employer toolkit a guide to coaching and mentoring

Transcription

1 employer toolkit a guide to coaching and mentoring

2 Introduction These toolkits offer basic knowledge and simple-to-follow guidance on human capital management (HCM) issues relevant to the finance professional. Developed by ACCA, each toolkit provides impartial guidance specifically designed for employers of finance professionals and includes: introductory-level knowledge on the subject matter brief case study for illustration checklist and troubleshooting section suggestions for further research. Use the toolkits when developing new or improving existing HCM practices for finance professionals, or when beginning a benchmarking process against best practice. There is no need to read each toolkit from start to finish the sections are written to be used on a stand-alone basis when required. Each toolkit can be distributed electronically within your organisation download them as PDFs at: Improve your coaching and mentoring This mini-toolkit provides all you need to start developing a coaching and mentoring programme or enhance an existing one: step-by-step guidance on coaching and mentoring finance professionals a checklist to begin a benchmarking process against best practice an example case study to help you build the case for change and gain buy-in a handy troubleshooting section. The actions you will be able to take as a result of what you learn are aimed at encouraging the best from your people and will have a direct impact on your bottom line. employer_toolkits PAGE

3 Table of contents Managing coaching and mentoring Who uses coaching? Who uses mentoring? The benefits of coaching Benefits for the line manager Benefits for the employee The benefits of mentoring Benefits for the line manager Benefits for the employee Benefits for the mentor Benefits to the organisation of coaching and mentoring The basic skills of coaching and mentoring How to make coaching and mentoring work in your organisation How the coaching relationship develops Identifying needs Devising coaching sessions Providing feedback Letting go How the mentoring relationship develops Building rapport Setting goals Making progress Winding up Reviewing the coaching relationship Reviewing the mentoring relationship Does it work? Example case study: GlaxoSmithKline Have you got what you need? Basic guidance checklist Troubleshooting Common problems and suggested solutions Next steps ACCA services Suggested further reading Useful websites PAGE

4 Managing coaching and mentoring Coaching and mentoring are two distinct but related workplace-based methods of retaining and developing talent. And, in an employment market where skilled finance professionals are in short supply, employers increasingly promote the existence and quality of their coaching and/or mentoring programmes as highly effective attraction tools. The primary differences between coaching and mentoring are as follows. Coaching: focuses primarily on performance can be relatively short-term (sometimes as little as a few hours, occasionally a few months) can be carried out between line manager and staff member. Mentoring: tends to be much more holistic places more emphasis on career development may involve a longer-term relationship is often conducted outside the reporting line (with the employee s relationship with his or her line manager being a common topic of conversation). Traditional coaching: involves assigning a task to a learner, observing them perform the task, giving them feedback and discussing how they will apply the feedback in their next practice has a learning conversation that is largely driven by the coach. Sponsorship mentoring: assumes that the mentor is someone more experienced and more influential than the employee, who will use their influence on the employee s behalf. Developmental mentoring and developmental coaching: start from the premise that the coach or mentor is there to help the learner work things out and do things for himself or herself. Most organisations choose to adopt developmental coaching and developmental mentoring when they design structured programmes. Who uses coaching? Coaching is one of the most popular forms of people development. In fact, many finance managers engage in coaching of some description almost every day or week without formally recognising it as coaching. Coaching is used to help staff: acquire specific knowledge or skills they need for their job make significant improvements in performance for one or more aspects of their job gain access to shared knowledge that the coach might otherwise (unwittingly) hoard develop the habit of self-development. Who uses mentoring? Mentoring is used to: induct trainees many trainees expect some form of mentoring, even if on an informal, unstructured basis (in fact, the largest graduate employers actually strive to offer the most comprehensive mentoring programmes) help break down barriers between people and speed up integration between processes, eg when finance and non-finance teams work together, or in the immediate aftermath of a merger or acquisition. PAGE

5 Managing coaching and mentoring Mentoring and Corporate Social Responsibility Small and large organisations alike are increasingly engaging in employer-supported volunteer schemes to boost their CSR credentials and raise their local profile; this often involves encouraging employees to act as mentors to young or disadvantaged people or community groups. The benefits of coaching Benefits for the line manager Coaching: gives the manager the opportunity to see how the employee responds to real-life problems and challenges has minimal risk the employee will be supervised enables the employee to perform more tasks or take on greater responsibility frees line managers to focus on more pressing concerns gives people opportunities to learn, which they generally enjoy, particularly in the workplace coaching can therefore increase job satisfaction, creating greater loyalty and motivation. Benefits for the employee Coaching: enables acquisition of new skills and responsibilities and so adds variety and job satisfaction will build confidence in a variety of tasks allows those who want (and are able) to assume responsibility for certain tasks that other colleagues will be happy to surrender gives the employee the chance to demonstrate skills and aptitudes to someone who can influence his or her career progression. The benefits of mentoring Benefits for the line manager Mentoring: improves performance from a more motivated employee allows new knowledge and resources to come into the team gives shared responsibility for developing the employee. Benefits for the employee Mentoring: enhances confidence from setting, working towards and achieving ambitious goals, with greater sense of self-worth provides a new source of guidance and different perspectives Key learning points Coaching focuses on short-term performance and the acquisition of practical, job-related skills, as well as instilling greater self-reliance. Coaching relationships are usually between line manager and staff member. Mentoring focuses on longer-term development, career management and people issues (such as the employee s relationship with the line manager). Mentoring relationships are often conducted outside the reporting line. PAGE

6 Managing coaching and mentoring helps with problem-solving and handling difficult situations provides visibility and networking opportunities at higher levels allows insights into management thinking and organisational politics. Benefits to the mentor Mentoring: refreshes skills and expertise, providing a renewed focus on their own development helps the mentor see issues from more than one perspective (so that better decisions are made) gives insights into relationships with the mentor s own team helps the mentor to recognise and manage barriers to achievement. Benefits to the organisation of coaching and mentoring Benefits include: better recruitment, retention and development of staff improved workforce motivation reinforcement of organisational culture release of potential improvement in productivity communication across boundaries facilitation of a learning culture tacit sharing of knowledge. The basic skills of mentoring and coaching Developmental coaching and developmental mentoring require a number of common skills, including the ability to: ask good, insight-provoking questions use silence allowing time for the employee to think hold back on giving advice (urging the employee to work answers out without help at least to start with) challenge assumptions communicate clearly help the employee to articulate their own thoughts help the employee decide what they want to do and to plan how to do it. Mentors need to be able to help others develop effective networks, while coaches need observation skills and the ability to give constructive feedback. All these skills are useful in managerial roles, regardless of coaching or mentoring responsibilities. How to make coaching and mentoring work in your organisation Define your reasons for implementing coaching and mentoring what benefits do you anticipate for the business and for the employees, as well as for the coaches and mentors? Identify the employees you wish to be coached and mentored. Identify appropriate managers for coaching and mentoring roles look for those who exhibit the skills listed above, are willing to take on those roles (consider whether extra training will be required) and who will make a good match with the employees selected for coaching or mentoring. Explain the aims of the coaching and/or mentoring programme and what your expectations are in terms of output and results (these may be more easily measured for coaching; results of mentoring may be less tangible and rely on informed judgement and intuition). PAGE

7 Managing coaching and mentoring Designate times for when coaching and mentoring will take place and ensure these are adhered to. Ask for regular feedback from all parties, including those being coached and mentored. Appoint a coaching and mentoring coordinator; ensure the coordinator is conversant with the concepts of coaching and mentoring and understands your aims and ideal outcomes. How the coaching relationship develops Identifying needs Define skills in need of improvement or acquisition in order to perform a job competently. Determine skills needed for career advancement and/or to reach minimum performance targets. Check previous performance appraisals for specific training promised was it delivered? Devising coaching sessions Allocate time to suit both coach (line manager) and employee ideally after the month-end rush. Build in time for correction of errors. Prepare real-life scenarios, including supporting documentation. Providing feedback Set expectations ensure the employee understands what is required of him/her. Do not look just for negative outcomes identify areas of good performance for praise. Provide constructive criticism if time and circumstances allow, ask the employee to repeat certain tasks, asking why he/she is approaching it in a particular way (as much as possible, let trainees find their own answers). Letting go Know when to delegate full responsibility to the employee. Ask for external feedback if relevant (eg from other managers). How the mentoring relationship develops Successful mentoring relationships tend to evolve through clear phases. Building rapport Trust the two participants should have confidence in each other. Focus give the process your full attention, active listening and constructive judgement. Empathy each party must respect the other s entitlement to a point of view and be understanding of their needs and motivations. Shared sense of purpose both sides must see value in the relationship and able to discuss negative thoughts about it. Goal of independence this requires an understanding that the relationship s success will almost certainly mean an end to it (at least on a formal basis). Setting goals Define what the employee wants and how that will be achieved (this requires the mentor to scrutinise the employee s motivation). Create a project plan, broken down into actions needed to reach achievable sub-goals. Set out a step-by-step bottom line of actual tasks that can be done now. If necessary, show and tell. PAGE

8 Managing coaching and mentoring Making progress A mentoring session will have gone well if: there was a clear agenda both parties focused on the issues maybe even achieving some unexpected insights both sides were stretched intellectually both were prepared to step outside their comfort zone there were clear action points or specific further thinking to do something useful was learned both were enthusiastic about meeting next time. Reviewing the coaching relationship It is important to review each coaching relationship at regular intervals to ensure effective operation this checklist will help you. 1. How long will coaching last and how will it fit into existing work schedules? 2. How will the success of coaching be measured? 3. What suggestions does the employee have that might have a positive impact on the coaching sessions (eg homework, reading, shadowing)? 4. What coaching sessions might be adapted for providing coaching to this trainee in other skills or to other people within the finance team? Session reality check for mentors ask yourself these questions. What percentage of the talking did I do? Who asked the questions? Who found the solutions? Who did the creative thinking? Where was the power? Winding up Mentoring relationships that drift apart are highly likely to be remembered negatively by both parties. In contrast, those where the winding-up is planned and the achievements recognised and celebrated are almost always seen positively. This encourages mentors to take on similar roles again with new mentees, while those who have been mentored well will be more open to the idea of taking on a mentoring role themselves in the future. Typically, successful mentoring relationships will evolve into more informal, ad hoc but rewarding, longlasting relationships, which can be highly beneficial and productive for the organisation. This is less likely where the mentoring relationship disbanded clumsily or was allowed to fade away. When reviewing the overall coaching programme you should consider the following questions. How should the right people be identified and selected for coaching roles? How will we add to (a) our coaches skill sets and (b) our pool of potential coaches? Reviewing the mentoring relationship It is important to review each mentoring relationship at regular intervals to ensure effective operation this checklist will help you. 1. When is the mentoring cycle due to end and how will this be managed? 2. What are we going to evaluate within the programme and how are we going to evaluate it? 3. What are the key outcomes in relation to the original objectives/success criteria? PAGE

9 Managing coaching and mentoring It is also important to review the overall mentoring programme; this checklist will help. 1. How will we acknowledge and share the successes of the programme? 2. How will mentors, employees and other stakeholders be encouraged to contribute to improving the scheme? 3. Based on the results so far, can we confidently recommend opening the scheme to more people? 4. How can we continue to build/retain a pool of mentors for new employees or when re-matching is necessary? 5. Have we found the best mentors? Will the scheme suffer from using mentors of lesser capability? 6. Are the business priorities still the same? Is the rationale for this type of scheme still valid? 7. To what extent can the management of the scheme be handed over to other parties? 8. What specific aspects of the programme s administration and support systems can be improved? 9. Can/should we make the next cycle less formal? 10. Should we opt for greater publicity this time? Can we use successful relationships as case studies? 11. What would make top management/line managers confident that extending mentoring will deliver significant benefits? PAGE

10 Does it work? Example case study: GlaxoSmithKline Before its merger with Glaxo, SmithKline Beecham introduced mentoring into several areas of operation, including Europe, the United States and India. The Finance function in Europe recognised a need to help employees gain a clearer sense of career direction and to become more visible many of them were highly competent, but went unnoticed. The programme was introduced through lunch sessions, where employees at all levels had an opportunity to understand what mentoring involved and to consider how they might participate. Some people came to these sessions expecting to become a mentor and came away having decided first to become an mentee; and vice versa. Those who elected to participate (eventually over 100 pairs) attended a half-day training session at which expectations were discussed. Each relationship was assessed on a balanced scorecard, as shown below. Corporate processes How often? (At least five meetings were expected; in actuality the average was four.) What phase of development had the relationships reached? Was there an increased level of networking? Relationship processes Do we trust each other/work together well? Are we dealing with real issues? Do we enjoy our meetings? Corporate outcomes/goals Employee is asking for development opportunities. Employee has a plan for raising their personal profile and has acted upon it. Relationship outcomes Has significant learning taken place? Has the employee gained in confidence in an area on which he or she wanted to work? The results showed that the majority of employees did indeed establish a self-development plan that included raising their profile and a quarter actively networked. In addition, 95% of the mentors felt they had grown through being a mentor and were able to apply the experience to their normal day-to-day roles. A substantial proportion of employees achieved promotion over a two-year period. There was also a significant impact on retention levels. In the first year of the scheme, the average turnover among the company s finance employees in Europe was 27.6%; among those involved in mentoring (as mentors or mentees), it was just 2%. The following year, the figures were 35% and 7.5% respectively. Simon Brown, the scheme coordinator, described seven criteria for the success of mentoring. 1. Making the business case In particular, link mentoring to the company s leadership development processes and to business priorities; and gain top management sponsorship from the start. 2. Clear terms Agree with line managers to support their staff members as mentees and clarify the roles of mentor and line manager. 3. Pool size and characteristics Ensure that the programme sponsors have a strong link to the audiences chosen; define the target group clearly; recognise and manage within geographical constraints; make sure there are enough mentors to meet the demand. PAGE 10

11 Does it work? 4. Agenda Give participants the skills to focus on leadership and competences/skills rather than technical knowledge; and provide a wide agenda from personal and career growth to solve problems in working relationships. 5. Tracking Measure both processes and outcomes at 3, 6 and 12 months, with the minimum of bureaucracy. 6. Selection There must be voluntary participation, not limited to an elite, with each employee exercising final choice. Guide matches to ensure that mentor and mentee are not from the same department and that there is enough diversity to promote substantial learning. 7. Planning There must be at least half a day of awareness training initially, with block-booking of meetings to avoid diary drift and an emphasis on mentee-led agendas for the meetings. PAGE 11

12 Have you got what you need? Basic guidance checklist Assess your team s or organisation s management of coaching and mentoring against the good practice criteria below. Review the checklist and determine where resources can be most effectively allocated for enhancements to current practice. For each criterion, tick the first column, if currently in place; tick and date the second column, if planned but not yet implemented; or tick the last column, if there are no plans to implement. To avoid subjectivity, also ask a colleague or colleagues to complete the checklist. Criteria Currently Planned No Plans? in place? for? (Tick for yes) (Give date) (Tick for yes) The organisation uses developmental coaching and/or developmental mentoring Coaching is used for a variety of applications, eg: graduate induction diversity management M&A integration community engagement other Mentoring is used for a variety of applications, eg: job coaching performance management knowledge sharing encouraging self-development People understand the benefits of coaching and mentoring to mentors, mentees, line managers and the organisation itself The programme(s) follow good practice guidelines: define & communicate business case ensure top-level sponsorship plan & agree key processes before launch appoint a coordinator to manage processes The coaching/mentoring relationship is managed, with focus on: building rapport setting goals monitoring progress supporting progress of the relationship reviewing the relationship PAGE 12

13 Troubleshooting Common problems and suggested solutions These tables outline common problems related to the management of coaching and mentoring and suggest remedial actions. COACHING Problem Possible solutions Line managers have been trained to coach, but do not do it Training alone will not change ingrained behaviours. There is always something else more urgent for line managers to do. Useful responses to this situation include: giving employees the right to request coaching linking managers compensation to the quality of coaching they provide providing all coaches with a more experienced coach, who can build their confidence and competence in the role. Performance improvements do not stick The positive changes in behaviour that coaching brings can be undermined over time, because the work and interpersonal systems, of which they are a part, stay much the same. As part of coaching supervision, it is important to consider how the learners can bring about change in their environment as well as in themselves. HR has an important role in supporting these cultural changes. Refresher coaching sessions at, say, six-month intervals have also proved to be helpful. There are no effective role models for coaching at the top It is not possible to build a coaching culture without top management role models. A starting point, if there are no strong role models for doing coaching, is to establish role models for being coached, either by an external professional executive coach, or in an upward coaching relationship with a more junior manager. MENTORING Problem Possible solutions We do not have sufficient support from top management Is the business rationale for mentoring clearly made? Have you mobilised champions at other levels to promote the value of effective mentoring? Common reasons for lack of support from the top include previous experience of mentoring that did not work (so how will this programme be different?) and lack of clarity about how mentoring links with and supports business priorities. People are not volunteering as mentors for the programmes Common reasons for mentors to hold back include: lack of confidence in their own skills (solutions arrange short taster sessions to help them become more comfortable with the role; and ensure that there is continuing, effective support for mentors) time pressures simply feeling too busy (solutions include getting experienced mentors to talk publicly about the value they gain from the opportunity to reflect that mentoring provides). PAGE 13

14 Troubleshooting perceptions that the organisation will not value their efforts in developing people outside the line (solutions include persuading top management to participate as role models and linking developmental activity to management compensation. Some companies recognise and reward mentors by inviting them to bi-annual conversations with the CEO, on people development issues, integrating them into the creation of people strategies.) Lack of enthusiasm from employees about being mentored The most common reasons for lack of employee enthusiasm are: people already have a strong network of developmental support, so do not need a mentor (in which case, you will need to revisit the rationale for the programme) nervousness about one-to-ones with unfamiliar senior colleagues (arrange to meet on a more informal basis to start; ensure the mentor demonstrates the stake he/she has in the success of the relationship) mentoring is associated with remedial action for poor performers. Simply creating some high profile mentoring relationships with high performers can overcome this perception rapidly. We do not know how effective the programme is Measurement is an important part of programme management and needs to be designed in from the start, to encompass both soft data (eg how well relationships are working) and hard data (the specific benefits for participants) and return on investment (for the organisation). People are not meeting sufficiently often Key questions to ask here include these. Do mentor and employee have the skills to establish sufficiently broad and challenging goals? (The narrower the initial goals, the more likely the relationship is to run out of steam.) Are people genuinely content with the matching process? Mentees are worried about taking too much of their mentors time. (If so, mentors may need help in reassuring the mentee of the value they place on the relationship.) Line managers are getting in the way by placing demands on the mentee s time (check that the line manager has bought into the concept of mentoring re-emphasise all-round benefits). Mentees line managers are not supportive Line managers can feel threatened by a relationship where one of the main topics of conversation will be the mentee s relationship with them! It helps to provide a detailed briefing to line managers, emphasising the benefits to them and their team as a whole, and to involve some line managers in the programme design. Mentors will not find time to be trained The main reasons for this are either that they think they know it all already, or that they genuinely do not have time. If they do not have time to train, then they will not have time to carry out their role effectively. The International Standards for Mentoring Programmes in Employment are adamant that no one should be appointed as a mentor without at least basic training. Many companies offer senior managers and experienced professionals Advanced Mentoring Skills workshops, accepting that many managers may well have existing skills. Almost invariably, these workshops end up with a significant amount of back-fill to address the gaps in participants knowledge and basic mentoring skills. PAGE 14

15 Next steps ACCA services ACCA offers a range of resources for finance professionals and managers of finance professionals. For more information, please visit the Employer section of the ACCA website. services/ Suggested further reading Carter, Stephen (1994), An Essential Guide to Mentoring (Northants: Institute of Management). Clutterbuck, David (1985), Everyone Needs a Mentor (CIPD). Clutterbuck, David (1998), Learning Alliances (Institute of Personnel & Development). Clutterbuck, David & Megginson, David (1995), Mentoring in Action (Kogan Page) Clutterbuck, David, & Megginson, David (1999), Mentoring Executives & Directors (Butterworth Heinemann). Clutterbuck, David & Klasen, Nadine (2001), Implementing Mentoring Schemes (Butterworth Heinemann). Hay, Julie (1995), Transformational Mentoring (McGraw Hill). MacGregor, Linda (1999), Mentoring: The Australian Experience (EMC Conference). Parsloe, Eric (1992), Coaching, Mentoring and Assessing (Kogan Page). Websites Produced in association with Clutterbuck Associates. Clutterbuck Associates is the world s leading provider of mentoring and coaching programme support. More than 25 years of research by Professor David Clutterbuck ensures that CA-designed training programmes are robust, culturally adaptable and leading edge. PAGE 15

16 ACCA 29 Lincoln s Inn Fields London WC2A 3EE tel: +44 (0) PAGE 16