Read now: Learn how to support your employees through change and growth.
Discover the potential ROI enterprises may realize by deploying a Coaching Platform
Find out how global forward-thinking companies are using CoachHub.
Discover our resources on everything people development, leadership, talent & transformation.
Success is driven by people. Learn how to support your employees through change and growth. Download the white paper
Learn more in our Coach Buyer Survey 2023
Meet our coaching experts.
Find out what is trending now in the HR world.
Coaching plays an increasingly large role in our digital age. As society becomes more atomized, people look to professionals for guidance about their career, life, and goals. They recognize that coaches are key to unlocking potential and spearheading transformation – on an individual and organizational level.
While the benefits of life coaching are important, this guide will focus on the impact for businesses: outlining and investigating the benefits of coaching in the workplace.
In this guide, find out about the benefits of coaching and mentoring, explore the different types of coaching for businesses, check out digital options, and read about how coaching benefits can be measured and evaluated.
Did you know the title ‘Coach’ was first used in the 1830s? As an informal term for tutors, the word’s meaning was not so different from today.
The concept of ‘Human Potential Management’, popularised through the counterculture movements of the 1960s, led to widespread interest in how coaches could foster personal development. As coaches moved from academia and sport contexts, their profession became popular and the benefits of life coaching began to be discussed.
Organisations started to explore the value that coaches could bring to corporate environments, and the 1980s saw a surge in business-focused coaching.
In recent decades, workplace coaching has progressed from a pure focus on performance management to development and wellbeing. The options for businesses have multiplied. This guide will outline some, but first let’s look at why companies choose to invest in coaching.
The benefits of coaching are numerous; let’s first look at some numbers. Research shows that coaching is a sound investment – organisations that used coaching reported stronger market performance.
A survey of coaching clients found that companies investing in coaching have a mean ROI seven times higher than the initial investment. The financial benefits of coaching are clear.
Aside from this, coaching leads to:
Implementing coaching into companies leads to heightened trust and performance, as well as happier employees and reduced turnover costs.
Realizing the benefits of coaching in the workplace involves thinking about what the wider goals and challenges of the business are. Consider also how different employees can benefit from different types of coaching.
There are many options: coaching for employees, executive coaching, business coaching, digital coaching, and more! We’ll stay focused on the staples of workplace coaching – updated for the new decade – and describe the impact they can make.
This type of coaching is carried out virtually: coach and coachee can be located anywhere. They interact using technology to access a coaching platform.
Digital coaching is suited to future-oriented businesses. The last year has seen a revolution in work practices, which leaves little doubt that remote working – and the digital coaching sector – will continue to grow.
As experts in the field of coaching, CoachHub have been emphasising the specific advantages of digital coaching since 2018. Here are some of the reasons why it’s here to stay:
Digital coaching is ideal for companies responding to recent developments in remote working, or for those who simply appreciate the convenience and flexibility of coaching online.
Employees often have busy schedules, while online coaching involves no commuting time and no stress: just time to focus on themselves and their goals, and have candid discussions.
The full benefits of coaching and mentoring can’t be achieved through one-size-fits-all group coaching programs. Digital coaching means that businesses can select options to suit each individual – from leadership coaching to talent management.
With everything digital, it’s easy for companies to keep track of their coaching solutions, and employees to keep track of their progress.
The simplest form of business coaching involves one-to-one sessions between employees and their chosen coach, designed to guide them in realizing their potential and fulfilling their role as effectively as possible.
Earlier in this guide, we described some of the benefits of coaching in the workplace – for the employer. Now let’s look at why it can be career-changing, even life-changing, for the employee.
Creating resilience: coaching can be particularly helpful for employees whose company or industry is going through a time of upheaval. Just as one of the benefits of life coaching is increased resilience and adaptability, so too can workplace coaching enable employees deal with stressful situations, remain focused, and keep a positive mindset. Employees agree: 76% believe that coaching is helpful during periods of organizational change.
Executive coaching focuses on leadership development at an executive level. Designed to help ambitious people continue their career progression, executive coaching helps with identifying and overcoming challenges. The coach is defined by their role as a facilitator, rather than a guide.
This form of coaching often involves a focus on interpersonal issues. Unlike some more traditional forms of coaching, it does not resemble formal training or mentoring.
The benefits of executive coaching are significant. Here’s why it’s an impactful way for companies to unlock the benefits of coaching in an organisation:
While employee coaching and executive coaching work to bring out employees’ potential and help people excel in their roles, a business coach usually assists with development – of a company or individual.
Business coaching is objective-focused and looks to the future. It’s increasingly popular with companies keen to get an outside perspective, whether on their broad strategy, or specific issues such as restructuring.
The key benefits of business coaching include:
How the benefits of coaching should be evaluated is something businesses ought to consider as they implement coaching programs.
In this guide we’ve cited many studies showing the positive effects of coaching across a wide range of companies and industries. However, it’s also important for leaders to understand how coaching is positively impacting their organisation specifically. For example, are new employees responding particularly well? How about executives?
Gathering this information takes some time, but it’s the best way for organisations to ensure they have a coaching strategy that suits their needs.
Tips for evaluating the benefits of coaching in the workplace:
Regular coaching sessions with a top business coach.
Enhance sessions by choosing from an extensive library of micro-learnings to complete between sessions.
Chat with your coach 24/7 in-app.
Rosie is a behavioral scientist at CoachHub, where she applies insights from positive psychology, neuroscience and behavioral science directly into digital coaching programs and an approach that drives individual and organizational transformation. She works as part of the in-house research and development team, the Coaching Lab, and contributes to the advancement of the science of coaching and behavior change; in addition to working both internally with in-house researchers and with world-class external academic teams to design and execute groundbreaking studies.
Rosie Evans Behavioral Scientist at CoachHub
Call us on +44 (0) 20 3608 3083, email us (mail@coachhub.com) or contact us below for a demo.