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MANAGEMENT COACHING: THE BRIDGE TO SUCCESSFUL
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS
Michaeline Skiba, Monmouth University, West Long Branch, New Jersey, USA
Joseph Mosca, Monmouth University, West Long Branch, New Jersey, USA
ABSTRACT
The globalization of various types of professional work, advances in computer
technology, and the increased demand for workers in technical occupations are among the
phenomena that have motivated both business leaders and academicians to examine what must
be done to sustain America’s long-term economic competitiveness. To this end, it is imperative
to develop and utilize appropriate learning methods among current and future generations.
This paper is a brief examination of the learning methods and experiences that enhance
performance levels in professional occupations. It emphasizes the ways in which business
professionals – especially young professionals who work in team-based work organizations –
learn at work. In addition, it focuses on a specific type of learning experience that transcends
formal educational settings to be a salient feature of successful customer-centered relationships.
BACKGROUND
For more than half a century, the economy of the United States has been the world’s
largest (United States Department of Commerce, 2007) and has received widespread recognition
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in global scientific and technological innovation and development (National Academy of
Sciences, 2007). However, as a large segment of well educated and primarily white Americans
retire from the workplace (U.S. Department of Labor, 2006), many members of its demographic
replacements will not have completed a college degree and may not sustain the country’s
economic competitiveness (Seymonds, 2005).
Rapid technological and scientific advancements in all sectors of the global economy
have led globalization researchers to conclude that the United States needs more and younger
creative problem solvers and innovative thinkers (Friedman, 2005; National Science Board,
2006). In 2002 and 2003 alone, among 197,092 H-1B visa petitions, 64,980 were from India,
18,841 were from the People’s Republic of China, 11,760 were from Canada, 9,295 were from
the Philippines, and 7,171 were from the United Kingdom (Office of Immigration Statistics,
2004). According to William Gates, Microsoft’s founder and Chief Executive Officer, many of
these people are highly educated and highly skilled in computer programming, engineering,
architecture, medicine, and biotechnology (Gates, 2007). Regardless of whether visa limits are
increased, it appears clear that America’s business environments must cultivate methods for
sustaining long-term and sustainable economic competitiveness.
To determine what can be done to encourage more American born young professionals to
fill job vacancies in professional occupations, this paper reviews the purpose of contemporary
learning efforts and their impact on the current and prospective workforces within selected
business settings.
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RELEVANT PROFESSIONAL LITERATURE
Overview of Experiential Learning
Experiential learning activities that integrate academic studies with work experiences
allow learners to make decisions that are real rather than conceptual, and provide opportunities to
actively apply theory to practice. In addition, experiential learning activities enable learners to
explore various career options and work with both academic and professional mentors. These
activities include cooperative education placements, internships, job shadowing, and classroombased hands-on laboratory activities (McCarthy and McCarthy, 2004).
In a study of work-based experiences of college students, Lewis (2004) found that twothirds of the sample reported that they learned better through hands-on experiences and real
world application versus solely classroom and textbook work. Molseed, Alsup and Voyles
(2003) concluded that while job specific skills are necessary, additional skills that must be
developed include personal responsibility, decision-making, collaboration, commitment, and an
understanding of potential career choices – all of which are refined during students’ work
experience.
Dewey, one of the first proponents of active experimentation in learning, warned
educators that merely “doing” an activity was not enough for learning to occur (Dewey, 1938).
More than half a century ago, Knowles wrote that “…there are two kinds of adult education,
formal and informal. The first adopts the methods long established in our going educational
institutions. The second creates its methods. There are times when what he [the adult] most
needs is not and could not be found in any formal course of instruction” (Knowles 1950, p. 5).
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According to Raelin (2000) and more recently McCarthy and McCarthy (2006),
experiential learning that utilizes techniques such as the case approach (combining a simulated
experience with conceptual knowledge) falls short of what is needed to bridge theory with
practice.
The “cooperative” or “co-op” approach as described by Trach and Harney (1998) is
intended to enhance learning through the integration of classroom study with planned and
supervised learning outside the classroom. In this manner, academic theory is tested in practice
and students are given the opportunity to engage in more reflective career choice analysis.
Similarly, internship programs that are well-defined and supervised allow employers to build a
larger pool of entry level candidates, and students/employees to become better prepared, more
productive, and actively apply classroom knowledge on the job. In addition to several other
advantages, “extra hands and the opportunity to try out a future staffer are the most common
reasons that employers use interns,” according to one source (Anonymous, 2005).
Unlike cooperative arrangements that blend college and work experience, the traditional
mentoring program is one in which the full-time employee (the mentee) contracts with an
experienced, supervisory-level employee (the mentor) to obtain career advice, political support,
access to inside information, and opportunities for advancement. Primary benefits cited as
hallmarks of this type of mentoring are typically career or job-related support and psychological
support (Eddy et al, 2005). Another form of mentoring in the workplace is peer mentoring,
defined as “…an intentional one-on-one relationship between employees at the same or similar
lateral level in the firm that involves a more experienced employee providing support and
teaching new knowledge and skills to a less experienced employee” (Enscher, Thomas and
Murphy, 2001, p. 419). According to Bryant and Terborg (2008), who examined the impact of
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peer mentoring on 222 employees of a software firm, peer mentoring can increase knowledge
creation and sharing among both mentors and mentees, and this knowledge-based philosophy
may help work organizations create sustainable competitive advantages. Other professional
disciplines that have reported highly successful results with mentoring programs include nursing
(Coughlin and Hogan, 2008), the electronics industry – notably, at Xerox (Carvin 2009), and
accounting (Covelski and Dirsmith, 1998; Kaplan and Walo, 2001), to name a few.
Regardless of the setting used to transfer classroom learning into workplace practice,
environments that include task variety, feedback, and meaningful interactions lead to positive
work outcomes (Cunningham and Sagas, 2004). Silberman (2006) strongly asserted that topics
are not essential. Rather, what is important is what learners value, understand, and the
knowledge and information that is put to use as it is being transferred – from concept to active
practice.
The vital role held by work-based or real world experience cannot be underestimated as
witnessed over the years in the refinement of Kolb’s experiential learning model (1984), which
stresses the use of concrete experience to test ideas and the use of feedback to change practices
and theories. In his groundbreaking research related to adult learning and development, Kolb
examined models of the experiential learning process previously developed by Lewin, Dewey,
and Piaget. All of these researchers, in their own ways, characterized learning as a process and
not a function of outcomes; as a continuous process grounded in experience; and as a holistic
process and function of adaptation to the world. In acknowledging the ways in which the learner
interacts with their environment and, in the process, creates new knowledge, Kolb defined
learning as “the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience”
(Kolb, 1984, p. 38).
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The Emergence of the Coaching Concept
As a management technique, the coaching concept has appeared within management
literature for almost 60 years and, for well over 30 years, its application within business
management settings has been rooted in athletic and sports coaching practices (Ellinger, Ellinger
and Keller, 2003). In the sports sector, coaches guide incremental progress and motivate their
athletes to extend their capabilities in order to increase team performance from the inside out.
Similarly, business coaches, as work-based management developers, can increase both skill and
behavioral requirements from various levels of employees through the use of feedback, goal
setting, and guidelines that fulfill strategic organizational objectives. Interestingly and because
both managers’ skill requirements and their organizations are rapidly changing, employees may
seek out a coach who works at their own level of learning and development. In addition, many
organizations now rely on team-based structures to improve quality, productivity, customer
service, and employees’ work skills (Thompson, 2004), so it is not surprising that coaches may
be found among any of the members of a work team.
Recent literature suggests that effective coaching goes beyond only supporting an
employee’s realization of specific work-related goals. For example, Anderson and Anderson
(2005) found that coaching activities elicit behavioral changes that meet development needs of
both the organization and the individual, and these changes often produce lasting effects that
evolve and encourage those who have been coached to coach others. To realize these lasting
effects, however, it is important to view the essence of coaching as “shaping” or the process of
successive reinforcement toward an objective (Daniels and Daniels, 2006). The criterion for
reinforcement is the sign of any improvement, no matter how small, and when small
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improvements are reinforced, behaviors are strengthened and, hopefully, continued improvement
will follow. Attainability is a key element of any coaching effort since reinforcement alone does
not lead to the development of the confidence, self-esteem and task knowledge traits associated
with improved work performance (Bivens, 1996).
Clearly, coaching appears to create positive outcomes within employees who have been
influenced and motivated by an effective coach. When employees find their own answers, their
increased sense of empowerment creates a work environment in which clear decisions, creative
options, and actionable solutions for problems are achieved. A very recent online survey of
2,040 executives within the United States and Canada supports these observations. Blessing
White, the consulting firm that conducted the survey, found that sixty-five percent of these
respondents experienced benefits from employing the coaching concept, and more than half of
them believe that coaching employees can help improve the bottom line (Immen, 2008).
The Benefits of Coaching In Business Settings
At this juncture, it is important to note how coaching differs from mentoring. The word
“mentor” has mythological roots in Homer’s The Odyssey, in which Odysseus left his friend,
Mentor, to take care of his son while he fought in the Trojan War. Odysseus was absent for
more than twenty years! Since the book was written, the word has referred to a wise and trusted
teacher or counselor. As mentioned briefly and earlier in this paper, while there are no processes
common to all mentoring programs, mentoring continues to be viewed as a process in which the
mentor disseminates knowledge, experience and advice to another individual, the mentee, for the
purpose of recruiting, retaining and developing talented people within an organization.
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Both mentoring and coaching efforts involve three parties: the mentor, the mentee, and
the organization. Historically, however, mentoring efforts have been characterized as formal
programs that include a contractual agreement among the parties, defined goals and objectives,
specified time and work requirements, and a deep commitment from the three constituents.
According to Coll and Raghavan (2004), the top four concerns or issues for the organization
alone include a commitment to the program, the need for a dedicated coordinator (to provide
assistance and implement feedback), patience (for program development and modifications), and
feedback (a concern that these authors found surprisingly minimal within this review).
The distinctive advantages that coaching efforts have demonstrated over the last decade
are due to a number of factors. The growth of the Internet not only has eliminated physical
distance but also the speed with which information is conveyed. In addition, the Internet has
enabled instructional designers to create innovative and highly interactive subject matter.
Another factor is the widespread increase of corporate acquisitions and reorganizations at every
level, which has prompted businesses to reexamine how and when to deliver developmental
material that responds to individual and organizational change. This latter factor also has
changed the ways in which employees at all levels professionally network individually and in
groups – a subject for another paper but one that has affected business transactions that include
management development efforts.
Business Sector Applications
Not surprisingly, many “success stories” about coaching are found within the training and
development literature, and they have become increasingly more creative over time. Leadership
development and succession planning are key areas of interest. Wachovia’s internal and external
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coaches, after completion of an intensive online coaching management program, deliver
executive coaching tools to others (Anonymous, 2004). In one of its issues, the journal Training
reported three successful endeavors. Alltel Corporation’s use of monthly conference calls that
educate managers at retail stores and its call center emphasizes new marketing strategies as well
as effective communications with employees. At another company, American Century
Investments, senior directors serve as facilitators/coaches. Helen Miller, the company’s director
of leadership and management development, stated that these coaches “…describe their
experiences, what works for them and what doesn’t, and why they do things the way they do”
(Gordon, 2006, p. 28). A third company, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, utilizes an extensive and
formal training program before second-line managers are held responsible for first-line manager
coaching. This program, which spans a two-year timeframe, is designed to identify the
employees who will become the next leaders of the company (Gordon, 2006). These and other
corporate coaching initiatives underscore the need for leadership development that is grounded in
daily, performance-related tasks – a significant outcome of one study’s online survey among
over 2,500 senior human resources and training and development executives (Pace, 2008).
Another management directive among progressive companies is ongoing employee
development and retention – within and across functional areas. Avnet Technology Solutions
provides new employees the opportunity to “job shadow” experienced managers in departments
that include but are not limited to strategic planning, finance, support and sales operations,
materials management, marketing, and inside and outside sales (Anonymous, 2004). Two years
ago, Carter & Burgess, a Texas-based engineering and architectural services firm with 30 offices
across the United States, realized it had a problem with employee turnover and a lean internal
leadership pipeline that seriously affected its revenue. Its leadership development program that
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includes executive coaching sessions has decreased turnover (approaching the industry average
of 15%), increased retention of high-potential employees, and increased employee satisfaction by
12%, according to Jim Garman, the company’s Chief Human Resources Officer (Anonymous,
2008).
THE CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
Closely aligned with relationship marketing, customer relationship management (CRM)
is defined by one expert as “…the combination of strategies and technologies that empowers
relationship programs, reorienting the entire organization to a concentrated focus on satisfying
customers” (Kurtz, 2008, p. 322). Obviously, this definition implies that all stakeholders –
suppliers, dealers, partners, top management and employees – must have a vested interest in both
outcomes and processes associated with that focus. Historically and in the sales management
arena, coaching has been used to teach traditional selling skills that include probing, handling
objections, and closing techniques – all of which have been deemed “…underdeveloped and
antiquated relative to the new learning requirements imposed by relationship selling” (Doyle and
Roth, 1992, p.59). Interestingly these same authors – over 15 years ago – advocated “an
emphasis upon experiential learning and structured efforts to consolidate learning through
frequent debriefing sessions” (Ibid, p. 61) that permeate all levels of management.
Today, CRM appears to be centered on frontline service employees and their
commitment to service quality. A recent study of 310 frontline service employees from the
logistics service provider industry found that managerial coaching has a strong influence on both
service quality and job-related outcomes improvement (Elmada, Ellinger & Franke, 2008).
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However, these same authors emphasized that research in this area is relatively scarce, especially
in business-to-business contexts.
Another frontline service example is Bath & Body Works, which acquired and quickly
implemented a powerful software system that gave frontline employees virtually instant answers
to customers’ questions and allowed them more time for face-to-face coaching with their
managers. According to Pati Crowley, the company’s Senior Director of Customer Experience,
“We feel that we had even better customer satisfaction and loyalty this year, based on our
interactions, than last year. We’d rather [see managers] spending time coaching employees in
the stores than trying to look things up or submit a piece of paper to the home office” (Musico,
2009, p. 44).
At the time of this writing (spring of 2009), the United States and a large portion of the
rest of the world are engulfed in an economic recession. While many critics might argue that
price is all that matters now, others contend that customer satisfaction continues to differentiate
businesses, especially those in overcrowded markets. Lior Arussy, the author of Excellence
Every Day, asserts that “in economic times such as these, abandoning a dedication to customer
experience is a risky move. Price is a cheap, unsustainable motivator for customer retention.
Customer experience is the quality product” (Arussy, 2009, p. 12).
While we believe that technology tools greatly enhance the speed and effectiveness of
learning outcomes, we also believe that whatever allows coaching to happen has and continues
to hold great promise as a powerful management tool. Whether corporate leaders choose to use
coaches for frontline employee training, management development or peer-to-peer enrichment –
and regardless of the state of the economy – it appears clear from this limited discussion that
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young management professionals benefit from and are empowered by the coaching method of
instruction.
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