At Right Management, we often hear outplacement candidates say, “I wish I had these coaching conversations while I was in my last role rather than just now as I'm leaving.” Having taken the time to think about what they want from their career and what they can offer an employer, the individual understands the value of coaching, not just during major career transitions but also as a part of ongoing conversations throughout their work life. Executive candidates, in particular, find the coaching experience invaluable. For many, it transforms how they lead future teams, emphasizing the development of their organization’s most important asset—its people.
It’s no wonder outplacement candidates find coaching so valuable. When we ask individuals about their Right Management coaching experience, 99% express satisfaction with their career coach, and 95% consider coaching their most important success enabler. Coaching meetings provide much-needed spaces for individuals to share their concerns and career aspirations and explore development opportunities and meaningful career pathways. Sadly, participating in an outplacement program may be an individual’s only experience with a career coach.
With 67% of individuals wanting to grow, develop and advance in their careers, employers shouldn’t wait for layoffs and organizational transformations to offer career coaching and internal development opportunities. Since a lack of talent and career development is the most common reason for quitting a job, employers should act now to develop their people from within.
Below, we discuss the benefits of coaching for individuals and why organizations shouldn’t reserve career coaching services just for outplacement.
Right Management’s State of Careers report, “Money Can’t Buy You Loyalty,” shows that today’s leaders are out of touch with their employees' needs. Leaders overestimate the value of more benefits and higher salaries in maintaining employee satisfaction, enhancing overall engagement and boosting retention. Our data-driven research reveals that employees want more from their careers than increased pay and additional perks. To remain loyal and engaged, today’s workforce wants a good organizational fit and a personalized career journey, leading toward self-optimization. For most employees, this career journey must include career and talent development opportunities.
The problem is that organizations often do a bad job of leading employees through their journey. There are often too few talent development opportunities, and managers often lack the training to guide employee journeys. This is why a world-class partner specializing in career coaching and talent development is so vital. With expert coaches and cutting-edge thought leadership, organizations will develop a winning talent management strategy, resulting in happy, loyal and highly engaged workers. This way, organizations will gain a competitive advantage in the market.
In sum, career coaching is not just for outplacement; it’s also an important aspect of any talent management strategy. Therefore, employees’ first encounter with a career coach shouldn’t be during organizational transitions. Rather, career coaching should be an integral part of their career journey.