Executive Coaching and Employee Retention
By Jane Raitt

Retention of high impact leaders and performers is on the minds of corporations more so today than ever. That said, corporations offer all kinds of incentives to keep employees from leaving and going elsewhere.  Day Care Centers, Work Out Centers, Market basket benefits, services like cleaning and beauty salons on site and even pet insurance are some of the ways that organizations attract employees. But attracting high performers is one thing; retaining them is another. The “cosmetics” eventually pale and what is left is the everyday organizational structure and values of the organization. If these are not in place or expressed effectively, the probability of employee retention is low.

How an organization treats its leaders and its commitment to the individual is key to employee retention. A Gallop Poll study revealed that although the sizzle—those life balance incentives cited earlier-are nice to have’s, what really matters is how managers manage and executives lead. The people challenge has and always will be the mainstay to employee satisfaction.

In Comes Executive and Corporate Coaching: 

It is not unusual for high impact performers to be hired for their technical and functional abilities. At some point, however, these very same performers are elevated to managerial roles. Other skills come into play at this developmental juncture:  communicating change, dialoguing effectively with subordinates, encouraging creativity, running successful productive teams. Oh, yes, the organization can hire a high priced consulting firm to do management training or send these up and coming leaders to a costly five day seminar to learn about management philosophies and general managerial skills.  But each may be at a different developmental stage or have some personal challenges that need to be addressed. Every case is different.

Corporate and Leadership Coaching is the solution. Coaching is a highly individualized process designed to help individuals and organizations achieve positive, measurable results in a finite timeframe. It provides the tools, the support and the structure for setting better goals and achieving those goals more efficiently. It starts with the individual and his/her agenda for change. It assists in helping the manager identify obstacles to success, make better decisions and stay on track. For the organization, coaching helps individuals align themselves with organizational values and goals so that the individual’s contributions coincide with the organization’s visions and strategies for success. 

Economically, it makes sense to retain high impact performers. Besides the obvious costs of losing a knowledge base when an employee leaves, there is the training and steep learning curve for new hires who, it is estimated, function at only 60% effectiveness within the first three months.  It makes even better sense for an organization to invest in the growth and development of its individual leaders and managers.  By investing in executive coaching, not only is the organization confirming the value of the individual performer, but equally it is investing in the retention of key competent employees by making it an attractive place to work.