What Team Members Want from Workplace Coaching

How Workplace Coaching Boosts Engagement and Helps Your Organization Grow

Team members of all ages and generations want to develop their skills and grow their careers. However, the way that skill transfer occurs and performance is evaluated is changing. Many employees, especially those in younger generations such as Millennials, don’t want just annual reviews. They desire coaching, feedback, and training on an on-going basis.  In our national survey on Gen Z expectations, 89% said that they want a job that will help them develop new skills and learn new things.  This requires that organizations and leaders focus on frequent, continuous developmental opportunities though on-going dialogue and coaching.

Team members don’t want to remain stagnant because they realize the need to be adaptable and flexible to succeed in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world.  Eighty-eight percent of Gen Zs rated the ability to adapt to change as the number one factor needed to progress in their careers. This indicates realism around what is needed to succeed in a fast-paced business environment.  Employees want to be constantly improving their skills, growing, and working towards the next level of their careers.

Millennials, specifically, would rather work in an environment where they receive frequent feedback on their work. This doesn’t mean that leaders need to sit down and conduct a formal review with each team member on a weekly basis, but it does require a shift away from pre-determined formal conversations to more frequent, informal dialogue around areas of strength and development.

By effectively coaching your team, you can help them achieve their career goals while strengthening the organization overall.

Focus on Ongoing Coaching

Ongoing coaching can be done in simple ways, such as on-the-spot recognition of reaching a goal or helping someone see how performing a task a certain way makes things easier for the rest of the team. Coaching can also be done in a virtual environment through quick instant messaging chats and regularly touching base via technology to provide real time feedback. Once an organization creates a culture of ongoing coaching and feedback, everyone in the organization benefits from more open dialogue and an environment that encourages development.

Take A Positive Approach

Leaders should stress that they are providing feedback because they want their teams to be more engaged and more productive, not because they want to point out mistakes or make employees feel bad about their performance. Even if a leader is correcting an error or delivering “negative” feedback, it can still be done in an uplifting way through the use of  positive language, such as “growth opportunity, development, areas for improvement, enhancements for higher performance, and maximizing and upgrading skills”.  It is also important to use collaborative language such as “we and us” so that employees feel that you are equally committed to their growth and development.

Whenever possible, explain why improvements need to be made and how performing a role in a specific way will contribute to the overall success of the team / department / organization. Instead of saying “you need to follow these steps in this order to achieve X” explain to your team member why a certain approach leads to greater success. Describe why something is done (as opposed to saying “that’s the way we do it here”), answer questions and be open to suggestions. This approach will encourage greater buy-in and increase engagement.

Be Open

Coaching is often a two-way street. Instead of saying “This is how I would like you to do this,” be open and listen to ideas that your team members may have on how processes and tasks can be improved. You don’t necessarily need to act on all suggestions, but truly listening and considering ideas can be very helpful in improving performance and engagement. Being open to new ideas demonstrates that the entire organization, including its leaders, are open to growth and improvement.

Encourage Learning From Others

Learning and growth happens through multiple touch points. If you encourage team members to work with cross-functional colleagues, share their experiences, and help each other grow, the entire organization will benefit. This approach allows for more frequent learning opportunities (which younger generations crave) without overwhelming leaders. Plus, it can help foster strong connections between team members, which strengthens support-seeking and encouragement during stressful and challenging times.

Coaching Can Lead to Greater Retention

While employees used to stay with one organization for their entire careers, this is no longer the expectation. The average employee will work for several different organizations in their lifetime. However, if leaders are engaged and actively working to help employees improve their skills and leverage their strengths to grow their careers, team members will be more likely to stay with an organization longer and be more engaged while they are there.

Even if an employee leaves an organization after being coached and developed, leaders shouldn’t assume that the time and effort invested was “wasted.” It’s likely this employee was more engaged when they were a part of your team and therefore contributed significant value to your team’s success.

In addition, if leaders create a positive environment that provides frequent opportunities for growth, this will improve the organization’s reputation and employer brand. Millennials and Gen Zs are very likely to share their work experiences (especially online) and if an organization is seen as a good place to work, this will help attract new talent and continue to build upon your strong employer brand.

Giselle Kovary

As president and co-founder of n-gen People Performance Inc., Giselle is dedicated to building strategies and programs that target, motivate and engage a multigenerational workforce. She is a sought after resource to industry leaders, having worked with 18 of the top Fortune 500 companies. Over 60,000 people globally have experienced an n-gen workshop or presentation. She has devoted more than fifteen years to researching the impact that generational differences have on organizational performance. Giselle has co-authored two books: Loyalty Unplugged: How to Get, Keep & Grow All Four Generations and Upgrade Now: 9 Advanced Leadership Skills. She has a Master’s degree in communication studies from the University of Windsor.