By Robyn Logan
How has Corporate Coaching changed in the last few years? We held a public call to discuss some recent trends we have observed in the world of Corporate Coaching. We were joined by a couple of experienced ICA coaches, people who have worked in the sector for years and are currently working with, or as Executive Coaches themselves.
Continued Growth of Corporate Coaching
There have been a couple of recent studies that confirm what we are already seeing and hearing in our Faculty at International Coach Academy; Coaching within organisations is on the rise. Companies are placing a higher value on the importance of leadership, which is seen as critical to staff performance and organisational culture. They are also using coaching in a more focused way to develop potential in leaders, rather than focus on addressing problems. We are also seeing an increase in the practice of adding coaching to existing training or HR strategies to produce better results. This consequence of these shifts has been an increase in the demand for coaching, and an increase in the number of companies who are now appointing internal coaches rather than external coaches.
Three Shifts in Corporate Coaching
1. The increase in “Blended Coaching”
At ICA we talk about two types of blended coaching: a.) adding or integrating coaching in to some other product or service (ie. training + coaching, consulting + coaching, yoga + coaching) and b.) using a a “coach approach” with your service delivery (ie. teaching using a coach approach, nursing using a coach approach, manager as coach etc.) In this call I discuss some of the issues that come up with a blended coaching approach and we hear insights from ICA coaches who are working as coaches in organizations.
2. The increase in Coach Broker firms
Coach brokers are companies or people who act as the ‘middle man’ between coaches and the organisations they work for. They select and recruit the coaches and work with the client (the company) to identify the brief. They then place an manage the caches to deliver on the brief. In Asia Pacific region we have seen a definite increase in the number of Coach Broker firms including
3. The emergence of the “Gig economy“
A gig economy is an environment in which temporary positions are common and organizations contract with independent workers for short-term engagements. (it has nothing to do with music!) It is also sometimes referred to as the “share economy” and has given rise to businesses like Airbnb, Uber etc. In this new economy workers are taking more and more responsibility for their own employment conditions and outcomes, and employers save resources in terms of benefits, office space and training. They also have the ability to contract with experts for specific projects who might be too high-priced to maintain on staff. This has meant that companies can afford to “risk” appointing a coach, or developing a coaching program before fully investing in an in house strategy.
If you enjoyed this call and would like to know more about becoming an Executive or Corporate coach, download our Program Syllabus.