How to Get Your Company to Pay for Executive Coaching Services and Growth Success

Kickstart your professional journey with a unique edge by tapping into the transformative power of coaching, backed by your organisation's resources. Envision scaling career heights with a trusted coach guiding you through each milestone, especially when they've mastered an accredited coach training certification programme. This ensures you're benefiting from high-quality coaching methods and a robust coaching template that can be tailored to your specific needs and goals.

Author:
Ridhima Dosani

 

Introduction to Unlocking Company Funds

Navigate the Path to Unlocking Company Funds for Growth

Unlock the full potential of professional growth by mastering the art of securing company sponsorship for coaching services. It's a savvy move where you leverage existing opportunities within your organisation to fund the roadmap for your success. Here's a quick glimpse at what you could be doing in the next 90 days: explore your niche, assess marketing and sales systems, and develop an action plan. Get ready to navigate this path with confidence!

The Value Proposition

Paid Coaching as a Smart Investment in Your Future

Investing in coaching isn't just about personal growth; it's about strengthening the company's future. Picture a work environment pulsating with potential, where each employee is empowered to contribute their best. Coaching hones skills and unleashes underlying talents, cultivating a workforce that is resilient, adaptive, and innovative. In essence, spending on coaching translates into a robust investment in the company's most valuable asset—its people.

Benefits of Investing in Employee Coaching

Investing in employee coaching can provide a substantial return for companies. To bolster the case for such an investment, here's a data-driven rationale along with a supportive quote from a reputable business leader:

  • It Works: Research has revealed that training alone offers a limited increase in performance, roughly improving growth by 22%. In stark contrast, when coaching is combined with training, performance enhancement jumps to an astounding 88%. This illustrates not just added value, but a significant return on investment for organisations.

  • It Is Targeted: Unlike standard trainings, coaching is entirely client-centered and responsive to the individual's specific needs. The goals and agenda are set by the coachee, not the coach, allowing for a personalised development path which can adapt over time.

  • It Is Flexible: Coaching's client-centric approach means it's adaptable in terms of content, style, duration, and delivery. It accommodates different preferences and schedules, highlighting its versatility and client inclusivity.

  • It Frees Up Time: A by-product of focused coaching is the alleviation of managerial burdens. Coaches provide dedicated, one-on-one attention that can supplement the support employees typically receive from their managers.

I am often asked if I have found a secret - or at least a consistent answer - to successfully building businesses over my career. So I’ve spent some time thinking about what characterizes so many of Virgin’s successful ventures and, crucially, what went wrong when we did not get it right. Ironically, I have often not succeeded initially but learnt a lot from failing, then got it right the second time around. The key for me is hiring good people who understand the role and giving them the freedom and the encouragement to succeed. However, the times when Virgin has gone into a new business and simply tried to repeat the formula that has worked before have generally been less successful. Real, sustainable success happens when you hire great people who are able to flourish. To get there, and especially in today’s fast-paced business world, coaching can be a critical tool to help individuals learn, adapt, and use their strengths to drive the company forward.
— Sir Richard Branson

To find out more read our blog Executive Coaching for Your Team or Organisation.

Transform Your Professional Trajectory with Expert Guidance

Let your career take flight under the wings of expert coaching. They work with you to align your aspirations with your organisation's goals, crafting a harmonious blend of growth and accomplishment. An expert coach doesn't just provide advice; they catalyse a transformation in your professional life that leads to success you can measure and feel. Read more about our coaching services for organisations.

Where to next? An expert coach doesn't just provide advice; they catalyse a transformation in your professional life that leads to success you can measure and feel.

How It Works

Step-by-Step Guide to Access Company Resources

Navigating the internal channels to secure funding for coaching need not be daunting. Here's a concise guide: understand your company's policy on professional development, document your career objectives aligned with organisational goals, and prepare a detailed proposal highlighting the ROI of coaching. With clarity and the right approach, you can access the company resources earmarked for employee growth.

Crafting a Compelling Proposal for Sponsorship and Funding

When approaching the challenge of crafting a proposal, think of it as your moment to shine. Start with a clear presentation of the problem you aim to solve or the skills you wish to enhance. Blend this with how coaching will lead to improved productivity, innovation, or leadership. Then, quantify the benefits with a well-researched prediction of the ROI. Your proposal should be a beacon that guides decision-makers towards a bright conclusion: investing in your coaching is investing in the company's excellence.

Benefits for You and Your Organisation

Empower Personal Success and Organisational Growth

Embrace the synergy between personal achievement and organisational success through coaching. As you level up with newfound skills and insights, your organisation reaps the rewards of an elevated leadership style, enhanced team dynamics, and a culture steeped in continuous improvement. Watch as this empowerment not only propels your career trajectory but also drives collective momentum towards organisational milestones.

How To Ask Your Employer To Fund Your Coaching

How to Align Funding with Business Goals

Aligning your funding use with business goals is about smart planning and strategic foresight. Take a step back and consider your company's long-term ambitions. Is it expansion? Improved efficiency? Or maybe a pivot to new technologies? Now, think about the skills your team needs to get there. Well-executed spending should be a snug fit with these aspirations. Identify gaps in your current capabilities and use the funds to plug them through targeted training.

Imagine future proofing your organisation by harnessing the funding to develop in-house expertise in high-demand areas like digital marketing or cybersecurity. Or perhaps fortifying your leadership bench strength with management upskilling. Investing funds in training your talent can also be an antidote to high staff turnover, as it promotes loyalty and career progression.

The essence is to marry employee advancement with your company's strategic outline. By cross-referencing your skills inventory with your business roadmap, you'll ensure your training funding isn't just a tick-box exercise but a genuine driver for growth. At The Executive Coaching Bootcamp you can reach your goals with confidence, find out more about our unique Satisfaction Guarantee.

According to the Institute of Coaching, 88% of companies that have invested in coaching for their employees feel that they more than recouped their investment.

There are numerous benefits to coaching individuals within organisations. Read our blog for more on 5 Ways Coaching Can Benefit Your Organisation. This research also showed that working with a certified coach:

  • Empowers individuals and encourages them to take responsibility

  • Increases employee and staff engagement

  • Improves individual performance

  • Helps identify and develop high potential employees

  • Helps identify both organisational and individual strengths and development opportunities

  • Helps to motivate and empower individuals to excel

  • Demonstrates organisational commitment to human resource development

Preparing Your Case

Aligning Coaching Goals with Company Objectives

Strategically align your coaching goals with your company's bigger picture to clear the path for sponsorship approval. Reflect on how your personal development can support key business initiatives, whether through leadership in market expansion, innovation, or efficiency improvements. Make a compelling link between your coaching outcomes and the organisation's targets to ensure stakeholders recognise the mutual benefits.

Build a Solid Business Argument for Coaching Support

Construct a solid business case for coaching support by demonstrating clear connections between coaching outcomes and business performance. Highlight specific competencies that coaching will enhance and explain how these improvements will drive business results. Use data and evidence wherever possible to substantiate the expected return on investment, making your proposal both persuasive and compelling.

Get Started Today!

Schedule Your Consultation to Discuss Your Ambitions

Don't leave your professional growth to chance. Schedule a discovery call with us today to discuss your ambitions and discover how you can secure the necessary support for coaching services. Learn how to present a case that resonates with your company’s objectives and take the first step toward a brighter career path. Book your free 30-minute call now and start the journey of transformation!

Unlocking Your Company's Potential with the Apprenticeship Levy

Demystifying the Apprenticeship Levy

Ever felt like you're treading water trying to make sense of the Apprenticeship Levy? Well, take a deep breath because we're about to turn the complex into the comprehensible. Picture the Apprenticeship Levy as your business's key to unlocking a treasure trove of training opportunities. Introduced in 2017, it's a government initiative aimed squarely at increasing apprenticeship numbers in the UK, improving their quality, and incentivising businesses, like yours, to invest in workforce development. With a payroll over £3 million? Congrats, you're in the club! Your contributions are poised to be your golden ticket to nurturing talent and beefing up skill sets within your ranks.

The idea is simple: you contribute a slice of your payroll into a fund, and in return, you gain access to those very funds to spruce up training programmes. Think of it as a virtuous cycle where investing in people doesn't just benefit them individually but contributes to the overall prowess of your business. And with a goal of funding three million apprenticeships, your business could be part of a grand educational wave sweeping across the nation.

Determining Eligibility for Apprenticeship Levy Benefits

To find out if you're set to benefit from the Apprenticeship Levy, let's talk numbers – specifically, your annual wage bill. If your company's total employee earnings are north of £3 million, congratulations – you've made the cut as a "levy-paying employer." These earnings include all the payments that attract Class 1 secondary National Insurance contributions, like wages, bonuses, commissions, and here's a kicker, pension contributions too.

But there's more good news! You get a £15,000 annual allowance to offset against your levy dues. Here's a bonus tip: even if your payroll doesn't hit that £3 million mark, you're not left out in the cold. You can still access apprenticeship training funds by only chipping in a measly 5% towards the costs, with the government covering the remaining 95%.

Now, if you're a part of a group of 'connected companies', things get a tad trickier. The £3 million threshold and allowance aren't per company; they're for the entire group to share. The key decision: where to claim your levy allowance – and remember, once you've made that call, it's set in stone until the following tax year.

Lastly, if you're a non profit or charity, you're in luck. Charities are exempt from the Apprenticeship Levy no matter the size of their wage bill, allowing them to access support for apprenticeship training without financial burdens.

Broadening Horizons with Coaching Funds

Enhancing Employee Skills through Funded Training

Companies looking to invest in professional coaching and executive coach training services for their employees can harness the apprenticeship levy to fund these initiatives, provided they meet the necessary criteria. Here's how they can do it:

  • For non-levy paying businesses with a payroll below £3 million, the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) steps in, offering support to cover 95-100% of training costs, depending on the size of the company.

  • Once a business identifies the need for professional coaching or executive training, they must select an approved apprenticeship training provider that offers relevant coaching apprenticeships adhering to the standards established by industry experts.

  • Existing employees who are eligible can be upskilled through approved apprenticeship coaching courses, thereby aligning their development with the company's strategic goals.

  • Additionally, the levy facilitates investment in the existing workforce by offering ways to further develop their skills through executive coach training apprenticeships, which can lead to promotions and contribute to internal talent development strategies.

  • These companies can use the government-provided funds to invest in professional coaching services and executive coach training for their employees by enrolling them in apprenticeship programs that are focused on leadership and management development.

  • Upon choosing an appropriate approved apprenticeship course and training provider, companies can manage their funding through the apprenticeship service account, which also allows for a 10% government top-up on their funds for training and assessing their apprentices.

  • Notably, for businesses with fewer than 50 employees, hiring apprentices under 19 years old can really optimise their use of the levy. It is free to employ these apprentices, and the company will receive a £1,000 incentive, which can be put towards professional coaching services for these individuals.

  • By leveraging apprenticeship funding for coaching services, companies can also support the professional development of their existing staff, thus nurturing a strong leadership pipeline within their organisation.

FAQs

Can I really persuade my company to fund my coaching?

Absolutely, many companies value ongoing learning and see coaching as a worthy investment in their workforce. Present a solid case showing how coaching will benefit not just you but the entire organisation, and they might be willing to fund it.

What makes a compelling case for coaching sponsorship and funding?

A compelling case for coaching sponsorship is one that connects the dots between your personal development goals and the strategic objectives of your organisation. Show how your enhanced skills will impact performance, lead to positive changes, or drive innovation, and back it up with data on the ROI of coaching.

What Types of Programmes Can Be Funded by the Apprenticeship Levy?

The Apprenticeship Levy unlocks a treasure trove of learning opportunities with a spectrum that spans from entry-level to master's degree-equivalent programmes. It has got you covered whether you're aiming for apprenticeships to enhance on-the-job skills in areas like retail and hospitality or high-level qualifications in engineering, tech, or business management. The diverse range of programmes is designed for not just new recruits but for upskilling current employees as well. With nearly 650 types of apprenticeship standards available, if there's a skill to be honed or a gap to be filled, chances are there's a levy-funded programme ready to be tapped into.

 

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