Situations That Call For Employee Coaching
We may all be familiar about the value of employee coaching, how it works, and why more and more companies practice this training and development technique. However, there are lots of managers and executives who still do not have a clear idea of when should employees be coached. It indeed helps to have an idea as to when should employees receive coaching so that the benefits of this training and development method can be maximized.
It is important to note that managers are not supposed to coach the people under them. This can be confusing so it helps to have a sound understanding of what employee coaching really is and what it is not. Giving employees knowledge, instructions, and skills that they will need in doing the different tasks that their jobs require is what we refer to as employee training which is definitely not coaching. Coaching refers to the continuous process of helping employees identify and rise above the different challenges that can prevent them from giving their best in their jobs.
So when should employee coaching step in? There is a need for coaching when the current behavior of employees poses threats to themselves or to someone else’s. Coaches need to step in when an employee is doing things that can be of harm to himself or to those around him. Instead of directly giving a solution to an employee, it is best for the coach to recommend different alternatives from which an employee can decide which would be the best.
There is also a need for coaching when circumstances call for stronger commitments to team membership. Work teams are developed because employees need to work as team. When an employee is exhibiting actions that can exclude him from the rest of the team, the coach must step in to help that employee find a more appropriate work behavior.
Employee coaching is also needed when employees are repeatedly doing things that have resulted to their failure in the past. It is okay to try a certain solution to a problem and fail and having to apply that solution again. However, employees must see to it that when they try that solution again, they should do it the way they mean to do it. When they keep on applying the same solution and keep on failing in their objectives, this can mean that they are not learning at all and this is when a coach should step in.