And to continue the discussion started on Tuesday…

For large firms, coaching consultancy MetrixGlobal suggests seven critical steps for measuring ROI from a coaching engagement:

1. Set objectives for the coaching session that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time bound. Establish a benchmark for performance from existing appraisals and reviews.
2. Ensure that coaching objectives flow from overall project objectives and/or business objectives.
3. Communicate the methodology for measuring the monetary value of the coaching program before the program begins.
4. Identify the opportunity costs of the client’s time for participating in coaching.
5. Capture the monetary value of the coaching in tandem with the intangible value.
6. Validate the calculation with the managers being coached.
7. Communicate the results of the coaching program to key stakeholders in the organization.

Smaller firms, on the other hand, often cannot spend the time and effort to achieve the same level of measurement precision. In that case, there are several steps they can take to come up with quantifiable measures, if not quite ROI metrics. Among them are:

• 360-degree surveys
• Climate surveys within the organization
• Employee performance metrics
• Customer surveys