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Study: Coaching, Mentoring Programs Underused Leadership-Development Tool

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St. Petersburg, Fla. — June 8 
Improving leadership capabilities always seems to be at the top of the wish list for most corporations, but if they really want to see improvement, companies should take a harder look at their coaching and mentoring programs.

Despite the fact that most say such programs are very valuable, fewer than one-fifth think their own programs are good or excellent, according to a just-released study conducted by the Institute for Corporate Productivity.

The study found that, of the more than 300 organizations polled, half don’t have such programs at all.

“There seems to be a tremendous missed opportunity here,” said Jay Jamrog, i4cp senior vice president of research. “Our study shows that the most common use for these programs is to develop executives and other managers. But in an age when so many organizations are saying there’s a shortage of leadership, they’re underutilizing one of the best tools available.”

The study found only about half of respondents say their organizations have formal coaching and mentoring programs (49 percent coaching, 47 percent mentoring).

When asked what percentage of their employees use coaches or mentors, 52 percent said coaches were used by 5 percent or fewer of workers, and 62 percent said the same thing about mentors.

“Three out of five respondents said they considered coaching to be quite valuable or very valuable,” Jamrog said. “Yet, 82 percent reported their coaching programs were only ‘average’ or below. By boosting both the quality and usage of these programs, organizations might make a huge dent in today’s and tomorrow’s leadership shortages.”

To find coaches and mentors, most organizations look internally, with 68 percent reporting they find their coaches in-house, compared with 93 percent locating mentors within the company.

When selecting coaches externally, 55 percent rely on recommendations from colleagues or other organizations.

The top coaching qualification listed (71 percent) was business experience, followed by recommendations and consulting experience.

As for training of mentors, 44 percent of respondents use some type of internal training function, and 39 percent said no special training is required. Thirty-two percent report using in-house mentors to train others.

The Coaching/Mentoring Practitioner Consensus Survey was conducted by i4cp, in conjunction with HR.com, in May 2007.

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