Gathering support for coaching and mentoring from the HR community

Few HR professionals are actively hostile to coaching and mentoring. But organizations often experience passive resistance, for a number of reasons:

HR Business Partners have such a wide portfolio that coaching and mentoring simply don’t get a look in
Some HR people see coaching and mentoring as “soft and fluffy” – often based on poor quality coaching or mentoring they have seen in the past
They do not understand just how much impact coaching and mentoring can have on achieving business goals and the HR goals that come from them
They lack confidence in their own skills of coaching and mentoring, and are concerned that they may be “shown up”.

An education programme for HR can make a big difference. This should help them to:

Make the case for coaching and mentoring to leaders in their part of the organization (and, by doing so, better understand the case themselves!)
Engaging with top team and line manager sponsors
Be effective role models for good coaching and mentoring practice
Learn how to be a gateway to specialist advice and resources (e.g. training, executive coaches)
Supporting participants in coaching and mentoring
Undertake quality management of internally and externally resourced coaching and mentoring

Some practical ways of supporting HR include:

Create an HR specific mentoring programme, so that they can point to personal experience
Expect all HR professionals to acquire at least Foundation level skills as coaches
Create an HR coaching and mentoring community of interest on the organizational intranet
Have an annual update on good practice in coaching and mentoring
Have an on-line resource of information to support HR in its role as champions of coaching and mentoring. This will normally include templates that will help them, for example, interview external executive coaches or determine when coaching or mentoring are suitable interventions.

Prof David Clutterbuck
Coaching and Mentoring International Ltd
Woodlands, Tollgate,
Maidenhead,
Berks, UK. SL6 4LJ

www.coachingandmentoringinternational.org
e-mail: info@coachingandmentoringinternational.org
Company registration number : 08158710