The effectiveness of workplace training

This study presents a meta-analysis summarizing the existing research on the effectiveness of workplace coaching. The researchers focused exclusively on organizational coaching provided by professional coaches, excluding cases of coaching provided by direct managers or peers. The study proposed a framework for potential outcomes from organizational coaching, which we scientifically tested. The analysis showed that coaching has a positive impact on organizational outcomes in general, as well as on specific forms of outcome criteria: skills, emotional outcomes, and individual-level outcomes. The researchers also examined the effects of several practice factors, such as the use of multi-source feedback, type of coach, coaching format, and duration of coaching. The analysis showed that there were significant differences in impact depending on the type of coach (with internal coaches being more effective than external coaches) and the use of multi-source feedback (with coaching without multi-source feedback being more effective). No significant differences in effect were found depending on the training format or duration of training. The findings support the potential benefits of training in organizations and highlight significant implications for workplace training research and practice. Link to the full article >>

Research quote Jones, R.J., Woods, S.A. and Guillaume, Y.R.F. (2016) ‘The effectiveness of workplace coaching: A meta-analysis of learning and performance outcomes from coaching’, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 89(2), pp. 249–277.