Situation 

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Electoral Reform Services (ERS) supplies ballot and election services to around 1000 organisations each year. It is the world’s largest independent organisation of its kind, operating across Europe, Asia and the United States. The London branch of ERS has a workforce of around 100 people.

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ERS approached People Vision to provide coaching support for three employees, two in leadership roles and one in an operational role.

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People Vision engaged associate Grace Owen to work on the project. Grace is an experienced coach with a Diploma from the UK College of Life Coaching, an Associate Certified Credential with the International Coach Federation and an MSc in Learning and Development.
 

Challenge

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The key objective of the programme was to balance the individual needs of each coachee with those of their line manager and other ERS stakeholders.

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So in addition to helping each coachee to achieve their personal goals, People Vision were tasked to provide clear value for money, demonstrable change in the coachees’ working style and concrete plans for their future development.

Action

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Grace first met with Jane Trafford, the Human Resources Officer at ERS, to understand the views and needs of the Human Resources department, the coachees’ line managers and other ERS stakeholders. 

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She then held a one-hour initial “chemistry meeting” with each coachee to gain an understanding of the issues facing them and to identify their goals for the coaching.

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Each coachee was given a half-day preparatory assignment based on the goals established in the chemistry meeting. This included conducting 360° feedback and background reading to introduce the models and theories to be explored.

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The two-hour coaching sessions then focused on the following areas:

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• For the first coachee, the chemistry meeting highlighted the need for another form of intervention to prepare them for coaching.

• The second coachee’s goal was to position himself ready for promotion to a leadership role in the future; his sessions therefore focused on assertiveness, communication skills and conflict management.

• The third coachee had recently been promoted to managerial status and so his session focused on strategic planning to maximize his potential in the new role.

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Each meeting concluded with an evaluation and action planning session to map out specific, measurable objectives for each coachee. Further progress reviews were conducted via telephone at intervals of four weeks and six months.
 

Results

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The evaluation and action planning process provided a clear measurement of success, recording changes in the coachees’ working styles and demonstrating where this had helped them achieve their goals and where more could be done.

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The progress reviews kept the process flexible, meaning that the coachees’ action plans were continuously revised and updated, remaining relevant to their changing circumstances.

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People Vision issued Coach Assessment Forms to ensure that both the individual coachees and ERS were having their needs met. The feedback was consistently positive, including the comments:

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• "Excellent coach; really enjoyed our session"

• "The session was very useful and informative"

• "I now have the structure and know-how to achieve my goals"

• "Extremely beneficial"