What is the true value in dedicating time to make my managers actively coach their employees? Any studies on ROI?
Answers
Hi Tim,
I believe your question ultimately relates to employee satisfaction and engagement. There have been many studies on this topic. Here is a recent Hewitt study that provides some data on linking employee engagement ot financial performance. I've also included another link from the Harvard Business Review that is a bit dated, but also gives some good insight on this topic.
Engagement Linked to Financial Performance
Hewitt's analysis suggests a clear link between employee engagement levels and financial performance. Organizations with high levels of engagement (where 65 percent or more of employees are engaged) outperformed the total stock market index even in volatile economic conditions. During 2009, total shareholder return for these companies was 19 percent higher than the average total shareholder return. Conversely, companies with low engagement (where less than 40 percent of employees are engaged) had a total shareholder return that was 44 percent lower than the average.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100729005472/en/Hewitt-Analysis-Shows-Steady-Decline-Global-Employee
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/3648.html
I hope you find this information useful.
You ask if managers coaching employees is worthwhile. This suggests that it might not be worthwhile for them to stop doing their more important
Unless you've hired fully trained workers who naturally perform at their peak, there's going to be a need to "coach" them. The alternative seems to be accepting "whatever" employees do or fire them if they don't perform automatically at the level you require. And, the cost of replacing workers probably justifies trying to improve the performance of those you already employ.
Plus, training isn't only to bring up the bad performers to the baseline, but can also improve productivity in even the best performer.
Is coaching justified by ROI? Perhaps managers managing subordinate is a "loss leader" that employers must bear as a cost of business. Although I'm not aware of any studies, it seems to me that coaching is one of the primary functions for managers.