Figure 1: Reasons for Coaching
Most of have counseled an employee at one time or another. In the industrial workplace, a person being counseled or coached typically failed to meet expectations and received specific guidance on what needed to be improved. Most employees wanted to keep the interaction a secret from his or her peers and just hoped to retain his or her current job. Today, coaching is a positive interaction and continues to be one of the preferred methods of employee growth and leadership development.
A recent survey by HCS found that more than 70 percent of firms that rate themselves as “successful” utilize coaching as a key method of employee management and development. More than 50 percent offered coaching at all levels in their organization while approximately 90 percent provided coaches to managers and leaders. Among those assigned a coach, the top reason was professional growth followed by general or specific career guidance and then remediation (see Figure 1). When respondents commented on the reason for the coaching, the majority (72 percent) indicated that the interaction pertained to helping the employee improve instead of addressing an issue. Moreover, over 82 percent of participants scored their perceptions of their experience as being satisfied or very satisfied.
What is the best way to implement or maximize the use of coaching in your organization?
Analyze – determine what your organizational needs are based on your mission, strategy, capabilities, performance, and outcomes.
Identify – assess which employees will be included in your coaching initiative and who will serve as coaches (supervisors, managers, and/or executives).
Evaluate – work with individual employees to identify strengths, weaknesses, goals, and opportunities.
Plan – develop a coaching plan that includes the current status, desired goals, and action plans to be monitored.
Interact – coaching is as much about the relationship as the communication, so make sure the interaction is productive and beneficial.
Assess – determine how successful the interaction is and make adjustments to improve coaching.