Why coaching should be available to every employee

An engaged team adds significant value to a company’s performance, allowing organisations to be more agile and create a competitive advantage.

Introducing coaching in organisations is a powerful strategy to elevate employee engagement and develop employees across a wide range of needs and skills. Coaching promotes a process of ongoing development and learning that can help each employee make the best use of their talents, strengths, time and energy. To quote Bill Gates – “Everybody needs a coach.”

However, professional coaching is generally viewed as a development resource reserved for leaders and senior management. There is an assumption that the learnings at the top will filter through the organisation and that culture is driven primarily by those leaders. According to the Human Capital Institute report, only 23% of employees feel that everyone has equal opportunity to receive coaching in their organisation. This, when studies show that coaching high performing employees only has marginal benefits, while coaching average performing employees has the highest impact.

Wouldn’t it be better to provide teams, at every level, the tools to perform at their best, and look at individuals as the true contributors that they are?

Why should coaching be available to all?

Research shows that employees’ first few years in their career is critical in shaping them as professionals and to gain transferable skills that can have a significant impact on the pace of their growth. While the benefits of coaching senior managers and leadership has been well documented, it can also be vital for the development of employees who are starting out in their professional journeys.

Research by the International Coaching Federation reveals that 80% of employees who have been coached report increased self-confidence and over 70%  benefited from improved work performance, relationship and communication skills.

By creating a dialogue that leads to awareness and action, coaching helps employees become strategic thinkers, chart their courses within the organisation and navigate politics and personalities successfully. By making executive coaching available across the organisation as a development tool, every employee can have the opportunity to engage in their professional development from the very beginning and supercharge their contribution to their organisation.

Why should organisations care?

Organisations often struggle to maintain a high performing and engaged workforce. An agile organisation is one where leaders and employees can work together in the face of uncertainty, build competencies such as resilience, communication, emotional intelligence and collaboration to make the most of opportunities to adapt quickly and thrive.

Coaching focuses on active learning, developing strengths and remaining agile to equip employees and leaders with these skills. Gallup’s research shows that employees who are coached to use their strengths are able to contribute to 14-29% increase in overall business profits.

By offering coaching as a company wide benefit, organisations show employees that they care and have a vested interest in their personal and professional growth. When employees are given the tools to perform at their best, they are happier, confident and more engaged members of their organisation.