Coaching in the workplace as a way of developing employees has been around for a number of years now, although the research into its effectiveness is still an emerging area of study.  So it is helpful to see the latest meta-analysis, by Jones, Woods and Guillaume*.

The analysis covers some 17 different studies, all work-based, covering over 2000 staff, mainly in management positions. 

Most encouragingly, Jones and colleagues found consistent evidence that coaching works and there are benefits in affect (eg improvements in self-efficacy or stress reduction), skill development and individual results.  It is thus, a powerful tool in the kit-bag of any HR professional charged with the responsibility of developing the staff in his/her organisation. In particular, it enables training and development to be tailored to each individual.

However, when looking in greater detail at what actually makes coaching work most effectively, their survey has yielded some surprising results:

• Perhaps most surprisingly, they found that effects of coaching were stronger when a coach internal to the organisation was deployed, rather than using an external professional.  Although the researchers stress some caution about this result (due to the low number of studies that used internal coaches), this is a finding that should not be ignored and has implications for the role of the external coach.
• The number of sessions and/or the length of the coaching contract did not affect results, although there may be some influence from the exact nature of the coaching conversation (ie more complex problems may require more time to work through, but there is also a case for a one-off coaching intervention).
• Face-to-face coaching and blended approaches seem to work equally well.  This has direct implications for driving arguments about the return on investment of coaching compared with other development activities.
• The use of multi-source feedback (eg 360 degree reports) in a coaching context actually had a weaker effect than coaching alone.  This is quite a surprising result and it is a common practice that multi-session coaching relationships often start with some kind of discussion around the results of such a report.  The researchers call for more investigation into this area, but postulate that the nature of the feedback given may direct the coachee's attention away from the session itself, thus reducing its effectiveness.

*  The full paper provides a very insightful analysis and is well worth a read if you are a HR professional or working as an external coach.  Currently you can purchase it online from Wiley (www.wileyonlinelibrary.com) although it is also due to be published in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology (2015).  It is called:

Jones RJ, Woods SA and Guillaume YRF (2015)  The effectiveness of workplace coaching:  A meta-analysis of learning and performance outcomes from coaching.