Research Paper By Ting Ting, Kat Chan
(Career Coach, SINGAPORE)
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
According to Jacob Morgan,
the demographics of employees are changing and so are employee expectations, value, attitude and style of working.
Whenever a Manager faced any difficulties in handling their employee. One of the most common practices is to issue the Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) to their employee. By issuing PIP, the Manager hoping by doing so able to give the employee performance deficiencies as an opportunity to succeed. However, the Performance Improvement Plan has a bad reputation in the market. A Performance Improvement Plan is a tool to address failures to meet specific job goals or any behaviour related concerns. There is a timeline given by the Manager. If anyone isn’t successful in completing their PIP at the end of the timeline, they will be asked to go. In most cases, people perceived that PIP is just used to buy time to get rid of employees or it’s a tool for threat.
Robert Glazer shared his view with Forbes on Aug 2, 2018. In his article, he had advised companies to consider getting rid of the PIP. He has put in strong remarks that to issue a PIP to the employee will have a negative impact on the people and it is actually not a helping tool. He also mentioned that PIP focus on symptoms and not root problems. He recommended that Managers and employees should focus on the honest conversation. Regular feedback and asking questions are the best approach to performance concerns. With such, workplace coaching is a good alternative tool for an organization to adopt. So, what is workplace coaching? Let’s explore further.
Today, organization beginning to realise the need of changing the leadership style as the traditional way – autocratic leadership no longer in favour where the management controls the team and makes all the decision while takes no or little input from their employees. In order for an organization to be successful, “employees who are coached to performance rather than managed to performance are more committed to”. Coaching allows employees to be more confident and have better clarity to perform at a higher level. An article from Corporate Coach U’s article on Coaching in the workplace, it also mentioned that workplace coaching is an “ego-less process in which coachable moments are created to draw out distinctions and promote shifts in thinking and behaviour”.
Firstly, it is important for the organization to understand that coaching at the workplace takes a different approach from sports coaching. Sports coaching usually are involving in giving direction, instruction to an individual, where it may involve shouting, directing. While coaching at the workplace is about helping employees to gain confidence and performance to improve the organization’s bottom line by collaborating and through constant communication.
Workplace coaching is also not part of counselling or even giving training session. Mark Mcguinness gave good examples and explained in detail the difference between training, counselling or even mentoring. He shared how to distinguish coaching from other approaches to learning and personal development.
How coaching can help in the workplace
Improve employee problem-solving ability
Coaching able individual to develop the ability to handle workplace conflicts and their own performance. In coaching, we focus on goals rather than the problem. We work on how to solve the problem and not focusing on who, how and what caused the problems, removing roadblocks to performance and to enhance creativity
Employee retention
Coaching allows the employee to have a healthy and positive work environment. Allowing the employee to take charge of their own progress and professional development. Coaching allows the employee to feel that their Managers are listening and paying more attention to them.
Develop their emotional intelligence
Allow the individual to have a clear and compelling vision of the future. Coaching allows the employee to foster self-awareness to recognize their emotion and habits. It also allows the client to discover or rediscover their own purpose and value to stay motivated.
To use self-reflection and learn from past mistakes
It is important for one to recognize and accepting their experience to move forward. Coaching invites reflection on the issue and whether it could be doing differently or better in the future.
Increase the likelihood that goals will be achievable
The coach will keep the individual to be accountable for their action and hence meeting their goals. Coaching allows Managers and employee to discuss together and allowing Manager to show that they are partnering the employee in achieving their goals.
Six-steps of workplace coaching
According to Adam Sicinski, he has developed a process that is divided into six-steps that how to coach in a work environment. The six-steps is a framework that allows the coach to use it accordingly.
Six Steps:
- Determine Purpose and Performance Goals
- Analyze Performance and Strengths
- Explore obstacles and Options
- Commit to Taking Specific Action
- Implement the Agreed Actions
- Review the Progress Made and Lesson learned
Step 1: Determine Purpose and Performance Goals
It is important for a coach to get to know their client in this stage.
Clear about the client situation and what are the difficulties they are having in their workplace. Coach is to focus on behaviour instead of attitude
Identify how can his client to perform or adapt in their work environment rather than how and what the client’s personal goal
Have a deep understanding of the client’s feelings about their major objective and their work goal. What type of outcome that they would like to achieve from the goal?
Step 2: AnalyzePeformance and Strengths
The coach needs to assess the current situation of what that the client is facing. It is important for a coach to build the client’s confidence. The coach has to make sure that the client is open and trust the coach to share more information. The coach has to keep open-minded and to ask a list of open-ended questions.
Step 3: Explore obstacles and Options
At this stage, the coach will assist the client to explore what are the obstacles that they will be facing during the process. What are the obstacles not allowing them to move forward or what are the fears that they are facing? The coach needs to ask questions that allow the client to have deeper thinking on what and how are the possibilities to overcome the obstacles and any possible options for reaching the objective.
Step 4: Commit to Taking Specific Action
Once the client has made a decision on how to go about achieving the objective. The coach will check in with the client on their priorities and timeframe, and where the client to summarize the discussion. When the client may need some or certain areas of support. The coach is ready to support the client with any additional guidance.
Step 5: Implement the Agreed Actions
The coach has the client to write down what is the task that needs to be achieved.
At this stage, the coach will work with the client to ensure the task is within a reasonable timeframe. This is to ensure that the client is accountable for their actions.
Step 6: Review the Progress Made and Lesson learned
The coach will have check with the client about their progress. Coach is to check with the client if they are facing any problem while working on their task. Is there any needs to do any adjustment to the task or any timeline that need to be rework.
Summary
In today content, organizations are starting to evolve their structure and their business, they are now much focusing on people and bringing humanity into the organization. Companies are trying to attract and retain the best and the brightest people to join their companies. Therefore, it is necessary for an organization to move from utility to employee experience.
Companies should throw away the old stereotypical manage mentality. In order for companies to create a great place to work and show interest in the success of their people, they should consider providing coaching programs as one of their tool in their workplace enable them to be more competitive in the market.
Resources:
https://sai.coach/blog/types-of-coaching/
https://sai.coach/blog/types-of-coaching-styles/
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-s-the-new-coaching-role-for-hr-staff-1917841
The Future of Work: Attract New Talent, Build Better Leaders, and Create a Competitive Organization Hardcover – August 25, 2014, by Jacob Morgan
Workplace coaching: A six-step guide for coaching at work. http:Blog.iqmatrix.com
Why Workplace Coaching and Why Now? www.integral.org.au
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertglazer/2018/08/02/its-time-to-ditch-performance-improvement-plans-heres-why/#a6be2dd6ebcbhttps://www.wishfulthinking.co.uk/2007/03/14/coaching-is-not-training-mentoring-or-counselling/