COACHING GOES TO WORK: Coaching Employees Not Only Helps Save Money, It Helps Make Money
Part 2: Getting Engaged: Increasing Innovation, Productivity and Profits Through Empowerment and Leadership Coaching
In mid-2008, as the economy tanked, the unemployment rate in this country began its meteoric rise. By mid-2009, levels exceeded 9%, peaked over 10%, and have stubbornly hovered around 9% give or take (higher for teens and minorities), ever since. Around 1,000,000 “discouraged workers” have given up looking for work, convinced their search would prove fruitless. (See (http://www.bls.gov/ for complete information). Defeated and depressed, it’s hard to imagine the sense of hopelessness and powerlessness the unemployed experience in our still stagnating economy, with no happy ending in sight. Labor, it seems, once a merely replaceable resource, has become a disposable one.
It’s been generations since times have been this tough for job seekers. But what about today’s job holders? The unsung heroes who continue to work in offices, shops, schools, plants and health care facilities downsized to the bare bones, still producing the widgets, minding the store, teaching the children, making the coffee and donuts, caring for the sick? Responsible for holding down the fort while picking up the slack – combined/heavier work loads requiring longer hours frequently at a cut in pay with ever-eroding benefits - left by their absent peers? Under the constant threat of being next in line for the chopping block?
The labor reports don’t begin to address the challenges faced by American workers fortunate enough to have a job to go to. Yes, they still have a paycheck coming; yes, they still have those all-important medical insurance and other benefits. A huge load lifted, to be sure. But how fortunate are they, really? In terms both quantifiable (real wages and buying power) and unquantifiable (sense of purpose and peace of mind)? The answer: not very. For this new and unprecedented stress is taking a toll, helping create a less productive, more anxious, addicted, distracted, overwhelmed, unhealthy - and ultimately expensive – workforce.
As a life coach, I constantly talk to people both with and without jobs. I hear their concerns, their woes, their expectations, their wishes. Lately I’ve been hearing quite a lot of expressions of hopelessness, even for those still gainfully employed. Over the last several decades, the concept of “job security”, in the public and private sectors, has gone the way of the retirement pension and gold watch. After the gains of the first half of the 20th century, the American workplace has again become a precarious place, with staff considered an expensive and easily replaceable resource. Workers came to accept that they could lose their position to someone younger, cheaper, more educated, in some way “better”, believing that another, perhaps more suitable and/or lucrative, opportunity was within reach. But today’s employee goes to work burdened by the thought that he or she has become a disposable, non-recyclable, commodity. “Let go” really now means just that: set adrift, perhaps permanently -
While prosperity and profit may indeed trickle down from the “job creators,” financial contraction and insecurity appear to gush unabated. With several European economies teetering at the edge while America loses its AAA credit rating and the economy remains stalled even after several years, institutions of every size have shifted into austerity/survival mode. Governments to banks to businesses to consumers, unsure of the future, fearful of winding up broke, shuttered and on the street, dig in, clutching desperately to whatever they have and whatever they manage to get their hands on. They cut back, hoard capital and withhold investing, further contracting business, production, sales. Innovation, risk and expansion become luxuries no one is willing to spring for, no one will even consider -
This psycho-social phenomenon filters all the way down to the individual. Employees on the job, constantly looking over their shoulder, distracted by rumors, erratic markets, and a steady flow of bad news, tend to squander time, make more mistakes, delay decisions, and generally get less done. Engagement wanes, attention drifts, priorities shift, productivity suffers. Energies, already depleted by stress, focus on survival and maintaining the status quo, on not losing, rather than growing, creating, innovating.
The long-term cost to business is enormous. Art, creativity and innovation can only thrive in an environment that encourages and supports it. And if there’s anything that American business needs at this moment in history, it would be creative, out-of-the-box thinking and innovation which flows upward, from the mind of the individual to the team to the larger organization and out into the world.
Lately I have been busy heralding the benefits of bringing individual and group coaching into the workplace. Many companies have embraced individual executive coaching to hone upper management's creative, leadership and mentoring skills. But what about the rest of the work force? Wouldn’t they too benefit from the personal attention, focus, support, etc., of health and wellness / life / leadership / empowerment / relationship / communications, and other forms of coaching? Wouldn’t the company as a whole benefit from a more engaged, energized, innovative, contented - not to mention productive and profitable – workforce? Especially in these trying times, when management demands so much from them?
In study after study, in company after company, one-on-one and group coaching has shown stunning results, tangible and intangible. Corporations have realized measurable results such as RsOI exceeding 500%, increased sales and profitability or market share, lower operating and health care costs, improved talent retention, faster speed to market, and greater customer satisfaction. Also reported: increased creativity and innovation, improved communication skills, a "better attitude," proactive solution-focus. The intangible, but equally important, benefits also include a happier, healthier, more engaged, fulfilled and empowered workforce.
Progressive corporations such as Google and Zappos.com have recognized that without the intangible, “soft benefits”, achieving the hard, quantifiable gains becomes more arduous and elusive. What’s surprising is that so many other companies have not, or have abandoned the idea in times of trouble. Wellness and empowerment coaching would be a great addition to any HR and/or EAP program. Many of Fortune's "2011 Best Companies to Work For" (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2011/index.html) offer life, wellness, leadership and/or empowerment (in addition to executive) coaching programs. And it serves as a perfect compliment and support to the services currently provided through many EAPs, though more preemptive/preventative than reactive.
The coaching paradigm contends that everyone is a leader - ready, willing, able, and accountable for the choices he/she makes and how he/she operates in the world. Even after one session, coaching helps participants identify problems, vent frustrations, see possibilities, set goals, seek solutions, take positive actions, shake up creativity, expose fears and falsehoods, remove blocks, mitigate stress. Coaching inspires positive change. Giving workers this gift helps clear a space for something new and exciting to form, and the support and encouragement to make it happen.
Employers shouldn’t underestimate the value of offering employees a coaching session (or two, or twenty) with a trained professional. What does that mean for your employees? Imagine an organization that fosters worker engagement and peak performance through empowerment. Picture an environment that encourages and stimulates creative thinking and innovation. Envision a workforce needing less and less addiction counseling, fewer sick days, surgeries and procedures. These are some the benefits of coaching. Which translates into lowered costs + + innovation + higher profits. Sound too good to be true? It's not. Businesses have proven over and over that it’s readily, measurably achievable through coaching.
© 2011 Theresa Quadrozzi – A-Muse-In-Manhattan
All rights reserved
In mid-2008, as the economy tanked, the unemployment rate in this country began its meteoric rise. By mid-2009, levels exceeded 9%, peaked over 10%, and have stubbornly hovered around 9% give or take (higher for teens and minorities), ever since. Around 1,000,000 “discouraged workers” have given up looking for work, convinced their search would prove fruitless. (See (http://www.bls.gov/ for complete information). Defeated and depressed, it’s hard to imagine the sense of hopelessness and powerlessness the unemployed experience in our still stagnating economy, with no happy ending in sight. Labor, it seems, once a merely replaceable resource, has become a disposable one.
It’s been generations since times have been this tough for job seekers. But what about today’s job holders? The unsung heroes who continue to work in offices, shops, schools, plants and health care facilities downsized to the bare bones, still producing the widgets, minding the store, teaching the children, making the coffee and donuts, caring for the sick? Responsible for holding down the fort while picking up the slack – combined/heavier work loads requiring longer hours frequently at a cut in pay with ever-eroding benefits - left by their absent peers? Under the constant threat of being next in line for the chopping block?
The labor reports don’t begin to address the challenges faced by American workers fortunate enough to have a job to go to. Yes, they still have a paycheck coming; yes, they still have those all-important medical insurance and other benefits. A huge load lifted, to be sure. But how fortunate are they, really? In terms both quantifiable (real wages and buying power) and unquantifiable (sense of purpose and peace of mind)? The answer: not very. For this new and unprecedented stress is taking a toll, helping create a less productive, more anxious, addicted, distracted, overwhelmed, unhealthy - and ultimately expensive – workforce.
As a life coach, I constantly talk to people both with and without jobs. I hear their concerns, their woes, their expectations, their wishes. Lately I’ve been hearing quite a lot of expressions of hopelessness, even for those still gainfully employed. Over the last several decades, the concept of “job security”, in the public and private sectors, has gone the way of the retirement pension and gold watch. After the gains of the first half of the 20th century, the American workplace has again become a precarious place, with staff considered an expensive and easily replaceable resource. Workers came to accept that they could lose their position to someone younger, cheaper, more educated, in some way “better”, believing that another, perhaps more suitable and/or lucrative, opportunity was within reach. But today’s employee goes to work burdened by the thought that he or she has become a disposable, non-recyclable, commodity. “Let go” really now means just that: set adrift, perhaps permanently -
While prosperity and profit may indeed trickle down from the “job creators,” financial contraction and insecurity appear to gush unabated. With several European economies teetering at the edge while America loses its AAA credit rating and the economy remains stalled even after several years, institutions of every size have shifted into austerity/survival mode. Governments to banks to businesses to consumers, unsure of the future, fearful of winding up broke, shuttered and on the street, dig in, clutching desperately to whatever they have and whatever they manage to get their hands on. They cut back, hoard capital and withhold investing, further contracting business, production, sales. Innovation, risk and expansion become luxuries no one is willing to spring for, no one will even consider -
This psycho-social phenomenon filters all the way down to the individual. Employees on the job, constantly looking over their shoulder, distracted by rumors, erratic markets, and a steady flow of bad news, tend to squander time, make more mistakes, delay decisions, and generally get less done. Engagement wanes, attention drifts, priorities shift, productivity suffers. Energies, already depleted by stress, focus on survival and maintaining the status quo, on not losing, rather than growing, creating, innovating.
The long-term cost to business is enormous. Art, creativity and innovation can only thrive in an environment that encourages and supports it. And if there’s anything that American business needs at this moment in history, it would be creative, out-of-the-box thinking and innovation which flows upward, from the mind of the individual to the team to the larger organization and out into the world.
Lately I have been busy heralding the benefits of bringing individual and group coaching into the workplace. Many companies have embraced individual executive coaching to hone upper management's creative, leadership and mentoring skills. But what about the rest of the work force? Wouldn’t they too benefit from the personal attention, focus, support, etc., of health and wellness / life / leadership / empowerment / relationship / communications, and other forms of coaching? Wouldn’t the company as a whole benefit from a more engaged, energized, innovative, contented - not to mention productive and profitable – workforce? Especially in these trying times, when management demands so much from them?
In study after study, in company after company, one-on-one and group coaching has shown stunning results, tangible and intangible. Corporations have realized measurable results such as RsOI exceeding 500%, increased sales and profitability or market share, lower operating and health care costs, improved talent retention, faster speed to market, and greater customer satisfaction. Also reported: increased creativity and innovation, improved communication skills, a "better attitude," proactive solution-focus. The intangible, but equally important, benefits also include a happier, healthier, more engaged, fulfilled and empowered workforce.
Progressive corporations such as Google and Zappos.com have recognized that without the intangible, “soft benefits”, achieving the hard, quantifiable gains becomes more arduous and elusive. What’s surprising is that so many other companies have not, or have abandoned the idea in times of trouble. Wellness and empowerment coaching would be a great addition to any HR and/or EAP program. Many of Fortune's "2011 Best Companies to Work For" (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2011/index.html) offer life, wellness, leadership and/or empowerment (in addition to executive) coaching programs. And it serves as a perfect compliment and support to the services currently provided through many EAPs, though more preemptive/preventative than reactive.
The coaching paradigm contends that everyone is a leader - ready, willing, able, and accountable for the choices he/she makes and how he/she operates in the world. Even after one session, coaching helps participants identify problems, vent frustrations, see possibilities, set goals, seek solutions, take positive actions, shake up creativity, expose fears and falsehoods, remove blocks, mitigate stress. Coaching inspires positive change. Giving workers this gift helps clear a space for something new and exciting to form, and the support and encouragement to make it happen.
Employers shouldn’t underestimate the value of offering employees a coaching session (or two, or twenty) with a trained professional. What does that mean for your employees? Imagine an organization that fosters worker engagement and peak performance through empowerment. Picture an environment that encourages and stimulates creative thinking and innovation. Envision a workforce needing less and less addiction counseling, fewer sick days, surgeries and procedures. These are some the benefits of coaching. Which translates into lowered costs + + innovation + higher profits. Sound too good to be true? It's not. Businesses have proven over and over that it’s readily, measurably achievable through coaching.
© 2011 Theresa Quadrozzi – A-Muse-In-Manhattan
All rights reserved
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