Why make Coaching accessible to as many employees as possible?

"Co-active coaching is not about solving problems; it's about empowering individuals to find their own solutions, to uncover their inner wisdom, and to live authentically." 

Author: Henry Kimsey-House, co-founder of the Coaches Training Institute (CTI)  

The impact of a strong coaching culture on business health 

Does investing in coaching make good business sense? A survey conducted by PwC revealed that for every dollar invested in coaching, companies received an average of $7.90 in return. What about the company culture, then?  

In their research, Deloitte uncovered that organizations with strong coaching cultures are: 

• 130% are more likely to have strong business results.
• 39% are more likely to report higher employee satisfaction.
• 33% are more likely to report stronger employee engagement.

Therefore, it is very likely that integrating coaching programs will enhance employee well-being, performance, and the company's global business health. 

The balance between "being" and "doing" 

If, like us at Criteo, you believe that everyone in your company leads in some way - whether it is a team, strategy, or project - coaching is a great asset to unlock your employees' potential. If you care to build a workplace where people can truly grow and thrive, you need to focus on being as much as doing. At Criteo, we use the co-active coaching approach that aims to find the balance between "being" and "doing." While many coaching methods may concentrate primarily on actions and achieving specific goals (the "doing" aspect), co-active coaching also emphasizes the client's state of being. This includes their values, beliefs, and sense of purpose. This helps employees align their actions with their core values and authentic selves. What coaches do is encourage clients to recognize their inner power and potential, fostering a sense of ownership over their journey. It is all about responsibility and empowerment! This empowerment leads to greater self-confidence and motivation, as clients realize that they are the primary agents of change in their lives.  

CoachMe in a few words 

Coaching being perfectly aligned with our company culture; we took up the task of launching our own program at Criteo: CoachMe.  

Here are the steps that made this project come to life: 

• Pilot: we ran a successful pilot with a few internal coaches, before following the next steps:   
• Coach Recruitment and Training: we selected a training provider (in our case the Co-Active Coaching Institute) and designed the upskilling journey and requirements to be a Coach. Then, we carefully selected and trained coaches. Between each training module they needed to do practice hours.
• Sources a matching tool: we used the same as for our Mentoring Programs. 
• Clear roles & responsibilities: coaches signed a contract confirming confidentiality and professionalism, defined criteria for coachees too (min. 6 months at Criteo, etc.)  
• Launch: we launched the program and offered for coachees to enroll.   
• Do pairings based on compatibility: among other criteria, we look at the location, department, career level, preferred language- 
• Launch pairings: Coaches and coachees are paired for 3-4 months and have an average of 6 sessions.  

Once you've fostered a coaching approach across your company, one question remains: How do you measure its value? We opted for a three-fold approach:  

• Self-assessment: First, we defined focus areas, behaviours, and an assessment that captures those. For CoachMe we have 3 focus areas: Work-Life Balance, Career Growth, and Professional Effectiveness. We defined clear and - observable behaviours associated with these areas like “I define limits between work and personal life to prevent burnout and maintain overall well-being (related to Work-Life Balance)" and asked the coachees to rate themselves before and after the coaching process. We have observed an average increase of 15% in all areas of focus.  
• Longer-Term Impact: Comparing retention and promotion rates of coachees to the company's average.  
• Qualitative Measures: apart from these metrics we also reviewed qualitative feedback and received many positive testimonials from coachees.  

Based on our experience with the CoachMe program, we have learned to use a combination of methods to gain a comprehensive understanding of the effectiveness of coaching programs and optimize your future coaching initiatives. Apart from making good business sense, offering coaching also demonstrates a commitment to employee development, enhancing retention rates and attractiveness to potential hires. 

Investing in an internal coaching pool provides a cost-effective way to coach more employees and fosters strong cultural alignment and consistency. Additionally, it empowers our internal coaches and instills a strong sense of responsibility. 

A column by Khatoun Abdmasih, Learning & Development Program Manager, ACC accredited Coach.