The Business Case for Coaching

A couple of decades ago, only top-level executives in Fortune 100 companies had coaches.  Or, coaching was reserved for those with performance issues. Today, a growing number of individuals and organizations recognize the value of coaching to improve performance, achieve goals, and enhance career satisfaction.  Coaching is often used as a tool to prepare future leaders.  Coaching is effective because the coach helps clients set higher and more appropriate goals, challenges them to do more than they might have done on their own and helps focus them to achieve those goals more quickly.   Coaching provides feedback and guidance without taking people away from their daily responsibilities.  It has been said that coaching is one of the best investments that you will ever make.  Consider the following:

1. A famous study by Manchester Inc. (one of the pioneer firms in executive coaching) reported returns on investment (ROI) of nearly 600%.  Companies who utilized coaching also reported better relationships across the organization as well as an increase in job satisfaction and organizational commitment.

2. Another study by Thompson (1986) found that after coaching, the participants’ bosses reported significant improvements due to coaching; further, those improvements lasted for at least one to two years after the coaching.

3. Research by the International Coach Federation (ICF) found that the primary benefits of coaching were a higher level of self awareness and self confidence, a more balanced life, smarter goal-setting, and lower stress levels.

4. 98.5% of coaching clients surveyed by ICF said that the investment in a coach was well worth the money.

5. 92% of leaders being coached say they plan to use a coach again.

6. 63% of organizations surveyed report that they plan to increase their use of coaching over the next five years.

7. Pacific Consulting found that executive coaching improved leadership, job performance, and productivity in 71% of cases.  85% of the time it accelerated participant’s learning.

An internal report of the Personnel Management Association showed that when training is combined with coaching, productivity increases by an average of 86% compared with 22% based on training alone.

References:

Bolt, Jim.  Coaching: The Fad that Won’t Go Away.  Mansueto Ventures LLC.  Learning Resource Center.  June 9, 2007

Down, Martin.  Finally, Hard facts that prove that coaching works.  People Torque.  Hay Acquisition Company I, Inc. Hay Group, June 8, 2007

Craig, Judi. Why Coaching?  (Association Leadership, 2001)  Coaching Squared, Inc.  June 1, 2007

Gladstone, Caroline.  Measuring the Impact of Executive Coaching – Research Report.  July 20, 2004

McGovern, Joy et al  Maximizing the impact of executive coaching:  Behavioral Change, Organizational Outcomes, and Return on Investment.  The Manchester Review.  Volume 6, November 1, 2001

Talkington, Andrew W., Voss, Laurie, S., Wise, Pamela S. The Case for Executive Coaching.  Lore International Institute.  November 2002