Coaching your employees is a factor why employees stay at the company longer. Entrepreneurs and managers might take this lightly, but coaching has a significant effect on the employees. A study involving participants from a Fortune 500 company showed that 77 percent of the respondents claimed that coaching had a massive impact on their productivity and overall satisfaction. In turn, when these two are gravely affected by employee coaching, this can also impact financial results, customer satisfaction, employee engagement, and quality. That being said, it’s essential to coach your employees to retain them. Here are six effective ways:
1. Set a goal with employees
The number one rule in mentoring or coaching employees is to always set a clear goal before starting. Knowing what the goals are and discussing them with your employees keeps you both on the same page about what you’re trying to accomplish. This will also give your employees a good direction on where they’re headed.
2. Determine strengths and weaknesses
A good manager will go the extra mile to get to know their employees on a career and growth-driven level. You don’t want to know about the superficial stuff. That stuff doesn’t matter. You want to dig deeper to know your employees’ likes, dislikes, struggles, what they’re into outside the office, and more.
In addition to that, determine what your employee’s strengths and weaknesses are. This way, you’ll know how to craft a system that works around these. A good system must always nurture your employee’s strengths and make weaknesses a learning curve to help them grow.
3. Listen to your employees
If you want to coach your employees, remember that it’s not a one-way street. It takes two to tango, as they say. And for both of you to grow and learn something from each other, you have to be all ears to what they have to say.
Encourage your employees to speak up and share their ideas. Don’t neglect crazy or bizarre ideas. Listening to your employees intently makes them feel welcomed and valued. When they feel that their opinions are respected, this will encourage them to give their best.
4. Give regular feedback
Regardless of how good you are when coaching your employees, they’ll never know how their progress is going if you’re not giving them feedback. Always encourage a culture of open communication or feedback. There are a lot of issues that arise from miscommunication. And when you have new employees, this is the last thing you want to happen.
Give regular feedback about how the employee is progressing. You can create a sheet with schedules for feedback sessions. This way, your employees can also prepare if they have some comments about your coaching methods.
5. Collaborate
Two heads are better than one. This adage rings true for any business organization. While some companies focus on individual success, working in teams is always a better option to propel the entire company forward.
When you coach your employees, try to avoid in-office competitions. Instill a culture of helping, sharing, and collaborating. Collaboration increases quality and productivity, which is a win-win for both the employees and the company, in general.
6. Celebrate small wins
Small achievements are still achievements. Whenever your employees reach a milestone in their journeys, then don’t neglect to celebrate small wins. This will motivate your employees and push them to do harder moving forward. Small wins can be as small as submitting their first successful report or handling their first customer over the phone.
When you coach your employees, the most important thing is never making them feel that they’re on this journey alone. You want to ensure that you’re there every step of the way without spoonfeeding them.
