Due to the tight timelines for delivery and increased focus on performance outcomes through individual and organizational dashboards, many employees are unable to have a proper work/life balance. To compound this problem the current economic situation has impacted many company’s revenues and profits which in effect have put many jobs at risks resulting in frequency of counseling support and guidance going up significantly. Both formal sessions, involving a trained counselor, and informal sessions, with immediate boss or group HR, are becoming routine for employees who are unable to cope with such high stress levels.
All employees face various types of issues that require counseling; these can be categorized as follows:
1. Psychological/Personal – stress at work/home, anxiety, depression, anger management, use of alcohol/drugs and marital or family issues.
2. Professional – job security, quarterly performance appraisal results, project completion deadlines, internal tests for evaluation of knowledge/skill levels, career growth, financial stress (expenses management) and work/life balance.
Organizations need to focus on preventing the impact of all these types of stress in personal and professional life, keeping employees engaged, helping employees stay healthy (physically and mentally) and productive. Unfortunately most organisations do not have a formal system to conduct such counselling sessions. Counselling is often ad-hoc or informal and is done by the reporting Manager who may not have the appropriate skills, knowledge, maturity or sensitivity in providing proper advice and alleviating stress that these employees face in their life.
Some published research done by SHRM1 and American Journal of Pshychiatry2 shows that employees who suffer from high stress levels and without proper counselling are absent at work more frequently, receive poor performance ratings from their supervisors, spend excessive time at work trying to complete pending tasks and experience a decline in job productivity.
In situations like this, the organization and HR can play a very important role. In our organization, we have tried to lessen the impact of lost productivity and prevent health breakdown (physical/mental) attributable to stress at workplace through our Talent Management Program (TMP), an HR initiative, which is aimed at providing active assistance to employees and ensuring their continued development. TMP comprises of three different aspects – 1) counselling, 2) mentoring, 3) training and development.
TMP also serves many additional purposes in the organization like: 1) projecting a strong and positive organization brand; 2) greater employee loyalty; 3) increased level of retention; 4) better management of work related stress and 5) development of talented individuals.
TMP ensures that there is a high level of professional support provided to all employees who are facing stress due to work or personal issues. Moreover with a clear commitment of keeping all interactions between an employee and the TMP team confidential, we have been able to earn the trust of the employees. Most employees voluntarily come to the TMP team to discuss on issues affecting their performance which makes this initiative highly effective in prevention of stress. Quarterly one-to-one meetings by a TMP member with all the employees are mandatory and all these discussions are documented and included in the personnel records of the employee. TMP’s focus on continued counseling and mentoring has helped to strengthen the skills and competencies of the organization’s workforce, thus adding to our competitive advantage in the current marketplace.
TMP also coordinates with the training department to have customized programs on time management, goal setting, work/life balance etc. separately for managers and team members, as their needs and objectives are different. The cultural society (4S Kalavedika) also organizes frequent programs like Yoga from beginners to intermediate practitioners that suggest specific exercises for improving overall fitness levels and relieving stress.
The benefits of proper counseling to the employees, in times like this can create a win-win situation for both the employee and the organization. Counseling and Mentoring can be effective at all stages of one’s career (entry, mid and senior levels). The formal counseling program we have (part of TMP) falls under the direct domain of HR and is a more structured process than the informal mentoring relationship. A TMP member is assigned to an individual employee or group for their career guidance, mentoring, periodic review of overall performance and evaluation of health (through internal health camps). We also encourage informal mentoring relationships, which is typically between a manager/lead and the team member that evolves over time. Such formal and informal mentoring programs are grounded in trust, respect and mutually agreed-upon goals.
TMP aids in solving the employee issues but does require time, persistence and planning. The outcome however is very positive, as most employees show a high level of emotional maturity that helps them in handling stress better. TMP has helped improve productivity through the following:
• Planning performance: the counselor involves himself/herself in assisting the employee and his/her Manager to have a relook at their performance objectives, action plans, and scheduling time especially when the employee complains of stress or his performance level falls below the acceptable levels. This allows them to mutually discuss on the potential concern areas and come up with a workable solution.
• Appraising performance: Observing and evaluating the employee’s performance over time and ensuring that there are no behavioral or health related issues. The counselor actively intervenes at the first sign of stress.
Excerpts of this article has been published in Times Ascent; please check the following link for details - http://timesascent.in/article/1/2009081120090811171402109b40c3bb/Employee-counselling--Are-you-ready-for-it.html
All employees face various types of issues that require counseling; these can be categorized as follows:
1. Psychological/Personal – stress at work/home, anxiety, depression, anger management, use of alcohol/drugs and marital or family issues.
2. Professional – job security, quarterly performance appraisal results, project completion deadlines, internal tests for evaluation of knowledge/skill levels, career growth, financial stress (expenses management) and work/life balance.
Organizations need to focus on preventing the impact of all these types of stress in personal and professional life, keeping employees engaged, helping employees stay healthy (physically and mentally) and productive. Unfortunately most organisations do not have a formal system to conduct such counselling sessions. Counselling is often ad-hoc or informal and is done by the reporting Manager who may not have the appropriate skills, knowledge, maturity or sensitivity in providing proper advice and alleviating stress that these employees face in their life.
Some published research done by SHRM1 and American Journal of Pshychiatry2 shows that employees who suffer from high stress levels and without proper counselling are absent at work more frequently, receive poor performance ratings from their supervisors, spend excessive time at work trying to complete pending tasks and experience a decline in job productivity.
In situations like this, the organization and HR can play a very important role. In our organization, we have tried to lessen the impact of lost productivity and prevent health breakdown (physical/mental) attributable to stress at workplace through our Talent Management Program (TMP), an HR initiative, which is aimed at providing active assistance to employees and ensuring their continued development. TMP comprises of three different aspects – 1) counselling, 2) mentoring, 3) training and development.
TMP also serves many additional purposes in the organization like: 1) projecting a strong and positive organization brand; 2) greater employee loyalty; 3) increased level of retention; 4) better management of work related stress and 5) development of talented individuals.
TMP ensures that there is a high level of professional support provided to all employees who are facing stress due to work or personal issues. Moreover with a clear commitment of keeping all interactions between an employee and the TMP team confidential, we have been able to earn the trust of the employees. Most employees voluntarily come to the TMP team to discuss on issues affecting their performance which makes this initiative highly effective in prevention of stress. Quarterly one-to-one meetings by a TMP member with all the employees are mandatory and all these discussions are documented and included in the personnel records of the employee. TMP’s focus on continued counseling and mentoring has helped to strengthen the skills and competencies of the organization’s workforce, thus adding to our competitive advantage in the current marketplace.
TMP also coordinates with the training department to have customized programs on time management, goal setting, work/life balance etc. separately for managers and team members, as their needs and objectives are different. The cultural society (4S Kalavedika) also organizes frequent programs like Yoga from beginners to intermediate practitioners that suggest specific exercises for improving overall fitness levels and relieving stress.
The benefits of proper counseling to the employees, in times like this can create a win-win situation for both the employee and the organization. Counseling and Mentoring can be effective at all stages of one’s career (entry, mid and senior levels). The formal counseling program we have (part of TMP) falls under the direct domain of HR and is a more structured process than the informal mentoring relationship. A TMP member is assigned to an individual employee or group for their career guidance, mentoring, periodic review of overall performance and evaluation of health (through internal health camps). We also encourage informal mentoring relationships, which is typically between a manager/lead and the team member that evolves over time. Such formal and informal mentoring programs are grounded in trust, respect and mutually agreed-upon goals.
TMP aids in solving the employee issues but does require time, persistence and planning. The outcome however is very positive, as most employees show a high level of emotional maturity that helps them in handling stress better. TMP has helped improve productivity through the following:
• Planning performance: the counselor involves himself/herself in assisting the employee and his/her Manager to have a relook at their performance objectives, action plans, and scheduling time especially when the employee complains of stress or his performance level falls below the acceptable levels. This allows them to mutually discuss on the potential concern areas and come up with a workable solution.
• Appraising performance: Observing and evaluating the employee’s performance over time and ensuring that there are no behavioral or health related issues. The counselor actively intervenes at the first sign of stress.
Excerpts of this article has been published in Times Ascent; please check the following link for details - http://timesascent.in/article/1/2009081120090811171402109b40c3bb/Employee-counselling--Are-you-ready-for-it.html
References:
- Mental Health: Countering the High Cost of Stress and Depression - Improving behavioral health with a holistic strategy - by Brent Bowditch (Purdue University) and Steven Cyboran, Hank Christiansen (Sibson Consulting), SHRM Online, January 6th 2007.
- Job Performance Deficits Due to Depression - by David A. Adler, M.D., Thomas J. McLaughlin, Sc.D., William H. Rogers, Ph.D., Hong Chang, Ph.D., Leueen Lapitsky, M.P.H., and Debra Lerner, M.S., Ph.D., The American Journal of Psychiatry -163:1569-1576, September 2006. http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/163/9/1569
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