Here are six of the top benefits:

1. By introducing proper coaching practises into your business you are sending a message to all employees that they are important to the business. That the business would like to see them growing and developing in their current positions, in their careers and in their own personal lives. This type of investment in your employees results in increased company loyalty and a decrease in employee turnover. More time is spent growing the skills and capabilities of the teams and building the business than wasted on long and tedious recruitment and on-boarding processes.
2. Engaged and motivated team members results in increased productivity.
3. Good coaching programmes improve communication skills. When people start to communicate properly they are able to build trust relationships with each other. They know where each party stands on important issues. Assumptions, miscommunication and misunderstandings can be eliminated.
4. Good coaching practises results in having clearly defined goals and action plans where achievements, progress and challenges are discussed and reflected on a regular basis. This increases team morale as the team members can see their progress and successes.
5. Coaching allows for businesses to have succession planning. An integral part of the business, which ensures that key decision making positions are filled by competent and deserving individuals.
6. If there is a coaching culture within your business, by default managers become more approachable. For employees to know that they can approach their bosses for advice and operate in a non-judgemental environment, makes a significant difference to any employee.

So many businesses will do one or the other, but very seldom both. To get maximum return on your training investment, both disciplines, training and coaching need to be taking place within your business.

Training is all about teaching or introducing new concepts or skills. It doesn’t or very seldom alters the training delegate’s behaviour. They learn something new which can tweak their curiosity, but then the training ends and they go home. Perhaps there may be some altered behaviour change for a week or so after the training has taken place, but on the whole, most people will go back to their old habits.

To counteract this and to really get bang for buck I would highly recommend that coaching is introduced straight after every training initiative. Coaching is the safety net or the catalyst for change. The new skills are taught in training and the coaching is there to help reinforce these new skills after the training has taken place.

Naturally human beings find it very difficult to change a habit or implement a newly learnt skill straight away. It is even harder when that change is completed in isolation or not supported. We need help to stay on track and keep focused. This is the role of the coach.

A coach is there to help you define your habit change and then to support you through the change process.

To really set your team up for success, by all means give them the opportunity to attend training sessions, but then make coaching available to them afterwards.

Let them reinforce their newly learnt skills over time so they can then add the right value back into your business.

There are literally a hundred different answers to this question. There is also no exact right or wrong answer, as it depends purely on who is asking and what they are actually looking for in a coach at a particular time.

Different characteristics will mean different things to different people. Certain personality traits may be higher on your list of importance when it comes to selecting a coach than on someone else’s list. However the one trait that I believe everyone should see as key to what makes a good coach, and that should be on the top of everyone’s list when in the coach selection process, is trust and the coach’s ability to instil trust into the coaching relationship. Here is why I say that:

1. Trust is first and foremost the most important component of any part of the coaching relationship. The coaching partnership is built on a foundation of mutual trust and respect. Without trust, there will be no true relationship and the coaching results would most probably be poor.
2. As a client you are trusting someone to keep your coaching sessions private and confidential.
3. As a client you are trusting that the coach has got your best interest at heart. There shouldn’t be any hidden agendas or commission kick-backs down the line.
4. You are trusting that the coach is holding a non-judgemental safe space for you to work through your goals. You need to feel comfortable in your coaching sessions with no fear of being judged.

So the next time you are investigating the services of a coach, don’t just think about what personality traits would work well for you. Ask yourself two vital questions - “How will this coach instil trust into this potential partnership?” and “Can I trust them?”

This is a really good question and it depends on the expectations of the person asking the question. If your business is looking for a quick result or wanting to get profits up with very little work, then implementing a coaching programme within your business will not be the answer.

Coaching is not a quick fix and a coaching programme should never be started in a business if there is an expectation of a speedy outcome similar to that of a quickie month-end promo to boost sales. If this is the case, then the coaching programme will fail as it has been implemented for the wrong reason. Coaching initiatives need to be given time, especially if it involves all team members within the business.

With a quick-turn-around-sales-boosting expectation in mind, some companies choose not to implement coaching, as they say it doesn’t work. Sad and short-sighted.

So coming back to the original question. “By investing in coaching for your team members, how do you measure your return on investment?“

The best way to answer this question is to provide you with some feedback from business owners and managers who have actually invested in their teams and therefore their business by implementing a coaching programme.

Employee retention – Happy, focused and motivated employees don’t look for alternative employment. Engaged employees who understand what their role is and who understand that they are valued are focused on their tasks and looking for ways to move up within your business, not ways to move out of the business. These are loyal and driven individuals who you want on your team.

If you want to talk costs, then think about this – If you are constantly employing, training and inducting new people into your business, it is costing you precious time and recruitment costs. Depending on the job, a new person can take up to 9 months to become 100% productive in their new position. I won’t get started on the negative impact it has on business morale when there is constant change of team dynamics going on, that’s for another blog post.

Decrease in customer complaints – Happy, focused and motivated employees understand it is in their best interest to look after the customer. They understand consequences to their actions. As complaints go down, we see compliments go up.

Business image – You just need to look at the top companies to work for in the world. The best employees aspire to work for these companies and customers are attracted to do business with them due to the work ethic and energy of these businesses. These companies are also rated as the best companies to work for by their employees as they invest in the teams.

The net result of the above is that there is actually a financial benefit to coaching. With these solid foundations in place your bottom line will look after itself. Now that’s a great return on investment!

• An initial complimentary consultation works best face to face, however, if distance is an issue we can arrange a Skype or phone session. I am based in Auckland, but have clients based all over.
• In the initial consultation, we’ll discuss your goals, complete the coaching contract, decide on preparation techniques and you might even get some homework!
• We’ll meet weekly or fortnightly for an hour, either face to face or by Skype
• The initial coaching contract is for a minimum of 8 sessions.
• If you believe additional sessions are required we can book them accordingly
• Sessions are billed and payable at the beginning of each month
• Should you need to postpone a session, I’ll try to accommodate your request where practically possible. If postponing becomes an issue, I’ll need to challenge your commitment to your coaching and your investment towards your personal growth and development