Coaching for Performance Improvement

Business Challenge

To maximize the impact of coaching, managers need to help each employee focus on developing those capabilities that will
contribute most to both individual and organizational success. A critical part of this approach to coaching is working with
employees whose performance has fallen short of expectations.

Coaching in these situations can be unpleasant when there is a lack of agreement about the issue and its resolution - emotions
may run high, making progress, not to mention success, difficult. Managers sometimes avoid or give up in these situations,
hoping that the situation will work itself out. Employees, not acknowledging the issue, at least as presented by the manager,
continue doing what they have been doing, and the problem grows. Allowing such situations to simmer or handling them
ineffectively has a negative result on the individual, manager, and others, and can result in the expensive loss of an employee
who might otherwise have made a significant contribution to the organization.

Coaching for Performance Improvement

Coaching for Performance Improvement teaches managers the critical skills for coaching employees who are not meeting
expectations.

Key Content

Key content of Coaching for Performance Improvement includes:

• Reframing the Issue: Common mental models that make it more difficult for a manager to gain agreement with an
employee about the existence of and resolution to a performance problem. Introduction of more effective ways to think
about these situations.

• Performance Coaching Practices: Critical performance coaching practices that are especially effective in working with
an employee to resolve a performance issue: broadly framing the issue and engaging the employee.

• Hidden Performance Influences: Several key factors may influence an employee's performance, unbeknownst to the
manager.

• The Coaching Plan: Guidelines for creating an effective plan to help an employee make needed improvements.

• Developmental Feedback: The characteristics of effective feedback for performance issues.

• The Feedback Process: A framework that allows managers to provide developmental feedback effectively, by engaging
the employee.

• Handling Disagreement: A framework for handling disagreement in difficult feedback situations.

Target Audience

The Coaching for Performance Improvement leadership development program is ideal for all managers with responsibility for
coaching employees, from those newer to the task, to more experienced managers who need to update their skills.

Outcomes

By participating in Coaching for Performance Improvement, managers will be able to:

• Identify factors that influence an individuals failure to meet expectations (for example, environmental factors,
interpersonal issues, knowledge, skills, attitudes, and so on)

• Develop plans to handle performance improvement coaching situations productively

• Build agreement with an employee about the existence and specific nature of a performance gap

• Provide developmental feedback in a way that builds individual capability

Coaching for Performance Improvement typically includes 6.5 hours of classroom learning, with tools for on-the-job skill
application and reinforcement.

For More Information on Leadership Development

please call one of Forum's global offices or submit your information request here.

Setting Performance Objectives

Business Challenge

Establishing objectives that are clear, meaningful, and relevant to the employee and are seen as important to the
organization's success is a central responsibility, as well as a challenge, for today's managers.

Setting performance objectives used to be based on an implicit assumption of stability. A manager could set objectives at the
beginning of the year, manage people to meet those objectives during the year, and then evaluate their progress at the end of
the year.

Today, however, a manager's life is dominated by change in corporate direction, job requirements, technology, and customer
expectations. As a result, providing direction and setting performance objectives is more difficult than ever. At the same time,
employees who are clear about the objectives they are accountable for and who feel their work has purpose and value
demonstrate increased commitment and energy, and are motivated to go the extra mile to help the organization succeed.

Setting Performance Objectives

The Setting Performance Objectives leadership development program provides managers with crucial skills and useful
frameworks for ensuring the clarity and relevance of the objectives they set with their employees to ensure each employees
contribution to overall business results.

Key Content

Key content of Setting Performance Objectives includes:

• SMART Criteria: Guidelines for developing effective performance objectives.

• Making Objectives SMARTer: An assessment of current employee performance objectives to ensure the criteria are
applied.

• Communicating for Commitment: A framework for discussing, gaining clarity on, and building commitment to
performance objectives.

• Challenging Situations: Strategies and tactics for handling challenging situations that arise when communicating
performance objectives.

• Setting Objectives Simulation: A high-energy experiential exercise for practicing the skills and for assessing how
well managers set, communicate, and enable employees to achieve performance objectives.

Target Audience

Setting Performance Objectives is ideal for managers who want to improve their ability both to set and to communicate
performance objectives with individual employees from those newer to the task, to more experienced managers who need to
update their leadership skills in this area.

Outcomes

By participating in Setting Performance Objectives, managers will be able to:

• Apply a useful set of criteria to establish effective performance objectives

• Assess and improve current objectives against these criteria

• Apply a process for communicating and building commitment to performance objectives

 • Develop performance objectives with individual employees that provide them with clarity and focus

Setting Performance Objectives typically includes 4 hours of classroom learning, with tools for on-the-job skill application and
reinforcement.

Action 2: Feedback & Coaching

Overview

Why Give Feedback and Coach?

During the year, you are responsible for coaching and mentoring your employees to assist them in reaching their goals and achieving
optimal performance. Ongoing feedback and coaching are used to communicate about and correct performance deficiencies, to reinforce
appropriate behavior, to teach the employee new skills, to motivate high performance, and to mentor employees so they understand their
role in the University.

1. Benefits of Coaching
2. When to Coach
3. How to Be a Good Coach
4. Principles of Effective Coaching
5. Giving Effective Feedback
6. Tips for Giving Feedback
7. Forms & Tools

1. Benefits of Coaching

• Regular coaching will make your job as a supervisor/manager easier when employees build their skills and independence
• Coaching also increases productivity, the quality of work and the effectiveness of the work group
• Employees’ motivation and initiative is increased with effective coaching
• Creativity and innovation in problem solving increases with effective coaching
• Coaching can prevent problems from occurring

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2. When to Coach

Performance coaching is a continuous and continual process of providing help to your employees by analyzing their performance and
other job behaviors for the purpose of increasing their job effectiveness. It is an integral part of performance development.

Both informal day-to-day coaching and regular coaching sessions are recommended. These can be short update sessions to check on
progress, give feedback, and address problems that have arisen.

It is important, when coaching for improvement, to call the employee into your office or another private setting for the discussion. It is not
appropriate to correct or discipline an employee where others can hear or see the conversation. If you are reinforcing positive behavior,
however, doing it in a public setting may be appropriate and appreciated.

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3. How to be a Good Coach

A good coach:

• Is a catalyst for change, someone who sparks action in others

• Helps others understand expectations of their work and live up to those expectations
• Helps employees believe they can attain their goals
• Expects employees to direct the improvement of their own performance

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4. Principles of Effective Coaching

There are five key principles for effective coaching.

1. Maintain and Enhance Self-Esteem

Your employees need to feel respected and have a sense of self worth in order to be motivated, confident, innovative and committed.
Employees who feel valued are more willing to share responsibility, confront challenges, and adapt well to change. It will be your job as a
coach to provide useful responses that are empathic, supportive and exploratory.

2. Listen Actively and Respond with Concern

Listening is a powerful way to build trust and improve communication. To listen actively means to pay careful attention to what the
employee is saying. You can demonstrate that you are actively listening by being attentive and maintaining eye contact. You can show
understanding and empathy by paraphrasing or reflecting back what was expressed. This encourages your employees to share their
feelings and ideas with you.

3. Ask for Help and Encourage Involvement

Employees want to have a say in how they do their work. They want to be involved in decisions that affect them. Involvement increases
the chance that innovative ideas and solutions will surface. It is a sign of strength for a supervisor to ask employees for their suggestions
on how to solve a problem or improve performance.

4. Share Thoughts, Feelings, and Rationale

Employees want to know how you’re feeling about them in relation to their performance. By being open with them, you’ll encourage them
to trust you, to be open in return, and to accept responsibility for improving. By sharing the rationale for your decisions, you will help them
understand how their work contributes to the goals of the department/unit and the University as a whole.

5. Provide Support without Removing Responsibility

As a Supervisor/Manager of others, you are in a special position to provide support to your employees. This may include advising,
mentoring, providing resources, reassigning duties, and clearing roadblocks.

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5. Giving Effective Feedback

Providing feedback to employees about their performance is an important responsibility for all Supervisors/Managers and an integral part
of performance development.

Effective feedback is descriptive, not judgmental. It is focused on behavior, not personal characteristics or “attitude”. It is a collaborative
effort intended to help the employee.

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 6. Tips for Giving Feedback

1. Make your feedback specific and related to behavior

Ex.: “John, you have been 15 minutes late for the past three mornings. Please explain why.”

2. Consider your timing. Give feedback either before the event in the form of advice or immediately after as positive feedback

Ex.: (as advice) “Jane, I’d like to review the content of your speech with you before you make your presentation next week so you can do
a really good job.

Ex.: (as positive feedback) “Jane, you did an outstanding job in your presentation. The speech was well-researched and interesting.”

3. Give the feedback in calm and unemotional language

Ex.: “John, I’m sure your progress will be much faster now that you understand how to use the new machine.”

4. Check to make sure clear communication has occurred

Ex.: “John, do you understand the new protocol now? Can you explain it to me so that I’m sure you understand?”

5. Focus on behavior the employee can change

Ex.: “Samantha, we would appreciate you keeping the team informed about the status of the project.”

6. Use “I” statements rather than “you” statements

Ex.: “Samantha, when you play your radio in the work area, I lose my concentration. Would you mind turning it off during work hours?”

7. Define the impact on you, the team, the department, and the University

Ex.: “John, when you don’t get your report to me on time, I can’t get my report to my boss on time. This slows up decisions about
resources needed for next month.”

8. Solicit feedback rather than impose it

Ex.: “John, did you say you would like to learn how to handle your difficult coworkers more effectively? Here are some things that have
worked for me. How do you think you could incorporate some of these techniques?”