Many organizations have experienced the value of coaching and are committed to investing in it. Others remain unsure or even skeptical. If you have been wanting to work with a coach but your budget is not cooperative and your boss is one of the skeptical ones, this article will provide valuable talking points to help persuade your organization to invest in coaching for you.
WHY SHOULD YOUR BOSS PAY FOR COACHING?
IT WORKS- Traditionally, companies have chosen to invest their professional development dollars into workshops, trainings and conferences. There is value and potential for growth in these options, but the research shows that it is limited. Trainings alone increase growth by roughly 22%. However, when you combine coaching with training, the increase in performance skyrockets to 88%. Talk about return on investment. The truth is training that simply tells you how to do something can only go so far and trainers have not yet adjusted to this. We learn by doing, making mistakes, getting feedback, processing what is going on and trying it all over again. This is where coaching comes in. Skills can be taught in training, but true growth comes from the implementation of those skills in a supportive and coaching environment.
IT IS TARGETED- Unlike trainings that tell you what you will learn, coaching is completely client-focused. This means that you get to choose your coach and then tell that coach exactly what you want to work on. The foundation of coaching is client-centered, and the agenda of each session comes from you, the client, not the coach. As your needs change, so too does the support you will receive. You may solicit the services of a coach for one issue or goal and then decide to shift goals midway through. Or add another one. Or twelve. The process does not just react to your needs but is directed by them. This is not to say that coaching is aimless. On the contrary, it is goal-focused and action-oriented. It simply recognizes and accounts for the fact that adjustments come with the territory and that being responsive to changing circumstances is essential.
IT IS FLEXIBLE- Using a client-centered approach, coaching is flexible not just in content but in style, duration and delivery. There are several types of coaching that cater to different types of clients. Similarly, the process is a relationship-based one, so the style and personality of the individual coach matters greatly. In terms of duration, you as the client determine how you would like to format your sessions. You can meet weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or any other combination you choose. Your sessions can be 15 minutes or an hour. They can be done in person, over the phone, by Skype or through texting. You can sit on a park bench or at a coffee shop. You can even receive coaching as your walking around a lake. You get to decide how you want to experience coaching and then choose a coach you that provides it. How cool is that?
IT FREES UP TIME- In today’s workplace, managers are stretched thin and generally do not have the necessary time and resources to adequately support their employees. Coaches can help provide some of that support through intense, one-on-one attention. This will not and should not absolve managers of their privilege and responsibility of supervising their teams, however. Instead, working with a coach will help your boss supplement and intensify their support. It is a natural outlet and resource for you that provides another person to approach instead of always going to your supervisor. This will free up some of your manager’s precious time that they so desperately need.
IT WILL KEEP YOU AROUND- People want to work in places that help them grow and develop. This is especially true with Millennials and it is especially true with coaching. As Millennials comprise greater and greater percentages of the workplace, they are forcing leaders to rethink business as usual. At 80 million strong, Millennials, or Generation Y, compromise 1/3 of today’s workforce. By 2020, that number is predicted to be almost half. Millennials have been clear that they want to work for organizations whose values match their own, who provide opportunities for growth and who offer coaching. According to a recent ICF study, Millennials rated coaching and developing others as the most valuable skill for managers. But it’s not just Millennials who want coaching. Research shows that employees across generations both desire and benefit from coaching. Staff who engage in more frequent and effective communication with their managers score higher on nearly every positive workplace scale there is including engagement, performance and retention.
YOU CAN PAY IT FORWARD- Workplaces of today are vastly different than those of previous generations. Increases in technology and remote work combined with flattening organizational hierarchies and decreased lengths of tenure have forced offices to adjust (though many remain slow in doing so). One of the major adjustments is related to leadership styles and strategies. Top-down authoritative approaches are increasingly being replaced by coaching ones. If you receive coaching, you will be able to implement this style into your work, particularly if you are a manager yourself. You do not need to be a certified coach to be effective at using coaching skills. One of the many benefits of receiving coaching is you can begin to implement the strategies in your own work and contribute to a coaching culture that is the face of the modern day workplace.
THEY HAVE THE MONEY- U.S. companies spend more than $160 billion each year on employee training. Obviously, some organizations allot more money for training than others, but all organizations invest some level of time and money into training their staffs, whether that training is a simple in-house orientation conducted in house or a paid external consultant or program. Often, it comes in the form of conferences whose price tags easily become steep, particularly if out of town costs such as transportation and lodging are added to already hefty conference registration fees. In many cases, it is not whether the organization designates money for training but in what amount and in what way. Assuming your organization wants the greatest rate of return, letting them know that coaching produces a greater ROI will help make your case.
IT ISN’T THAT EXPENSIVE- Yes, coaching, like all professional development, costs money, but it doesn’t cost more than poor performance and high turnover. Letting your manager know about the value rather than the cost will help them see the benefit to the bottom line. Remind them of the high cost of turnover, with each departing staff costing your organization anywhere from 40-300% of their annual salary. Let them know that it takes up to a year for a new staff to reach full productivity which means more time and money on hiring, orienting and training. Share with them that 1 in 3 staff leave within a year. What is your organization’s turnover rate? How much money would they save by increasing their retention rate? How much would their retention rate increase through effective coaching?
You always retain the opportunity to pay for a coach with your own money, but why should you? Yes, becoming your best professional self benefits you personally, but it most certainly benefits your organization. Like all professional development, your company’s investment in you will come back to help them and their bottom line. You will better your chances of success in getting your coaching funded by your organization if you demonstrate how this investment will benefit your organization and save them money through increased productivity, performance and retention combined with a decrease in cost and time spent on performance management. If you put in the time to research your coaching options, this will further your chances of receiving approval. Come prepared to the conversation with ample information and evidence of the value in coaching, including costs and benefits. Get information and quotes from three different coaches and involve your boss in the process of choosing the best fit. Bring along this article if you like. If they have any questions, kindly direct them to me ????
*********************************************************************
If you are interested in coaching (and hopefully your boss is willing to pay for it!), reach out at: CoachKat@katherinespinney.com or 703-688-2394.
*********************************************************************
RESOURCES
One Response