Developmental coaching: Business benefit – fact or fad? An evaluative study to explore the impact of coaching in the workplace

Objectives: To contribute to research on the return on investment and business benefit of workplace coaching by using a quasi-experimental design. Specifically, to investigate the impact that in-house coaches, using developmental coaching approaches, had on levels of coachee self-efficacy.

Design: The study used action research (Lewin, 1946) and a quasi-experimental method to investigate the impact and process of developmental coaching, evaluating coaching which took place over a two-year period. A large sample and multiple data collection methods were utilised to ensure research was a valid reflection of the current status and perception of coaching within the organisation in the reported study.

Methodology: Thematic analysis of qualitative research informed the content of coach and coachee questionnaires, supported by a holistic literature review. Coachees and the comparative group of non-coached staff completed questionnaires assessing their general levels of self-efficacy and personal experiences of development. Coaches completed a self-perception questionnaire to capture their personal views on the experience and if any changes had been observed in the coachee which could relate to the construct of self-efficacy.

Results: Participants that had received developmental coaching (N=61) had higher levels of self-efficacy than the control group of participants (N=57) who had not received coaching.

Conclusions: This research aimed to explore whether developmental coaching does actually deliver business benefits and results suggest that coaching can impact positively upon an individual’s level of self-efficacy.