Survey - Are there any tangible benefits to coaching

and are there any positive financial returns?

Headline report

Background Information

This online survey was conducted by Clear Coaching from October - December 2006. A wide range of companies who have employed coaches participated including Tesco, the Carphone Warehouse, Coca Cola, Nationwide, Portman Building Society, Ogilvy & Mather and the Bristol Community Housing Foundation, winners of the Guardian Public Service Award 2006.

The main aims of the survey were to discover

• the tangible benefits

• the financial benefits

• the negative effects

• the initial reasons

• and the reporting process

involved when hiring a coach.

Key findings and recommendations

From the results of the survey Clear Coaching has 12 strong recommendations and key findings to companies considering using a coach.

1. The results showed that real tangible benefits do exist from coaching and were easily identifiable. Companies found that these were

• increasing perception (63%)

• acquiring a new skill or improving on an existing one (50%)

• improving work relationships within a team (50%)

• being able to see other perspectives (47%)

• applying some clarity to work life (43%)

• increasing motivation (43%)

• performance approved (43%)

• coachee seemed happier (40%)

• enjoying a better atmosphere (40%)

• growing into a new role (40%)

• changing approaches to work situations (37%)

• agreed goals were obtained. (20%)

So if you want an employee to be more motivated or increase their perception - hire a coach!

2. 23% of companies noticed an increase in sales and revenue even when it wasn’t an aim of the coaching. While 63% of respondents did not see the financial return as the objective of coaching. Companies could therefore be gaining tangible financial benefits from coaching without even realising it.

3. Only 3% of companies fully understood the financial impact coaching was having. Therefore companies need to investigate ways of measuring any financial upturn following coaching as they are currently unaware of the effect it is having.

4. Coaching can have a negative impact as well as positive ones. 15% of companies reported as much. ‘Individuals becoming too reliant on support of a coach. Not wanting it to end.’ was one companies experience while the cost of coaching was reported by another. Companies therefore need to be aware of this balance.

5. Only 3% of companies reported that employees using coaching to enable them to find a new career or leave. 93% of companies found that employees reward the value placed in them through coaching by performing better at work, and not by leaving.

6. Currently only 10% of companies offer coaching as part of their standard employment package. Coaching could be used as a sweetener to attract new employees.

7. Coaches are often left in the dark about the reasons they are hired. Currently less than 18% of companies give coaches clear cut reasons why they are required. Companies could greatly enhance the relationship between coach and coachee by giving more contextual information.

8. 93% of companies would hire a coach again and were on the whole an in the words of one company ‘delighted, a very positive experience and far exceeded expectations’ with the coaching experience. Therefore hiring a coach could benefit companies greatly.

9. 7% of companies saw no positive effects of coaching and this usually went hand-in-hand with having no management involvement during or after the coaching process. Companies could review their reporting systems to ensure they are getting the best out of coaching.

10. Currently only 20% of companies set out clear specific goals at the outset of the coaching relationship. Companies would get more out of coaching and be able to measure those benefits more meaningfully if they were not so unclear of what they want at the start of the coaching relationship.

11. Currently less than 10% of companies let the coach and coachee meet before the sessions. Coachees need to road test the coach before committing to the relationship because ‘the key is to get the coach/coachee relationship right’.

12. By just coaching a handful of employees morale can be raised across the board because the company is seen as investing in the team. One company noted ‘because we showed that we were investing in an employee the rest of the team felt better about the company’.

If