A recent example of where we worked within a constricted budget in partnership with a client group to help them develop their own capabilities, strengthen their organisation, and enable sustained self-help…

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Background

  • An international organisation with diverse multi-cultural, multi-functional staff base
  • A strategic necessity to cut costs, head count and use less more effectively
  • Traditional values and rewards IQ focussed with several years of staff surveys highlighting need for leaders and managers to communicate and manage ‘difficult’ conversations and poor performance more effectively
  • Consolidation in some overseas offices with focus on reduction of UK ex-pat staff headcount and ‘up-skilling’ of more localised, reduced resources

Our Partnership

  • Worked with directors to identify and select core staff to develop the strongest possible team of facilitators and coaches – representative of all staff levels and international diversities (selection process included 360 feedback and 1:1 interviewing to ensure interest and role match)
  • Created a learning journey combining intensive face-to-face experiential learning & ‘live’ skills practice workshops with distance learning for theory and research
  • Encouraged development of peer relationships for ongoing ‘internal’ rather than external support, sharing experience and ideas through an organisational ‘practice’ network. Also to ‘cascade’  learning through immediate ‘in-situ’ application of facilitation and coaching skills through personal action-planning  with follow-up workshops to review,  share experience and hone skills with ‘master-class’ tips and techniques. (Some coaches progressing through to formal accreditation )
  • Helped  develop organisational strategy for programme introduction using internal IT network to define, brand and develop awareness, and  extend use of coaching and mentoring practices to support culture change and ‘cascading’ of new EI approaches to management and leadership
  • Established processes for internal peer coaching supervision, coach / coachee matching, monitoring and evaluation – linking coach / facilitation time and success to internal performance management frameworks

Feedback / Results

Success was measured in a number of ways and at different levels i.e. through

  • the evaluations of the development process by the participants themselves

For the end of workshop evaluations participants were asked for a response on a scale of 1-10 [ where 1 = low perceived value and 10 = maximum ]. Average responses for perceived value of the core training were 9.4 plus qualitative responses such as

9 – Probably even 10! One of the best courses I’ve been on.”

“All the techniques / skills directly valuable to my work (and personal life!); actually using the techniques / models made being at work more fun / productive and made me relax and be myself.”

  • the individual evaluations of the trained coaches / leaders by those they coached

Anecdotal evidence from coaching recipients was equally positive e.g. part of feedback for one coaching partner was that the process was:

‘ …..great ….Here’s to credit crunch coaching!’

And from another coached through potential redundancy issues

‘….trust was an important aspect.  The coach’s genuine belief in me and the encouragement to reach my full potential, boosted my confidence.’

  • the wider impact on improving capability of managers and leaders leading to
    • More ‘employee issues’ being managed by line managers rather than referrals to HR
    • utilisation of  internal coaches versus attendance on traditional training programmes
    • improved Management survey and employee satisfaction ratings
  • Positive changes in leadership behaviours measured through 360 degree leadership feedback competences such as more effective:
    • Communication with others
    • Achievement of personal/professional challenges and goals
    • Seeing new possibilities
    • Influencing skills and perceived self-confidence