relieving stress. If there is no improvement in the performance of employees, additional employee counselling sessions could be scheduled. Counsellors should regularly check employees' stress levels to discuss their progress. They should also request them to judge their stress levels to know whether they can benefit from further counselling.

In sum, the workforce of the modern world is better inclined towards a company that cares as much for the employees as their brand. The feeling of care for employees helps to attract the best talent. The best way to demonstrate this care is by conducting employee counselling services.