Counselling Skills in the Workplace
The Role of counselling skills in the workplace
This paper seeks to explore the role of counselling skills in the workplace, the benefits and how it can be used to enhance employee performance. In order to exhaustively analyze the role and importance of its use in resolving workplace issues, this paper will go through the following, What counselling is, the difference between counselling skills and counselling, what workplace counselling entails and the skills needed, the advantages and disadvantages of the use of counselling skills by the Manager.
Counselling can be defined as the process of helping an individual manage a problem through talking about it (Eugene Shayo 2011).
Counselling is the direct involvement and relationship between counsellors
and individuals with the purpose of supporting the individual to meet a
satisfactory outcome or one which is accepted by that person as the best
possible outcome for that situation.
It could also be defined as a blend of techniques, skills and attitudes which are used to help individuals manage problems
Counselling skills are primarily communication skills which focus on extracting information and guiding. They involve understanding and the application of a variety of techniques and counselling theories, while counselling is bringing those skills to bear upon a specific problem and helping people work their way through them. Counselling skills usually include acute listening, affirmation of what is being said, and seeking feedback on and throughout a conversation. They also include understanding, tolerance, empathy and genuine concern for a situation or individual. Of course there are many others. These skills are often used in everyday situations without actually being recognised as such. For instance, Parents use these skills in the parenting of children.
It is only when user and recipient enter into a counselling relationship, does it become counselling rather than the use of communication skills
This paper seeks to explore the role of counselling skills in the workplace, the benefits and how it can be used to enhance employee performance. In order to exhaustively analyze the role and importance of its use in resolving workplace issues, this paper will go through the following, What counselling is, the difference between counselling skills and counselling, what workplace counselling entails and the skills needed, the advantages and disadvantages of the use of counselling skills by the Manager.
Counselling can be defined as the process of helping an individual manage a problem through talking about it (Eugene Shayo 2011).
Counselling is the direct involvement and relationship between counsellors
and individuals with the purpose of supporting the individual to meet a
satisfactory outcome or one which is accepted by that person as the best
possible outcome for that situation.
It could also be defined as a blend of techniques, skills and attitudes which are used to help individuals manage problems
Counselling skills are primarily communication skills which focus on extracting information and guiding. They involve understanding and the application of a variety of techniques and counselling theories, while counselling is bringing those skills to bear upon a specific problem and helping people work their way through them. Counselling skills usually include acute listening, affirmation of what is being said, and seeking feedback on and throughout a conversation. They also include understanding, tolerance, empathy and genuine concern for a situation or individual. Of course there are many others. These skills are often used in everyday situations without actually being recognised as such. For instance, Parents use these skills in the parenting of children.
It is only when user and recipient enter into a counselling relationship, does it become counselling rather than the use of communication skills
References: • Egan. G (1986) .The skilled helper. Monte ray CA, brooks Cole • Reddy.M(1989) The managers guide to counselling at work, The BPS. • Summerfield. J, Oudtshoorn.L (1995) Counselling in the workplace • Code of ethics and practise for counsellors(1993) • Code of ethics and practise for counsellors(1989) • Adrian Coles • Hughes, R and Kinder, A, (2007) Guidelines for counselling in the workplace, British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. McLeod, J (2001) • Counselling in the workplace: the facts