Are you curious about nurturing a culture of innovation and growth and creating a workplace where your people thrive? We outline research trends on workplace engagement that show the factors that have a significant impact alongside practical guidance on how building a coaching culture can drive employee engagement.
Gallup State of the Workplace 2023 and Employee thriving
Best-run organisations have 72% employee engagement.
Low engagement costs the global economy $8.8 trillion.
Leaders account for 70% of variation in employee engagement.
51% of employees are looking for new opportunities.
1. Are your employees engaged and thriving?
Look around. What do you notice? Is your workplace where your people are engaged, burnt out, or quietly planning their escape? Decentralising decision-making provides growth for people and also enables organisational agility. The rise of hybrid working means, more than ever, that employees need to be empowered to make decisions without fear of reprisal. This relies on leaders communicating vision and direction and trusting their people.
2. Are your leaders thriving?
Leaders make a difference. Leadership skills are honed over time with reflection and a growth mindset. Negative consequences can occur when leaders are unaware of their leadership styles and how to use them effectively. Many leaders have been faced with the challenge of leading remote teams, sometimes without support.
The 2022 Microsoft Work Trends report surveyed 31,000 people in 31 countries and found that 53% of employees were working hybrid, and 52% of Gen Z and Millennials were considering changing employers this year.
54% of managers felt leadership had no clue about the expectations of employees.
74% felt that they, as managers, lacked resources or influence to support their teams.
53% of employees prioritised health and wellbeing over work.
positive culture (46%), mental health/wellbeing benefits (42%), and a sense of purpose/meaning (40%) were top factors important to employees.
3. Can a coaching culture help employees thrive?
Building a coaching culture is one approach organisations are taking to improve their workplaces. Research shows that coaching is a powerful professional and personal development method for all employees.
Coaching is partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. The process of coaching often unlocks previously untapped sources of imagination, productivity and leadership. International Coaching Federation (ICF)
Coaching can contribute to creating and sustaining a workplace culture that prioritises employee well-being and growth as a competitive advantage. Creating a coaching culture can develop managers as coaches and enable employees to thrive rather than survive at work.
4. Why is coaching on the rise?
Henley Business School 2021 Future Trends in Coaching highlighted the rise of coaching online due to COVID-19. Coaching online is one factor contributing to the democratisation of coaching beyond leadership teams. Combined with the increased focus on employee wellbeing (well, by some companies, not all), there has been an increasing growth in the number of companies providing online OnDemand coaching for all levels of an organisation.
5. Coaching Culture, starting with your why.
The impact of a coaching culture within the workplace can be multi-faceted. The call to action needs to be clear and convincing. Below are questions for you to reflect on.
What are the problems are you trying to solve, and for whom?
What is your culture on paper versus in reality?
What is the culture that you want?
What is the coaching culture that you want?
What do you believe will occur due to a coaching culture?
Find out more in our article - Empower Employees with a Coaching Culture.