How to Coach an Employee as a Supervisor

Coaching and mentorship can increase job satisfaction.

Coaching is the art of working one-on-one with individual employees to develop and refine their skills while improving on their weaknesses. Coaching is an integral part of being an effective supervisor, and it can lead to a knowledgeable and experienced staff that pushes productivity and efficiency to ever-higher levels. Effective coaching strategies are fine-tuned to meet individual employees' needs; coaching an employee requires attention to the nuances of individual learning styles, personalities and experience.

Instructions

1. Get to know each employee before developing custom-tailored coaching strategies. Jumping right into one-on-one coaching can be counterproductive if you approach an employee in the wrong way. Take the time to learn about the employee's personality traits, personal and professional goals, learning styles and work styles before working with him on personal or professional development. A highly analytical employee is not likely to respond well to long digressions into personal conversation and jokes, for example, while an employee with a more amiable personality style needs to form personal connections before being fully receptive to feedback.

2. Build trust with employees to increase their reception to your coaching. Coaching effectiveness can fall apart if an employee secretly dislikes or distrusts her supervisor. Be honest in all of your communications, make integrity a priority in your decisions, and be fair in the ways you treat your subordinates. Avoid gossiping or otherwise spreading negativity about anyone in the company. Prove to each employee that he can trust you with his weaknesses and vulnerabilities, and that you only have his best interests in mind.

3. Phrase criticism positively to help the employee to work through her weaknesses. Much of coaching centers on identifying and resolving problems. Communicating issues in a negative way can tear down personal trust and build up walls of resistance. Do not cause the employee to think you are insulting her or tearing her down when you point out mistakes or bad habits; rather, leave her feeling energized with a drive to exceed her personal limitations and achieve new heights of achievement.

4. Ask for feedback from the employee throughout the coaching process to ensure that each employee feels his needs are being met and concerns addressed. Ask the employee if he needs extra guidance on issues you have been discussing, and be willing to alter your coaching strategy according to individual employees' input.

5. Allow the employee the freedom to experiment with and practice new skills as you coach him along. Identify which employees learn more by doing than listening, and make sure these employees have just as much hands-on time as one-to-one conversation time to reinforce your coaching.

6. Speak with the employee in private as often as possible to allow him to fully open up and receive feedback. Avoid putting the employee in a position where he feels embarrassed or anxious about speaking in front of others. People can be more receptive to feedback and more able to open up about their shortcomings without the social pressures of saving face, whether in a workplace environment, a social setting or at home.

References

• Hotel F&B: Lessons Learned -- Coaching
• MTD: Five Great Employee Coaching Tips