The client challenge

As an international business, our client from the extractive industries had a high number of local relationships with local suppliers for coaching and leadership development. There were a range of over-arching programmes co-ordinated centrally but it remained difficult, if not impossible, to have meaningful management reporting, investment assessments and leadership development communications in this multiple-contractor arrangement.

The client needed a flexible, nimble, well-resourced partner not only to deliver the actual coaching but also to provide the programme management to report the return on investment, advise on coaching trends, ensure consistency of delivery quality , control costs and facilitate the operation. They  wanted to:

• Develop and retain their talent pool in order to deliver greater shareholder value
• Address known areas of improvement as identified in organisational surveys
• Be the employer of choice in this field
• Target specific interventions to meet known and evolving business need and deliver on key business metrics)
• Shape the programme orientation to deliver cultural shift
• Focus on individuals for tailored amplification of results
• Build confidential communication platform between the business and its senior management team

The blackswan solution

blackswan delivered a fully-managed coaching service to the client. We provided access to a world bench of over 200 highly-experienced coaches managed by our best-in-class coaching specialists. The coaching interventions were preceded by a detailed needs diagnosis which allowed all participants to have a choice of two perfectly-matched coaches to choose from.

blackswan developed a unique portal to provide information on the programme, a knowledge database for further learning, coach profiles for on-line selection and surveys and metrics for detailed management reporting.

All documentation was standardised and blackswan provided a full accounts administration to eliminate the transactional costs associated with the previous set up.           

The client outcome

This managed service allowed the client to get ongoing feedback on the programme as a whole, by product group and by geography and we provided accurate, current statements on activities, costs and customer satisfaction. 95.4% of programme respondents agreed or strongly agreed that coaching has had a positive effect on their performance.

Results:

• Direct positive bottom line impact
• Enhanced leadership performance.
• Improved talent retention.
• Powerful management information on activity, costs, impact, culture and leadership perceptions

Most critically of all, the programme has had a direct and positive bottom line impact and has been hailed by the client’s HR business community and the Executive Team as a resounding success.