The Benefits of Business Coaching = Success
Colin Thompson
Managing Partner Cavendish/Author/International Speaker/Mentor/Partner
Plenty has been said about business coaching – it seems to be everywhere globally. The `bottom line 'reward for your business is - will it work for you?
Coaching is an expanding industry. Four years ago just 4% of small businesses in the UK used coaches, and now 20% of SMEs are using it as part of their growth strategy. Those that do are undoubtedly ahead of the game. It is an extremely `cost effective` means of achieving phenomenal results for your teams and your business. Can you afford not to investigate further?
SO WHAT IS COACHING?
Business coaching focuses on improving performance or behaviour. It is goal orientated, personally tailored learning for your business – the business leaders, the management and the teams. It gets results. It is designed to help individuals; teams and businesses develop rapidly. And I’ll show you the evidence to prove it.
EVIDENCE OF SUCCESS
There is increasing evidence that coaching is one of the most powerful ways of developing people and adding to bottom line business performance. A study of Fortune 1000 companies using coaching showed that it resulted in
The same survey reported that the individuals who received coaching saw;
These are major areas of concern for all businesses, specifically owner-managed operations, and significant performance improvement like those reported above can be seen within remarkable short periods of time with the support of a good business coach.
In another survey the Chartered Management Institute showed that 80% of coached executives said that they would benefit from coaching at work and dismissed the suggestion that coaching was a fad. In addition 96% said that coaching should be available to employees regardless of seniority.
INCREASING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TRAINING
Training is one of the most difficult and challenging areas to see real benefits. We all know that it is necessary to train our workforce, but too often that training costs significant money, takes time out of the productive day, and appears to deliver little in return to the performance of the company on a day to day basis. This is one area where the impact of coaching can be shown to be truly amazing.
The Xerox Corporation found that the impact of using follow up coaching after formal training gave a massive 87% increase in the effectiveness of training when compared to training alone.
The International Personal Management Association supported this data. Their investigation showed that training improved the performance of their teams by 22%; providing some return on investment but nothing overly significant. The real benefits were seen when ongoing coaching supported the training programmes, when the improvement in day to day workforce performance increased by a staggering 88%.
BUSINESS BENEFITS
The Industrial Society asked companies what were the top three benefits of providing coaching to the workforce. They reported improvements to individual performance, increased openness to personal learning and development, and they also noted that the coaching had been beneficial in helping to identify solutions to specific work issues. The companies surveyed could measure benefits, as a direct result of the coaching, to the following key performance areas:
Productivity
Quality
Organisational strength
Customer service
Reducing customer complaints
Retaining executives
Cost reductions
Bottom-line profitability
WHY IS COACHING USED
So why would any company use coaching in the first place? Coaching is a ‘behind closed doors’ relationship which avoids the public gaze, and so it can be used to tackle many of the areas which are not addressed by training, the use of consultants or business advisors and other traditional business support professions. Coaching is being used because:
Businesses can result in ‘lonely’ and isolated senior managers who welcome support and challenge from someone outside their immediate work environment
Some senior managers consider that they have ‘made it’ and worry that being seen to undergo development is seen as admitting they have a weakness
Recommended by LinkedIn
Attendance on whole-day courses or regular training can seem impossible in an already busy schedule. Sessions with business coaches can be fitted around other diary commitments
There is an increasing recognition of the importance of culture in keeping good staff - people are very aware that the company culture has to fit with their own values and beliefs
The pressures of time and increased pressure to perform is always there - for the individual and the business
WHAT COACHING DID FOR ME
* Your business is important to you; so is mine. When I first investigated coaching I was told that ‘without coaching people continue simply to hone their existing level of performance’. I was looking for more, both in terms of personal development and certainly for business performance.
* I was somewhat bemused (physician, heal thyself!), but I got myself a coach and have been truly astounded by the results.
* I have become completely focused on what my business needs to do – have stopped doing what I thought I should and have begun to drive my business forward to where I want it to be. And I have achieved the results that I wanted in half the time that I originally planned.
* I have become acutely aware of my business ambitions, and more importantly have taken focused action, which has seen my business grow in a way that I never thought possible.
* I have stopped talking about success, have started taking action and can now visibly see the results in my balance sheet every month. My coach has given me no advice, but he has enabled me to focus on what I should be doing, and holds me accountable to go out and get it done.
The success of my coaching experience can be measured in the success of my business. What could coaching do for your business?
WOULD YOUR BUSINESS BENEFIT FROM COACHING?
Coaching has taken off in the last 4 years, coming originally from America and now establishing itself firmly in the UK.
It has been used effectively within blue chip corporations, SMEs, owner-run businesses and for individuals.
It has been so successful because every single business owner knows that they could improve their business in some way. Coaching supports that belief and turns it into action, helping you to identify what you should be doing, what you should stop doing and where you should be spending your time. It will help you to take real action, and it is that focused action that gets you your results.
Colin Thompson, a specialist in creating businesses to enhance all aspects of the individuals’ lives, said that "the real expert in the organisation is not the coach, however informed and experienced they may be. The real expert is the person who is running the organisation".
With you as the expert, supported by someone whose only focus is to help you to get the results that you deserve - be curious - what could coaching do for you?
People = Performance = Productivity = Profit
Fresh thinking requires a vision to see beyond the conventional. When you combine excellent quality with outstanding value for money you will begin to realise the full potential of creative and well presented business solutions. Together, the sky`s the limit. Have passion to learn and let the knowledge help you to be successful in life.
Providing the Solutions for Success in `Building Your Excellent Business`.
Here's a taste of what's in store for you:
How to Become an Excellent Leader
How to Attract and Keep Excellent People in your business
How to Develop an Excellent Business Plan
How to Offer an Excellent Product or Service
How to Deliver Superior Customer Service
How to Create an Excellent Marketing Plan
`Building Your Excellent Business`.
Sharing information for your success from many sources.