Return on Investment

We propose that organisations can evaluate coaching programmes as if they were capital investments. By starting to analyse your coaching programmes as if they were capital investments - using techniques like ROI – powerful cases can be presented to leverage further investments for additional performance.

Measuring the Benefits

The benefits of coaching include the executive reactions, the amount of learning that has been achieved; and the extent to which behaviour has changed.

However, the financial benefits come from assessing how these lead to improved performance – traditionally the hardest coaching outcome to forecast or measure. Because of the subjective nature of this process, the results of many L&D programmes aren’t converted into monetary units. Yet, this conversion is an essential step in ROI calculations in which monetary benefits are compared with costs.

ROI Impact Study

The purpose of an Impact Study is to demonstrate that the coaching had both a positive benefit and financial impact on individuals who participated in the programme as well as the organisation as a whole. The ROI Impact Study not only assesses the impact of the current programme, it also informs future Leadership Development programmes to meet specific business needs.

The ROI methodology used is a rational and logical approach based on almost 20 years of development and improvement. Measuring ROI is a topic that receives much debate: for some it is characterised as flawed and inappropriate whilst for others it is the only way that true accountability can take place for development programmes. Measuring the ROI of development programmes is becoming a common discussion topic for both measuring effectiveness and tailoring future events to deliver further improved results.

A framework, based on the best practice work of the ROI Institute, covers the 5 levels for measuring the success of the programme, providing hard evidence for the value of the programme. The key intangible benefits are also recorded:

  1. Reaction & planned action
    • Coaching Evaluations
  2. Learning
    • Progress made to Goals
  3. Application
    • Feedahead® - what are they doing differently
  4. Business impact
    • Collect and record relevant benefits and costs
  5. Return on investment calculation

Case Studies

Ascentia has two published case studies on ROI published in the International Journal Of Evidence Based Coaching And Mentoring Vol. 3, No. 1, Spring 2005.
Summaries of the above two studies plus a further one are given below.

The Ascentia Briefing 1:
Home Office - Case Study Team Manager Coaching

Executive Summary

Individual coaching of a Regional Drug Strategy manager took place over a six-month period through a mix of face-to-face and telephone based coaching. The impact of the coaching in productivity increases alone led to a Return on Investment of some 2500%. The manager and team felt more confident, operated with greater clarity, felt less stressed even though experiencing very challenging periods of change and exceeded the Central Home Office Drug Strategy Directorate requirements.

The Ascentia Briefing 2:
Leicester Case Study Feedback Group Coaching – Can it make a Difference?

Executive Summary

Group Coaching of a selection of Team Leaders took place over a 4-month period using a mix of initial presentation, one-to-one sessions and full day group coaching events. The coaching impact in productivity increases alone led to a Return on Investment (ROI) of some 200% to 600%. The managers felt more confident and resourceful, more focused, less stressed and better able to manage time. Those managers who did a significant amount of “overtime” were able to reduce those hours by between 4-15 hrs per week hence achieving a better work-life balance. By the end of the coaching, the managers were using new behaviours on average 40% of the time. All managers reported being able to focus on more of the strategic priorities of the Council leading to additional potential ROI. The coaching intervention was rated as excellent.

The Ascentia Briefing 3:
Leicester Case Study Feedback Group Coaching – Continuing the Difference?

Executive Summary

Leicester City Council re-engaged Ascentia to run a second Group Coaching programme following the success of an initial programme started in 2003. Group Coaching of five Team Leaders took place over a four-month period using a mix of initial presentation, one-to-one sessions, full day group coaching events and telephone based coaching.

Productivity increases alone led to an average ROI of 797%. The managers felt more positive and confident, having greater clarity around expectations of their teams and working in a more organised and productive fashion. The coaching was highly rated.

All managers reported they were more effective and were managing their teams to be more effective. Some managers also reduced "over-time". By the completion of the programme, the managers were using the new behaviours between 30% to 70% of the time. Several managers reported benefiting from a greater strategic focus leading to additional potential ROI.

Back to the top

Ascentia Corporate Training