One astonishing impact of the pandemic was what we refer to as “the great resignation,” the “great reshuffle,” or “the great attrition.” Whatever you call it, over 47 million Americans quit their jobs in 2021. And the trend is not letting up. According to a Mckinsey study, two out of five employees are considering leaving their job in the next three to six months and one in five workers say they’d take a new job for the same pay.
For employers to remain competitive, they must shift their thinking and find new ways to retain employees. One emerging employee retention strategy is leadership coaching for top talent and rising potential leaders within the company.
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Launching a Coaching Strategy for Employee Recruitment & Retention
Like any strategy for employee recruitment and retention, coaching requires a thoughtful and committed approach with a set of clear goals and outcomes for each individual employee. This includes some measure of observable behavioral change. At the Percipio Company, we recommend a six-to-twelve month, in-depth process and partnership that is built on clearly defined deliverables.
Before launching a coaching program, employers must gather key data from stakeholders (boss, HR, any others that have worked closely with the person being coached.) Take the time to collaboratively develop SMART goals, and commit to a weekly or bi-weekly schedule. A key objective at the onset of coaching is to establish trust and meet the client where they are. The focus areas and skills for a top-contributor-turned-new-manager may not be the same for someone that needs to develop sensitivity skills or emotional intelligence.
The ROI of Coaching
One of our clients, Environmental Science Associates (ESA), made a significant investment in coaching, in an effort to recruit new talent and increase retention of their top performers and emerging leaders. It was so effective that they began to build it into their offer letters and promotion packages.
“We are using the coaching as part of our talent package,” says ESA Vice President Annette Bonilla. “We tell them that we are going to give them a leadership coach. They see us investing in them on the way in and it’s making a difference. When they look around and see who’s being coached, they see that it’s top performers and they appreciate that. It boosts their confidence.”
At the Percipio Company, we work with companies like ESA to develop and transform their people into high-performing leaders. Here are the five transformational ROIs we most commonly see from an investment in coaching:
1. Increased Empowerment & Accountability
Taking responsibility for yourself, your work product, and for those you lead, is the foundation for building effective leaders across the workplace. Through coaching, employers help empower individuals to take responsibility for their learning and development. Coaching helps workers develop strategies focusing on problem-solving and goal-setting that align with the company’s objectives.
2. Improved Communication.
Improving communication skills can be one of the most important yet challenging areas for employee growth. Coaching can be a highly effective way to yield results.
“We had an employee with very good instincts but she didn’t know how to communicate. She brought complaints rather than solutions. Coaching sharpened her communication approach and helped her see that she’s part of the solutions now. It transformed her into a leader for the company. She’s a different person now.”
3. Stronger Agency
Within a company, agency is the ability of an employee to act in ways that shape their workplace experiences and career trajectory. As a measurement tool for the organization, agency is someone’s comfort and confidence when expressing ideas in various contexts. When employees feel a strong sense of agency at work, they feel control over their actions and consequences. As a result, they are more innovative, self-directed, and proactive. Coaching can help build an employee’s sense of agency by helping them get more comfortable asking for and receiving feedback, challenging the status quo, and trying new things that are outside of their comfort zone. ESA uses exclusively outside consultants such as Percipio for coaching.
“Using outside consultants for coaching allows our employees to enter a judgment-free zone where they feel safe to discuss their weaknesses and concerns. As a result, they build trust and confidence, which helps them feel more in control over their actions at work.”
4. Stronger Employee Engagement
Employees who do not feel connected to their job, boss or company are 70% more likely to quit. And this can include some of your best talent. By investing in coaching, companies strengthen ties between the employee and the organization.
“We had a team member who worked hard but was getting passed up because he didn’t know how to engage or lead. We decided to make the coaching investment in him. Matthew Cahill worked to help him take charge of his own advancement. Through coaching, he began to grow and engage. He began to deliver a real ROI back to ESA, and now he’s being promoted.”
5. Leaders Develop More Leaders
Without a doubt, one of the best reasons to invest in coaching is the leadership multiplier effect. When you invest in coaching and developing someone, they learn how to develop others within your company. They become a better manager, a better boss, and a stronger contributor across the company. They model healthy behaviors that create greater experiences for the employees and the organization.
“We make the coaching investment in those who are interested in being people leaders. Ultimately, we are developing those who can go on to develop others. We see employees increase their participation in building and improving the onboarding and training programs for others. They become great advocates and ambassadors for our company.”
Ultimately, leaders beget leaders!
By supporting an employee’s development through a tailored coaching program, employers demonstrate that they are willing to invest in their employees, that they believe in an individual’s potential, and that they want to see their people grow and lead within the company. The result is the cultivation of new leaders across your company, improved employee retention, and tremendous personal and professional growth of your greatest asset — your people!
Learn more about the Percipio Company’s tailored coaching programs.
Percipio Company is led by Matthew Cahill. His deep expertise in cognitive, social, and workplace biases is rooted in the belief that if you have a brain, you have bias®. He works with executives to reduce mental mistakes, strengthen workplace relationships & disrupt existing bias within current HR processes, meeting protocols and corporate policies. Matthew has demonstrated success with large clients like LinkedIn, Salesforce and dozens of small to mid-size companies looking to create more inclusive workplaces, work smarter, generate more revenue and move from bias to belonging®.
