i really enjoyed shepherding my group and the group enjoyed it too...i would arrange to do calls twice a year and would announce at the book study what we would be discussung..usually a couple of wt articles..one encouraging and one goal setting...those in the group would come and arrange when was a convenient time...and if there were single folk or some with unbelieving mates they might team up and if their homes were unavailable they would come to mine..we would make an evening of it and have supper dessert after. it was not usually necessary to discuss problems because i would regularly work in fs with them, have them back for supper after the meetings, go bowling or movies or days out with them, visit them when they were sick at home or in hospital..so if there was anything they wanted to discuss privately they would do it then.
tijkmo ... you sound like you were a very unusual Elder.
When a publisher we usually got a "shepherding visit" about twice a year, usually just before the Circuit overseers visit was due. It usually consisted of a 30 min visit, then they were off to the next one. When I became an Min Servant I went with an Elder on such visits. Which usually consisted of telling the person to keep getting to the meetings and on field service. In my last congregation brothers and sister would tell me they never had a visit. I remeber one sister saying that in 22 years she hadn't even had an Elder on her doorstep nevermind in the house.
But like you at a time when I needed such visits ..nothing. It was two years after I stopped going to meetings that they finally turned up one day.