The coaching industry has seen substantial growth over the past few years, reflecting its increasing importance in personal and professional development. After experiencing coaching for yourself it may feel like a no-brainer investment, but what’s its weight in numbers? Tangibly, how can coaching help individuals and organisations? Is coaching really effective? Let’s dive into and explore what research tells us about the benefits of coaching, the key statistics and the expanding influence of coaching.
Contents
The Rise of Coaching Practitioners
Overview of the Coaching Industry
The global coaching industry has experienced remarkable growth in recent years. However, accurate data on the size of the industry and its market value is a little tricky to locate and varies widely depending on source.
According to the International Coach Federation (ICF) Global Coaching Study 2020, the coaching market value reached approximately $2.85bn USD in 2019. They define this as active coaches’ average annual revenue from coaching. While the latest ICF Global Coaching Study reports an annual coaching revenue of $4.56bn USD in 2022.
Regionally, North America and Western Europe lead revenue generation. In 2019, they accounted for 45.5% and 32.2% of the global coaching market, respectively.
And, per year, the ICF estimates more than $2bn USD is invested in workplace coaching worldwide.
The Rise of Coaching Practitioners
The number of coaches is also on the rise - perhaps suggesting something about demand. It's also considered the main factor driving the increase in the coaching industry’s total annual revenue.
The ICF Global Coaching Study estimates that in 2022 the number of certified coaches reached 109,200 worldwide. Which they report grew in all regions and globally by 54% since their estimations in 2019.
There's also been growth in business coaching.
According to the ICF’s study, there has been a steady growth in coaches identifying business coaching as their main speciality; moving from 62% in 2015, 65% in 2019 to 67% in 2022.
Under this business coaching umbrella, leadership coaching tops the charts – it was the main area most frequently (34%) mentioned by coaches in 2022, followed by executive coaching (17%). And more than half (56%) said their clients are mostly managers or executives, again increasing since 2019 (52%).
Our coaches have extensive training and accreditations and are members of coaching associations, such as the International Coach Federation (ICF) and the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC). However, be aware that coaching is unregulated so always check qualifications.
Coaching Effectiveness
The growing coaching industry stimulates an increasing scientific interest in its benefits and effectiveness.
For more than a decade, multiple meta-analyses (a gold-standard in reviewing and combining the statistical results of existing research studies) have consistently found that workplace coaching produces positive outcomes.
Most recently, a 2023 meta-analysis confirmed again that, overall, coaching is effective. These results align with previous meta-analyses that have reported similar findings and concluded that:
“coaching is an effective workplace intervention”
(Canon-Bowers et al., 2023, p.9).
Coaching Benefits
But what does this actually mean? Let's break down some of the key benefits research has uncovered.
Another meta-analysis (Theeboom, 2013) found that, specifically, coaching had significant positive effects on;
performance and skills
wellbeing
coping
work attitudes
and goal-directed self-regulation.
Coaching Statistics
Organisation Coaching Culture Statistics
Organisations with strong coaching cultures enable environments which promote employee wellbeing and thriving. Organisations with a strong coaching culture see a +52% increase in belonging, +30% increase in authenticity and +27% increase in work/life balance compared to those without a coaching culture.
Employee Coaching Statistics
One of the most significant benefits of coaching is its impact on performance. In fact, this is the most likely reason why organisations invest in coaching, according to a 2007 Coaching Counts report. And it appears organisations in the study were right to do so - 96% surveyed reported to have seen improvements in individual performance since coaching was introduced.
Results from another meta-analysis supports this and indicates that executive coaching generally leads to a moderate-to-large improvement in coachees’ skill and/or performance ratings.
BetterUp sees this too. They report that during change and uncertainty, organisations with a strong coaching culture have a +12% increase in job performance compared to organisations with no coaching culture.
Leadership Coaching Statistics
According to the Coaching Counts study, the second most popular reason why organisations invest in coaching is to improve leadership or management effectiveness. And, again, the returns on their investments are favourable. They found that 92% of organisations reported improvements in leadership and management effectiveness. And within these improvements, 45% and 39% saw significant or major improvements, respectively.
In a study by Parker-Wilkins (2006), after experiencing executive coaching 82% of respondents reported that coaching helped them develop leadership behaviour. While around four in ten (41%) said it helped them in building teams and more than a third (36%) in developing staff.
Respondents also reported their satisfaction with coaching:
86% rated coaching as “very effective”
95% are doing things differently as a result of coaching
95% would recommend coaching to other staff at their organisation.
For those in leadership positions, coaching can be a game-changer. A 2014 study showed that leadership coaching increased leaders' confidence in navigating their roles and improved their trust in direct reports. They also found that the improved trust in their direct reports was related to reduced turnover intentions.
Business Coaching Statistics
Business coaching is a partnership between a trained coach and a business owner, designed to unlock potential and support entrepreneurs and business owners in building and growing their businesses and their leadership.
How impactful is business coaching?
61% of coaching clients reported that coaching improved their business management skills. (Institute of Coaching 2009)
Sales Coaching Statistics
Coaches help client-facing teams improve their soft skills in areas like relationship building so they can become trusted partners.
Does coaching increase sales? Yes, it does. According to the Harvard Business Review, sales coaching can enhance the performance of a company's middle 60% of sales representatives. Research by the Sales Executive Council demonstrated that no other training investment came as close as coaching does in driving sales performance. Great coaching can lead to a performance boost of up to 19%, while moderate coaching can improve 6-8% within half of the sales team. (HBR)
Career Coaching Statistics
Career coaching can help individuals start, restart, or pivot their careers or businesses. The ICF 2009 report found;
61% of coachees report that coaching helped with work/life balance.
75% of coachees report improved relationships, work performance, and communication skills due to coaching.
Coaching Return on Investment (ROI)
All the scientific research and anecdotal evidence highlighting its considerable benefits suggests that coaching provides a substantial ROI. However, ROI for coaching can be a tricky nut to crack and various measurements with different metrics have been attempted. BetterUp’s approach is one tangible way.
BetterUp’s 2023 Insights Report reveals that organisations who have a strong coaching culture see a higher revenue growth versus those without one.
They found;
+27% revenue growth YoY
+87% net profit margin
+225% revenue growth (5 year average)
compared to organisations without a coaching culture.
Summing Up
The coaching industry is poised for continued growth, driven by its proven benefits and increasing demand across various sectors. As organisations and individuals continue to recognise the value of coaching, its role in enhancing personal and professional development will only become more significant. Whether through business, leadership, or career coaching, the coaching industry offers valuable tools for driving positive change within the broader organisation and at the individual level.
➡️ Want a head start?
Check out our coaching services to begin reaping some of these rewards. These include coaching for organisations, which includes leadership coaching for first-time managers, middle managers, senior leaders, and women leaders; business coaching for entrepreneurs; and career coaching for individuals.
Sources
Cannon-Bowers, J. A., Bowers, C. A., Carlson, C. E., Doherty, S. L., Evans, J., & Hall, J. (2023). Workplace coaching: a meta-analysis and recommendations for advancing the science of coaching. Frontiers in psychology, 14, 1204166. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1204166
Ladegard, G. and Gjerde, S. (2014), “Leadership coaching, leader role-efficacy, and trust in subordinates. A mixed methods study assessing leadership coaching as a leadership development tool”, The Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 25 No. 4, pp. 631-646, doi: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2014.02.002.
Parker‐Wilkins, V. (2006), "Business impact of executive coaching: demonstrating monetary value", Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 38 No. 3, pp. 122-127. https://doi.org/10.1108/00197850610659373
Theeboom, T., Beersma, B., & van Vianen, A. E. M. (2013). Does coaching work? A meta-analysis on the effects of coaching on individual level outcomes in an organizational context. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 9(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2013.837499