Success stories of companies using professional coaching to achieve strategic business goals continue to spread. If your business had contemplated hiring a coach or implementing a coaching programme for employees to offset traditional training and development programmes, you will be pleased to know that research and case studies documenting high levels of satisfaction and return on investment exist.
 

Coaching satisfaction and uses
Results of the International Coach Federation’s (ICF) 2009 ICF Global Coaching Client Study, conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Association Resource Centre, show that professional coaching within companies is proven to have a solid, measurable impact on business solutions and success. A strong majority—78.5 percent—of coaching clients surveyed in the study from the European/Middle Eastern/African region (EMEA) report being “very satisfied” with their coaching experience. Globally, 99 percent of coaching clients surveyed were very or somewhat satisfied with their experience*.
 
Those from EMEA who invested in coaching within their organisations reported the median financial return to the company was 1,567 percent, or nearly 16 times their investment in coaching.
 
Optimizing individual/team performance, expanding professional career opportunities and improving business management strategies were the top three areas in which professional coaching was reported being used, according to the 2010 ICF Global Consumer Awareness Study.
 
Beyond the research: Case Studies
 
TINE
Managers within TINE Group, Norway’s largest dairy cooperative, have a lot to smile about these days. Not only do they work for Norway’s leading supplier of food products, but they also work for a company that is dedicated to their professional development. More than 400 managers and more than 20 coaches have been involved with TINE’s coaching programme since 2005.
 
TINE reports its coaching initiative has been effective in achieving among its employees a new management style and new insight into the role of manger; better quality products, better innovation, better results, greater awareness, more courage, improved learning skills, a greater ability to change and live with change and decreased sick leave.
 
An example of sick-leave savings is a 45-percent reduction in short-time sick leaves for one of the company’s largest packing plants in Trondheim. For this particular plant, this means an annual savings of some 3 million NOK. TINE sees this cost savings as a direct result of coaching being used as a management tool Applying the 3 million NOK in sick leave savings at the Trondheim plant to the number of employees in the whole company would produce an estimated cost savings of 100 million NOK every year for TINE in sick-time savings alone. As TINE expands its business beyond Norway with subsidiaries in the United States, England and in other Scandinavian countries, the company plans to expand coaching as a leadership skill abroad.
 
“We shall keep up the good work and train our leaders and our in-house coaches,” said TINE CEO Hanne Refsholt. “The coaching programme will go on as we gradually implement the coaching mindset and skills into all our programmes to build the culture we want to see in our company.”
 

Those from EMEA who invested in coaching within their organisations reported the median financial return to the company was 1,567 percent, or nearly 16 times their investment in coaching

Genentech
Employees in the IT department at Genentech Inc., a founding biotechnology company acquired by the Roche Group in 2009, have a little extra pep in their step these days. That pep may be seen as the new capacity employees are gaining from the well-received and highly successful Personal Excellence Programme (PEP), a coaching-based development programme that leads them on a journey of self-observation, peer feedback and support, and individual and group coaching.
 
Through the vision of Chief Information Officer Todd Pierce, in 2007 Genentech implemented this cutting edge approach to employee development which today has offered coaching to more than 400 employees at every level within the IT department at the company’s headquarters office in California, USA. Now in its fourth year, PEP has been attributed with increasing employee productivity and customer satisfaction, improving employee communication and making a significant, measurable business impact for Genentech along the way. After evaluation, it is believed that PEP is conservatively producing an estimated $1.50 to $2 USD for every dollar spent to deliver the programme.
 
“Through PEP, we have created a smarter, more agile and more responsive organization,” Pierce said. “There is greater collaboration across functions, customer relationships have improved, employee engagement is noticeably higher, and we are better positioned to respond to change and lead technological innovation.”
 
Solaglas Windowcare 
Solaglas Windowcare of the United Kingdom, a leading glass replacement and installation company, has seen significant improvement in the areas of communication and collaboration; increased decision making and ownership amongst engineers; and the enhancement of new potential.

 

These improvements have saved the company a total of £797,000 in performance improvement, subcontracting costs, materials costs, recruitment costs, and employee sick absences. In addition, Solaglas has seen higher customer satisfaction, which has resulted in increased confidence from Solaglas clients and its standing in the industry. In all, Solaglas has experienced ROI of 490 percent. Company executives believe these gains are small compared to the long-term impact coaching will have.

 

"The ROI from this coaching initiative has been exceptional, but I believe these gains will be seen as small compared with the long-term legacy impact,” said Ian Davy, Managing Director of Solaglas Windowcare.
As the above groups have demonstrated a dedicated commitment to employing coaching in the workplace and utilising it to achieve business goals and displayed documented return on investment, each has been honoured by the ICF with the International Prism Award.

 

Selecting the right coach
With return on investment—both financial and otherwise—well-documented, potential consumers of coaching can focus on the important task of selecting the right coaches for their organizations. So, what are the most important qualities to look for when engaging a professional coach for your organisation?
 
Using the Client Study as a guide, 89 percent of purchasers of coaching, from individuals to organisations, consider the coach’s level of coach-specific training to be “very” or “somewhat” important in choosing the right coach. Beyond coach training, demonstrated proficiency in the coaching process through certification is important to clients, according to the study. The Global Consumer Awareness Study found that 84 percent of respondents who had been in a coaching relationship considered certification/ credentials “important” or “very important.”
 
Coaching is a self-regulated profession, but safeguards are in place for those who want to be assured they are hiring a professional coach. When considering hiring a coach, be diligent in asking the coach if he or she has been specifically trained in coaching skills and currently holds or is in the process of earning a credential, such as one of ICF’s three credentials. Don't be misled to think a coach is competent in coaching because he or she has other professional credentials or sets high fees.
 
Coach selection tips:

 

• Educate yourself about coaching. Review coaching research articles, case studies, etc. Visit coaching association sites such as Coachfederation.org.
• Know your objectives for working with a coach. It’s a client’s responsibility to set goals and discuss with their coach how success will be measured.
• Interview three coaches before you decide. Ask each about skills, experience, qualifications, and ask for at least two references.
• Coaching is an important relationship. There should be a connection between you and the coach.

 
Full case studies for Prism Award winners originally appeared in Coaching World newsletter. 

 

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