Team coaching in business: Why it can help you.

Businesses can call on the support of a professional at any moment in time to coach its team. This is what we call team coaching. Team coaching aims to develop the maturity of a team, its efficiency and its ‘collective intelligence’. There are two essential components to this. Having a common goal within the group, and acknowledging the importance of interactions between individuals of this same group in order to reach the set goal.

When to call on a team coach?

When a company, whatever its age, size or utility, realises that it must optimise certain human factors, such as the cooperation of its staff, reinforcing their collective involvement in completing a project and therefore their performance, or resolving tensions that could impede its development, it must therefore find the tools, such as team coaching, that that allow them to reach this objective. The risk of not doing so is seeing the business disappear or experience serious difficulties.

Also, it is not always easy for the director or their managers to find these tools internally. Here is where the question of team coaching comes in. This form of coaching allows the leader (the founder, the director, the manager of a department) and the entirety of the team members to be assisted in the long term. Firstly, they become aware of the key factors that are necessary for the success of the team. They then consciously put these factors into action.

As Henry Ford says so well:

“ Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”

It is therefore essential for the business working with this professional not to be mistaken about the role that this person is going to play during the few months within the team. The team coach is not there to ‘animate’ the team, but rather to ‘reveal’ it like a mirror. Their approach is quite complex as they have to take into account all the people within the team on an individual basis, but also the group in its entirety. The coach is not an employee of the business subject to a hierarchical relationship, but rather an external partner; neutral and independent. From then on, the mission of the coach will be to facilitate a sense of alignment and solidarity between members of the team (leader included), in order to build an efficient and highly profitable team.

What are the concerns of team coaching?

The concerns of team coaching are varied and will not be the same for all businesses. They mainly depend on the goal that the business is looking to achieve at that given moment. So what are businesses looking to achieve or sort out?

This can be:

• Managing a change within the business (restructuring, reorganisation…),
• Strengthening team cohesion/cohesiveness,
• Improving individual and collective motivation,
• Improving working methods,
• Developing a shared strategic vision,
• Resolving or managing managerial conflicts,
• Support for/in international development etc.

The stages of team coaching?

Take into consideration that we are not talking about a process of only a couple of days. It can sometimes spread over several months.

It is important to preface that when the business decides to take on a team coach, they are accepting to show themselves exactly as they are. The coach must have the most realistic image of the way in which the business works. This will help them to establish their current state, which is the first step.

The coach’s interview with the leader and each member of the team taken individually is often the step that follows. The responses to questions asked at this stage by the coach will be essential to continuing team coaching, as they will give an actual idea of how the team functions (degree of cooperation, confidence between teammates, methods of communication, decision-making, etc.).

Note that the coach is bound to professional secrecy with regard to the coachees. They operate a strict confidentiality policy regarding the content of the interviews with each of the team members.

This first diagnosis of the team makes it possible to assess the current situation and compare it to the objectives of the business. Once this is shared with the leader, the team coach will suggest the best way forward in terms of support based on the diagnosis of the team. The leader and their team are therefore engaged together in a process of change. It is then at this stage that the team coach proposes a contract of objectives containing the expected results that the leader and its team must work towards. The role of the coach should now be perfectly established and clear for everyone. This agreement will therefore enable the framework for the coaching to be specified: ethics, objectives, methods, duration, number of sessions and frequency.

The work can now commence. The organisations that utilise coaching today, do so over time. Team coaching generally combines seminars and work time in real time (team meetings…). The number of sessions varies from one to ten, the average being between six and ten. They are spread out across at least a week.

Here is an important figure that will surely entice you to seek team coaching: Almost 9 out of 10 businesses that have used a coach for their employees would’ve liked to amortise its cost, if not more…Effectively, within the supported businesses, an average return on investment of 5.7 times the amount invested in coaching had been noted.

So if you feel the need for guidance today, team coaching is a route to seriously consider. It is up to you to find the right partner.

About TeamRH:

TeamRH is a Recruitment Company located in Paris. It is a crucial player in the legal and financial sector. We provide services for our national and international clients, aligning ourselves with their pursuit of excellence.

Another of our defining features is that we attach a great importance to each candidate’s soft skills, or interpersonal skills, with the aim to offer them, as well as our clients, the best candidate/business match possible. Therefore, when sending us your CV, do not hesitate to mention anything which can demonstrate who you are, as well as your technical skills and work experience.

Take a look at our current positions here. Apply today!

Our firm has also developed specific skills throughout its existence, which are made available to clients. If you need to be advised, guided or coached on one of the vital segments in order for your business to run smoothly, we can equally help you or provide you with our expertise in this new project. Get in contact!