COACHING

Definition

Coaching is defined as “a directive process by a manager to train and orient an employee to the realities of the workplace and to help the employee remove barriers to optimum work performance.”?

Management’s objective when coaching an employee is to help the employee become better at his or her job by identifying performance problems and helping the employee correct them.

“A good coach will make his players see what they can be rather than what they are.” -Ara Parseghian

That statement captures a lot of what coaching in the workplace is about—i.e., getting the absolute most out of your team of players (employers, supervisors, and managers).

?As the hospitality industry has redirected its management focus from controlling to empowering, coaching has become an imperative management skill. Coaching is an ongoing process.

To be a successful coach, a manager must provide employees with constructive feedback and assess each employee’s performance on a regular basis.

?Signs that an employee needs coaching:

1.?????Declining work performance or productivity

2.?????Disinterest

3.?????Lack of cooperativeness

4.?????Defensiveness with supervisors, coworkers, or guests

5.?????Disorganization

6.?????Absenteeism

7.?????Irritability

8.?????Lack of enthusiasm

9.?????Increased complaining

There are three primary misconceptions about coaching in the hospitality industry:

1.?????“Coaching is reactive and is either a form of discipline or reward.”

FALSE. Coaching involves “assisting employees as they become empowered and begin to take on greater responsibilities. It does not consist of warnings and it does not involve managers keeping control of all power and responsibility. Furthermore, coaching is neither a reward system nor a component of a compensation or benefits package.”

2.?????“Coaching is training.”

FALSE. Training is different from coaching, but training and coaching are complimentary activities. While training is essential, “90 percent of all training objectives will be lost without follow-up coaching.”

3.?????“Coaching requires only part-time attention.”

FALSE. Coaching is “an ongoing function, as managers continually look for opportunities to coach their employees through feedback on performance problems or praise them on successful completion of a responsibility.”

?It is critical for the future success of hospitality managers and their employees that these myths are addressed and proper training given so the practice of coaching can be used as a vital management tool.

Why Employees Don’t Ask for Help. Creating an environment in which employees feel that they can ask for help with their problems is a major first step in building a quality hospitality operation. However, no matter how often a manager emphasizes that he or she has an open-door policy, some employees will not ask for help. There are several reasons for this. Some employees believe that asking for help will make their manager think that they are incapable of doing their work. They likely think this either because their manager has criticized others in this way or because a former boss did so. Others believe that it is better to figure things out for themselves. Some employees are afraid that asking their manager for help with work problems may make coworkers believe that they are trying to “get in good with the boss.” Some employees believe that managers don’t have time to help them with their problems. And some employees may not come to their managers with problems because their cultural background discourages such action. Managers also sometimes inadvertently discourage their employees from coming to them with problems through words or actions. For example, managers who praise employees who consistently make decisions on their own may be sending the message to other employees that this is expected of all employees.

Because employees often will not ask for help, managers must become proficient at identifying employees who need help.

?#coaching #hotelmanagement #leadership