Introduction

The term counselling refers to the discussion and analysis of issues which affect an employees work
performance or conduct in an attempt to find solutions to work related issues and avoid disciplinary action.
A counseling session is a meeting between the supervisor and the employee which may focus on a specific
incident, a particular aspect of an employee's performance which the supervisor has identified as needing
improvement, or the employee's overall performance or conduct. The counseling process is initiated and
executed at the department level by the supervisor and is not discipline. It is a face-to-face communication
between the supervisor and the employee, conducted in private, and is intended to have a constructive goal
of providing feedback to the employee to correct the problem.

The term discipline is a process to ensure that any unsatisfactory work performance or conduct is remedied
by the utilization of clear and fair procedures. Discipline is the regulation and modulation of human
activities to produce a controlled performance. The real purpose of discipline is quite simple. It is to
encourage employees to confirm to established standards of job performance and to behave sensibly and
safely at work. Discipline is essential to all organized group action.

Discipline is a procedure that corrects or punishes a subordinate because a rule of procedure has been
violated Dessler,2001

Counselling
1. In accordance with the objectives of counselling the primary focus of the counselling is to identify the
shortcoming in work performance or conduct and to jointly resolve the issue.
2. Conducting counselling interviews is a management responsibility.
3. All counselling will be strictly confidential and handled in a consistent and fair manner.

Discipline
1. It is important that this discipline policy be directed towards the improvement of an employees work
performance or conduct and not primarily a punitive approach.
2. Disciplinary action will be instituted for any serious breach of policies and procedures, or work
performance and conduct which does not meet an acceptable level.
3. Other than in cases of misconduct that warrants instant dismissal, the disciplinary procedures will aim to
the identify and rectify the unsatisfactory work performance or conduct.

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Performance counselling
Performance Counseling is a very important activity that helps employees to know themselves better.
Performance Counseling refers to the help provided by a manager to his subordinates in objectively
analyzing their performance. It attempts to help the employee in:

1. Understanding himself - his strengths and weaknesses.

2. Improving his professional and interpersonal competence by giving him feedback about his
behavior.
3. Setting goals and formulating action plans for further improvement.

Importance of Performance counselling

Performance Counseling is very important for employees to know

the level of their performance and the area in which they need to
improve. Performance counseling is a very useful activity provided
both the counselor and the counselee take it in the right spirit. It
helps the employee as well as the organization to identify
weaknesses and then to formulate strategies to improve the
performance. Performance improvement ultimately helps the
organization to meet its goals and objectives. It is always important
to evaluate the performance of the employees periodically to find
out their level of efficiency. Some standard methods have been
devised to make employees understand how far they are from the
expected standards so that their performance can be improved.
Those employees who lag behind in certain key performance areas
must be assisted to analyze and improve their performance levels.
Therefore, the process of performance appraisal helps to evaluate
and improve the performance of the employees so that they can give
their best to achieve the goals of the organization as well as achieve
better career satisfaction.

1. Helps employees to tackle with the problems effectively

2. Employees are able to sort their problems
3. Helps in decision making
4. A new way to look at the perspective.
5. May reduce the number of absenteeism of employee
6. It may prevent termination from employer or resignation from employee.
7. It reduces the cost of hiring new employee and training new staff.
8. Possibility of smooth coordination between employer and employee.

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Steps in Counselling
Specific Counselling style and action during counselling are perhaps as varied as the employees. No two
employees will respond the same way to the same style of counselling. To be effective, a counsellor must
take several steps including:
1. Consider all facts of the situation. This includes not only looking at the employees behaviors but
also the context within which they occurred in an effort to identify the why and How more
clearly.
2. Study all relevant employee records.
3. Be familiar with the organizational and human resource policies and guidelines.
4. Choose the appropriate counselling style.
5. Adapt behavior to the situation.
6. Monitor the outcomes of the counselling and follow up where necessary.

Guideline for successful coaching:

1. Prepare: Before beginning the coaching relationship, identify all relevant pieces of information
and verify them for their accuracy. Have a rough plan of how to proceed, however, make the plan
sufficiently flexible to respond to emerging realities.

2. Listen: All successful coaches are good listeners. They frequently paraphrase what the other person
says and ensure that there are no misunderstandings.

3. Begin with easy problem: Initial focus should be on easy to change behaviors or easy to implement
systems. Successful implementation of the simple actions not only improves the overall confidence
but also fosters the relationship.

4. Use several small goals: Dividing one large goal or objective into several smaller, micro goals or
action plans and helping the person successfully achieve them not only increases the probability of
success but also improves overall confidence.

5. Use positive feedback: Wherever feasible and relevant, positive actions should be mentioned.
Positive feedback on performance is welcomed by most North Americans. Cultural differences
must be recognized when providing feedback to members of other cultures.

6. Express fellings: In some instances, where objective data is either not available or not valued
feelings have to be expressed. Use of I feel helps the employees understand the impact of their
behaviors on others. But even here, the descriptions have to be nonjudgmental.

7. Act as a change agent: Good coaches question the status quo and encourage the employee to look
at the situation or problem in novel ways. They encourage risk taking and convey that making
mistakes is the first step in learning.

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Role Model:
Role models are individuals who impact the values, beliefs, and behaviors of others indirectly through a
variety of means including their own behaviors, informal conversations, and responses to situations.
By acting as a role model, a manager attempts to shape the values, beliefs, and behaviors of employees and
enhance their performance. This style of counselling is:
more indirect and passive than training or coaching.
focused on aligning employee behaviors with organizational goals and strategies, and
composed of several actions. The manager may convey his or her beliefs, values and ethical
standards through a variety of means including informal conversations, messages, responses to
situations and overall vision.
In many instances, the focus is on unlocking the subtle forces of change including the employees
intellectual, emotional, and spiritual abilities and understandings. Key dimensions of employee
performance and attitudes that can be impacted by managerial behaviors and values include:
Vision: The view of what the organization and its work is all about and the ultimate purpose
toward which every employee should strive.
Ethical standards: The notion of what is right and what is wrong, integrity, trust and honesty in
dealings with others clear definition of the stakeholder interests and approaches to manage
conflicts.
Creative thinking: Importance given to independence thinking; support for thinking outside the
box and generating novel responses to situations.
Compassion: Importance given to caring, compassionate, and helping behavior toward people
within and outside the firm.
Entrepreneurial behaviors: The courage to step outside traditional roles and boundaries; the
willingness to leave the comfort zone and take risks, to lead and to be a non- conformist.
Teamwork: The willingness and ability to work in teams for the larger benefit of the
organization.
Compliance: Obedience to organizational goals, policies and rules; exhibiting good
organizational citizenship behaviors.

Guidelines for being an effective Role Model

1. Focus on actions: Remember the old adage: Actions speak louder than words. Build credibility
in specific values by demonstration, not simply through words.

2. Cross- validate: Always cross- check and validate your assumptions, perceptions, and
understanding about events and people before espousing them.

3. Seek help: Work with partners who can help you see how your behaviors may be communicating
messages of which you are unaware.

4. Focus on learning: As role models, successful leaders embody commitment to change through
demonstrating willingness to learn, change, and adapt. They emphasize continual learning and keep
an open mind to new ideas and ways of doing things. They lead through their acceptance of the
new and willingness to change rather than simply attempting to convince others that they need to
change.

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 5. Understand motivations: The factors that motive different individuals vary. This is particularly
important in the context of the new diverse workforce. People with different backgrounds and
allegiance to different ethnic, cultural, demographic, or racial groups exhibit considerable
differences in their motivations, perceptions and behaviors. Role models must understand the
people around them and be responsive to their needs.

6. Communicate using multiple tools: Your values, beliefs, and attitudes should be communicated
through a variety of methods including informal and formal communications, behaviours, office
lay out, symbols and artifacts, and the day-to -day dealings with other. Often the tone of
communication is as important as the content; similarly, how a manger treats employees with a
problem may send a more important message than the several formal communications the person
may routinely send.

Mentor
A mentor is an experienced person who provides guidance and support in a variety of ways and acts as a
guide, tutor, and confidante to an inexperienced person.

Desirable Mentor Characteristics:

To be successful, a mentor must possess several attributes. Here is a sample.

Skills Competencies, and Values:

Counselling and communication skills
Ability to bypass red tape, offer inside information, and point out short cuts
Ability to provide moral support when the protg is under stress or confused
Commitment to high ethical standards
High credibility as a supervisor
Knowledge
Knowledge of organizational mission, long-range goals, strategy, and culture
Knowledge of critical factors to succeed within the firm
Technical competence to help the protg overcome skill deficiencies
Communication links with key individuals giving them access to improvement information
Knowledge of the protgs motivations, values, skills, competences, and career aspirations
Behaviors
Behaviors supportive of the protg and reflecting faith in the persons dreams
Behaviors aimed at providing honest feedback to the protg about his or her performance
Behaviors such as alternate job assignments, training or counselling to improve the protgs skill and
knowledge repertoire
Behaviors indicating sponsorship of the protg and helping to improve his or her visibility

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Attributes of Effective Disciplinary Practices:
To be effective, a disciplinary system should several attributes. Some of the more important features are
discussed below.
Immediate and Consistent: Disciplinary actions should be immediate and consistent. A useful
guideline in this context is the hot-stove rule. Just as a person touching a hot stove ( an
undesirable action ) receives immediate, consistent, and impersonal punishment, so should the
violator of an organizational policy or standard. Irrespective of who the violator is, the
punishment should be the same and immediate.
With Warning: The offending employee should be warned in clear and unequivocal terms that
failure to improve the behavior will result in discipline (including possible discharge).
Progressive: A policy of progressive discipline, where repeated offences are accompanied by
Stronger penalties have been found useful in many organizations. An example of a progressive
discipline system is shown fig 1-1. As can be seen from the figure, repeated violations are
accompanied by harsher punishment and finally discharge. It is important to clearly indicate in
writing the nature of the problem and the impact of the offenders behavior on organizational
performance, success, or stature in the larger society.

Figure:1-1 Illustration of a progressive Discipline system.

First violation: Verbal reprimand and counselling by the supervisor.

Second violation: Written reprimand, counselling and a record in the file.

Third violation: One or two-day suspension from work (depending on the gravity of offence).

Fourth violation: Suspension for one week or longer.

Fifth violation: Discharge for cause.

Error- embracing organizations: are those that acknowledge errors committed by employees when making
risky, entrepreneurial decisions as unavoidable by- products of learning and change and tolerate them more
often than mistakes in routine matters.
Figure: Error-Embracing organization

Focus on
innovation, risk
Emphasis on
taking and Learning and
entrepreneursh changing
ip

Error-embracing
organization

Admission of Employee
errors autonomy and
encouraged self-control

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