How to Coach Like a Pro

Perhaps the single most dangerous practice in working with new hires is to give them some training (even excellent training) and then put them to work without any ongoing support. Instead, the best and most effective managers provide ongoing coaching and mentoring because they know that part of their responsibility is to develop the people who work for them. It's an essential part of their long-term strategy for success to make sure that someone capable can move into their jobs when needed. Even if you run a single shop or store, you can benefit from this same valuable practice.

The essence of great coaching is observation and reinforcement. Good coaching does not have to be formal, in fact it's often most effective when it is done off-the-cuff. In fact, you probably already do a lot of this kind of coaching. But coaching begins with observation.

The rest of the process resembles good teaching: first, tell the employee you noticed something he was doing on the job and want to talk about it briefly. Next, praise him for the parts of the job he did well.

After this, it's time to offer a correction (if any is needed) on a part of the job that could use some improvement. To give the correction, start with the reason why the step done incorrectly should be done the way you want it done. Then remind the employee how to do the step properly. Last, make sure you tell the employee that you're confident that he will be "getting it right" from here on in. It's important that this last step happen and that the employee hears it as a form of praise, not as some kind of veiled warning.

Here is an example of the kind of coaching I am describing. By the way, you might disagree with the solution the manager offers here, but don't let that get in the way of seeing how the manager in this example is doing the coaching. This is also a shorter conversation than usual, to keep the newsletter from being too long.

Manager: Bill, I noticed the way you handled that last customer's complaint. Can we talk about it for a minute?

Bill: Sure.

Manager: I really liked the way you persisted until she was satisfied that her complaint had been heard. We did make her wait too long by letting that Yukon in ahead of her so her complaint was fair.

Bill: Yeah, I thought so too. I wish she had been calmer about it.

Manager: I know what you mean. But she was happy when she left, which is important.

Bill: Thanks.

Manager: I have an idea for you the next time something like this comes up though, ok? It's the only thing I would have done differently.

Bill: Sure, what is it?

Manager: Remember when we were training on handling complaints we talked about finding a balance between making them happy and making a profit?

Bill: Yeah, I remember that. You said to give them something to make sure they come back.

Manager: Exactly right. But we also want to make sure that we make a little profit, at least, on every job. Instead of giving her a free oil change the next time she's here, I would have offered her half off an additional service on her next visit. Perhaps her Sienna is ready for a coolant flush and fill. You could check her odometer mileage to see what makes the most sense for her, some service that her car needs soon.

Bill: I see. Now, when she comes back for the free oil change I gave her, we won't make any profit unless we can sell something else.

Manager: Right, and if you offer her a service that her car should have soon anyway, you're helping her keep it in good shape.

Bill: That makes sense.

Manager: Good. You're doing a good job all around, Bill. I know her anger probably got you off your balance a bit. But I'm sure the next time you have a complaint like this you'll find a solution that could still make us a couple of bucks.

Bill: Thanks. I'll try.

Manager: Great. I'll catch up to you later.

As I said earlier, you might not come up with the same solution to this customer service problem, but I hope you saw the pattern in the way the manager led this coaching conversation.

How much time do you suppose this coaching conversation might have taken? Five minutes? Maybe a few more? Then think of the benefits of taking these few minutes. Future customer service problems probably will be resolved in a less costly way. The employee knows that you like his work. And the employee knows you have the confidence in him to allow him to continue using his judgment in the future.

You also know that he will exercise better judgment, not only in customer service situations but elsewhere too. When we learn a good lesson we tend to find ways to apply the same skill (in this case, the employee learned about analyzing the consequences of his decisions before acting) elsewhere.

Using good coaching techniques is one of the best ways a small business owner can get the most for the money and energy invested in training.

I'd like to close this with one more rationale for doing top-quality training and coaching. Where do you want your business to be in ten or fifteen years? How much do you want it to be worth when you retire? The answer may just be in that smart high-school kid you just hired. In fifteen years he could be an energetic and ambitious manager who rose up through your ranks and is now ready to be an entrepreneur. He could be the one who will buy your business and fund your retirement. But it won't happen unless you bring him along.

We teach for today, but good lessons last a lifetime.

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