Course Overview

In today’s complex working world, HR professionals definitely need to be equipped with counselling skills other than just dealing with staff selection, appraisal, training etc. as they also have to handle employee’s grievances, conflicts between employees and poor performance.

These counselling skills would help HR professionals to handle employee’s grievances, conflicts or performance-related problems in ways that not only it rectifies the situation but also increase employee’s productivity. HR professionals would also be able to handle disciplinary matters more competently.

Course Objectives

1. To understand the importance of counselling in the workplace
2. To ensure participants understand the role of counselling and responsibilities of HR professionals as counsellors, and the importance of each one.
3. To identify the skills involved in counselling employees, specifically in employees’ grievances, inter-personal conflicts, family-related, attitude/behaviour, emotional/ psychological and disciplinary matters.
4. To acquire the skills of counselling through role-play and practice.
5. To identify techniques of counselling in a workplace.
6. To identify key counselling strategies in work-related problems.
7. To identify employee strength or weakness and counsel according to the programme details below.

Programme Details

Module 1: Introduction to Counselling in the HR Setting.

1. What is Counselling?

• The role and responsibilities of a counsellor
• Differentiating counselling from coaching, advise-giving or problem-solving
• Counselling in an HR setting
• Establishing the counselling relationship
• Rapport Building
• Sharpening observational skills; non-verbal signals

2. Core Conditions in Counselling

• Acceptance
• Congruence
• Empathy
• Respect
• Immediacy
• Concreteness
• Self-disclosure
• Confrontation

3. Introduction to Counselling Skills – An HR Perspective

• Attending Skills – SOLER (5 steps to Active Listening)
• Interviewing Skills
  A) Listening
  a) Focus on the person, not the problem
  b) Take in the whole message: content and effect
• B) Responding
  a) Reflection
  b) Questioning
  c) Summarising
  d) Feedback in counselling

Module 2: Counselling Skills for HR Professionals

1. The Counselling Process
   • Building rapport
   • Explore and understand
   • Intervention
   • Goal
2. Awareness of Self
   • Self-awareness, self-care
   • Self in the counselling process
3. Ethical and Legal Concerns
   • Ethical Issues in counselling
   • Legal Issues in counselling

Module 3: Application of Counselling Skills in an HR Environment Life Issue

Issues at the Workplace

1. Work issues
   • Absence and Sickness
   • Grievance and Disciplinary
   • Worker’s well-being
   • Overview of Employment Act and Basic Industrial Relations
2. Home/Self issues
   • Grief issues
   • Parenting Issues
   • Marital Issues
   • Financial Problems
   • Psychological Issues
   • Inter-personal Relationship Problems
   • Application of suitable counselling techniques
   • Case study examination and/or Counselling exercise
3. Stress Management
   • Counselling Stress in the workplace
   • Physical/behavioural signs of stress
   • Stress reduction planning
   • Tactics to combat stress
   • Case study and/or Counselling exercise (role-plays)

Module 4: Case Studies and Learning Review
The analysis of live case studies developed in module 3 shall provide practical examples and knowledge of counselling in the workplace.

1. Case Studies
   • De-constructing the various parts of case studies
   • Constructing clear, concise application of counselling skills and intervention.
2. Learning Review
   • Course evaluation – measurement of learning outcomes.
   • Considering opportunities for professional / personal development in counselling
   • Integration of counselling skills into the HR process
   • Facilitating goal and target setting

Learning Methodology

• Presentations
• Group discussions
• Role-plays
• Group exercises
• Case studies

Learning Outcome

1. An understanding of fundamentals of counselling process and building the counselling relationship.
2. Acquiring the counselling skills required to and intervention strategies to perform employee’s counselling in a safe environment.
3. The ability to practise skills, such as handling employee’s grievances and disciplinary matters competently and professionally.

Who Should Attend

This programme is a skills-based course designed for those who are performing HR function, or who have some experience, but no formal training, who would like to broaden their counselling knowledge and develop their counselling skills.