“I absolutely believe that people, unless coached, never reach their full potential.” - Bob Nardelli, CEO, Home Depot

“Many of the world’s most admired corporations, from GE to Goldman Sachs, invest in coaching. Annual spending on coaching in the U.S. Is estimated at roughly $1 billion”. - Harvard Business Review

“Recent studies show business coaching and executive coaching to be the most effective means for achieving sustainable growth, change and development in the individual, group and organization.” – HR Monthly

“A major benefit of coaching is having someone who helps you see your strengths and weaknesses and uses them to accomplish your goals.” – Minneapolis Star-Tribune

“Using [coaching] instead of sending executives and managers to seminars two or three times a year can be more beneficial to ongoing career development, not to mention less expensive…” – PC Week

“Coaching takes a holistic view of the individual: work, corporate values, personal needs and career development are made to work in synergy, not against one another.” – British Journal of Administrative Management

“Coaching started in the business world to help stressed out executives cope with their professional and personal lives, and it still thrives in the corporate environment. But, increasingly, individuals are turning to coaches for help with every sort of problem.” – Boston Globe

“If you want to build your business and at the same time have a rewarding personal life, you call a coach.” – Denver Post

“A personal coach can help you by getting you to spell out what it is that you really want and then working with you to make the changes that actually enable you to get there.” – The Vancouver Province

“A study featured in Public Personnel Management Journal reports that managers (31) that underwent a managerial training program showed an increased productivity of 22.4%. However, a second group was provided coaching following the training process and their productivity increased by 88%. Research does demonstrate that one-on-one executive coaching is of value.” – F. Turner, Ph.D.

“Xerox Corporation carried out several studies on coaching. They determined that in the absence of follow-up coaching to their training classes,  87% of the skills change brought about by the program was lost.” – Business Wire

“In a 2004 survey by Right Management consultants, 86 percent of companies said they used coaching to sharpen skills of individuals who have been identified as future organizational leaders.” - Excerpt from “What An Executive Coach Can Do For You” – Harvard Business School.

“Business coaching is attracting America’s top CEOs because, put simply, business coaching works. In fact, when asked for a conservative estimate of monetary payoff from the coaching they got… managers described an average return of more than $100,000, or about six times what the coaching had cost their companies.” - FORTUNE Magazine

“A coach may be the guardian angel you need to rev up your career.” - MONEY Magazine

“Across corporate America, coaching sessions at many companies have become as routine for executives as budget forecasts and quota meetings.” - INVESTORS BUSINESS DAILY

“Coaches are not for the meek. They’re for people who value unambiguous feedback. All coaches have one thing in common. It’s that they are ruthlessly results-oriented.” - FAST COMPANY Magazine

“I never cease to be amazed at the power of the coaching process to draw out the skills or talent that was previously hidden within an individual, and which invariably finds a way to solve a problem previously thought unsolvable.” - John Russell, Managing Director, Harley-Davidson Europe Ltd.

“.[A coach] is part advisor, part sounding board, part cheerleader, part manager and part strategist.” - THE BUSINESS JOURNAL

“[Executives should seek coaching] when they feel that a change in behavior-either for themselves or their team members-can make a significant difference in the long-term success of the organization.” - Marshall Goldsmith, Fast Company Columnist

Many people new to professional coaching wonder how the great majority of it is done on the phone.
In coaching the focus is all on you and here are some reasons why coaching on the telephone is so effective.

1. It helps you really focus hearing yourself.

2. Less distractions, no visual distractions, total concentration.

3. Telephone coaching is much more efficient. You and your coach will get into coaching right away.

4. Neither you nor the coach will be distracted by physical actions or appearances of each other.

5. No distractions from the surroundings where you would meet.

6. You want your coach to be your equal partner and the telephone is the great equalizer.

7. It is very difficult for either you or your coach to intentionally or accidentally become the superior person over the telephone.

8. The telephone allows the coaching experience to be focused entirely on you, as it is intended.

9. Telephone coaching requires much less preparation time, because neither you nor your coach will have to spend time traveling.

10. Telephone coaching helps increase success for finding the right coach, because you will be connected with your ideal coach anywhere in the world.

11. The odds that you and your ideal coach will be within reasonable travel distance are extremely low.

12. Telephone coaching is very convenient and relaxing. You will be able to conduct your coaching sessions from any location you wish. You will be able to select a quiet, private and relaxed place to be during coaching sessions.

13. Telephone coaching is very confidential. The private and secure place you choose to be during coaching sessions will assure complete confidentiality. No one will know who you are talking to or what you are talking about.

14. Telephone coaching can be very fun enjoyable. You will be able to be yourself in private and have more fun doing it. You will be able to enjoy the moment without concern for others watching or listening.

15. People are sometimes more open to share certain things over the phone versus in person.

Jeremy J. Ulmer, Professional Coach, Sales Coach, Sales Mentor, Business Coach, Life Coach

Source: The Coaches Training Institute website (articles)

Coach Training Impact on the Organization

Coach training impacts not only the person being trained, but also the employees in the company receiving coaching from that individual. While no study has measured the impact of internal coaching, the impact of external executive coaching would provide some directional evidence.

Research from Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management shows that the impact of coaching-like training can last seven years. Manchester Inc. recently released the results of a study that quantifies the business impact of external executive coaching. The study included 100 executives, mostly from Fortune 1000 companies. Companies that provided coaching to their executives realized improvements in productivity, quality, organizational strength, customer service, and shareholder value. They received fewer customer complaints, and were more likely to retain executives who had been coached.

A company’s investment in providing coaching to its executives realized an average return on investment (ROI) of almost six times the cost of the coaching.

Among the benefits to companies that provided coaching to executives were improvements in:

• Productivity (reported by 53% of executives)
• Quality (48%)
• Organizational strength (48%)
• Customer service (39%)
• Reducing customer complaints (34%)
• Retaining executives who received coaching (32%)
• Cost reductions (23%)
• Bottom-line profitability (22%)

Among the benefits to executives who received coaching were improved:

• Working relationships with direct reports (reported by 77% of executives)
• Working relationships with immediate supervisors (71%)
• Teamwork (67%)
• Working relationships with peers (63%)
• Job satisfaction (61%)
• Conflict reduction (52%)
• Organizational commitment (44%)
• Working relationships with clients (37%)

Jeremy J. Ulmer, Professional Coach, Sales Coach, Executive Coach, Sales Mentor, Business Coach, Life Coach

In a study conducted by MetrixGlobal, LLC, the Return on Investment of coaching was calculated to exceed 500%.

A summary of that study can be seen below.

Case Study on the Return on Investment of Executive Coaching
Prepared by:
Merrill C. Anderson, Ph.D.
MetrixGlobal, LLC
November 2, 2001

This executive briefing was excerpted from the final report of the study conducted at a Fortune 500 firm and is intended for the private use of MetrixGlobal clients and professional associates.

Bottom Line: Coaching produced a 529% return on investment and significant intangible benefits to the business. Including the financial benefits from employee retention boosted the overall ROI to 788%. The study provided powerful new insights into how to maximize the business impact from executive coaching.

Introduction

A Fortune 500 firm launched an innovative leadership development effort that was expected to accelerate the development of next generation leaders. The participants in this effort were drawn mostly from the ranks of middle managers and from many different business units and functional areas. Leadership development activities included group mentoring, individual assessments and development planning, a leadership workshop and work on strategic business projects.

Coaching was considered to be a key enabler for this approach to leadership development because the participants could work privately and individually with his or her coach to develop specific leadership competencies. The client organization engaged the Pyramid Resource Group to provide coaching to the leadership development participants. While participants spoke very highly of their experience with coaching it was decided to conduct a formal assessment of the effectiveness and business impact of coaching. It is intended that the results from this study be used to determine:

How did coaching add value to the business and what was the return on investment?

How could coaching be best leveraged in the future, especially if coaching was to be expanded to other business regions?

Data Collection Procedures

It was decided that the best way to isolate and capture the effects of coaching on the business was through a questionnaire. This questionnaire had two parts. Part one was completed electronically via email and examined clients initial reaction to coaching, what they learned, how they applied what they learned and captured their initial assessment of business impact. Part two was conducted over the telephone with each respondent and probed more deeply into business impact and the financial return on investment.

The target population for the survey was 43 leadership development participants. These participants were drawn from two regions: Eastern United States (37) and Mexico (6). These participants represented a cross section of the business and included those in sales, operations, technology, finance and marketing. All had been identified as potential leaders and executives. Thirty (30) of 43 leadership development participants returned their surveys for a 70% response rate.

Results

Coaching was a very effective developmental tool for the leadership development participants, producing financial and intangible benefits for the business. Coaching sessions were rich learning environments that enabled the learning to be applied to a variety of business situations. Decision-making, team performance and the motivation of others were enhanced. Many of these business applications contributed annualized financial benefits. Other applications created significant intangible benefits. Overall, the participants appreciated their coaching experiences and would highly recommend coaching to others.

Three-quarters (77%) of the 30 respondents indicated that coaching had significant or very significant impact on at least one of nine business measures. In-depth discussions were conducted over the telephone with each respondent to further explore the business impact of coaching. Sixty percent of the respondents were able to identify specific financial benefits that came as a result of their coaching.

Overall, productivity (60% favorable) and employee satisfaction (53%) were cited as the most significantly impacted by the coaching. Respondents defined productivity in this context as relating to their personal or to their work group productivity and half (50%) documented annualized financial benefits. Employee satisfaction was viewed both in terms of the respondents being personally more satisfied as a result of the coaching as well as the being able to increase the employee satisfaction of their team members. The respondents could not quantify this benefit in financial terms. Employee satisfaction, then, was a significant source of intangible benefits. Customer satisfaction (53%) was also a significant source of intangible benefits.

The next most frequently cited as being significantly impacted by coaching were work output (30%) and work quality (40%). Twenty percent of the respondents identified financial benefits as a result of increased work output. Many respondents reported improvements in work quality, however, they were not able to quantify these improvements in terms of dollar benefits. Work quality improvements were considered an intangible benefit of the coaching.

Program costs were tabulated for all 43 leadership development participants in determining the return on investment. Overall, the coaching process produced a 788% return on investment. Given the client company’s downsizing activities and the general state of the telecommunications industry, the client was reticent to fully factor in the financial benefits from retention.  Excluding the benefits from employee retention, a 529% return on investment was produced. While those clients who had customer or people responsibilities produced proportionally greater financial benefits, the realization of benefits to the business was fairly widespread throughout the group involved in this study.

Recommendations were made to maximize the business benefits from executive coaching:

Manage the entire coaching process to ensure consistency and quality. Though the content of individual coaching sessions should always be confidential, the coaching process itself needs to be managed to ensure that the coaching clients and the coaches are following the appropriate process and leveraging best practices.

Prepare clients in advance for coaching and don’t force coaching on anyone. Because coaching remains a relatively new development technique, people may not understand how the coaching process can help them become better business professionals. The sooner they understand the process, the sooner they will see results.

Offer clients the ability to select their coaches. Chemistry is important to build an effective coaching relationship.   Provide prospective coaching clients with information about the coaches including biographies, education, coaching credentials, functional expertise, industry experience and other background information.

Provide coaching strong organizational support. Those being coached should receive encouragement and support from their immediate managers. Also, coaching should be conducted in the context of other developmental efforts such as competency development, assessments, mentoring and leadership workshops.

Ensure coaches are grounded in the company’s business and culture.  Coaches are more effective when they can identify with and talk about the realities of their client’s environment.

Allow each coaching relationship to follow its own path. A major difference between coaching and training is that coaching allows the individual to determine what works best for him or her at a very personal level. Coaches need wide latitude to work with “the whole person” and help each client be more effective as a person as well as to be more effective as a business leader.

Build performance measurement into the coaching process. Evaluation of coaching should be designed into the process from the beginning to better set performance expectations and open up new learning opportunities for making coaching more effective while the coaching is being conducted. For example, coaching can be refocused to deal with issues or to ensure that business priorities will be met. In this way, the evaluation of coaching becomes more than just a measuring stick – it becomes a structured approach to deepen the business value of coaching.

About MetrixGlobal, LLC

MetrixGlobal LLC is a professional services firm specializing in performance measurement solutions that increase accountability for bottom-line business results. Whether it’s developing a scorecard for a corporate university, determining return on investment for a human resources program or conducting a business impact study on an organization change initiative, MetrixGlobal consultants partner with clients to create powerful measurement methodology.

Jacksonville, Fla.–(Business Wire)–Jan. 4, 2001–Manchester Inc., a supplier of customized executive coaching programs, has released the results of a study that quantifies the business impact of executive coaching. The study includes data on executive behavior change, organizational improvements achieved, and the return on investment (ROI) from customized, comprehensive executive coaching programs.

The study included 100 executives, mostly from Fortune 1000 companies, who received coaching.

Participating companies realized improvements in productivity, quality, organizational strength, customer service, and shareholder value. They received fewer customer complaints, and were more likely to retain executives who had been coached.

In addition, a company’s investment in providing coaching to its executives realized an average return on investment (ROI) of almost six times the cost of the coaching.

Half of the executives in the study held positions of vice president or higher (including division president, general manager, chief executive officer, chief financial officer, chief information officer, partner, principal, and practice leader). Almost six out of 10 (57%) executives who received coaching were ages 40 to 49, and one-third earned $200,000 or more per year.

The coaching programs that executives participated in were a mix of both change-oriented coaching — which is aimed at changing certain behaviors or skills — and growth-oriented coaching — which is aimed at sharpening performance. The coaching programs typically lasted from six months to one year.

Among the results of the study:

The coaching programs delivered an average return on investment of 5.7 times the initial investment in a typical executive coaching assignment — or a return of more than $100,000 — according to executives who estimated the monetary value of the results achieved through coaching. 

Productivity (reported by 53% of executives)  

Quality (48%)  

Organizational strength (48%)  

Customer service (39%)  

Reducing customer complaints (34%)  

Retaining executives who received coaching (32%)  

Cost reductions (23%)  

Bottom-line profitability (22%)  

Other benefits to executives who received coaching were improved:

Working relationships with direct reports (reported by 77% of executives)  

Working relationships with immediate supervisors (71%)  

Teamwork (67%)  

Working relationships with peers (63%)  

Job satisfaction (61%)  

Conflict reduction (52%)  

Organizational commitment (44%)  

Working relationships with clients (37%)

Executive coaching programs focus on helping executives adjust to new organizational realities and not just survive, but thrive.