Strong coachability cultures enable companies to “build their benches” in two ways– they can (1) develop their existing players and (2) better retain existing talent. Ultimately, these two factors result in big gains for the business.
Our last post in this series explored how a coachability culture inspires excellence in the star players who are already on the roster. This kind of environment also encourages high performers to stay with the organization long-term.
There’s a huge financial incentive for organizations to retain employees over time.
In fact, it’s estimated that U.S. businesses lose $1 trillion every year on voluntary turnover.1
If you’ve been watching coverage of the Olympics recently, chances are high you’ve watched NBC Correspondent Steve Kornacki break down the statistics of Team USA’s performance. Imagine what Kornacki might say about the scale of the loss I just mentioned.
I can hear him saying: “One trillion dollars! That's a one with twelve zeros behind it, folks. That's the staggering amount of money U.S. businesses are flushing down the drain every single year because of people quitting their jobs. It's a mind-boggling number.
Think about it: a trillion dollar bills laid end to end would stretch for 97 million miles, a distance farther than that of Earth to the sun. 1 trillion is a HUGE amount of money to lose.
And we're talking about voluntary turnover here, not layoffs. People are walking out the door on their own accord, costing companies a fortune. It's a crisis, plain and simple."
Investing in a coaching and coachability culture can help your company avoid this turnover “crisis.”
"How?" you may ask. "What is it about coachability culture that makes team members want to stay?"
As Steve would say, “Let’s break this down, folks.”
Improved employee engagement
Research indicates that employee engagement is three times higher when organization leaders are perceived as highly coachable leaders.2 Highly coachable leaders tend to be good listeners. Listening to your employees is not just the right thing to do – it is good business.
When employees feel heard and valued by their leaders, they are likely to be more involved and motivated, leading to increased productivity and efficiency. Engaged employees are also more likely to go the extra mile, contributing to better customer service and satisfaction, which can ultimately boost revenue.
Reduced employee turnover
Highly engaged employees are more likely to stay with the organization over time, reducing the costs associated with recruitment and onboarding new employees. Research shows that when employees feel that sense of belonging at work, companies see a 50% drop in turnover risk.3
Improved succession planning and internal promotability
When high performers stay long-term, the organization can then improve succession planning, or the process of identifying internal talent to assume key roles that might be vacated in the future. According to the Harvard Business Review, outside hires are costly to recruit and less likely to be successful than those promoted internally.
“Outside hires take twice as long to ramp up as a leader promoted from within. Astoundingly, C-suite executives report that only one out of five executives hired from outside are viewed as high performers at the end of their first year in house. And ultimately, of the 40% of leaders who are hired from outside each year, nearly half fail within the first 18 months. The direct and indirect costs of the failures are staggering, far exceeding the cost of the search that found the executive.”4
A “deep bench” of high performers mitigates the hefty price tag of external recruitment. Our research has proven that highly coachable employees are 30% more promotable than their less coachable peers, so coachability training can significantly increase your pool of qualified internal candidates.5 This deep bench results in smoother transitions during leadership changes or when key employees leave the organization.
In short...
So, let’s summarize this, Steve-style. Here’s how Mr. Kornacki might distill these ideas:
“You want to keep your best and brightest, right? You want 'em engaged, you want 'em sticking around. Well, coachability is the key, folks. When you foster a culture of coaching, you're not just making your employees better at their jobs, you're making 'em want to stay.
And here's the kicker: less turnover means less money spent on finding new people. It's a domino effect, folks. Coachability isn't just about developing talent, it's about dollars and cents. Bottom line."
Develop Your Coachability Culture With CCI
When organizations invest in creating a coachability culture, the return is often remarkable retention of talent.
To learn more about how to increase coachability within yourself or your organization, explore the services we offer or contact us directly.
At Coachability Consultants, we believe that everyone can elevate to the level of highly coachable, and we are on a mission to help as many people as possible achieve that milestone.
We look forward to getting in touch and getting you started on your coachability journey.
Image Sources:
- https://www.nbcnews.com/video/steve-kornacki-breaks-down-the-numbers-behind-usa-and-aus-swimming-rivalry-216069189916
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU9lMwV9VUc
Article Sources:
1. McFeely, S., & Wigert, B. (2019, March 13). This fixable problem costs U.S. businesses $1 trillion. Gallup.com. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/247391/fixable-problem-costs-businesses-trillion.aspx
2. Folkman, J., Zenger, J., & Wilde, K. (2023). The New Leadership Frontier: Coachability. Zenger Folkman.
3. Carr, E. W., Robichaux, A., Kellerman, G. R., & Reece, A. (2019, December 16). The value of belonging at work. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2019/12/the-value-of-belonging-at-work?registration=success
4. Martin, J. (2014, January 17). For senior leaders, fit matters more than skill. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2014/01/for-senior-leaders-fit-matters-more-than-skill
5. Weiss, J. A., & Merrigan, M. (2021, February 1). Employee coachability: New insights to increase employee adaptability, performance, and promotability in organizations. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring. https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/65fdd9abdfe007f804f15369/6633cbaa93903362ed0ba9bb_Employee%20Coachability%20-%202021.pdf
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