Coaching in Your Agency - Tips for Employee Management

For many of today’s agents, their staff plays a crucial role in the success of the agency. Although managing is one skill that you must have in running your office, being a coach in your agency can lead to a developed, motivated, and inspired team.

Coaching is a partnership between you, the agent, and your team members. Coaching is done to increase productivity and efficiency within the office. This is done through reinforcing, motivating, empowering, and communicating with your team members. The goal is to help build new skills, provide for continuous growth and improvement, and increase job satisfaction. The end goals is to achieve your agency’s vision.

Coaching may take place when explaining your agency’s goals or a change in direction, working with your team as they train, or when team cohesiveness needs to be strengthened. There are three basic coaching styles.

Directive: This approach is most effective with your newer team members who are learning specific job tasks or with those who need to improve performance. When using directive coaching, make sure that you state the situation and facts clearly, and communicate the action plan for learning a task or improving performance.

Supportive: Used most frequently, coaches typically demonstrate this when offering positive feedback or constructive criticism. For example, supportive coaching can be used when you’ve noticed a team member providing exceptional customer service, or you observe a team member having difficulty overcoming a work-related obstacle.

Empowering: This style emphasizes opportunities to challenge and motivate your experienced team members to achieve their potential . Agents may accomplish this through delegation. Empowering coaching can be used when you’re working with a team member on establishing goals, or when they have asked you to help enhance their performance. When using this style, it’s important to use it primarily with experienced employees, and provide recognition for a job well done.

Coaching sessions can be planned or spontaneous. Either you or your team member may request a planned coaching session. The reason for the session could be anything from performance improvement to a career development, goal setting session. Spontaneous coaching sessions may be held in the work area or in private, depending on the coaching opportunity. Spontaneous sessions could be anything from providing immediate recognition to addressing concerns as soon as you detect them.

Just as no two people are alike, successful coaches apply different styles to match the differing needs of the employees. Coaching in your agency will help your team achieve its potential and help you achieve your goals.

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