Latest research by the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) has suggested that only half of UK companies are coaching all of their staff.

Yet it has been shown for some time that coaching is highly effective at developing and increasing the performance of all employees at relatively low costs to implement.

The ILM report, “Creating a coaching culture”, reveals that 80% of companies use coaching as a staff development tool, with 95% reporting benefits to the organisation and 96% seeing benefits to the individual being coached.

But is coaching being used to its full extent? Probably not, since the report also revealed that it is mainly being targeted at management (85% of companies), with only 52% of the companies coaching non-management staff.

Penny de Valk, Chief Executive of the Institute of Leadership & Management, says:
“Coaching is the single most cost-effective development investment an organisation can make as this learning naturally spreads across the workplace. Yet our research suggests that a limited segment of the working population receives coaching. Companies direct it at the lucky few rather than embedding a coaching culture across an organisation.”

The survey of learning and development managers also found most companies (83%) use their own managers to provide coaching for staff, while 65% hire them in. A third (34%) of organisations offer no training or support to their internal coaches, they are selected on the grounds that they are line managers (53%), senior staff members (46%) or a member of the HR department (43%).

De Valk continued: “At present many coaches inside organisations are chosen informally. Managers expressing an interest in coaching are encouraged to “have a go”, but coaching is a specialist management skill, you do not become a great coach just by reading a book, it calls for training, experience, ongoing development and support. A willing attitude or natural aptitude is not enough.

“Encouraging staff to coach others without suitable support may well restrict the scope and effectiveness of the coaching provided. Without appropriate training for internal coaches and a support structure, organisations will struggle to apply a consistent approach to ensure they obtain the maximum benefit.”

The survey questioned participants about the value of coaching to their staff, the majority of respondents (95%) said coaching was a direct benefit to their organisations: with 96% seeing benefits to the individual.