The benefits of Coaching in Organisations
Evidence of the power of coaching
Manchester Inc completed a study in 2001 on the impact of 100 executives from Fortune 100 companies. The executives had received coaching for six months to a year with the emphasis on action planning and achieving measureable results linked to business objectives.
The results showed that coaching programmes delivered a return on investment six times the cost of coaching. Other benefits included:
- Increase in productivity by 53%
- Quality improvement by 48%
- Improved staff retention by 32%
- Improved job satisfaction by 61%
The business benefits of coaching:
- Increased productivity
The DTI study 2003 revealed that 49% of companies saw a positive increase in productivity
- Improved recruitment and retention
BT saved £3m in recruitment costs in the year to March 2003
- Lower rates of absenteeism
The London Borough of Camden experienced a 2.5% reduction in the cost of sickness absence in the first year
- Reduced overheads
BT saved £52m in overheads in the year to March 2003 by increasing its number of supported home workers; this also means an annual saving of £10m in fuel costs
- A more motivated, satisfied and equitable workforce
The DTI found that over 94% of employers agreed that people work best when they feel supported and achieve a good work life balance
What do you think research suggests are the ten most frequently cited skills for successful line managers?
According to Zeus and Skiffington The Coaching at work Toolkit 2002 successful line managers:
- Develop self awareness
- Communicate verbally
- Set goals and articulate a vision
- Manage individual decisions
- Motivate and influence others
- Build teams
- Define and solve problems
- Delegate
- Manage time and stress
- Manage conflict
and surprise, surprise these are also the skills of a successful coach!!
We have found that organisations introduce coaching:
- To ease the induction or appointment of individuals into a more senior or different role
- To structure and support the personal development of individuals defined as ‘high potential’
- To underpin the effective implementation of organisation change
- As a trusted advisor or independent sounding board to a senior individual
- To support senior staff engaged in wider personal effectiveness programmes, such as 360 degree appraisal or assessment centres
- As a means of supporting and retaining key staff critical to the business in times of change and uncertainty
- To encourage the independent working of teams so they can identify and develop solutions.
In our experience the reasons for the growth in use of coaching include:
- The very real effects of downsizing, resulting in ‘lonely’ and isolated senior managers who welcome support and challenge fro someone external to their immediate work environment
- The increasing demand by organisations for senior managers with key ‘soft skills’ to embed the kinds of feedback based approaches necessary for self insight, effective behaviours and emotional intelligence
- The nature of the executive coaching relationship is supportive, challenging, non-judgmental and confidential. This means clear contracting ensures safety for all stakeholders.
- Coaching sessions with executive coaches can be fitted around other diary commitments, are flexible and can be conducted face to face, via skype or a telephone bridge.
Produced by Jackie Arnold
Thanks to Jackie for permitting the use of this excellent summary
