Technical advances, remote work, and geographical expansion are rapidly shaping and changing workplaces, and many companies are investing heavily in upskilling and reskilling their employees. Learning and Development (L&D) leaders must identify the right subject matter, format, and pace of learning for their employees, and be prepared to demonstrate the effectiveness of their offerings. It is important to build learning journeys that include a variety of modalities for employees with different roles and developmental requirements, including both training and coaching.
Professionally run training programs can generate real results for employees in terms of knowledge acquisition, skill-building, and shared, scalable group learning. With multicultural groups in particular, participants benefit greatly from hearing the perspectives and insights of others and building skills for bridging differences. Whether in person or virtual, group trainings frequently have an enduring impact. We hear statements from participants such as:
Experienced facilitators use a variety of techniques to ensure that key learnings “stick” and are applied in practical ways going forward. These include providing opportunities for advance preparation, carefully sequenced contents that participants can readily absorb, and a focus on follow-up action steps for each person. There are also well-tested ways to extend and intensify training outcomes, such as working with an accountability partner, receiving “nudges,” or reminders of possible next steps, self-paced e-learning, and periodic refresher training that reinforces prior learnings and adds new elements in an interactive format.
So how can training and coaching complement each other? Coaching is not for everybody. It requires a significant investment of time and resources, and is most often provided for current or emerging leaders. However, there has been increasing interest in coaching on the part of middle and even frontline managers as well, and group coaching methods are a more affordable option.
Beyond the proven value of training, there is compelling evidence that coaching significantly enhances training outcomes for employers. According to the IPEC Coaching Institute: “When employee training is combined with coaching, the average individual increases their productivity by an average of 86%. This is nearly four times the rate of just training alone.”
Here is a sample learning journey that includes both training and coaching:
Whether coaching is provided on its own or as a complement to training, it offers a number of distinctive advantages:
Coaching engagements generally involve the following set of steps, enabling a deeper dive into the challenges of each coachee as well as ongoing solution-oriented actions.
Although there is tremendous variety among both coaches and coachees, when the process goes well it generally has real professional and personal impact. Here’s one example from an expatriate leader based in Southeast Asia.
“After moving from the Netherlands to Kuala Lumpur, I really struggled at first. It was a difficult time for me both professionally and personally, and even my marriage was soon affected by the stress I was feeling at work. My coach helped me realize that my work situation was challenging because of my lack of cultural awareness and skills in working with local employees who were more group-oriented, indirect in their communication style, and risk-averse. Rather than blaming my issues on others, I adapted my leadership style by sponsoring more group activities, learning how to read indirect messages, and ensuring that risk mitigation was a regular part of our meeting process. These adjustments definitely made me feel much better connected with my local colleagues and lowered my stress level along the way. I went from being concerned that I was going to fail to staying on and doing quite well in that role—my team’s product launch turned out to be a big success.”
The most powerful coaching outcomes tend to emerge when every member of a leadership team is receiving coaching with a similar format. This can occur in a one-on-one context, where each person has access to a coach, or in a group coaching setting where several people meet together with the same coach at the same time. Leaders who see their peers making visible progress toward achieving their goals are often inspired to redouble their own efforts. Skillful coaches can help each leader understand the challenges they have in common with the rest of the team as well as areas where they are unique. This is especially important with diverse leadership teams whose members may have previously struggled with alignment issues and conflicts due to different culturally based work styles. When all the members of a leadership team are focused on their own objectives and aligned in their shared commitment to grow both professionally and personally, the enthusiasm is contagious and the collective progress has a clear impact on the business.
—
Learn more about our coaching and training solutions and contact us to learn how Aperian can help your organization grow.
