Setting Targets for the Evaluation
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In an ideal world, the process of setting evaluation objectives for
evaluating application would be the same process that was outlined
for evaluating ROI. In reality, though, evaluating application is
usually less formal. Business leaders have no expectation of documenting
a monetary return, so they don’t want to “over-science” the
evaluation. That does not mean that there is not a lot on the line—
or even on the bottom line. In the case of Frontier, increasing the
number of prospects means increasing revenue. Paul is one of those
leaders who is willing to keep an open mind that coaching can play
a role in producing tangible value to the organization.He knows that
if the RSMs change their ways and actively prospect, then revenue
will increase. Performance measures that are meaningful to Paul are
already in place: total revenue by month, net revenue by month, and
the percentage of revenue from new customers. What’s needed
from the evaluation is the bridge between the coaching experience
and the impact on these performance measures, which may take
several months to show an impact.
Paul and the HR VP struck a good compromise in their selection
of the two application-based objectives: improving people management
skills and increasing the number of prospecting calls. Paul was
willing to take the leap of faith that achieving these two objectives
would eventually impact the business performance measures. On
the flip side of this coin, he too realized that not achieving these
objectives did not bode well for achieving the business results that
he and his team needed. This evaluation, then, was a kind of canary
in the coal mine: an early indication that more development or other
personnel actions would be required to achieve the sales goals.
Managing Vendors to Deliver Application-Based Coaching
Working with vendors to effectively design and implement
application-based coaching requires a strong partnership. Most
vendors will welcome the opportunity to contribute to the successful
application of a program they provide. Here are some tips for
partnering with vendors to deliver application-based coaching:
_ Share the application objectives during the request for proposals
(RFP) stage. Vendors will structure their proposed program
around the program objectives, so they need to know upfront
what these objectives are. Knowing Paul’s expectations in
advance for improved people management and prospecting
skills enabled the coaching vendor to more strongly position
coaching to achieve the expected outcomes.
_ Mutually agree on an appropriate role for the vendor. Paul felt
comfortable letting the coaching vendor collect data about how
people were applying what they gained from coaching. Other
sponsors or leaders might not be so comfortable—after all, the
vendor has a vested interest in the outcome of the evaluation.
In this case Paul felt that the vendor’s evaluation role was
appropriate given the more limited scope of the coaching initiative
(e.g., 12 people) and the objective nature of one of the
objectives (e.g., increase in the number of prospecting calls).
_ Agree in advance on targets for application if targets are to be set.
Many vendors may initially be reluctant to be held partially
responsible for how coaching is applied in the organization.
After all, they have no real authority in the organization. The
stronger the company–vendor relationship, the less reluctant
the vendors will be. Emphasize that it is a mutual responsibility
and that the vendor will be given the tools and support to
live up to its end of the bargain. In reality, almost all coaching
clients will apply some aspect of what they gained from coaching
to the workplace. So, simply looking at application rates (as
is typically the case with conventional training programs) has
little meaning. What is meaningful is that people have taken
actions that achieve organization objectives. In this regard Paul
was quite explicit when he stated that at least 10 of 12 RSMs
were expected to achieve significant progress.
_ Map out a strategy for taking any necessary corrective actions. If
and when the application of coaching is not meeting expectations,
corrective actions must be taken. This is the true test of
a partnership: how well the partners handle adversity.Mapping
out a strategy in advance enables the company and the vendor
to quickly mobilize for action.