Human Resources and senior leaders need better ways to hire executive coaches. This process identifies who should be coached, who shouldn't be and where to invest wisely, freeing up learning and development budgets for real leadership growth

1. HOW DO YOU BUILD A COST
EFFECTIVE COACHING PROCESS?
Nancy Halpern
KNH Associates
June 2016

2. COACHING EXPENSE IS TUCKED AWAY IN L&D
BUDGETS – BUT THERE’S NOTHING SMALL ABOUT
THESE NUMBERS
 The Fortune 500 spends over $2 billion dollars
annually on executive coaching
 Current research shows that for every $1 spent on
coaching the return is $7.90
 Fortune magazine reports that leadership skills
improve 77% with coaching.
 When combined with the talent investment of
recruitment, sign on bonus, salary and retention,
the investment in your senior talent grows ten fold.

3. DESPITE THE HUGE EXPENSE MOST COMPANIES
ARE TOO CASUAL ABOUT COACHING
 HBR warns that corporations ignore essential elements
such as:
 Deciding who should get coached
 Engagement scope, length and stakeholders
 Creating metrics and report outs for progress
 Sound credentials in coach selection
 Developing benchmarks for success
 PWC research states that over 25% of coaching clients
report ROI of 10 to 49 times the cost – but 25%
success rate is a failure
 A more standardized framework is needed given the
high price tag of coaching

4. WHAT WOULD A STANDARDIZED FRAMEWORK
DO?
 Set criteria for when/why to use coaching
 Build a trusted stable of coaches with proven ROI
metrics who know how to partner with HR
 Assess if coaching is the right choice now
 Insist on regular communication during the
engagement with HR and Management
 Agree on milestones and deliverables and post
engagement support
 Create post coaching procedures to measure
executive’s progress once coaching ends

5. HERE ARE THE SIX STEPS TO BUILD AN
ENTERPRISE WIDE COACHING PROCESS
1. Determine at what level and in which situations to
invest in coaching
2. Identify the criteria for coach selection including
size of roster; background, corporate culture, etc.
3. Establish a general process with standard
deliverables that you expect all coaches to follow
4. Develop a method of measuring coaching success
5. Create support mechanisms for post coaching
6. Have the critical conversation with the executive
who will be coached

6. DETERMINE AT WHAT LEVEL AND IN WHICH
SITUATIONS TO INVEST IN COACHING
 Is the individual…
 A succession candidate?
 A high potential?
 In a stretch assignment?
 Needing to make immediate behavioral changes?
 High enough level to warrant investment?
 What is their incentive to change?
 Are there consequences if change doesn’t occur?
 Can they be self evaluative without being self loathing?
 Would they benefit from a therapeutic vs. coaching
approach?

7. IDENTIFY THE CRITERIA FOR COACH
SELECTION
 Criteria to consider:
 Internal corporate perspective
 Areas of specialization/expertise
 Years of experience
 Psychological or business approach
 Diversity considerations
 Compensation rates based on local market and
coach’s seniority
 “Supporters” or “challengers”?
 Proven track record of ROI results
 Fit with your culture and knowledge of industry

8. ESTABLISH AN EASILY REPLICABLE PROCESS
 Start with:
 How the organization and candidate would benefit
 Assuring that coaching is the best solution
 Determining objectives and success metrics
 Provide candidate with choice of 2-3 coaches
 Initial meeting for coach with HR to review
engagement objectives
 Contract meeting with coach, candidate and
manager on objectives and success metrics
 Monthly updates to HR and/or manager from coach
 Executive summary end engagement with tactical
action plan to be reviewed with HR, manager and
candidate

9. DEVELOP A METHOD OF MEASURING
COACHING SUCCESS
 Adhere to regular communication with HR and
management to track observable effort and
differences
 Touch base meeting mid engagement with manager
and candidate to assess progress against
objectives
 Create culture of “feed forward” where candidate is
asking for observer feedback on desired change
 360 done near engagement end to record progress
seen since coaching began

10. CREATE SUPPORT MECHANISMS FOR POST
COACHING
 Post engagement meetings with manager and
candidate quarterly to reinforce desired change and
measure impact
 Repeat modified 360 six months after engagement
end to better gauge progress
 Manager has also been coached on how to best
develop and lead the candidate to full potential
 Coach is always available informally to candidate
for situational questions and issues
 Desired behaviors are incentivized and
incorporated into evaluations and development
plans

11. AND BEFORE YOU SPEND A DOLLAR, HERE’S
YOUR INTERACTION WITH THE CANDIDATE
 Share feedback with the candidate especially if
there was a trigger event or specific impetus
 Identify the negative impact to the business if
change doesn’t occur; positive if it does
 Obtain candidate’s agreement that:
 The feed back they received has merit
 This development is in their best interest
 They are committed to the process
 Confirm that manager and HR are fully supportive
 Set clear and specific objectives
 Delineate success metrics

12. WHAT’S THE IMPACT OF AN UNSUCCESSFUL
EXECUTIVE?
 Forbes estimates that poor leaders cost their
organizations $360 billion a year in lost productivity
 A poor leader cascades down the organization,
creating issues with
 Engagement
 Productivity
 Operational efficiencies
 Sales results
 Retention
 Coaching, done properly, returns visible and
measurable results within four to six months of
commencement

13. WHY REEXAMINE HOW YOU DO COACHING?
 Too many organizations waste limited learning and
development dollars on candidates who will not
benefit from coaching
 In addition, they put all available L&D dollars on
one person versus examining ways to spread
spend across a leadership team with greater return
 Having a consistent approach and process reduces
risk, protects your talent investment and ensures
more viable and ready succession candidates