Financial CHANGE Program
2010 – 2011
COACH TRAINING
October 12, 2010
Financial Coaching
using Goal Attainment
• Relationship-based goal attainment
– Support to reach self-activated goals
• Performance improvement
– Simple goal exercise
– Follow-up weekly
• Examples of goals:
• Open bank account
• Make budget and stick to it for 2 pay periods
• Sign-up for benefits; fund savings accounts
• Not an ‘expert’ –goal setting and monitoring
• Accountability
Working Definition of Coaching
“a collaborative solution-focused, result-oriented and systematic process in
which the coach facilitates the enhancement of life experience and goal
attainment of normal, non-clinical clients” (Grant, 2003).
Key Elements of Coaching
• a focus on long-term outcomes
(future orientation)
• an ongoing, systematic, collaborative
process for assisting clients to change
behaviors
• support to practice new behaviors
• building skills and teaching content
based on the client’s unique needs
and goals
Steps:
1. Goal setting
2. Action
planning
3. Monitoring
Coaching Low-income Clients
• Less likely to need more complex financial
planning services
• Fewer financial assets; less likely to have
Appreciate
employer benefits
and excel with
financial
• May be eligible for public benefits or
coaching
special private programs
approach
• Credit management critical
• Lack of experience with financial
institutions, products
• Pressure on time and limited resources
Facilitation Skills
ICF Core Coaching Competencies
1. Setting the
foundation
• Ethical and
professional
standards
• Establishing the
coaching agreement
2. Co-creating the
relationship
• Establishing trust and
intimacy with the
client
• Coaching presence
3. Communicating
effectively
• Active listening
• Powerful questioning
• Direct communication
4. Facilitating learning
and results
• Creating awareness
• Designing actions
• Planning and goal setting
• Managing progress and
accountability
Components of Financial Coaching
Goals of
Coaching
Typical
Coaching
Activities
 Achieve client-defined goals
 Address immediate issues
 Support specific actions to meet goals
 Improve financial situations
 Change financial behaviors
 Facilitate decision-making
 Provide tools, resources and referrals
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Alliance with client
Set goals
Develop action plan
Identify resources, tools and services
Monitor client progress
Make referrals as needed
Coaching Checklist – Common Steps
 Initial contact with client (in person)
 Schedule appointment
 Talk about role
 Make notes about the client already on file
 Follow up contact (phone, email or in person)
 Next coaching session
 Document progress and notes
 Schedule follow-up contact with client (phone or in person)
7
Probing Questions
 “What are your financial goals?”
Late Payments
 “Do you want to pay all your bills on time? How is that working for you? Are you paying any late?”
 “How do you pay your bills?”
 “Are you opening the mail immediately?” “Are you paying immediately, or cutting it close and/or getting
late fees?”
 “Do you pay bills around pay day, or as soon as you get them?”
Budgeting for savings
 “Do you want to be a better money manager?”
 “Are you saving for something?”
 “Do you have something saved, like for a rainy day? How about for retirement?”
 “ Have you checked with your boss or HR people about what benefits you may be able to sign up for?”
** More examples later when we go through the Coach’s Notebook
8
Goal Setting Wheel
Savings
Credit Record
Debt
Health
Benefits /
Budgeting
Coverage
Renters / Homeowners /
Car / Life Insurance
Banking
Retirement
9
Progress
• Solicit client feedback and move towards
“graduation”
• Establish strong measurement of goals,
outcomes
Financial Coaching Institute
2009-2010
• Pilot Program last year
• 12 coaches matched with 12 partners
• 10 partners made it all the way through to
April 2010 “Graduation”
• Coaches noted progress is slow, but none
the less certain over time, especially if
partners were self-motivated
Examples of Goals Reached
Executive Attention & Budgeting
•
Caught up on bills
•
Set up automatic payments to avoid late fees
•
Organized bills and payments and began opening bills
and paying on time
•
Started tracking receipts to identify spending habits
•
Created a budget and followed it
•
Is now balancing checking account to avoid overdraft
fees
•
Tracking Income and Expenses
Saving
•
Signed up for money savings option for monthly bills
•
Started a savings account with tax refund and paid off
bills
•
Regularly making bag lunches instead of eating out
•
Established Checking and Savings Accounts
•
Learned why tracking expenses and keeping spending
records was important and implemented successful
systems to save for large items/expenses/goals for
family
Debt and Credit Related
•
Discovered how she could pay a little extra off the credit card balance
each month
•
Used tax refund to pay off large portion of credit card debt
•
Made plan to pay off high interest loan
•
Identified credit cards w/ high interest rates to pay off 1st
•
Learned how to obtain credit report
•
Developed plan of attack for debt
•
Paid off outstanding debts
•
Became client of Greenpath's debt management program
•
Got a second, part-time job in order to pay off debt
Coaches’ Feedback
• Coaches’ Meeting Feb 3, 2010
• Higher success rate for Partners who have a clear and
inspiring goal, and are self-motivated.
• Discussed difficulty of refraining from giving advice
• Coaches wished their partners had a more supportive
social network which also encouraged them to reach
their financial goals
• Satisfaction with monthly workshops: the presentations
gave them facts, legitimacy, and good conversation
topics for their coaching sessions to follow.
• Suggestion was made for the program to supply more
coaching resources
What We’ve Added This Year
• Coach’s Notebooks with training materials
and usable forms
• Referral List (in Coach’s Notebook)
• Co-Active Coaching Book at FEC
• Coaching Website
– Training materials
– Forms
– Links
– A work in progress– this is going to
get much more useful in coming months!
Thank you!
Questions:
J. Michael Collins
jmcollins@wisc.edu