A team debrief is not a counseling session. It is a structured way to bring the team together after a workplace incident, providing an opportunity to reflect on events and discuss the effects of grief that workers may be experiencing.
Planning Your Debrief
Timing: Schedule the debrief 2-5 days following the incident to allow initial shock to settle while keeping events fresh in memory.
Preparation: Work with HR to determine appropriate information sharing, including session context, duration, purpose, and protocols for managing emotional responses. If you don’t have access to an internal HR resource, you can reach out to business.govt.nz.
Environment: Choose a quiet, private space free from interruptions. Send a meeting invite to all potentially affected team members, making attendance voluntary rather than mandatory.
Notice: Provide sufficient advance notice so workers understand the session's purpose and can prepare themselves mentally.
Facilitator: Consider who should lead the session. If the usual facilitator is too close to the incident or worker, arrange for someone else to conduct the debrief.
Conducting the Session
Create a safe space: Establish a non-judgmental environment where workers feel comfortable participating and taking time to gather their thoughts.
Practice active listening: Model respectful behavior and genuinely listen to what team members share.
Balance the discussion: Allow time for both sharing experiences and offering mutual support, remembering that there is no right or wrong way to grieve.
Key Discussion Areas
Personal connections: Ask workers to share how they were involved with their colleague. This may reveal who was present during the incident.
Event circumstances: Review what happened leading up to and during the incident. This information may support learning reviews and investigation processes.
Current impact: Provide opportunities for workers to express how they're feeling both personally and professionally. Accept that responses and reactions will vary.
Moving forward: Capture thoughts and learnings from the experience, focusing on how the team can support each other going forward.
Documentation
Document this debrief and retain records following your standard meeting and toolbox documentation procedures.