Importance of Coaching and counseling for organizational change and development

Coaching provides an invaluable space for personal development. For example, managers are frequently presented with employees struggling with low confidence (Stone, 2007). The traditional approach would be to send them to an assertiveness course and hope this addresses the issue. In the short-term, the employee learns new strategies for communicating which may improve confidence (Armstrong, 2010). Unfortunately, in isolation these courses rarely produce a sustained increase in confidence. Although external behavior may change; it needs to be supported by changes in their internal thought processes. This is often where coaching is most effective(Armstrong, 2008).

Managers should not underestimate the impact of coaching on their people as it frequently creates a fundamental shift in their approach to their work. For example, increased self-confidence enables employees to bring more of themselves into the workplace. This results in employees being more resilient and assertive ( Stone, 2007).

Coaching focuses on helping another person learn in ways that let him or her keep growing afterward. It is based on asking rather than telling, on provoking thought rather than giving directions and on holding a person accountable for his or her goals (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014).

Video 1.0  Coaching and counseling intervention in organizational change and development

(RoyJavierr, 2017)

Employee counseling has emerged as the latest HR tool to attract and retain the best employees and increase the quality of the workforce (Armstrong 2012). In today's fast-paced corporate world, there is virtually no organization free of stress or stress-free employees. The employees can be stressed, depressed, suffering from too much anxiety arising out of workplace related issues like managing deadlines, meeting targets, lack of time to fulfill personal and family commitments, or bereaved and disturbed due to some personal problems.

Counseling can be defined as the provision of brief psychological therapy for employees of an organization (Downey, 2003). This is paid for by the employer. An ‘external’ service, such as an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), typically comprises face-to-face counseling, a telephone helpline, legal advice and critical-incident debriefing. In an ‘in-house’ service, counselors may be directly employed by the organization.

Counseling offers the employer a service that is valued by employees, has the potential for savings by reducing sickness absence, takes pressure off managers through the availability of a constructive means of dealing with ‘difficult’ staff or situations, and contributes to its reputation as a caring employer. Workplace counseling is often viewed by employers as an insurance policy against the threat of compensation claims made by employees exposed to work-related stress (Mooney, 2015).

The biggest bottleneck in employee counseling at the workplace is the lack of trust on the employee's part to believe in the organization or his/her superior to share and understand one’s problems. Also, the confidentiality that the counselor won't disclose his personal problems or issues to others in the organization. Time, effort and resources required on the part of the organization are a constraint. 

References

Armstrong, M. (2008) Strategic human resource management: A guide to action. 4^th edn. London, Koganpage.

Armstrong, M. (2010) Essential human resource management practice: A Guide to people management. London, Koganpage.

Armstrong, M and Taylor, S. (2014) Armstrong’s handbook of human resource management practice. 13^th edn. London, Koganpage.

Downey, M. (2003) Effective Coaching: Lessond from the coach’s coach. New York, Texere Publishing Limited.

Mooney, P. (2015) Fog clearance: Mapping the borders between coaching and counseling. Oxfordshire, Oak tree press.

Stone, Florence M. (2007) Coaching counseling and mentoring: How to choose and use the right technique to boost employee performance. United States, AMACOM.