“Coach & Focus” Implementation
Context
Eliesha is a senior supplier supporting the UK Civil Service as a member of KPMG’s consortium of learning specialists. Under this contract, we have supported professional development in all elements of the UK public sector by improving core skills, building knowledge and embedding professional behaviours. We provide design and delivery right across the comprehensive Government Skills Curriculum, including off-the-shelf workshops, accredited qualifications and bespoke learning projects, such as this one.
Requirement
The Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA) is an executive agency of HM Treasury. Established in 2015, they are the government’s primary provider of internal audit services, leading both the government internal audit profession and internal audit function. Their access, expertise and relationships lead to better insights and better outcomes for their customers, including all ministerial departments and many non-ministerial departments, agencies and public bodies, for the customers of those organisations and, ultimately, for the UK public.
As part of the developing coaching strategy at the GIAA, Eliesha was selected to support the organisation, in the first instance, through the provision of an accredited coaching and mentoring programme for a cohort of 14 learners – namely the ILM L5 Certificate in Effective Coaching and Mentoring. This enabled GIAA to build their internal coaching capability upon completion, with their own qualified coaches ready to support their colleagues and the wider organisation.
In conversation with another Civil Service department, Eliesha’s sponsor at GIAA was made aware of some training we were supporting that department with around a performance management process named Coach & Focus – specifically a programme entitled Having Great Coach & Focus Conversations. This discussion was timely, as part of GIAA’s developing coaching strategy included adapting their approach to ‘seasonal conversations’ and ‘check-ins’ to bring it in line with the Coach & Focus model.
We were therefore well placed and pleased to support GIAA’s strategy using this relevant experience – a requirement was drawn up to develop the knowledge and capability of approximately 400 GIAA employees in line with their coaching conversation framework.
Solution
Working collaboratively with GIAA, we developed a three-part approach to upskill the organisation at pace. The first and second workshops would develop organisation-wide knowledge around coaching conversations and preparing for ‘seasonal conversations’, whilst a third part would be focused towards the relevant knowledge and skills for organisational managers.
| Part One | Part Two |
| • What is a coaching style? • Why use a coaching style of conversation? • A framework for a coaching conversation | • Prepare for a seasonal conversation • Agree a focus • Get the most out of a check-in / 1:1 • Make the most of a coaching style with your manager |
The objectives of Parts One and Two would be delivered through impactful 90-minute sessions of learning, enabling us to deliver a total of 64 workshops in a two-month period, for a total of 829 delegates.
Having developed an organisation-wide understanding of coaching conversations, against the GIAA’s seasonal conversation/check-in framework – we now looked to upskill those at management level, to best support their members of staff during these conversations.
This was achieved through Part 3 – 11 half-day, manager-specific training interventions provided in a one month period and attended by a total of 128 GIAA managers. The following objectives were delivered through an interactive, engaging learning environment:
| Part Two |
| • Prepare for and hold a successful seasonal conversation • Understand, describe and prioritise examples of a focus • Hold an effective check-in / 1:1 around areas of focus • Use a coaching style at each stage with some helpful tools |
Results and ongoing support
Eliesha successfully supported GIAA’s timebound requirement to support their workforce with the development of knowledge, strategy awareness and advanced skills in the area of coaching conversations. We worked in close partnership with GIAA on the development of the course content, working through an iterative design process to ensure the material met their objectives.
The planning and co-ordination of the workshops also required collaborative working and effective communication, to ensure we could deliver en-masse in a way that would best suit GIAA and their culture. This close working partnership allowed us to develop an excellent working relationship and partnership.
To ensure that new members of GIAA are equally prepared for seasonal conversations/check-ins, we are continuing the delivery of these courses on a quarterly basis.
Feedback
“Exercises helped solidify my learning”
“Training split into small sections is useful to maintain focus”
“Workshops were well facilitated”
“Very approachable and professional”
“Better able to support colleagues to make decisions that best suit their needs”
“Clear and useful presentation”
“Learnt new techniques to coach colleagues”
Testimonial
“I approached Eliesha following a recommendation from a colleague in another Government Department to ask if they could develop a training programme for GIAA to support the launch of a new Performance management system, Coach and Focus. This system was a huge departure from the process our people were used to and we needed to support and upskill everyone to implement the new process and to get comfortable with the conversations we expected them to have.
“Eliesha worked with us very closely to create a set of workshops that reflected the new system, offered individuals the opportunity to practice skills, and gave line managers space to understand what was being asked of them. Eliesha produced three high quality workshops which received universal positive feedback when they were launched – we received the best reaction to any learning we have ever offered. Throughout the development process Eliesha listened to what we needed and understood the particular pressures and culture of a government department. I cannot recommend them highly enough.
Karen Oseman, Head of Learning and Development, Government Internal Audit Agency
