WHY HIRE A COACH/CONSULTANT?
A recent survey of clients that hire Consultants for their business/individual needs listed the following top 10 reasons:
1. A consultant is hired for his or her expertise
2. A consultant is hired to identify problems. Sometimes employees are too close to a problem inside an organization to identify it.
3. A consultant is hired to supplement the staff. Sometimes a business discovers that it can save thousands of dollars a week by hiring consultants when they are needed, rather than hiring full-time employees. Businesses realize they save additional money by not having to pay benefits for consultants they hire. Even though a consultant’s fees are generally higher than an employee’s salary, over the long haul, it simply makes good economic sense to hire a consultant.
4. A consultant is hired to act as a catalyst. Let’s face it. No one likes change, especially corporate America. But sometimes change is needed, and a consultant may be brought in to “get the ball rolling.” In other words, the consultant can do things without worrying about the corporate culture, employee morale or other issues that get in the way when an organization is trying to institute change.
5. A consultant is hired to provide much-needed objectivity. Who else is more qualified to identify a problem than a consultant? A good consultant provides an objective, fresh viewpoint–without worrying about what people in the organization might think about the results and how they were achieved.
6. A consultant is hired to teach. A consultant may be asked to teach employees any number of different skills.
7. A consultant is hired to do the “dirty work.” Let’s face it: No one wants to be the person who has to make cuts in the staff or to eliminate an entire division.
8. A consultant is hired to bring new life to an organization. At one time or another, most businesses need someone to administer “first aid” to get things rolling again.
9. A consultant is hired to create a new business. Consultants work with the business owner and help conceive the business and develop the game plan.
10. A consultant is hired to influence other people. Consultants work with vendors, marketers and other business leaders to move the client’s business interests forward. Many business owners like growing their business and may not want to do the face-to-face networking needed to get their business presence out there.
Industry Statistics
Two top reasons continually sited by executives and top performers on why they hire a coach:
- To get significant results, solve a pressing problem, and/or take advantage of a major opportunity
- To rely on a trusted advisor who is credible, engaging and has a depth of business and executive knowledge to help you overcome “blind spots” in your game so you can increase your level of performance in key strategic roles
Industry statistics and a general overview of the value and ROI Executive Coaching offers:
- The Manchester survey of 140 companies shows nine in 10 executives believe coaching to be worth their time and dollars. The average return was more than $5 for each $1 spent.” – The Denver Post
- In one study conducted by MetrixGlobal LLC, companies including Booz Allen Hamilton received an average return of $7.90 for every $1 invested in executive coaching.
- A recent study of Executive Coaching in a Fortune 500 firm by MetrixGlobal reported a 529% return on investment and significant intangible benefits to the business.
- A survey by Manchester Inc. of 100 executives found that coaching provided an average return on investment of almost six times the cost of the coaching.
- An internal report of the Personnel Management Association showed that when training is combined with coaching, individuals increase their productivity by an average of 86% compared to 22% with training alone.
- A Hay Group study of Fortune 500 companies found that 21 to 40% utilize Executive Coaching. Coaching was used as standard leadership development for elite executives and talented up-and-comers.
- A 2001 study on the impact of executive coaching by Manchester Inc. showed an average ROI of 5.7 times the initial investment or a return of more than $100,000, according to executives who estimated the monetary value of the results achieved through coaching*.
Among the benefits to the companies that provided coaching:
- Productivity (reported by 53% of executives)
- Quality (48%)
- Organizational strength (48%)
- Customer service (39%)
- Reducing customer complaints (34%)
- Retaining executives who received coaching (32%)
- Cost reductions (23%)
- Bottom-line profitability (22%)
Among the benefits to executives who received coaching were improved:
• Working relationships with direct reports (reported by 77% of executives)
- Working relationships with immediate supervisors (71%)
- Teamwork (67%)
- Working relationships with peers (63%)
- Job satisfaction (61%)
- Conflict reduction (52%)
- Organizational commitment (44%)
- Working relationships with clients (37%)
*The respondents were executives from large (mostly FORTUNE 1,000) companies who had participated in either “change oriented” coaching, aimed at improving certain behaviors or skills, or “growth oriented” coaching, designed to sharpen overall job performance. The programs lasted from six months to a year. About 60% of the executives were ages 40-49, a prime age bracket for career retooling. Half held positions of vice president or higher and a third earned $200,000 or more per year.
