2. Outline
Coaching Defined
Advantages of coaching in general
Current coaching statistics/ROI
External Coaching Defined
External coaching advantages
External coaching disadvantages
Internal Coaching Defined
Internal coaching advantages
Internal coaching disadvantages
Main Similarities & Differences
Conclusion/Recommendations
3. Coaching Defined
“Partnering with clients in a thought-
provoking and creative process that
inspires them to maximize their
personal and professional potential.”
4. Advantages of Coaching in a
Business Setting
Enhance Employee
Skills
Address Derailing
Behaviors
Maximize
Productivity
Boost Employee
Engagement
Cultivate High
Potential Employees
5. Current Coaching
Statistics/ROI
- Coaching at Work Survey
2002: “Coaching for all”
- MetrixGlobal 2001 Study:
ROI = 788%
- Personnel Management
Association Report: Coaching
combined with training = 88%
increase in productivity
- Manchester Inc. Survey:
ROI of almost 6X the cost of
the coaching
- Metropolitan Life Financial
Services: Retails sales
people. $620,000 coaching
cost delivered $3.2 million in
measurable gains
6. External Coaching Defined
“An individual who is self-
employed or employed
outside the organization
and provides coaching
services within the
organization.”
8. External Coaching
Disadvantages
Cost
Small % of organization has
access
Lack of consistency in model
Ad hoc engagements
Lack of clarity around
multiple factors
Lack of measurability
Attrition risk
9. Internal Coaching Defined
“Instead of paying for
external coaches to
come into the company,
an organization trains
its own professionals to
be coaches for the
organization.”
10. Internal Coaching Advantages
Cost
Knowledge of the
business/culture
Expands traditional approach to
leadership development
More access to information about
coachee
Specific and relevant job
knowledge
Efficiency
Promotes informal coaching
across management
Opportunity to connect across the
organization
11. Internal Coaching
Disadvantages
Balancing multiple roles
Attunement to conflicts of
interest
Managing multiple relationships
Attending to confidentiality
Difficulty listening objectively
Abstaining from certain
decisions
Managing relationship
boundaries
12. Main Similarities
Sensibility and
competencies
Well-conceived coaching
methods
Clear contracting
Confidentiality/Record
keeping
Resource to discuss
conflicts of interest
Matching process
13. Main Differences
Frequency and scope
Tenure of coachee;
Coaching focus
Formalization
Duration
Coach’s source of
knowledge and context
Retention
COST
14. Conclusion/Recommendations
Coaching is an effective tool
Pros and cons to both Internal
& External
Best to use in tandem
Budget is a big factor
Depends on what the goal is
Internal would be ideal to
promote a coaching culture
15. References
1. ATD at Work: Creating an Internal Coaching Program
https://www.td.org/Publications/TD-at-Work/2014/Creating-An-
Internal-Coaching-Program
2. Center for Coaching Solutions: Starting and Running an
Internal Coaching Program
http://www.centerforcoachingsolutions.com/white-papers.html
3. The Hudson Institute of Santa Barbara: Creating an
Organizational Strategy for Coaching
http://www.cenera.ca/documents/144.pdf
4. iCoach NY: Possibilities and Pitfalls of Internal Coaching
http://www.icoachnewyork.com/news.php
5. Results Coaching Systems: Driving Change with Internal
Coaching Programs
http://www.davidrock.net/files/Driving_Organisational_Change_
with_Internal_Coaching_Programs.pdf
6. http://www.free-management-ebooks.com/faqch/principles-
05.htm
7. http://www.what-is-coaching.com/icfcoachingdefinition.html
Editor's Notes
Notes:
Official definitions of the International Coach Federations (“ICF:” One of the most recognized global coaching support networks. They offer coaching certification and accreditation of coaching training programs among other services.)
General description:
Collaborating instead of controlling - Delegating more responsibility - Talking less and listening more - Giving fewer orders and asking more questions - Giving specific feedback instead of making judgments
Notes:
Coaching programs supports organizational development and specifically…
… It also:
- Increase Talent Retention
- Facilitate Transition
- Develop Leaders
Notes:
ROI= Return on Investment
Coaching at Work Survey 2002: of 280 leading UK companies shows that 93% of managers believe that coaching should be available to all employees regardless of seniority.
Research that backs up the notion that a coaching program increases engagement, productivity, and bottom line results:
MetrixGlobal 2001 Study: Coaching produced a 529% return on investment and significant intangible benefits to the business. When factoring in the financial benefits from employee retention overall ROI jumped to 788%.“
Personnel Management Association Report: When training is combined with coaching, individuals increase their productivity by 88% as compared to 22% with training alone.
Manchester Inc. Survey: Surveyed 100 executives. Found that coaching provided an average ROI of almost six times the cost of the coaching.
Metropolitan Life Financial Services: Coaching program to retail sales people. Productivity increased an average of 35%. 50% identified new markets. Metropolitan retained all of the salespeople who were coached. The coaching program cost about $620,000 and delivered $3.2 million in measurable gains.
Notes:
Cost anywhere form $10,000 to $100,000 per person
ROI is generally positive
Significant impact on those being coached, less of impact but still strong on one level down.
Notes:
External Coaches…
More often professionally certified
More training than an internal coach
Brings an objective perspective without bias of an internal coach
More specialized skills to offer in specific areas
More experience coaching
Individuals may feel more comfortable sharing things with an unbiased objective outside individual as opposed to someone within the organization.
Because the external coach does not have the additional responsibilities of a manager, they can focus exclusively on the coachee’s needs before, during, and after the coaching session. This can lead to an intensive, high-energy form of coaching that can produce significant results in a short time.
Notes:
- Very high rates compared to internal coaches
One survey showed although 100% of 55 large organizations were using external coaches, only 1% of an organization had access to a coach.
- A lack of consistency in coaching models,
- Ad hoc identification and engagement of coaches,
- A lack of clarity as to when coaches are appropriate and how long the relationship should last, and how various parties are involved (e.g. line manager, People Capital etc) in the coaching relationship.
- This ad hoc approach to external coaching has also meant that the organization has been unable to measure
- The study by Alec Levinson et al in his research paper on 55 large organizations, found that using external coaches increased the risk of losing someone who was a derailment risk.
- High cost per person means only willing to spend on senior executives.
Notes:
- There are many ways to go about it when it comes to the training, structure, selection of who should be a coach etc.
- Usually done in addition to external coaches, who work with the Senior Executives
Notes:
- MUCH CHEAPER. You identify people within your ranks and train them internally to coach people across the organization.
- No direct costs: since the cost of the internal coach are absorbed into overhead, it may be easier for individuals to get coaching when budgets are tight.
- Internal coaches are often in a better position to partner and coach executives because of their knowledge of the business, the politics, the culture and the players.
- Internal coaching holds the potential to significantly expand traditional approaches to leadership development.
Internal coaches may need to use fewer assessment tools because they have access to more information about the client, i.e., performance management reports, etc.
Specific and relevant job knowledge: at times it can benefit the coachees to work with a coach who has specific and relevant knowledge about the job the cochee does.
- With internal coaches, the logistics required is far more manageable with less recruitment requirements, and additional benefits of systemization, measurement ability, consistency of process, language, ready-made structures and prior knowledge and experience. Efficiency in a nutshell.
- Internal coaches build these skills and use them informally as managers/leaders in the organization.
- Deepen connections across the organization with this new opportunity for people to interact and connect, especially at the senior level if they are being trained as coaches.
Notes:
Internal coaches have to manage time carefully to be available for their clients as well as being accountable for other HR/OD/L&D functions.
The coach’s multiple roles may intersect and can be perceived as conflicts of interest. For example, an OD professional who is also a coach may know about a pending restructuring that may impact his client… Coach being a manager for the coachee and administer a 360 assessment.
- Have to manage relationships carefully to guard client confidentiality. Must keep coaching relationship separate from other activities like giving a training and the coachee is there.
- Organizational knowledge also has a downside. It can be a hindrance to listening objectively and fully to a client’s story. If an internal coach has a pre-existing impression of a client, it is best to be aware of it and consciously put it aside.
- Other roles the internal coach performs may also require that boundaries be observed. For example, when a former client is up for a promotion and the internal coach is on the Talent Management Review Committee, the coach needs to have organizational support to abstain from participating in the discussion.
Notes:
- Effective internal coaches need to have the same sensibilities and competencies as external coaches.
- With some adjustments to contracting and coaching boundaries, well-conceived coaching methods and processes apply equally to external and internal engagements.
- All coaching, both internal and external, requires clear contracting so that all parties understand the parameters of the engagement, whether it is a two-hour feedback coaching session or a three-month coaching engagement.
- Policies and procedures that address confidentiality and record keeping need to be vetted and in place.
- Besides clarity of roles and boundaries there needs to be a resource with which to discuss any conflicts of interest that may emerge between coaching and other role functions.
- Just as with external coaching and presuming there are several internal coaches, it is helpful to have an awareness of the internal coach’s approach to coaching to facilitate effective matching with clients.
Notes:
- External coaches work more frequently with senior executives but internal coaches are more likely to have a wider scope of coaching engagements in both type and organizational level.
- As a result, the clients of internal coaches are often earlier in their careers and often benefit from a coaching focus on managerial skill building.
- Often internal coaches will draw from concepts and models used in the organization’s management training programs. In fact, this type of engagement may be formalized when, for example, internal coaches are assigned to follow up with clients who have participated in a management or leadership training program.
- Internal coaching engagements are often shorter and more targeted than those of external coaches. They may contain a specific number of sessions or a tangible deliverable, such as helping an employee interpret the results a 360-degree survey, drafting a vigorous individual development plan, or preparing for a presentation.
- Also, internal coaching often leverages knowledge of the organization, its culture, and its key leaders for on-boarding and internal transition engagements.
- Higher chance of turnover with external coaches.
- COST: Internal coach would generally cost under $10,000 per coach. Providing coaching externally is going to cost between $10,000 up to $100,000 per individual.
Notes:
- It is clear coaching has been proven to be an effective tool used at all levels of an organization.
- We have listed through many advantages and disadvantages of each approach, internal and external.
- Research shows it is best to use both approaches in tandem; External coaches for Senior Executives, and Internal coaches for lower levels of staff.
- If money is tight, external coaching will most probably not be an option. Better to build your own program in house.
- If money is not the issue, the chosen approach will depend on your goal for the coaching. To develop your high level leaders with top skills, then professional external coaches may be a better choice. If you want to help trainings be absorbed, 360 assessments be effective, or develop your high potential talent with the skills needed to excel, then internal coaches may very well be the better choice.
- For cultural change to take hold, where a coaching culture is promoted and all managers use coaching techniques in their daily management activities, a robust internal coaching program would be ideal.
