by Ian Procter

Right now, more than ever, employers need to be investing in supporting and developing their people through coaching.

Companies are understandably looking to reduce costs.

However, coaching offers a powerful tool to help companies survive these difficult times and better prepare them to take full advantage of the upturn when it comes.

Coaching can make significant contributions to improve performance and productivity.

It is used by many successful companies, both large and small, and their experiences demonstrate that coaching can help improve the performance of individual people, teams and organisations.

Coaches work with their clients individually or in groups, face-to-face or by telephone, typically in scheduled regular sessions.

Working with people and teams at any level, coaches facilitate improved focus on business objectives, a greater sense of purpose, and the desire to develop, contribute and achieve.

Although these are demanding and important challenges for individual people to engage with, where people have done so successfully the benefits have often been life-changing for them and substantial for their employers.

It is often said that business is based on successful relationships.

Coaching can help companies to build these relationships. Coaching sets the scene for effective leadership and clearer decision making, for people to be more effective in communicating and influencing, more creative at problem solving and meeting business objectives and, importantly, at meeting the needs of their customers.

In business development terms, coaching outcomes can be powerful and transformational as they can also help to create the conditions for these improvements to be sustained.

A survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development identified a strong belief among its members that coaching is "an effective way of promoting learning and can have an impact on the organisation's bottom line."

This investment is critical if companies are to have the capacity and flexibility to survive tough conditions and capitalise on future opportunities.

• Contact Ian Procter by email ian.procter@peoplenet.uk.com telephone 01233 732165, or visit www.peoplenet.uk.com