In tough economic times such as these few of us can afford to spend more for learning and development interventions. It makes sense, then, to ensure that the coaching you’re already doing is used in an effective and efficient way.
Sadly we’ve found that many organisations are still not getting the most they can out of their coaching provision. For some coaching is still a box-ticking exercise. For other HR departments it’s difficult to get the buy-in they need from the top-level directorate. Other organisations might simply not have the knowledge or time to sit down and review their coaching provision.
The lack of a coaching strategy can have a number of negative effects including:
- Coaching working against, rather than for, organisational development and business goals.
- Only tactical and individual benefits are achieved.
- Activity and results are not managed or measured.
- Coaches do their own thing and organisational effort and value can be diluted.
- Learning and better ways of working are lost and forgotten.
Organisations who want to develop a clear coaching strategy can of course call us to discuss how they might make a start (there’s more on our offer here). You can also have a look at some other coaching strategy documents, for example here or here. Meanwhile we’d recommend you start thinking about:
- What are your organisation’s strategic goals?
- How does that strategy impact the staff learning and development you need?
- What type of coaching would therefore help support the appropriate learning and development outcomes?
- How can you make sure that type of coaching is encouraged in terms of staff CPD, supervision and coach selection?
- How can you make sure that type of coaching is regulated by evaluation and monitoring procedures?
- How are you going to communicate your strategy, and make sure everyone involved clearly understands their roles and responsibilities?
Good luck with starting your coaching strategy. If you have any queries please get in touch.
