Almost every medical practice, lab, or hospital department has experienced employee performance issues or staff members who don’t get along. One way to alleviate those issues is by launching an employee coaching program, which can ensure that team members reach their full potential and work together cohesively.
If you’re putting together an employee coaching program, check out four do’s and don’ts so you ensure you’re doing it correctly the first time.
Employee Coaching Do’s
- Include everyone. You shouldn’t only be coaching those team members who have performance problems or just the ones who you’re grooming for management positions. Every staff member should have an opportunity to excel through coaching.
- Coaching is about unlocking a person’s potential. This doesn’t just mean you’re working to hone the skills a person has already demonstrated — it also requires you to dig deep and find people’s hidden talents and skills so they can achieve new heights.
- You may need to alter an employee’s perspective. Sometimes your staff member may not be able to see potential in themselves. It may take time and work to ensure they gain the confidence to believe in what you think they’re capable of achieving.
- The goal is to ignite growth for the whole practice. Once your employees are coached properly and your practice is operating smoothly when everyone is at 100%, your entire practice will benefit from the improved atmosphere and productivity.
Employee Coaching Don’ts
- Don’t try and solve their problems. It may be tempting to provide your team members with all the solutions they need to fix the issues they’re having, but that’s not going to be helpful in the long run. By coaching, you instead give your staffers the tools to fix these problems going forward and to overcome the issues that come along in the future.
- You don’t need to have all the answers. Not every coaching session will end with you sharing wisdom with your employees. In some cases, there won’t be answers right away, and their issues will need to be explored in depth over time. This is also a learning opportunity that will help build their skills for the future.
- Don’t consider coaching to be a short-term activity. Coaching your team members doesn’t end when they reach a particular benchmark. Instead, it should be an ongoing process that you continue over time. Think of coaching as another long-term investment in your practice.
- Don’t only focus on negative feedback. Every coaching conversation should include positive feedback explaining what the staff member is doing right, as well as tips on where they might improve. If you focus only on the negative, the staff member will dread these sessions and may not want to participate going forward.
Even when coaching conversations are hard to hold, they are essential in building a team that works together cohesively. Get all the strategies you need to succeed with the latest online training from HR expert Merikay Hunt, MS. Register for Master Difficult Conversation Skills to Improve Employee Performance today!
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