Supervision - support for HR professionals

I work in a medium-sized organisation, in a very small team (one HR officer) - effectively a standalone post in terms of professional support.

I had a tricky case recently that I'd have really welcomed discussing via the community forum, but pragmatically I couldn't give enough details to access support without breaching confidence and probably creating an identifiable data breach. It got me thinking about 'supervision' - the kind of thing that counsellors and psychiatrists are required to have as part of their professional practice, providing an opportunity to sit with another professional in complete confidence and talk through the things that you've been dealing with. The idea wouldn't be so that they could tell you what to do or give advice, but just help look at the issues with the benefit of hindsight and see what you could earn from it.

I was wondering if there was a way to establish this kind of system within the CIPD, for those of us who are standalone or who can't easily discuss matters with colleagues in their workplace? I think what I'd value is a professional 'buddy' - someone I could meet up with a couple of times a year for a coffee, where we had a confidentiality agreement in place and could each speak openly about some of the difficult casework we'd had. 

Would anyone else find this kind of system useful (or is it just me ...?) I've no idea how it might work in practice, but wondered in the first instance if it was something others would value.

Do let me know your thoughts, and thanks.

Parents
  • Strongly encourage others to go down this route which I have practiced since about 1990. Having access to respected peers with whom you can exchange in confidence on a regular basis is a great way of testing ideas and getting sanity checks in a controlled and safe environment.
    I have also experienced large companies that establish «mentor» roles where people can exchange freely and in absolute confidence with someone who is in a totally different part of the organisation and has been suitably trained in giving this type of support.
    Finally, having a good network of people whose views you respect can go a long way down this same road.
    Great post, Steve!
Reply
  • Strongly encourage others to go down this route which I have practiced since about 1990. Having access to respected peers with whom you can exchange in confidence on a regular basis is a great way of testing ideas and getting sanity checks in a controlled and safe environment.
    I have also experienced large companies that establish «mentor» roles where people can exchange freely and in absolute confidence with someone who is in a totally different part of the organisation and has been suitably trained in giving this type of support.
    Finally, having a good network of people whose views you respect can go a long way down this same road.
    Great post, Steve!
Children
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