How To Improve Your Healthcare Employee Coaching Program With Less Effort

It would be an understatement to say that HR has had their work cut out over the past few years and perhaps a coaching program could be a much-needed benefit.

The pandemic has meant that HR professionals have had to adapt to a rapid increase of home working, social distancing guidelines in the workplace, hybrid working and the Great Resignation.

A staggering 33 million workers have left their jobs since April 2021, and it’s HR’s job to work alongside the resignations, hiring and onboarding challenges. So, how do HR consultancies and coaching firms use a coaching program to look after and develop their HR people and ensure that the programs are achieving their objectives in an ever-challenging world of work?

Let's look at how to improve your healthcare employee coaching program with less effort.

How To Improve Your Healthcare Industry Employee Coaching Program

US health expenditure is predicted to reach $4.3 trillion by 2023 and it spends twice the amount on healthcare than any other country. So, an industry of that size and power needs to do everything to keep up with demand and change, and an employee coaching program could help. Healthcare is a complex industry that comprises many different areas and roles, ranging from medical professionals on the ground to those in leadership roles battling the challenges from afar. Coaching can aid individual development as during the pandemic; many healthcare workers may have had to step up to leadership roles due to structural change and help navigate the challenges. While they may embrace the roles, they may require coaching to help them adapt and lead engaged teams, so by reviewing your current employee coaching program; you can make improvements to make it even better.

How can your employee coaching program help healthcare workers?

There are many ways coaching can help employees and the overall company as coaching can be a formal program but can also form part of the company culture by encouraging peer coaching and managers to coach their people.

Over the past few years, the obvious challenge has been the pandemic, which has hugely impacted healthcare professionals, providers, and leaders. For healthcare professionals, there are also internal challenges relating to stretched budgets, salary and grade limitations, lack of staff, resources and training and an increase in demand. And add to that the number of healthcare workers who have been ill with the virus (the Pan American Health Organization reported that 570,000 health workers in the US had fallen sick with COVID by September 2020), it’s an industry that can benefit from coaching programs to help workers stay focused and potentially ease retention.

If you add coaching to your existing training and development program, it shows your people that you are investing in them, and it’s an alternative way for them to grow, learn and develop without attending a technical training course. Such coaching development may also enhance employee engagement by making individuals feel valued and supported, especially during turbulent change and challenging workplace environments.

What does your current coaching program offer?

When reviewing your existing employee coaching program, you can go through various steps to see how your current healthcare coaching program is working. This can be done by gaining feedback from the coaches involved and asking them what is working well and what improvements could be made in their expert opinion. In addition, you need input from those individuals who are being coached, again by asking for honest feedback and improvement suggestions.

You can also review the scheme’s success by comparing those who have been coached through the program against those who haven’t.

Review objectives of the employee coaching program

Your objectives may have changed from when you set up your coaching program, so reviewing the existing program objectives and changing them if necessary is essential. Consider what issues and challenges your people are facing and ensure that coaching is helping with these areas. Open and honest feedback from those involved in the program so far will give you an accurate picture of how the program measures up to objectives and what changes can be put in place for further improvement.

Assess your coaching software

If you’re not using software to manage your coaching program, you should be! Our coaching software will help you measure your coaching program's success by tracking competencies and company goals, measuring participant satisfaction and ROI, downloading reports, and expanding your coaching solutions without incurring an increase in administration.

Is your coaching program digital?

If your existing healthcare coaching program only offers in-person meetings, then it’s definitely time to review how it’s organized and ensure you are catering for those who are based in different locations.

A digital or virtual coaching program may be a separate program, or you can change the existing arrangements to include virtual coaching relationships. Coaching software is essential for digital programs and can help to include more individuals in the program, reduce in-person costs, improve coaching communication and engagement.

Renew commitment, support and communication

Perhaps people have forgotten about the coaching program, or the initial enthusiasm has dampened over time? As you review and improve your program, focus on how you can re-energize it and gain more buy-in. Senior leaders or coaching project team members can communicate the program again and share positive feedback from coaches and those being coached via different communication channels across the company.

In other words, brag about the success and communicate how you will change or improve the program and how others can be included in the future.

Are the ‘right’ people included?

When you review your existing healthcare employee mentoring program, it's also a good opportunity to check whether the program includes the individuals you need it to. For example, coaching programs in healthcare may have traditionally focused on developing senior leaders and practitioners. More junior employees, nurses or administrative staff may have been previously excluded, but perhaps these individuals are precisely who the coaching program should be targeting.

Another issue is the recent increase in stress in the industry. As a result, you may want to include everyone because they may be facing burnout, disengagement, fatigue and high levels of stress or new management responsibilities, but you can't include everyone! So, review if there are any other grades, roles or healthcare workers he could be included in the existing coaching program or whether there is an opportunity to create an additional coaching program.

With the significant change and pressure the healthcare industry has faced recently, an employee coaching program could be a beneficial way to support and develop your people. Coaches are a beneficial way to help any employee review or set career goals, drive motivation and act as a sounding board. However, don’t just continue with what is already in place; ensure you review your existing program. By using coaching software, you can check the processes and success and adjust to fit current challenges and demands.

To learn more about how you can implement a virtual coaching program in your healthcare company or speak to us about how we can help you improve the coaching program in your healthcare company, check out our employee coaching program software.  

Want Some Help With Your Employee Coaching Program?

Insala’s employee coaching software can help you measure coaching participant engagement, improve the likelihood of coaching program success and streamline your program management. Book a call to talk to our coaching experts about how Insala can help you achieve your program goals.