Long-term coaching program for leaders focuses on behaviour change
To set people up for success, employers need to provide support and recognition, opportunities for development and programs that enhance employee engagement.
Typically, these core needs are addressed with a variety of top-down approaches: Support comes through HR channels in the form of benefits or special recognition programs; development often takes the form of learning seminars or coaching; and attempts to boost engagement can take a variety of forms, from improved communications from the leadership team to inspirational posters in the break room.
But as the leaders at SaskEnergy, a Regina-based provincial Crown corporation that distributes natural gas in Saskatchewan, recently discovered, a broad, integrated and democratic program can be even more effective. An organization known for innovation in an industry that leans toward tradition, SaskEnergy is midway through an experiment that is shattering traditional hierarchies, bridging departments and geographic units, injecting an informal and formal transfer of knowledge throughout the organization — and boosting engagement among its 1,100 employees.
Identifying the challenge
The utility truly believes its people are core to its success, said Margot Almas, director of employee and organizational effectiveness in SaskEnergy’s human resources department.
“Our people provide our service, our service drives our growth and our growth ensures our future,” she said. “Therefore, our future rests on an engaged and committed workforce.”
But, according to employee engagement surveys, SaskEnergy faced some challenges on that front. The utility needed to lift its scores on the crucial measures of managing performance and recognizing employees for achievements.
“We knew, looking at the survey results, that we simply could not achieve our strategic vision without improvements in these areas,” said Almas.
To help address the challenges, SaskEnergy hired a consultant to determine how to create measurable improvements to:
• individuals and teams being appreciated for the contributions they make in building a successful organization
• perceptions the organization has a culture and work environment that is positive and welcoming
• beliefs the organization supports and encourages the concept of lifelong learning experiences
• capturing the hearts and minds of employees to be able to attract and retain them in a tightening labour market
The recommendation: A long-term coaching program designed to develop successful leadership behaviours and provide skills that managers could apply to their teams. The program integrated assessments, workshops, long-term peer-to-peer coaching triangles (involving groups of three people with varying levels of experience) and followup evaluations.
“The fact that behaviour change was key to achieving the objectives meant that deep support and long-term follow-through needed to be a part of the solution,” said Almas. “This program really hit the mark.”
The coaching program cast a wide net — managers participated at every level. To kick off the program, leaders were evaluated using coaching assessments that incorporated information from supervisors and reports. With a benchmark for personal strengths and challenges, each participant devised an action plan during a workshop at the outset of the engagement.
In any leadership development initiative, support from top executives is crucial. SaskEnergy took this seriously — senior-level executives not only launched the program with talks in support of the mission, they also participated with leaders from all levels.
Several factors made program successful
The success of the coaching program at SaskEnergy can be attributed to a number of factors. Coaching goals were tied to the organizational strategy and to succession planning. The support of the executive suite was key. The number of managers enrolled in the program — more than 200 — meant what was learned cascaded throughout the organization. And by organizing the coaching triangles into teams that functioned over the course of several months, SaskEnergy ensured long-term support for the development of new behaviours. A half-day workshop including followup evaluations helped drive the learning home.
One participant sounded a common theme in describing the coaching triangle as a “safe spot to share the challenges I was facing.” Another participant turned to the coaching triangle for support and ideas for how to provide feedback to an employee who needed to improve performance. And one participant formed an ad-hoc triangle long after the program had ended to manage some critical decisions in his department.
The broad focus on leadership development has paid off throughout the ranks of the company. A recent survey of employees garnered the highest level of participation in the history of the company and the results are encouraging — 73 per cent rank it as a good place to work and 86 per cent say they take pride in working for SaskEnergy. Areas tied to employee engagement, including leadership, direction, recognition and opportunity, showed marked improvement over earlier surveys — and compared to other companies that were surveyed.
“This program is helping us build our leaders and realize improvement in employee engagement,” said Almas. “That’s critical to our strategy. It positions us for further success as an organization.”
Linda Finkelstein is a founding partner of MICA Consulting Partners in Vancouver, the consulting firm that worked with SaskEnergy on this project. For more information, visit www.micaworld.com.
