What is Organisational Coaching?

If you’ve been looking for ways to increase your employees’ morale and support business goals, you may have come across organisational coaching. Organisational coaching is a tool which is especially geared towards making internal teams and professionals feel valued at work and more confident in carrying out the duties of their roles.

Organisational coaching has been rolled out to great success in numerous big companies, even with very large groups consisting of multiple teams. It is an art, but if pulled off properly, it offers great rewards.

But what exactly is organisational coaching? How does it work and how can it help your business? If you’re not entirely sure, we’ll be going over everything in this article, so read on to find out.

Do these coaches help you stay tidy?

First of all, to clear up any initial misunderstanding, the kind of organisational coaching we’re talking about is for the workplace and is not about learning how to manage time and keep your desk tidy.

Confusingly, there is another kind of organisational coaching that does cover this. They usually work with children who struggle at school, such as those with learning difficulties or who are neurodivergent and find it tough to manage their time and resources effectively, keep their bags in order, etc.

Why is organisational coaching a good investment?

Organisational coaching comes at a cost, but it’s one that many big companies are choosing to take the plunge on. Why are so many business leaders convinced that it’s worth it?

Proper organisational coaching has the ability to really shift the way a company works, and through identifying strengths and weaknesses, it can potentially make massive waves in the business structure.

Benefits of organisational coaching

Employee happiness

Organisational coaching done properly makes employees feel included and engaged in the process. A great side effect of this is overall improved morale and job satisfaction. If coached by someone who really makes them feel heard and like their voice has value, you can definitely expect to see a noticeable difference in employee engagement and their approach to their work.

Retention

Following on from the above point, if employees are happier and feel like they really belong in a company which cares about them and in which they can make a difference, holding onto top workers will be much easier. If employees really feel engaged in corporate direction and strategy, they’ll feel more driven to actively participate, and they’ll have to stick around to do it.

Accountability

One of the fundamental concepts in organisational coaching is accountability. People set commitments in groups and are then empowered to achieve their goals. Actions will be more visible and people will feel reluctant to not honour the commitments they’ve made.

Identifying Weak Spots

A good organisational coach always keeps their eye out for chinks in the armour of a corporate system. This means they’ll be able to spot weaknesses such as impotent management or underutilised employees. Since they’ll also have a good idaea of exactly what a company needs from working with it, they should be able to fine tune their recommendations for the maximum gains in productivity and performance.

Types of organisational coaching

There are several coaching strategies that fall under organisational coaching, each offering value in slightly different ways and working better with different companies based on factors such as their size. These categories include:

Team coaching

Is there any organisation that can say their internal team is not its backbone? Since internal teams are generally the incredibly important core upon which a business rests, team coaching is a superb way to improve a company overall and address areas that could do with being worked on. Team coaching enables different internal groups to collaborate with one another in order to achieve common goals more smoothly while fostering an inclusive environment in which all members feel valued.

Since there will typically be different teams in different company departments that are distinct but overall must communicate and cooperate with each other effectively (from the warehouse floor to the boardroom) on some level, team coaching can be indispensable in getting everyone to operate cohesively.

Executive/Leadership coaching

Leadership coaching’s main focus is on upper-level employees and aims to provide people higher up in the business structure with the training they need to be effective leaders. A coach taking this approach could assist by helping managers with creating plans and tracking their progress, increasing their understanding of how the role they play fits in with the successful meeting of company targets.

The coach’s support can also be focused on ridding employees of unwanted behaviours or habits that could be stopping them from getting promoted or advancing in their career. Executive coaching really shines a light on the value of personal development and effective leadership within the workspace.

Integrated coaching

Integrated coaching is about the integration of organisational coaching with a broader overarching training or education programme within a company. This type of coaching emphasises skill acquisition for professionals, helping them grow within their roles and arming them with practical, applicable knowledge which they can use in the real world. Coaching of this nature often happens after employees have already completed whatever educational process the company has in place for them, so the coaching itself can relate to aspects of the training the professional has undertaken.

Online coaching

Business as a whole is becoming much more digital and IT-based, and the same goes for their training and coaching processes. Online coaching can provide both teams and individuals with training and keeping up morale, and actually almost any type of coaching can work effectively if delivered appropriately through a digital medium.

One advantage of online coaching is that it can be a cost-effective method of delivery, and it’s not as bound by time constraints with resources able to be uploaded and accessed at any time. This gives businesses more freedom and employees more flexibility to progress as they wish throughout courses.

How to Ensure a Superior Coaching Experience

Any organisational coaching practice should be made up of a team of skilled, diverse coaches who are experienced and able to adapt to the demands of a business. When putting together or hiring such a team, there are several questions to consider.

1. What is their education and experience? Do you require advanced degrees, a minimum number of years of experience in the field, etc?
2. Which diagnostics will you use, if at all? Psychometrics? Are your coaches trained in using these?
3. What are their personal fields of interest? Every employee and coach will have their own specialities and areas of expertise; maybe they’re particularly knowledgeable about sales departments, or maybe they’re leadership pros – what kind of coverage do you need?
4. Where will you find them? Will you be using an external coaching organisation or getting some internal people? Will you advertise for them online, or do you know people through word of mouth? Many organisations handpick their coaches to make sure they’re an ideal fit.
5. What are your expectations? How will you know if the coaching is having an impact and if it’s worth it? Is there any change in particular you’ll be hoping to see?
6. How will you match a coach to a client/employee? The relationship between a coach and their client is what much of the success of their interactions will hinge upon – sometimes you get lucky with rapport, sometimes you don’t. Will you offer multiple candidates and let people switch?
7. How will you systemise and track the process? If you’re looking for systemic transformation, it only makes sense to plan how things will progress and create a space for coaches to be kept up to date and communicate effectively within the organisation. This could mean regular briefings where you cover organisational challenges and discuss solutions, setting up brainstorming meetings, etc.