Still leaner corporate environment requires employees to do more and more with less and less. Companies are, moreover, experiencing the retirement wave of highly skilled Baby Boomers and the end of middle layers of management, which is expanding the gap between company experts and beginners. The result is a lack of diverse skills for increasingly diverse tasks. That is why coaching programs are comming to the forefront of companies willing to bridge this gap.
Before applying coaching in practice, clarify what you want to achieve through it. Mind the different communication preferences of different generations of employees and establish ground rules for the frequency of coaching meetings. Based on these principles follow other specific tactics:
Look not only for technical skills
Technical proficiency is only half the battle. Every coach must also be empathetic, patient, good listener and teacher.
Promote corporate standards
The aim of your coaching program should be not only a model of how coaches imagine success but also teaching and promoting corporate values and policies.
Do not think of coaching as extra work
Most coaching programs fail because coaches do not have enough time for their wards.
Think of coaching as a business relationship
Coaching requires investment from both sides. The basis of successful cooperation lies in planning, agreement on a common plan, implementation of the plan and measuring results.
Support your coaches
Many successful coaching programs coach the coaches as well.
-kk