Coaching ROI – Four Levels

In his foundation work on calculating return on investment for training, Kirkpatrick proposed a four level schema. The first asks trainees for immediate feedback if they liked and found the training interesting. The second, did they find it useful? the third, did they use the new learning on the job?, and fourth, did the training objectives support the organization’s strategic objectives?

Coaches could use a similar schema to evaluate their work. Positive results from the first two levels are easy but leave us asking: “So what?” If players are not translating coaching outcomes to their daily work, and if those outcomes are not having a positive effect on strategic objectives, coaches will have a difficult time getting resources to support a coaching initiative within their company.

A formal coaching initiative requires a formal assessment schema to garner bean counter and senior management support. As a matter of routine at the end of each coaching session, a review of the session and an assessment expression of mutual satisfaction should be stated by both coach and player (Level One). And near the beginning of each session the coach should probe for application outcomes from prior sessions (Level Two).

One way to accomplish Level Three assessments is a 360-degree six-month follow-up survey. Survey questions should probe for application of objectives established for the coaching intervention. Level Four assessments require up-front clarity of the relationship between coaching and strategic objectives at the beginning of the coaching relationship and as a foundation for the coaching initiative.

Evaluating Training Programs, Donald L. Kirkpatrick, Barrett-Koehler Publishers, San Francisco. 1994

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Same Ol' Same Ol'

Sometimes people ask: “So how is Six Sigma any different from all the other flavors of the month that never worked?”

Actually there are a couple of issues raised in this question. First, that prior “quality efforts” didn’t work, and second, that somehow Six Sigma is a repackaging of old ideas.

First, it is critical to understand that Six Sigma is neither a repackaging of old ideas nor is it a completely new set of tools and techniques. Practitioners are in the business of improving processes and building success. Therefore, it is logical that we should acknowledge the roots of prior ideas and efforts and continue to develop our “quality efforts.”

There are many great ideas and useful strategies from “the old days” that have been updated and incorporated into the Six Sigma methodology. For example, DMAIC has its roots in the Shewart Cycle, Lean Six Sigma has its solid foundation from the Toyota Production System, and cost-of-quality, a critical foundation to any Six Sigma initiative, has a long tradition. The great strength of Six Sigma is its foundation ideas to use data, improve process and reduce costs, focus on the customer, and tie projects to organizational strategic objectives. All of these goals have a foundation in prior “quality efforts.”

As for the charge that prior efforts “never worked” it may be that practitioners have either over-sold or under-delivered the value of their initiatives or they have failed to adequately and successfully communicate the results of their efforts. Each of these is a significant topic unto itself and deserves a full individual post – in the future.

This blog is a service of The Six Sigma Coach, LLC. We provide training to experienced Six Sigma practitioners to enhance their coaching skills. Visit us at http://www.thesixsigmacoach.com/

Questions, comments suggestions are always welcome. Our email address is info@thesixsigmacoach.com

Player verses Client

In sports it is the player who scores the points. The sports coach works with, develops, and supports the player. The coach’s job is to help players develop their inherent natural ability. Ultimately, on the field, it is up to the player to be successful.

In a helping relationship, such as therapy, or twelve-step recovery program, it is the psychologist or leader who supports the client. There is the basic assumption that somehow the client is broken and the coach has the ability to “fix” the client or to fix the client’s problem.

Six sigma practitioners are smart people selected for their capabilities and their abilities to get things done. The Six Sigma coach’s role is most frequently to help the belt think outside the box, to examine alternatives, to act as a sounding board for ideas, to encourage, and to support players to bring out their inherent natural ability. The Six Sigma coach isn’t trying to fix anybody.

Six sigma coaches are, hopefully, smart people, too. It takes considerable skill and patience – especially when the coach has seen a similar problem or issue before – to ask the kinds of questions that will spur the player to develop a way forward toward a solution that works in the given situation. The great temptation is to offer suggested ideas and by implication guide the player to the coach’s perceived ideal solution. The wise coach remains centered, still and open to the player to allow the player the time to process and arrive at a solution the player can own and implement. The wise coach sees a player not a client.

This blog is a service of The Six Sigma Coach, LLC. We help seasoned six sigma practitioners enhance their coaching skills. Visit us at http://www.thesixsigmacoach.com
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CFO is Your Friend

The CEO can make people do things. The CFO can make people want to do things.

Any Six Sigma Coach who can get his CFO and accounting folks on his side has won half the battle.

There are at least two issues at work here. First, is to get the accounting and financial folks to apply Six Sigma practices to their own internal departmental processes, and second, is to enlist their help to drive process improvements through the organization.

There are a couple of pitfalls. First, some accounting-types are very conservative and resistant to change. This may be the result of long experience with financial auditors or failure to keep abreast of changes in general accounting practice. Fortunately, their number is decreasing.

As manufacturing and increasingly transactional organizations are moving away from a batch and queue environment to lean practices, the financial folks have found many of their data and reports useless or yesterday’s news – for example, taking two weeks to close the quarter’s books is 13 days too late. Another example: a just-in-time plant does not need to value inventory. Many accounting activities are ripe for improvement including invoicing, tracking purchasing, and payroll general ledge activities. As accountants improve their transactional processes they can step-up their view of the business to become a strategic partner providing information and insight to operations to support strategic decision making.

The savvy Six Sigma coach will routinely enlist the CFO troops to participate as process improvement team members at least in an advisory role if not as a full-time team member. Additionally the Coach will work with the CFO to develop a methodology to calculate gains from six sigma projects. Several years after starting their Six Sigma initiative, GE claimed in their corporate annual report that they were realizing an 11 to one ratio from Six Sigma; that is, for every dollar spent they gained $11.00 in savings. You can be sure they have an established, well-defined procedure in place to calculate costs of benefits, and so should your organization.

Where to start? An excellent resource is Cunningham and Fiume, “Real Numbers” Managing Times Press, Durham, NC. The authors are financial types with a solid understanding of Six Sigma. At a minimum, the Coach will understand many of the accounting terms, reports, and applications from the CFO’s perspective. For accountants unfamiliar with Six Sigma it provides a practical application from their knowledge to the Six Sigma methodology. The authors have packed in lots of good, useful information in less than 200 pages.

You are invited to comment on this article, or make a recommendation to other resources.

email to russ@thesixsigmacoach.com and be sure to visit our webpage at http://www.thesixsigmacoach.com

The Six Sigma Coach LLC provides coaching training to experienced Six Sigma practitioners.