It’s taken a lot to convince senior managers at United Utilities that part-time in-house coaches can be as effective as full-time external ones, but the results are speaking for themselves.
Setting up a new internal coaching system was a leap of faith for directors and a step into the unknown for project managers at United Utilities. But the initial struggle to get senior-level employees on board is paying off, as the firm is already reaping benefits.
This year is very much one of change for United Utilities, which owns and operates water and electricity networks in north-west England, as it gears up to work under a new regulatory framework. The creation of a pool of 65 internal coaches, mostly from HR staff and line managers at all levels, under the “Ucan coach” banner did not occur specifically to prepare for the change. But it was built into a change management programme called “Ucan” that had been in place since 2001 to develop leadership and teamworking skills, explains Roger Williams, HR project manager at the firm.
As such, the coaches have been helping employees to cope with the transition. Williams says some senior managers were initially suspicious that the internal coaches would not be as effective as the external coaches whom they were accustomed to dealing with. “To an extent, the attitude towards coaching was: ‘Isn’t that only for underperformers?’ But I think we are over that now, and a lot of the people who undergo coaching are people who came along and asked for it,” he says. “A lot of those are high-flyers who are also on leadership and management development programmes.”
The idea behind the programme lay in the belief that the benefits of coaching need not be limited to senior executives. Williams stresses that the programme is only one part of United Utilities’ leadership development plan, but it has begun to complement other parts in unexpected ways. For example, organisers found that modules from the coaching training course, such as the one on active listening, could be applied directly to its “Leadership of change” programme, which was working through issues relating to the new regulatory framework.
To allay senior managers’ fears about the effectiveness of in-house coaching, the project organisers ran a rigorous training programme for the internal volunteers in partnership with external coach training provider Sheppard Moscow. “We’ve been trying to reassure people that the bar we have set our coaches to jump in terms of skills and training requirements is just as high as for those outside,” Williams says.
The first step in training was for volunteers to attend a one-day development centre to assess their abilities and interest in coaching. Successful candidates attended a five-day programme that combined the teaching of specialist skills and practical experience. Before gaining any accreditation, all candidates had to undergo two supervised days and elicit positive feedback from their clients.
“The supervision days give them a chance to talk through issues with people from outside the business who were already experienced coaches. In addition to the supervision days, we expect each of our coaches to have their own coach. So you have to practice what you preach,” Williams says. It soon became clear that, while a lot of thought had gone into the training, much more would be needed when it came to matching coaches with clients. The initial system gave clients three coaches to choose from, but proved unpopular because people felt uncomfortable rejecting two of the three on offer. Now the coaches are allocated to clients as and when they become available, although attempts are made to match the skills and interests of the coaches to the issues that their clients may have. If, for example, people have been recently promoted and are not sure about how to work with their new team, efforts would be made to find a coach with a similar background. But, as Williams says: “It’s about knowing what questions to ask and what coaching models could help the client, and we don’t expect our line managers to have this in-depth expertise.”
Taking advantage of another benefit of coaches that they’re not part of the client’s line management and haven’t got an axe to grind added one more logistical challenge. At first, the project organisers took pains to ensure that coaches and clients came from different areas of the business. But Williams says that this level of separation was found to be unnecessary so long as the coach was not part of the same line as the client.
The coaches have found that the clients themselves have been keen to learn some of their coaching skills so they can use them on their own teams. “We are getting a skills transfer that we hadn’t anticipated,” Williams says. For the coaches, too, performing new roles that have taken them to new parts of the business has proved a fruitful source of learning and of cross-fertilisation of ideas throughout the company, although confidentiality issues mean they cannot always take advantage of the information they learn in their second job.
Although Williams acknowledges that it takes part-time coaches longer to build up experience, he is confident that the ongoing training programme helps to compensate. Besides, they were never meant to be a replacement for external coaches, he says. United Utilities is considering how to maintain continuous professional development for coaches and examining whether it is necessary to graft on extra training for them in specialist areas such as psychometrics. No decision has yet been taken on this. The project’s remaining issue faces many internal coaching schemes in an era where HR departments are constantly seeking ways to measure their contribution to the bottom line: how to evaluate the return on investment.
By its very nature, coaching is likely to secure long-term and fairly intangible results. There are many good stories to tell as a result of the project, although many cannot be told because of confidentiality issues. But Williams says: “The people management skills of an organisation’s leaders will be critical to the high performance of its business in the future. What we’re looking for is the ability to encourage our people to give that extra discretionary effort. People will be willing to do that only if they’re managed effectively.”
Williams says that support from the highest level of the company has been vital to the project’s success. “We needed the board to make that leap of faith and make the resources available first to do it,” he says. “That sort of backing is absolutely critical to get an internal coaching programme off the ground.”
Learning points
Roger Williams’ tips for getting the most from internal coaching:
- Obtain investment and endorsement from senior executives to ensure high visibility.
- Position coaching as a tool to support the organisation’s objectives.
- Choose the right training providers and build an effective partnership with them.
- Understand your organisational culture and anticipate questions and problems.
- Understand coaching is not there to “fix” people.
- Choose the most committed people to be trained as coaches.
- Understand how coaching can contribute to the business’s performance.
- Communicate the benefits of coaching – United Utilities would do more of this if it could turn the clock back.
Employer profile
Formed in 1996 from the merger of north-west England’s water and electricity companies, United Utilities is the UK’s largest operator of water and wastewater networks, employing 17,000 people. It is preparing to work under a reviewed regulatory framework governing the electricity and water sections of the business.
Coaching Programme
- Aims: to build a pool of internal coaches to support employees’ development, following on from a management change programme that has been operational since 2001 to develop leadership and teamworking.
- Format: volunteers – mainly line managers and HR managers – attend a one-day development centre to assess their abilities and interest in coaching. Successful candidates then attend five days of training, which are split between coaching practice and the input of specialist skills and expertise. Before gaining internal accreditation, coaches need to undergo two supervised days and demonstrate positive client feedback.
- Key achievements: good ideas and skills such as active listening are being transferred across the company.
Coaching techniques are helping individuals and teams to cope with change better.