The Importance Of Coaching In The Workplace

Coaching has taken the world by storm over the last few years, why? Because businesses and individuals have identified the need for change. The need for coaching has also been accelerated by the covid-19 pandemic.

Every organisation needs a motivated and engaged team to succeed, to reduce churn and to achieve their business goals.
The goal of every company is to have a productive and effective workforce, how can a coach help you achieve this?

A coach can be invaluable to helping businesses grow, helping them achieve their business goals and improving employee performance and productivity.

I have spoken to many HR teams and Learning & Development Specialists and their area for improvement is mainly on management, team leaders and emerging leaders.

Commonly small to medium sized businesses do a lot of internal promotion, which is great that they are investing in their own people and they know they can work towards moving up the ladder. The downside of this is many of these employees have never been in management, they are technically very good at what they do but they do not understand what it means to be a great leader.

This is where the coaching element comes in, coaching alone will not fix all your problems, a good training program works extremely well to compliment coaching for leaders, they can help managers understand empathy, how to manage their time, how to motivate others, how to lead by example and how to recognise their own strengths and weaknesses and have awareness of their behaviours in the workplace.

Coaches can help managers remove negative beliefs, steering away from a fixed mindset and shifting to a growth mindset, which will inspire them to achieve their goals and motivate their team to reach common goals.

Failure to correctly coach and train your management team can lead to micro management, disengaged staff, lack of motivation and morale within the team and an unproductive workforce which will cost you valuable time and money.

Businesses around the globe are implementing coaching as a key part of their learning and development strategy to increase productivity, collaboration, motivation and communication. Managers can be productive on their own but having a coach accelerates their beliefs and helps set goals and improve performance. Creating a behavioural change is not something that happens overnight, coaching is most effective over a period of 6-12 months, doing it consistently alongside leadership training will create a behavioural change.

“Coaching in organisation and leadership settings is also an invaluable tool for developing people across a wide range of needs. The benefits of coaching are many; 80% of people who receive coaching report increased self-confidence, and over 70% benefit from improved work performance, relationships, and more effective communication skills. 86% of companies report that they recouped their investment on coaching and more” (source: ICF 2009).

Research has proven coaching has helped employees feel more valued in the workplace, which creates loyalty and longevity in their employment with that company, it helps staff feel more confident in approaching management and feeling they can openly raise issues and collaboratively find solutions.

So why would you not invest in coaching? It is an efficient and effective way to increase revenue, a harmonious workplace and a motivated and engaged workforce!

Importance Of Effective Communication For International Students

Communication is part of everyday life, it is something everybody does, whether it be a smile as you walk past someone in the street, answering your phone, or talking to your colleagues or friends. There are different types of communication, including verbal, non-verbal, written, visual and listening, each has equal importance and significance to how you communicate with others, however today I am focusing on effective communication for international students. Effective communication and other personal skills are imperative for the learning experience of international students. How students communicate with peers, lecturers and build friendships in their new environment will pave the way for future success. Research suggests that learning and improving emotional and social skills can give students an edge when they move into the workforce. Arriving in a new country to embark on your studies is an exciting yet daunting feeling for international students. Many have English language skills, but as English is their second language it can be difficult to understand how to communicate effectively. The specific local nuances and the new culture also add to the challenge. Common breakdowns in communication come from a lack of confidence in their English ability, fear of pronouncing words wrong, misunderstanding social cues and cultural differences which can make conversations challenging. This article from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations highlights some good practices in assisting international students to integrate with Australian students and the wider community. https://internationaleducation.gov.au/Research/Publications/Documents/Good_Practice.pdf Source – Australian Government Society has evolved and people are turning to technology more as a means of information and guidance. Research from students who study here in Australia has found that international students are happy with the education provided, however, they have found the social aspects of living in a new country challenging. Investing in tools to help international students adapt and succeed is important for education providers, with competition between universities and colleges growing, attracting international students to your organization is as important to the student as it should be to the provider. International students inject $32 billion into Australia’s economy every year as well as supporting 130,000 Australian jobs. (Wikipedia, International Students in Australia, 33). GetMee has created a powerful new AI technology to help international students become more confident communicators and gain a better understanding of the culture in the chosen country of study by using pioneering AI technology to act as a personal communication coach and having the ability to access hundreds of coaching videos on various, relevant areas to improve their confidence and English ability. The coaching videos are a unique feature that is fun and engaging, enabling users to learn about country slang, culture, essential information to help settle in as a new arrival, small talk etc. To find out more about Getmee click here