Employee Counseling

Counseling vs. DisciplineCounseling

Face-to-face communication

Conducted by supervisor

Usually, first form of action

Discipline Penalization Conducted by Human

Resources Typically, second form

of action (if counseling fails)

Role of the Supervisor Balance organizational

needs with employee rights on a daily basis

Inform employees of their performance on the job

Ensure work is being completed at acceptable levels

Causes of Failure of Accomplishment at Work The employee does not know how Lack of instruction or feedback.

Something or someone is hindering work output Physical or mental restrictions, time or equipment restrictions

Attitude Poor attitude, employee is “burned-out” or unhappy, or does not

particularly enjoy the task.

Consequences of Failing to Take Action Increased workload

Department morale affected

The employee may never see the problem

Problem is reinforced as acceptable

What is Counseling Direct face-to-face conversation

between a supervisor and a direct report

Used to help the employee identify the reason for poor performance to improve, not embarrass or humiliate him or her

Generally more formal than feedback and coaching and is required of a small percentage of employees

Purpose of Counseling Communicate concerns to the employee

Determine the cause of the employee’s activities

Identify avenues for improvement and/or development

Improve employee performance

When to Counsel When more action is required by the supervisor

following feedback and coaching

Re-establish Expectations

Not all unacceptable behavior warrants discipline:Usually minor infractions, or case of first offense by a long term employee require counseling

The Counseling Process:Before the Session Define your objectives. Have all documentation

available Review all facts Create an outline Arrange for privacy Verbally inform the employee in

person and in private what the meeting is about, and where and when it is to take place

The Counseling Process:Session GuidelinesHow you behave and what you say during the session can affect the outcomeSet a positive toneDescribe the problemAsk, then listenCorrect the situationListenConclude the session

The Counseling Process:Minimizing Conflict

Counsel in a timely manner Counsel in private Look for the root cause of the

problem Listen. Do not interrupt Show sincere interest in the

employee If you can help, offer it, do it

Writing a Memo:Decision When making the decision about whether or not to

write a counseling memo, consider if any of the following are present:

Previous counseling has failed to bring improvement You have little or no confidence that the employee will

correct the problem without further encouragement The seriousness of the situation requires it. A multi-step plan for improvement is designed and the

memo can serve as a written confirmation and reminder Is it important to have a written record in official personnel

file

The Counseling Process:Writing a Memo A structured account of the counseling session that

details what was said and by whom

Summarizes the performance improvement process and notes when the follow-up session will be held

The employee must be informed during the counseling session if a counseling memo will be issued and documented in their personal history folder

The Counseling Process:After the Session Document: Write a memo, if appropriate Immediacy: Whatever you decide to do after

the session, do it immediately after the session – do not wait which can cloud your recollection of the events of the session

Allow for employee rebuttal if requested Schedule a follow-up consultation Continue to monitor performance

JOB SATISFACTION

1. Job satisfactionA positive feeling about one’s job resulting from an

evaluation of its characteristics.

2. Job involvementThe degree to which a person identifies with a job,

actively participates in it, and considers performance important to self-worth.

Closely related concept is psychological empowerment which is employees’ belief in the degree to which they impact their work environment, their competence, the meaningfulness of their job, and the perceived autonomy in their work.

3. Organizational commitmentThe degree to which an employee identifies with a

particular organization and its goals and wishes to maintain membership in the organization.

Three separate dimensions: Affective commitment – an emotional

attachment to the organization and a belief in its values.

Continuance commitment – the perceived economic value of remaining with an organization compared to leaving it.

Normative commitment – an obligation to remain with the organization for moral or ethical reasons.

Other job attitudes:

1. Perceived Organizational Support (POS) – the degree to which employees believe the organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being.

2. Employee engagement – an individual’s involvement with, satisfaction with, and enthusiasm for the work they do.

How are employee attitudes measured? attitude surveys - Eliciting responses from

employees through questionnaires on how they feel about their jobs, work groups, supervisors, and the organization.

employee behaviors are based on perceptions, not reality.

measuring job satisfactiona person’s job is more than just the obvious activities of shuffling papers, writing programming code, waiting on customers, or driving a truck. Jobs require interaction with coworkers and bosses, following organizational rules and policies, meeting performance standards, living with working conditions that are often less than ideal, and the like.

Single global rating Is a method nothing more than asking individuals to

respond to one question, such as “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your job?”

Summation of job facets More sophisticated method. It identifies key elements

in a job and asks for the employee’s feelings about each. Typical factors that would be included are the nature of the work, supervision, present pay, promotion opportunities, and relations with coworkers.

How satisfied are people in their jobs?

people are on average satisfied with their jobs overall, with the work itself, and with their supervisors and coworkers. However, they tend to be less satisfied with their pay and with promotion opportunities.

What causes job satisfaction?

the major job satisfaction facets (work itself, pay, advancement opportunities, supervision, coworkers), enjoying the work itself is almost always the facet most strongly correlated with high levels of overall job satisfaction.

how about personality?personality plays a role. Research has shown that

people who have a negative personality are usually less satisfied with their jobs.

how about pay? people who are poor or who live in poor countries, pay

does correlate with job satisfaction and with overall happiness. But once an individual reaches a level of comfortable living, the relationship virtually disappears.

What motivates us is not necessarily the same as what makes us happy.

The impact of dissatisfied and satisfied employees on the workplace Exit

Dissatisfaction expressed through behavior directed toward leaving the organization.

Voice Dissatisfaction expressed through active and constructive

attempts to improve conditions. Loyalty

Dissatisfaction expressed by passively waiting for conditions to improve.

Neglect Dissatisfaction expressed through allowing conditions to

worsen.

Responses to job dissatisfaction

NEGLECT LOYALTY

EXIT VOICE

Destructive Constructive

Passive

Active

job satisfaction & job performanceWhen satisfaction and productivity data are gathered for the organization as a whole, we find that organizations with more satisfied employees tend to be more effective than organizations with fewer satisfied employees.

job satisfaction & organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)

Satisfied employees would seem more likely to talk positively about the organization, help others, and go beyond the normal expectations in their job. More recent evidence however, suggests that satisfaction influences OCB, but through perceptions of fairness.

job satisfaction & customer satisfaction The evidence indicates that satisfied employees increase

customer satisfaction and loyalty. Dissatisfied customers can increase an employee’s job

dissatisfaction.

job satisfaction & absenteeism

A consistent negative relationship between satisfaction and absenteeism, but the correlation is moderate to weak.

job satisfaction & turnoverSatisfaction is also negatively related to turnover, but the correlation is stronger than what we found for absenteeism. Evidence indicates that an important moderator of the satisfaction-turnover relationship is the employee’s level of performance. Level of satisfaction is less important in predicting turnover for superior performers.

job satisfaction & workplace deviance Job dissatisfaction predicts a lot of specific behaviors, including

unionization attempts, substance abuse, stealing at work, undue socializing, and tardiness.

If employers want to control the undesirable consequences of job dissatisfaction, they had best attack the source of the problem – dissatisfaction – rather than trying to control the different responses.