Open any major newspaper or switch on the news channels on your TV, and you will find news about large companies laying off employees. From Google to Amazon and Meta, about 206500 employees worldwide have lost their jobs.
And we are just halfway through 2023.
The mass layoffs, ever-burgeoning inflation, and an overall feeling of impending doom have left employees disengaged and de-motivated. They feel insecure about their jobs and are overworked and anxious. According to a survey, 60% of employees worldwide cited job as the biggest factor impacting their mental health. Another survey reveals that 54% of Gen Z and young millennial employees don’t feel actively engaged or closely connected with their coworkers and managers. This can lead to employee disengagement and impact the organization’s bottom line if ignored. Organizations would also fail to attract top talent and struggle to thrive due to a lack of innovation.
While the typical reaction to a downturn is cutting down expenses, building a culture of coaching within the organization is a better way to improve employee engagement.
How Can a Culture of Coaching Improve Team Engagement?
A coaching culture is an approach leaders adopt to coach the team and guide them toward career and personal growth. A sustainable and well-entrenched coaching culture will help organizations to perform consistently, innovate, and generate more ROI. They thrive and stay resilient at all times. But more importantly, it creates a safe space for employees to learn and grow. \
Let’s look at how it can improve team engagement.
1. Future-Proofs Employees
Organizations must be prepared for all predictable and unpredictable changes in an ever-changing business landscape. The advent of advanced technologies like AI and automation has impacted existing jobs and pushed employees to extreme stress due to uncertainty. Organizations can consider upskilling the existing workforce to motivate employees.
With peer support and training, organizations can identify employee skills gaps and provide personalized training to upskill and future-proof them. This will help employees stay relevant in an ever-changing work environment. It will also boost their morale and engagement as they feel secure and better prepared to face new workplace challenges.
2. Improves Employees’ Performance
Employees feel disengaged and lost when there’s no clear guidance from managers, which impacts their performance. A culture of coaching can change that. Here, managers don the mantle of a mentor to understand the employee’s aspirations and plans and identify their skill gaps, strengths, and weaknesses. They use those insights to recommend areas of improvement for employees, set a goal for their growth, and monitor their progress. They also conduct regular coaching sessions to provide feedback and listen to the employee’s concerns.
Managers can play a significant role in elevating employee performance by recognizing the employee’s potential and supporting their growth. The tailored coaching approach also boosts the employee’s morale.
3. Shows Interest in Employees’ Growth
Pays and perks are no longer the only things that attract or retain talent. According to a LinkedIn survey, 94% of employees stay longer in organizations if they invest in their careers. Employees feel valued when organizations take an interest in their careers and invest in their growth.
A coaching culture ensures managers actively engage in the employee’s career and success. They take time to understand the employees’ career goals and provide them with resources and support to achieve them. They monitor the employees’ progress and help them overcome hurdles they might face in achieving their goals. By taking an active interest in employees’ growth, managers can boost their morale during the downturn and retain them.
4. Builds Resilience and Agility
Resilience and agility are crucial for organizations to thrive during an economic downturn. That resiliency and agility percolate from the top to bottom rungs of the organization. Employees must be prepared and adaptable to changes. A tailored coaching initiative helps in building an agile and resilient workforce. It will help leaders to prepare employees for all kinds of circumstances and even create a culture of resiliency.
5. Leads Them Toward Growth
Organizations grow when employees grow. Career pathing and training help employees grow and organizations retain top talent during a downturn. As such, managers can create a personalized career path for employees to grow and advance to the next level.
Besides providing a clear career direction, managers also offer resources and tools to help employees succeed in their careers. This improves employee motivation and encourages them to stay engaged at work. It also has a direct impact on business outcomes.
How Can Managers Transform into Coaches?
To become a successful coach, a manager must have good communication skills, emotional intelligence, and the ability to listen and empathize with employees. They must be adaptable to all challenges and changes in the workplace and industry and adept at handling difficult situations.
Managers who are also coaches have a highly motivated and engaged team and can bring positive results to the business. All managers do not possess the soft skills to manage challenges and employees efficiently. These skills have to be developed and nurtured. This can be done through leadership coaching. Leadership coaching prepares managers to sharpen their soft skills, become more empathetic and compassionate, and steer teams to growth and success during crises.
Numly’s ImpactCoach Certification Program is one such leadership coaching program that can help managers transform into successful coaches.
Introducing Numly’s ImpactCoach Certification Program 2023
Numly’s ImpactCoach Certification Program 2023 is a series of live, virtual sessions to help managers gain skills to enhance productivity, increase employee engagement, and foster a coaching culture within the organization.
These sessions will be conducted bi-weekly for 90 minutes under the expert guidance of ICF Certified Expert Coaches, followed by 30-minute monthly group coaching sessions. On signing up, managers will get the following:
- A certification and a LinkedIn badge that demonstrates the manager’s leadership and professional growth
- Exclusive access to the Numly platform that will enable them to apply their coaching skills within teams
- Real-world skills that can be used in the organisation
There are limited seats available, so apply before it’s too late!
Contact us to learn more about this program and how you can guide your organization and team through this economic downturn with coaching.
