How to Create a Coaching Plan For Your Employees

A coaching plan is an effective way to encourage employees to become more skilled in their positions and can be implemented alongside the daily duties that the main position needs to fulfil.

And the results are noteworthy. It’s reported that over 63% of the businesses that offer coaching to their workers had a higher net income and sales development.

This article covers the benefits of a coaching plan, what to include in it, and the key benefits that will optimise your business operations and make your company more reputable in the process.

Let’s take a look!

What is a coaching plan?

A coaching plan is a career roadmap designed to assist both coaches and trainees in reaching their goals. In order to make it as beneficial as possible, it’s best to refine a well-structured plan that can also work with both schedules.

While coaching, like anything, can go wrong – a bad coaching experience can cause an employee to leave a company, and there are stats to indicate this just as much as with the pros – it is generally a great way to implement new skills that qualify you for bigger positions, and a terrific coaching experience can result in career advancement and a framework for your next career moves.

The benefits of a coaching Plan

The benefits of a coaching plan are countless, including: 

1. Focus

Firstly, it can provide clarity and focus by refining ultimate goals into manageable, achievable daily tasks which strive towards it. Having ultimate goals can be overwhelming and a great grey ocean. But breaking them down helps the professional to streamline their daily activities to get there.

2. Accountability

To excel, the secret ingredient is often to create outside pressures to push us forwards. Coaching achieves this by bestowing milestones, deadlines and actionable goals upon you. Falling short requires you to note them, adding to the accountability.

3. Motivation

By the same stroke, it is used for motivation and commitment. The measurable results are important in this, as they are instrumental in your development. All committed professionals progress, of course, but often they don’t take note of it. Measuring success comes with the bonus of good feelings from a job completed.

4. Engagement

Learning new skills will increase the employee’s engagement with your company, as they will be well-equipped to deal with issues of a higher level. This, in turn, leads to a higher employee retention rate, as you will be more greatly benefited by the company, and it by you.

5. Personal Awareness

It’s easy to be blindsided by our strengths, but a coach can make you more aware of your blind spots. Once aware, you can work towards improving them, making you an even stronger candidate in your industry. These are strengths that are marketable, at best, and in daily working life is a confidence booster that will help you to tackle future roles with a solid confidence.

What should be included in my coaching plan?

To implement or undertake a coaching plan it’s important to have structure. Before this comes the type of plan, as there are many variations from peer coaching, to executive coaching, to performance coaching. But whichever it is, it is important to universally follow these stipulations.

• Set clear goals

It’s vital to define clear, specific and achievable goals that you wish to achieve through coaching. While realistic, you can also make them challenging, and of course relevant to your ultimate goals.

• Evaluate your resources

So you’ve defined your goals. Now it’s time to look around you and identify the skills and resources available that will help you to achieve them.

• Define activities and strategies

Then comes the meat and bones of it: what activities to undertake to better achieve these goals. For many, one-on-one coaching sessions are optimal. Others are possible too though, such as group mentoring. Then there are tools such as worksheets, exercises, and the kind of targets to set, which will differ from person to person.

This is an area where your personal needs come into play. You need to define them and use this knowledge to craft the most beneficial coaching plan possible.

• Set a timeline

This one works both ways. Timelines are important for establishing how long it will take to achieve each progressive milestone. Make it realistic, leave room for daily hurdles, and most importantly, don’t stress if things change and you don’t make the deadline. There is always more time, and a timeline is there to exert progression, not stress. That said, feel free to set challenging goals as this will push you further!

• Allow for flexibility

It’s also good to realise the versatility of coaching. Ergo, you can shape it in any way that suits your goals. Communicate with your coach or trainee and ensure you’re getting the best out of it. Also, if you find that the structure agreed upon isn’t working, you can always rework it.

What’s next?

Remember to establish a routine system for check-ins and reviews. Regular coaching meetings are fundamental for development and for ensuring that you remain on the right track and in line with your biggest goals. Communicate your needs, goals, and establish a routine system for check-ins and review. You can schedule periodic meetings to assess progress, address those challenges, and make all necessary refinements to the strategy. 

And once again, remember to celebrate the successes! Having achieved them, their value will be multiplied if you allow yourself to have a few drinks, a holiday or a new toy. Setting these treats in place will make the progress an exciting prospect that you look forward to completing, adding to the motivation!

The verdict

Implementing and structuring a coaching plan is a great way to increase the productivity, morale, and progression of your company. It builds a foundation for future success and strengthens your team as a whole. Now, all you have to do is match each employee with the right coach, and away you go!

If you need more information about how to handle your career trajectory, then check out our further reading: 

Coaching and mentoring: what’s the difference?

Benefits of coaching and mentoring

The different types of coaching

Why all leaders need coaching and mentoring

How to set and achieve long-term career goals