Admittedly, it wasn't really dead, the method of collegial consultation, which can enrich both teams and so-called stranger labs.

Nevertheless, things had become a bit quiet around them in recent years.

In the SOCIUS team, we have always valued collegial consultations among ourselves, sometimes in a super-fast format of fifteen minutes with three people, but we have not used them as frequently and extensively as we would have liked and intended.

Back in 2018, the IAC (International Alumni Centre) received various enquiries about introducing the method to different alumni groups. Peer counselling for women. Peer counselling for men. And then a whole project: „Auslandserfahrung bringt's!“ (Experience abroad pays off!) – a peer counselling project for people who are responsible for alumni work in organisations that send volunteers abroad.

The initial thesis for the project was: Peer counselling has a profound effect on the quality of work and increases the ability to collaborate because it builds trust.

What is collegial counselling?

Collegial case consultation is a method from systemic counselling in which participants bring their own concerns to a group context and develop solutions for challenges in their everyday working lives. The participants seek possible solutions to a specific problem, known as a „case“. The case presenter explains the situation to the counsellors, who then provide advice following a specific choreography.

Peer case consultation is an effective method because, on the one hand, it follows an effective and clear schedule and, on the other hand, it provides a wealth of new possible solutions and perspectives by tapping into the expert knowledge of the group and thus utilising what is known as swarm intelligence. This results in mutual support and joint learning. It is important to emphasise that collegial case consultation is not a method for resolving conflicts between those involved.

The collegial consultation process is as follows:

• Arrival, check-in, small talk, what has happened since last time (15 minutes)
• Role clarification: Case presenter, moderator, documentation/timekeeper
• Case description (10 minutes)
• Counsellors discuss the case and their perceptions of the individuals involved. They share impressions, associations, feelings – (10 min)
• Add case-related persons (5 min)
• Advisors consider first steps (5 minutes)
• Everyone works together to find solutions to the problem (15 minutes)
• Case presenters summarise: What have I learnt? (5 min)
• Everyone else summarises (5 minutes)
• Feedback: Group – Moderation – Method (5 min)
• Verification of the hypothesis & outlook

Even though most of those involved in the „Auslandserfahrung bringt's!“ project had not yet used the peer counselling method in other settings, the offer was very well received. The participants particularly appreciated the collegial atmosphere that transcended organisational boundaries. Although the clear time structure of the method was unfamiliar and sometimes found a little disruptive, on the whole it served as a good guide, as did the clear division of roles.

In a short survey conducted at the end of the first year, participants agreed that peer consultation was motivating for their own work, not only when they brought up their own concerns. Preparing and continuing to work on the issues was seen as an internal retreat for their own work and repeatedly encouraged reflection. Regular networking with colleagues from other sending organisations proved to be extremely positive. According to the participants, the time and space for joint thinking and comparing their own approaches to the issues raised with those of others improved the quality of their work. In particular, the solution-oriented nature of the method led to concrete and new actions emerging.

From the perspective of all involved, the hypothesis – Peer consultation has a profound effect on the quality of work and increases collaboration in alumni work for voluntary services because it builds trust. – confirmed. The application of the method has had a lasting effect on the quality of the work and increased collaboration in alumni work, as it has created openness and trust among the participants. 

Thinking outside the box

But it wasn't just the IAC that made peer counselling available to its participants as a method. It was also used in three rounds of internal training at Diakonie Mitteldeutschland on the topic of „Working 4.0,“ which we conducted with Gaby Schambach [Link: https://genderworks.de] and colleagues from swapwork uG [Link: https://www.swapwork.de], fourfold [Link: https://www.vierfältig.de] and reinblau eG [Link: https://reinblau.coop] accompanied, there was intensive introduction and testing of the method, just as I offered collegial counselling for employees of independent schools in Berlin and Brandenburg as part of my work on the board of the Federal Association of Independent Alternative Schools (BFAS).

In all rounds of peer consultation, colleagues were enthusiastic about the results and ideas that were presented within an hour and which the case presenters could use to continue their work.

In this respect, it was only natural that we quickly developed an online platform for collegial exchange with SOCIUS NextWerk in spring 2020 – during the first lockdown – and offered it at a „pay-what-feels-right“ rate to anyone interested in exchanging ideas and inspiration with others. We want to revive this offer in 2021 and hope for lively interest. The method is so easy to transfer to the online space because it follows a stable choreography anyway.

In our own consulting practice, we use the method both for internal reflection on our own consulting processes and as a method that we introduce in teams and organisations.

In the 15-minute format mentioned above, the person with the reflection issue asks two colleagues for 15 minutes of their time, then has 5 minutes to describe their issue/case, and the other two then have 10 minutes to discuss the person and their issue while they listen. In most cases, this results in an impulse to continue. It is certainly helpful if the participants know each other.

Give it a try!