Leaders who participate in coaching programs are more likely to stay longer at their organization. But the retention benefits of coaching don’t end there. Read on to learn how–and why–to design a coaching program that helps leaders retain and engage their teams.
The high cost of turnover
According to Gallup, the expense of replacing an individual employee can range from one-half to two times their annual salary. These costs escalate as you go up the corporate ladder, too — C-Suite replacements can cost 213% of an executive’s annual salary. These figures capture both the direct costs associated with hiring replacements, but also the productivity loss incurred during the recruitment and onboarding process of new hires.
However, the total cost of turnover to an organization is even greater. When one employee leaves, it can have a ripple effect on the morale, engagement, and retention of their direct reports or colleagues.
It’s no wonder then that retaining employees is a top priority for organizations. It’s even more urgent given recent findings that nearly half of employees are considering leaving their current job–the highest rate in three years.
To get ahead of employee turnover and its costs, HR teams should focus on retaining and developing leaders first.
The outsize impact of poor leadership on employee retention
Common reasons employees leave their jobs include a lack of growth opportunities, inflexible work arrangements, and burnout. However, one of the most impactful reasons that employees give for leaving their job is poor leadership.
Managers have a huge impact on an employee’s experience at work, from setting goals, communicating strategy, aiding their professional development, and fostering their well-being. A good manager can motivate their teams to perform at a high level and inspire a sense of commitment, while a bad manager has the power to discourage and alienate employees. A Gallup study found that 70% of the variance in team engagement is determined by the manager.
But what are the traits that make an effective manager, and how can coaching accelerate new and emerging leaders’ acquisition of essential managerial skills?
Turning new managers into retention champions with coaching
The transition from individual contributor to people manager requires brand new skills sets for emerging leaders. Often, the skills and attributes that helped a leader excel on their own don’t apply to fostering engagement on a team. Here are some of the key skills that coaching can help leaders develop to retain their teams:
Self-awareness
When managers lack self-awareness, it can lead to inconsistency, overconfidence, and an inability to see others’ perspectives that undermines the confidence of their employees. Coaching offers objective feedback that can help emerging leaders understand their strengths, weaknesses, emotions, and impact on others.
Communication
Employees rely on honest, clear communication with their manager in order to do their job effectively. Strong managers know how to communicate expectations, deliver constructive feedback, and listen in a way that empowers employees to make informed decisions and motivates them to work toward goals. Coaches give leaders actionable strategies to communicate better with their employees, and adjust their communication style to accommodate each individual on their team.
Developing others
Employees at every level value opportunities to learn and grow within their organization. It’s incumbent upon managers to learn about each of their employee’s goals, strengths, and areas for improvement so they can offer relevant learning opportunities.
Getting started with leadership coaching to retain employees
If you’re ready to commit to leadership coaching to boost your retention rates, here are some initial steps to get the most value out of your program:
- Plan your leader cohorts: Identify the group of leaders you want to develop, and figure out if individual or group coaching makes the most sense.
- Identify key sought-after capabilities: Determine the key capabilities you want leaders to develop to better engage with and retain their teams — specific skills like communication, emotional intelligence, developing others, etc.
- Assess leaders’ capabilities: Conduct baseline assessments of leaders’ current capabilities, including 360-degree reviews of their performance.
- Engage a partner: Select a coaching partner that can best meet your needs.
- Pair coaches with leaders: Match coaches with leaders based on relevant criteria like industry experience, coaching approach, personal career bio, time zone, and native language.
- Prepare the coach and leader: Brief coaches to align individual development goals with the company’s larger employee retention objectives. Be sure the leader knows what to expect from the coaching arrangement and is prepared to participate fully.
- Track results: Track program participation and progress to ensure that leaders are engaging and working toward their goals.
- Assess the program: Assess leaders’ capabilities following the coaching engagement, comparing outcomes to the baseline assessment.
In addition to retention benefits, leadership coaching can deliver long-term advantages to both employees and the organization as a whole — including improved employee skills, stronger team camaraderie, and a more engaged culture.
Now is the time to get ahead of retention tension by exploring leadership coaching options for your business. Learn more about ExecOnline’s Coaching solutions today.