Organizational leaders and managers carry a considerable amount of responsibilities; none more important, however, than employee management. The sheer task of dealing with a wide variety of people at once and making sure all of them completely understand the target of a specified project is something that can pretty much be compared to a juggler’s job of juggling multiple items at once. If there is even one slight delay or missed opportunity, the entire project can be laid to waste. And that is something which a manager cannot afford at all costs.

There may be a decent crop of senior employees in your organization, along with a bunch of junior workers that need proper coaching in order to effectively utilize their abilities to their full potential. However, just because you have all the right ingredients doesn’t necessarily mean you can get the recipe exactly right. The organization itself needs to take several key initiatives in order to make sure that the coaching and team development is done in a precise and effective manner. In order to do so, there are several methods that the organizational body can adapt to. The most suitable method of developmental coaching is to hold coaching sessions on a regular basis where selected senior employees can give direct feedback to junior colleagues directly, share the secrets to success with them while making sure they are highly motivated and enthusiastic about all the proceedings.

With all factors considered, it is understandable that developmental coaching is a quite critical component for proper team building and development of an organization. Some of the employees that a company ends up hiring may lack in some areas as compared to the excelling performers in the organization. In order to make sure this gap between the employees is overcome so that the organization can prosper, developmental coaching is necessary.

Carrying out the following steps before each of your developmental coaching sessions will make sure that the sessions move forward in a harmonious manner, being beneficial for both the coach as well as the employees and promising great outcomes in the long run:

 4 Steps to Prepare for the Developmental Coaching Session

1. A message or email should be circulated a few days before the session to make sure all those who are required to participate can take time out for the sessions and plan accordingly to attend them.
2. A separate space such as a conference room or hall should be utilized for the coaching session so as to ensure that everyone can stay involved in deep discussions without being disturbed or causing any disturbance.
3. The timings for the sessions can also be allotted. Ideally, it would be suited if you hold the session in the afterhours so as to make sure no one’s work or productivity is compromised. In case none of the employees are available on the specified date in the afterhours, adjustments can be made of course.
4. Organizations should also most importantly teach and train the coaches beforehand as to exactly what sort of knowledge and information they are to provide in these sessions. This can be quite critical because if the senior employees themselves lack proper training or knowledge, the results can be rather disastrous.

 The Approach

The approach that the coach take for developing the lesser experienced employees is quite critical as it can make or break the success of the coaching sessions. The senior employees need to pay a considerable amount of attention at sticking to the right approach and adapting the most suitable method through which minimum time is consumed and the entire job is carried out efficiently. There needs to be a sense of partnership among the coaches and the employees. This would not only ensure that the employees feel comfortable attending the sessions but also feel motivated to engage in the process.

By Sophia Sanchez, SPHR

Principal Consultant – Develop For Results International

Author of  “The Development Alternative: Powerful Strategies for unparalleled Business Results”

For more information about our Human Resource Consulting services to include Management Development packages please visit DFRIHR.com