S60: Workplace coaching: why and what does it take?

Go back to Resource Library
By September 26, 2017 No Comments

Authors: Angela Micheletto

Year: 2017

Event: 2017 TheMHS Conference

Subject: Service Systems, Delivery, Implementation,Research & Evaluation Informing Practice,Workforce,Change, Innovation, Reform

Type of resource: Conference Presentations and Papers

Abstract: This presentation aims to outline the drivers for the implementation of a workplace coaching model in cohealth community mental health services, what it takes to implement this model, and what cohealth have learnt along the way about improving implementation and practice.

In 2014, three community mental health services merged to become cohealth. This presented enormously exciting opportunities. The challenge at this time was to bring together co-workers, rapidly train staff in a new model, provide ongoing infrastructure that would support staff to develop their coaching skills, and provide opportunities for alignment between staff skills, development priorities and organisational mission. There is a growing body of research supporting the efficacy of workplace coaching programs in improving performance and enhancing organisational citizenship behaviours. In response to this challenge, and encouraged by the evidence, cohealth introduced a workplace coaching model across cohealth community mental health services.

Through the experience of implementation and subsequent review of implementation and process, cohealth has gained a number of insights. This presentation will share insights about the resources, attitudes, skills and enabling factors required to implement a workplace coaching model at cohealth, how implementation compared to initial hopes and concerns, and improvement priorities falling out of the review.

Learning Objectives
Learning Objective 1: Audience members will gain an understanding of the experience of one service in implementing a workplace coaching model. They will learn the reasons behind such a change for this organisation, what went well, what some of the challenges were, and how this service aims to improve this model in the future. Through understanding the cohealth experience, audience members may gain insights into how to approach similar practice change in their own organisational context.

Learning Objective 2: This topic is relevant to mental health services providing recovery coaching to consumers or undertaking practice change. Workplace coaching is an important avenue for recovery coaches to improve their own coaching skills through a process of experiential learning. Many of the key lessons from this experience may be transferable to any major practice change.

References
Oades, L. G. (2017). The Wiley Blackwell handbook of the psychology of positivity and strengths-based approaches at work. Chichester, England : Wiley Blackwell, 2017.
Moore, G. F., Audrey, S., Barker, M., Bond, L., Bonell, C., Hardeman, W., & ... Baird, J. (2015). Process evaluation of complex interventions: Medical Research Council guidance. BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.), 350h1258. doi:10.1136/bmj.h1258

This resource is only available for subscribers. If you have a subscription, please log in. Otherwise, click here to purchase a subscription.