The Value of Coaching in Workplace Wellness

What Most Employers Don’t Know About Coaching

After 25 years of living in the same area, we decided it was time to make a move. First step once we were serious? Find a real estate agent. We considered several, interviewed three and finally decided on one.

But I have a confession. I brought a terrible attitude to the real estate agent equation. In spite of knowing several great people who are agents, including a few close friends and one extended family member, I didn’t get it. The numbers when it came to the cost of the service simply didn’t make sense to me. How could it possibly make sense to spend up to 6% of the selling price for putting a house on the MLS and providing some tours? 

Then the agent walked us hand in hand through the entire journey. Now it all makes perfect sense. Granted, there may be some agents who cash checks they’ve done little to earn. But the best? They earn it. They’re worth it. Yes, our agent got the listing done but that was only the beginning. Negotiations on the purchase and sale… prepping key aspects of the house to optimize the price… dialing in the staging… communication with the buyer/seller throughout the back and forth… providing documentable data to support the price point… and perhaps most importantly talking one of us (ok – it was me – Brad) down off the ledge with a calm perspective when a stressful speed bump showed up (repeatedly) during the journey toward the finish line.

But we had no idea any of that would be provided as part of her services heading into the process. Why in the world didn’t the agent share all of these benefits when we were in the selection process?!? How could anyone skip the process of explaining how different her services are from typical? Why assume we would know the difference between the typical real estate agent and best-in-class?

And then I realized we’ve been doing exactly the same thing when it comes to discussing organizational health & wellness coaching for employers. Oops.

Since US Corporate Wellness began providing best-in-class health & wellness coaching back in 2007, we’ve just assumed benefit consultants, HR managers, employee benefits executives, COOs and so many others understand the difference between typical and optimal. We live in the wellness world so the differentiators and reasons why personalized, nationally board certified coaching (if best-in-class) is one of the most valuable benefits offered are second nature to us – just like the services our agent provides are second nature to her. That’s on me. To at least start to put an end to that, here are the TOP 5 Things Many Employers Don’t Know About Coaching:

1. NBC-HWC are initials you do not want to ignore. Up until 2017, there were no national standards for health & wellness coaching. Anyone could claim to be a coach and any company could claim to offer “coaching” to employers. That changed with the establishment of the National Board for Health & Wellness Coaching. Their extensive qualification and exam process allows you as an employer to know the coaches connecting with your team members are credible and qualified. If your coaching is not provided by NBC-HWC certified coaches, it’s time to look elsewhere.
2. When done correctly, coaching can provide the glue to enhance all other benefits. How many times have you thought to yourself “I’m not even sure our employees know the (fill in the blank) benefit exists!” When coaching is customized to meet your needs as an organization, that customization can (should?) include insuring the coaches are aware of the various wellness-related benefits so they can integrate appropriately into coaching sessions when there’s a value.
3. Credible and Personalized are two DIFFERENT (and critical) components. The credibility of an NBC-HWC coach is a necessity, but it does not stand alone. The other key component is to make certain your coaching provider creates a personalized model for your employee team members. Behavior change is difficult for all of us, and the stronger the connection between the coach and employee, the more likely a successful outcome will occur.
4. Coaching is a specialty, not an add-on.  Most health & wellness providers will offer coaching as part of their menu of items. If you’re ordering lunch, that menu might be fine. However, if you’re looking to support your team members in their pursuit of a better, healthier life, it misses the mark by a long shot. The best-in-class coaching providers FOCUS ON COACHING. It is core to who they are and is the essence of what they do. It’s not simply one more thing on the menu. Fortunately, organizations that do focus on coaching can be easily integrated into ANY platform. You don’t have to start over AND you don’t have to settle for coaching being provided by an organization that puts their focus in another important area of health & wellness. Combine the best of the best and if comparing apples to apples, you may even save money in the process.
5. Don’t stop with health & wellness. When it comes to coaching, best-in-class services don’t stop with health and wellness. Instead, they’re able to also tap into performance improvement opportunities. Whether it’s personal, professional or organizational performance that sits a the top of an individual’s priority list, the very best coaches can take them further. If this is a new concept, you may find this short video clip of interest: https://youtu.be/M87qZhE_iXs 

We’re very happy we chose the real estate agent we chose. We learned plenty and were grateful to her throughout the process. However, if we’d known about all her differentiators and the benefits she brought to the table in advance, we never would have hesitated to hire her as our partner. The same may be true for you in considering the best option for you and your team when it comes to health & wellness coaching. Maybe something mentioned above will make that decision just a little bit easier. We’re happy to chat anytime if you’d like to explore options or ideas further: Results@USCorporateWellness.com