Impact Evaluation Report on the Coaching.com … · Coaching.com’s Impact on Client Company Page 3 The coaching intervention used during a time of changing organizational structure,

Coaching.com’s Impact on Client Company Page 1

Impact Evaluation Report on the Coaching.com Intervention

For [Client Company]

October 2001

The actual client name is not used in this

report to ensure confidentiality.

Study Designed and Completed by: Triad 2040 Raybrook SE, Suite 207 Grand Rapids, MI 49546 (616) 956-6850

www.triadperform.com

http://www.triadperform.com/


Executive Summary

Introduction The Client Company engaged Coaching.com to provide a series of coaching sessions for sixty-seven of its staff members. The participants in the coaching process included all managers from the executive level to District Sales Managers. This intervention began early in 2001 and concluded for most participants in May 2001. It was the express intention of the coaching intervention to deliver results against key business goals. The purpose of this impact evaluation was to determine if those results were produced, why and by whom, and, if not, why not. The report captures these data.

Background and Methodology The investigators used a “success case” methodology that is described in detail in the full report. Key Findings

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The Coaching.com intervention has produced significant business and economic impact Overall, the investigators are confident that Client Company has achieved total impact in the millions. The immediate return on investment will be in the 10 to 1 range. The long-term return will be even higher.

Specifically, the investigators found abundant evidence that this intervention contributed directly to these Key Responsibility Areas (KRAs):

Top performing staff have been retained. Retaining a top performing Account Executive and a District Manager saved the company in excess of $100,000.00 and kept current revenues and customer satisfaction at very high levels.

A positive work environment has been created. Managers working more effectively with their reports have helped them focus on strategic account development thus increasing sales results in excess of $250,000.00.

*Revenue increased by moving formerly average ACE performers to where they are now exceeding their plan. This results alone earned the company in excess of $75,000.00

Reduced erosion in customer based revenues and customer satisfaction because territories are fully staffed more quickly when vacancies occur saved the company in excess of $100,000.00

*A revenue increase may seem to be an inaccurate conclusion given the company’s year to date revenue levels. This conclusion is not about the company revenues but about the way in which the coaching intervention has helped managers work more effectively with targeted individuals to move them from average performance to now exceeding their plan. The more accurate question would be: “How much further below plan might they be if the coaching initiative had not been in place?”

The investigators are very confident that Client Company has achieved, at a very conservative level, a 10 to 1 return on investment. By simply adding the impact of the nine success cases interviewed during this process, the 10 to 1 return rate is nearly achieved. In addition, there are thirty-two additional high impact participants not interviewed for economic impact. Their inclusion would push this return rate even higher.

Sponsorship of this initiative at the executive level of leadership in the organization made the business impact more likely.

The timing of this intervention contributed to the high level of business impact.


The coaching intervention used during a time of changing organizational structure, reporting relationships, and sales process, increased the business impact.

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Participant openness to the coaching process made a decided difference in the personal and business impact that was achieved.

Those who reported the highest levels of personal and business impact were excited by the coaching opportunity being provided by their company.

Significant business and personal alignment between individuals and within teams occurred as a result of the coaching intervention.

This intervention demonstrates how people and performance can be positively changed using a process and not an event.

This coaching process allowed participants to work on new behaviors over time, create shifts that otherwise might not have occurred in the classroom in two days, and integrate their coaching into their jobs, rather than just learning about coaching.

A neutral, third-party coach proved valuable at several levels.

Participants in this intervention described how they talked with their coach about issues that they had difficulty raising with their manager/reports. Instead of this process separating the manager and report, it served to bring them together, helped them get aligned on key business goals, and brought about a more effective working relationship.

The intervention will have long-lasting impact on Client Company’s people and business.

Fully 92% of all survey respondents (Question #4) indicated that they learned coaching techniques that they are using now with their direct reports.

There was confusion on the part of participants about whether they were working with a coach or a consultant.

At the beginning of the process, many participants wanted the Coaching.com coach to tell them what to do in response to a need they had

The process did not have a clear exit strategy.

Many participants were uncertain about the next steps, if any, that followed their ten coaching sessions.

Participants wanted more control over the scheduling of their sessions.

Recommendations The following recommendations are actions that Client Company can take to further increase the business impact of future Coaching.com interventions or others similar to it. While the coaching intervention is delivering very positive business impact already, these recommendations attempt to extend and enhance that impact.

Allow for flexible scheduling of the coaching sessions A significant number of participants found that weekly coaching sessions made the process feel too rushed and not driven by need or circumstance. All agreed that the first two to four sessions should be scheduled


close together to build a foundation for the process and the coaching relationship. They then suggested that succeeding sessions be scheduled by mutual agreement between coach and participant.

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Make sure the managers of participants are fully engaged in supporting this process

Interview data suggest that manager involvement with participants during and after the conclusion of the coaching sessions was relatively low. With greater manager engagement, the level of business impact would have been increased. This applies to any human performance improvement initiative that the company implements.

Provide clear communication about what participants should expect from the process Both the company and Coaching.com share a responsibility for communicating with participants how the process works, who does what, and what they can expect as outcomes. It took many participants two or more sessions to figure out that coaching was not consulting nor counseling. Provide participants with a clear exit strategy when engaged in a process A process with no clear exit strategy seems to end with no closure. Participants were left with the feeling of “What happens next?” The company and Coaching.com might mutually design ideas for closure that could include anything from a celebration of achievements to additional coaching sessions.

To fully understand the above information and to appreciate the impact of this coaching intervention, the reader must turn to the full report on the pages following. In addition, the full report contains a copy of the survey, the survey results data, and an impact map that was used to guide both the coaching and evaluation processes.


Full Report Table of Contents

Introduction...................................................................................................................................6

Background and Methodology......................................................................................................6

Key Findings…………………………………………………………………………………….8

Impact Profiles………………………………………………………………………………….12

Recommendations………………………………………………………………………………20

Appendix………………………………………………………………………………………..22

Participant Survey……………………………………………………………………………...23 Survey Results…………………………………………………………………………………24 District Sales Manager Impact Map…………………………………………………….……..26

Full Report

Introduction The Client Company engaged Coaching.com to provide a series of coaching sessions for sixty-seven of its staff members. The participants in the coaching process included all managers from the executive level to District Sales Managers. This intervention began early in 2001 and concluded for most participants in May 2001. It was the express intention of the coaching intervention to deliver results against key business goals. The purpose of this impact evaluation was to determine if those results were produced, why and by whom, and, if not, why not. The report captures these data.

Background and Methodology The investigators used a “success case” methodology that sought to answer these questions: • • • • •

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What business impact, if any, has this coaching intervention produced? What is the economic value of that impact to Client Company where it can be reasonably determined? When the coaching produces business impact, what contributes to that outcome? When participants do not get business impact from their participation, why is that occurring? What can Client Company as an organization and the training staff do differently/better to increase the impact of interventions like this that might be offered to staff in the future?

The “success case” methodology uses a two-step approach to gathering impact data. STEP One: An impact map was created for each job role to determine how coaching participants could use the coaching process to produce business impact. A copy of the District Sales Manager impact map is included in the Appendix. A survey was constructed based on that map. This survey was intentionally structured to help identify those participants who claimed the most success in using the coaching process to produce positive business impact. A copy of the survey is in the Appendix. The survey was emailed to fifty-nine coaching participants. Fifty-five participants returned completed surveys (one participant had left the employ of the Client Company) for a return rate of 93%. The Appendix contains the results for each question on the survey. After completed surveys were returned, the investigators strategically selected individuals for in-depth interviews. For “success cases,” the selection criteria included respondents whom:

When asked to rate the business impact of the coaching intervention, selected either “high” or “very high” Were equally distributed by region of the country, by job role, and gender

“Low success cases” were selected using all of the above criteria with one exception. On the question of overall positive impact from the course, these individuals rated the business impact of the coaching intervention as “low.” There were only three of fifty-five respondents who selected this response. The investigators interviewed all three of these respondents.



STEP Two: Using the role specific impact maps as business results guides; in-depth interviews were conducted with those strategically selected survey respondents who reported either high or low impact from their participation in the coaching intervention. These interviews took between 20 and 40 minutes to complete. In some cases, investigators received permission and talked with the direct reports and managers of these interviewees to corroborate the stories they had shared. From among the nine “success cases” interviewed, the investigators documented four of those accounts in this report, found in the Impact Profiles. While only four of the success cases are contained in this report, the other cases had equally compelling business impact examples. Using all of the data from the survey, the nine “success case” and three “low success case” interviews, the investigators arrived at the Key Findings and Recommendations contained in this report. The Key Findings and Recommendations are supported by multiple data sources including all survey and in-depth interview data – these are never based on the comments or data from a single or only a few sources.


Key Findings

• The Coaching.com intervention has produced significant business and economic impact

Both the survey data and the in-depth interviews provided ample evidence that this intervention has and will continue to produce significant impact. Specifically, the investigators found abundant evidence that this intervention contributed directly to these Client Company’s Key Responsibility Areas (KRA):

Top performing staff have been retained

A positive work environment has been created

*Revenue increased by moving formerly average ACE performers to where they are now exceeding their plan

Reduced erosion in customer based, revenues and customer satisfaction because territories are fully staffed more quickly when vacancies occur

*A revenue increase may seem to be an inaccurate conclusion given the company’s year to date revenue levels. This conclusion is not about the company revenue but about the way in which the coaching intervention has helped managers work more effectively with targeted individuals to move them from average performance to now exceeding their plan. The more accurate question would be: “How much further below plan might the company be if the coaching initiative had not been in place?”

Evidence regarding the business impact found in the bulleted items above is found in the Impact Profiles that follow. While only four Impact Profiles are included, similar and powerful stories could be told about the remaining five success cases that were interviewed in depth.

To assess the full impact of this intervention, we can extrapolate the current data across all 55 survey respondents. The nine success cases from which the Impact Profiles were drawn were taken from among the 41 survey respondents who indicated that this coaching intervention had a “high” or “very high” impact on them and the company’s business. The investigators are very confident that we would have found similar impact profiles from all 41 of these individuals.

*Note: In each Impact Profile, the economic impact of the manager’s use of the coaching intervention has either been provided by the manager or by using standard metrics for the impact created. There are industry standards for the costs of hiring for instance. The Client Company can accurately determine the value of an average ACE in contrast to a high performing ACE. The sole purpose of this study was not to determine the impact of the coaching intervention to the dollar and cents level. The investigators have used conservative impact estimates. It is important that the reader remember that only four Impact Profiles are presented here. There are another thirty-seven individuals who would have similar profiles with powerful economic impact. Overall, the investigators believe that, if the Client Company wanted to spend large sums of money to prove precise economic impact, the total impact would be in the millions. The investigators are very confident that Client Company has achieved, at a very conservative level, a 10 to 1 return on investment. By simply adding the impact of the nine success cases interviewed during this process, the 10 to 1 return rate is nearly achieved. In addition, there are thirty-two additional high impact participants not interviewed for economic impact. Their inclusion would push this return rate even higher.

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Sponsorship of this initiative at the executive level of leadership in the organization made the business impact more likely

The level of engagement of senior leaders in this coaching process was highly effective and contributed significantly to its success. Individuals talked about how engaged their leaders were in this process and how often they were asked about progress and how it was helping the business. These messages made the coaching intervention visible, important, and worth investing time and energy. This also led to a significant level of internal discussion amongst participants about their coaching experience and the process. This further reinforced the value of this intervention.

The timing of this intervention contributed to the high level of business impact

The coaching intervention used during a time of changing organizational structure, reporting relationships, and sales process, increased the business impact. Client Company staff members were asking very hard questions about their commitment to the company, whether they would fit into the new structure, roles, and processes, and what level of anger should they direct toward the organization if they felt the changes were unfair/inappropriate. A third party coach available during this time helped many individuals work through the above issues and, in fact, helped them move through the organizational changes with greater commitment to the company, to their work, and to their manager and direct reports. Specifically, participants said that they were able to discuss some of these “tough” issues with their manager, some effectively coached their reports in the midst of considering leaving the company, while others found their personal commitment to the company positively changed for the better.

Participant openness to the coaching process made a decided difference in the personal and business impact that was achieved

Those who reported the highest levels of personal and business impact were excited by the coaching opportunity being provided by their company. In fact, a number of those interviewed indicated that they had been considering engaging a personal coach/mentor before this coaching initiative was announced. The company’s commitment to this process was perceived as very positive. These individuals could not wait to get started.

The few (three out of fifty-five respondents) who reported little business impact perceived the process as a time for them to meet with a “shrink” because they were not performing well and needed help. These individuals were unable to take full advantage of the coaching process.


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Significant business and personal alignment between individuals and within teams occurred as a result of the coaching intervention

Individuals frequently reported how they used their coach to help them solve less than ideal working relationships with their manager or with one or more of their direct reports. Many commented that the use of the impact maps, especially with their reports, brought significant alignment around critical business issues. Others indicated that they found themselves talking and working with their managers much more effectively. In these cases, their coaches helped them develop an approach and strategy to bring about the desired change. In one situation, a manager used his coach’s support to help two ACEs who were internally competitive and causing overall team dysfunction. Both are now working effectively together and are exceeding their individual plan.

This intervention demonstrates how people and performance can be positively changed using a process and not an event.

When a human performance improvement intervention is spread over time and built into the doing of the job – as this intervention was – very positive results can be expected. Had this learning been offered in one intensive ten-hour experience, the impact would have been a small fraction of what has been produced here. This coaching process allowed participants to work on new behaviors over time, create shifts that otherwise might not have occurred in the classroom in two days, and integrate their coaching into their jobs, rather than just learning about coaching. Client Company and Coaching.com used a very powerful process that produced significant business value.

A neutral, third-party coach proved valuable at several levels

Participants in this intervention described how they talked with their coach about issues that they had difficulty raising with their manager/reports. As they talked with their coaches, they ended up with a plan, strategy, and options for raising those difficult issues.

When third-party coaches begin working in organizations, there is often a concern that this process might drive a wedge between persons being coached and their manager. This evaluation proved quite the opposite. Instead of this separating the manager and report, it served to bring them together, helped them get aligned on key business goals, and brought about a more effective working relationship.

The third-party coach also provided a safe haven to try ideas and approaches, build confidence and strategies for surfacing issues, and helped bring about clarity and support between staff. Because the coach was not connected to the company, the participants being coached were confident that there was no underlying agenda driven by the coach. They saw their time with the coach as a “free discussion zone.” However, it should be stated that coaches did not allow “gripe” or “victim” sessions, but focused on personal accountability and action.


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The intervention will have long-lasting impact on Client Company’s people and business

Fully 92% of all survey respondents (Question #4) indicated that they learned coaching techniques that they are using now with their direct reports. Thus the impact has a cascading effect in the organization. A coaching approach is a very powerful way to develop a highly accountable, empowered workforce that is quick to respond to opportunities that provide high levels of customer satisfaction. A consulting approach is typically quite top-down, slow, and not very customer responsive. In this intervention, participants experienced the power of the coaching process and found themselves receiving great benefits. It proved so beneficial that participants are willing to use the process with their reports. The long-term impact will be significant. For details on the kinds of long-term impact produced, see the Impact Profiles.

There was confusion on the part of participants about whether they were working with a coach or a consultant

At the beginning of the process, many participants wanted the Coaching.com coach to tell them what to do in response to a need they had. This frustrated some participants initially. However, most discovered that the coaching process was about their discovery of solutions and actions to take. They appreciated that the coaches stuck with the coaching approach because they felt like they ended up owning the action items and were excited to see how these items played out.

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The process did not have a clear exit strategy

Many participants were uncertain about the next steps, if any, that followed their ten coaching sessions. Most participants suggested that they would like to have had a “bank” of three to five more coaching sessions that they could schedule as needed over the next six to twelve months. Other managers suggested that it would be helpful if they could have a “bank” of twenty to forty coaching sessions that they could make available to their direct reports on an as needed basis. What is contained in this message is that participants found great value in this process, and wanted to have more sessions available – but to be used as they determined.

Participants wanted more control over the scheduling of their sessions

A significant number of participants thought that they needed to have a coaching session each week for ten weeks. After the third or fourth session, many would have liked to schedule their next session based on need or have more time to take the actions they planned in their most recent session. This issue is addressed in the Recommendations section.



Impact Profiles

Impact Profile #1 – District Sales Manager (DSM) Impact At A Glance Immediate Outcomes…

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Retained top ACE being recruited out of Client Company

This ACE is exceeding plan

Retained ACE who will be ready for a management position in less than two years and will be very effective as a manager

Moved a second ACE from being an average performer to one who is now exceeding plan

An excited, committed District Sales Manager

Organizational Impact...

Erosion in customer base and customer satisfaction if this ACE’s territory were vacant would have cost the company in excess of $100,000.00

Filling a vacant ACE position would have cost the company in excess of $50,000.00 (hiring, selection, training, coaching, getting up to speed, transitioning accounts, etc.)

Losing a potential high performing manager might have cost the company in excess of $100,000.00

Revenue increased by more than $75,000.00 by improving the performance of an average performer

This DSM discovered that his highest performing ACE, both in terms of revenue and overall effectiveness, was being recruited out of Client Company. He knew that this would have negatively impacted his district very quickly and also saw its long-term negative impact on the company. He took this issue to his coach for guidance on how to intervene with this ACE and then got consistent help with the implementation of the intervention. What his coach helped him do was formulate a set of questions to ask the ACE about what she was looking for in a job, what the offered position might provide, and what her company position might provide. The DSM took the emotion out of the discussion while remaining very positive and supportive of the ACE. These discussions were occurring during the company’s reorganization that only increased this ACE’s anxiety about her current job. Using the guidance he had received from his coach, the DSM was able to coach the ACE to see that she might only be walking away from a great long-term opportunity at the company. For several weeks, this DSM used his coach as his sounding board before talking with the ACE. She not only decided to stay with the company but her commitment and performance is even greater than it was before the conversations. When asked about this ACE’s potential for future leadership at the company, he said that she would be an excellent manager. He felt that his efforts at keeping her at the company saved a very promising future manager for the organization.


In the second application, this DSM identified an average performing ACE and used his coach to discuss strategy regarding this person. Once again, the coach helped him identify this ACE’s behaviors that kept him from achieving greater results. The coach helped him apply his Situational LeadershipII® skills with this ACE, specifically targeting those inhibiting behaviors during his one-on-one session. The manager not only used his SLII® skills but also the coaching skills he was learning during this process. He asked the ACE questions without giving direction until the ACE asked for it. He continued to use his coach as a sounding board for his approach to this ACE over the course of about five weeks. To date, September 2001, this ACE is exceeding plan. The ACE feels great about his achievements and values his relationship with his manager very highly. In summary, the DSM commented about the personal impact this coaching process has had on him. “I am very excited about my future with the company and really value their investment in me through this coaching process. I have a wonderful new outlook on life as a result of this process. I used to be very locked into the past and expecting the future to be what the past had delivered. I am now willing to create the future without being encumbered by my past or the past of others. I feel truly freed to do great things in the future, things I could not imagine doing while being locked into the past. My third-party, objective coach really helped me see that possibility.” What Helped. And What Did Not... Contributors:

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The timing of the reorganization made the need for coaching even more timely

An openness on the part of the DSM to the process

The DSM’s personal sense of accountability

Barriers:

None Identified


Impact Profile # 2 – Regional Sales Manager (RSM)

Impact At A Glance Immediate Outcomes…

Increased personal productivity

Improved working relationship with manager Retained key staff during difficult transition period in the company Increased revenues in slow economic period


Productivity increase worth $25,000.00 or more Retention of key staff (one direct report and two reports to her direct reports) saved company in excess of $250,000.00 Revenue valued at $250,000.00 that would otherwise have been lost in slow economic times

The Impact Story This RSM started out by focusing her efforts at improving her relationship with her manager. In previous one-on-ones, her manager did all the talking. She found the process a waste of her time. She used her coach to define the problem and build a strategy to resolve the issue. This strategy included a way to put the issue on the table with her manager, the preparation of an agenda by the RSM for each session, and support from her coach during the process. She found the one-on-one sessions became highly productive as she was getting the support she needed. But more importantly, her coach helped her see that she handled one-on-ones with her reports in the same way her manager did. She found herself changing the entire way she conducted one-on-ones, pointedly asking her reports if they were getting from her what they needed. Most indicated, that up to now, they were not getting what they needed. She made this discovery at the same time the company reorganization occurred. She used her new found one-on-one skills to work through the anger, frustration, and fear her reports were feeling during the reorganization. As indicated in the Impact At A Glance above, she felt her efforts led directly to one of her direct reports staying with the company. She also said that two staff who reported to another of her direct reports decided to stay with the company as a direct result of the coaching intervention. She said that her improved one-on-one’s not only led to their staying, but also increased their commitment and loyalty to the company. She said that had these people left her region, the company would have paid a big price – in revenue, customer satisfaction, hiring and training costs, to name a few. She said she felt for the first time; her reports really felt that she cared about them – genuinely cared. Her coach helped her change her behaviors during one-on-ones that contributed significantly to this outcome. She also found herself with more time and energy being devoted to the company strategic goals and less time on reactionary relational issues. She found her time with her manager far more productive. She reported that she perceived her manager as showing favoritism to one of her peers. This caused feelings of resentment and suspicion. She was able to use her newly productive one-on-ones with her manager to air that issue, understand it, and put it aside – focusing on her strategic priorities. She also indicated that she has continued to assist one of her direct reports who was in her words, “getting trampled by one of his direct reports.” Her direct report was a valued, positive contributor to the business as was his report, but they were not working well together. She used the techniques she learned during her own coaching sessions to address this issue. She has been able to help these two resolve their issues and, now, work together very effectively.


In summary, this RSM identified some very concrete business impacts that resulted from the coaching intervention. She would have liked bi-weekly sessions after the initial few sessions were completed. She also had a desire for additional coaching sessions driven by her needs and business circumstances. She thought the company’s investment in the coaching process was both personally rewarding and produced significant business value. What Helped. And What Did Not... Contributors:

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Her coach’s understanding of the SLII® and DISC models for leadership and style

Her ability to understand her own style and change it

Her openness to the process

Barriers:

None identified


Impact Profile # 3 – Sales Director


Fully staffed territories

Increased customer satisfaction Reduced erosion in customer base because of staff vacancies Capitalized on business opportunities


Empty territory may cost the company as much as $15,000.00 or more per month

The Impact Story This Sales Director had never made the staffing process a priority in his work. He often had empty positions that he knew remained open far too long. Because his commitment to the process was low, he had not held his reports accountable to keep the process moving, all too easily accepting excuses for not moving forward. He decided to address this problem with his coach. His coach helped him create a coaching process with one direct report who had a long unfilled opening on his staff. His coach helped him see that he needed to work with his direct report to set intermediate milestones for the staffing process. For each step in the staffing process, his coach helped him negotiate with his report a specific action and date for completion. In each phase of the process, his coach helped him make wise decisions about how to work with his direct report in filling the open position. When asked why he now saw staffing as a priority, he said he finally saw how an open territory was costing him and the company missed opportunities, lost revenue, reduced customer satisfaction and openings sacrificed to competitors without challenge. He was determined to shorten the time it took to fill vacancies – and – not to just fill them with anyone, but rather someone highly qualified who would become a high performer. This Sales Director filled this vacancy within thirty days of making a commitment to filling the open spot. He is confident that he has learned a process for helping his direct reports fill openings when they arise promptly and effectively. He also sees that his primary role is to coach the hiring manager, hold him accountable for an aggressive timetable for filling positions, and always making sure that there is a capable pool of candidates being built.

He reported that an open territory costs the company money. His argument is quite simple. If the position is not generating value for the company, why fill it? He arrived at the value of the business impact by using a multiple of the monthly salary plus bonus of the position being filled. If he can take one month out of filling three positions annually, he indicated that the value of that effort approaches $50,000.00.

In summary, this Sales Director found the coaching experience very business focused and powerful. He finds himself using much of what he learned about himself and the coaching process with his direct reports. He was extremely appreciative of the company’s commitment to the coaching process and its impact on his business and him personally.


What Helped. And What Did Not... Contributors:

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An open territory with an understanding of how it was impacting business results

A willingness to learn and do things differently

Barriers:

None identified


Impact Profile # 4 – Sales Operation Manager


Person stayed with Client Company

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Now highly motivated and committed Positively impacted her cross-cultural account work


Retention of SOM worth in excess of $25,000.00

The Impact Story Due to the reorganization, this SOM was ready to leave the company when the coaching process began. She was angry with her manager and the company. She felt victimized in spite of a record of high performance. Her role was being changed. In fact, she had no idea what the role was or if she wanted it. And the most troubling part of the circumstance is that she saw her manager as being too busy to work on “people” issues. She presented her ideas and feelings to her coach on the above issues. Her coach calmly listened to the issues and then simply asked her questions about what she wanted and what she was willing to commit to at the company. Her coach got her to focus on her dreams and hopes and helped her take responsibility for those instead of feeling victimized by her company or manager. Her coach helped her create specific strategies for approaching her manager with the issues that concerned her. She wrote down specific goals that she wanted to discuss with her manager and what help she needed from him to help her with those goals. Her coach provided several reading resources on managing up in an organization. She also helped her see where her own behaviors might have been feeding some of the problems. It became apparent to the SOM during these coaching sessions that she was not as competent as she needed to be in her presentation skills, especially in work settings that were often multicultural. In learning how to work with her manager, she also learned how to listen more effectively in cross-cultural settings, ask more questions, and do far more thinking before speaking. She specifically said that her coach helped her communicate more clearly in her work settings, make better decisions, and manage her accounts more effectively. In summary, this participant found the company’s commitment to her especially positive in light of what was happening at the company. She stated, “Without my coach during this time, I would no longer be a [client company] employee.” In addition, her confidence and ability to provide greater value to her cross-cultural clients, while not as easy to measure in dollar value, is nevertheless, of great value to the company.


What Helped. And What Did Not... Contributors:

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The reorganization opportunity/threat

Barriers:

None identified

Recommendations The following recommendations are actions that the company can take to further increase the business impact of future Coaching.com interventions or others similar to it. While the coaching intervention is delivering very positive business impact already, these recommendations attempt to extend and enhance that impact. •

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Allow for flexible scheduling of the coaching sessions. A significant number of participants found that weekly coaching sessions made the process feel too rushed and not driven by need or circumstance. All agreed that the first two to four sessions should be scheduled close together to build a foundation for the process and the coaching relationship. They then suggested that succeeding sessions be scheduled by mutual agreement between coach and participant. All agreed that there needed to be some time limit for the process. For instance, if the first three sessions were scheduled one per week, the remaining seven sessions would then need to be completed over the course of three to four months. Apparently, Coaching.com is very comfortable with this approach. This scheduling issue would need to be clearly communicated at the launch meeting of the initiative. Coaches would need to helpfully negotiate the session schedule with the participant. Make sure the managers of participants are fully engaged in supporting this process.

While the survey results (Question #5) indicate that managers were quite supportive of participants in this process, interview data suggest that manager involvement with participants during and after the conclusion of the coaching sessions was relatively low. The investigators found that participants’ managers weren’t sending negative comments to their direct reports during or after the intervention. However, most participants said that they had few, if any, discussions with their own manager about the coaching process, what they were learning, how they were going to apply their learning, etc. With greater manager engagement, the level of business impact would have been increased. This applies to any human performance improvement initiative that the company implements. Provide clear communication about what participants should expect from the process. Both the company and Coaching.com share a responsibility for communicating with participants how the process works, who does what, and what they can expect as outcomes. Clearly, many participants thought early on that they would be receiving consulting help – solutions to problems they would present. It took many participants two or more sessions to figure out that coaching was not consulting nor counseling. When they figured out that the purpose of the coach was to help participants design their own solutions and then provide them feedback on implementing their solution, participants really “took off.” They discovered that they had many internal resources they were not using, that they could be responsible and not be victims, thus finding the coaching most effective.



• Provide participants with a clear exit strategy when engaged in a process.

An event has a clear exit strategy - the session is over. A process with no clear exit strategy seems to end with no closure. Participants were left with the feeling of “What happens next?” Some wanted additional coaching sessions available. Others would have liked a summary meeting with the company leadership as a capstone event, sharing successes, barriers, and hopes. The investigators suggest that a coach might be available to participants on a banked basis to be used as business needs dictate. Provide each participant with three to five coaching session per year – to be used as they see fit. Another scenario might be for the company to purchase a bank of fifty coaching sessions for which participants can apply on an “as needed” basis. The company and Coaching.com might mutually design some ideas for closure.


APPENDIX


[Client Company]

Coaching Initiative - Impact Survey

Directions: Select your response to each question by clicking on the radio button for your answer. When finished, click on the Submit button. Your responses will be treated confidentially. Thank you! 1. When I began participating in the coaching sessions, I had very clear goals for my participation.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree

2. The coaching sessions helped me better understand what I needed to change/do differently if I was going to help achieve our business goals of increasing rep productivity, protecting rates per minute, retaining the best reps, deeper account penetration, etc.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree

3. My coaching sessions gave me the skill and confidence I needed to do things that were important to

achieving my own and my company’s goals.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree 4. I have learned some things about effective coaching from this process that I am already using with my direct

reports.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree 5. My manager was extremely supportive of my participation in this coaching process.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree 6. Overall, the impact that the coaching sessions have had on my own and Client Company’s business goals

has been:

Very Low Low Somewhat High Very High


Survey Results

Q.1 When I began participating in the coaching sessions, I had very clear goals for my participation.

Choice Count Percentage Answered 1. Strongly Disagree 1 1.8% 2. Disagree 17 30.9% 3. Agree 29 52.7% 4. Strongly Agree 8 14.5%

Q.2 The coaching sessions helped me better understand what I needed to change/do differently if I was going to help achieve our business goals (e.g., increasing rep productivity, protecting rates per minute, retaining the best reps, deeper account penetration, etc.)


Q.3 My coaching sessions gave me the skill and confidence I needed to do things that were important to achieving my own and my company’s goals.


Q.4 I have learned some things about effective coaching from this process that I am already using with my direct reports.



Q.5 My manager was extremely supportive of my participation in this coaching process.


Q.6 Overall, the impact of the coaching sessions on my own and Client Company’s business goals has been:

Choice Count Percentage Answered 1. Very Low 0 0.0% 2. Low 3 5.5% 3. Somewhat 11 20.0% 4. High 29 52.7% 5. Very High 12 21.8%

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Pag

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Documents

Impact Evaluation Report on the Coaching.com … · Coaching.com’s Impact on Client Company Page 3 The coaching intervention used during a time of changing organizational structure,