Do you feel dissatisfied despite having your dream job?

Do you have this vague feeling that “there is something missing”?

Have you lost motivation to go to office every day?

Are you looking for that missing link?

In any of the above mentioned case/s, wouldn’t it be nice to talk to someone who is not a competitive colleague or an evaluative boss? And what if I tell you that there is someone well-equipped and trained in helping people understand and develop their career goals? Moreover, your employer is paying for that expert to guide you!

These people are Life Coaches who can work parallel to career coaches. They do not search new jobs, rather they help you identify how you can gain maximum out of your present one and/or who may guide you to have the courage and right material to pursue a new and may be an un-tried area. They help you understand your needs, identify your goals, and map it against your career trajectory.

Many companies have started to identify coaching as an important tool to build morale for its employee. Once reserved for only the crém de la crém of the organisation, companies have realised that the impact of hiring a coaching service provider for its regular employees is immense. Not only they help employees to catch up with daily work struggles, but also motivate them to grow professionally and personally. This ultimately, pushes the growth of the company upwards. Employees develop a sense of loyalty towards the company, which is taking interest in their growth seriously.

Once considered HR’s job, counselling employees and understanding each individual need has become increasingly difficult, with the changing dynamics of the corporate world. Employees no longer work for decades in the same organisation. Changing jobs after 2-3 years has become the norm. everyone is yearning for new skills, new ideas, and a fast-paced growth. This is the reason why so many career-coaching service providers have come into picture. These service providers are trained to work closely with each individual employee and help them achieve their goals, which neither the HR, nor the immediate manager is skilled to do. Though recent, coaching industry has created quite a stir. Many companies across various industries are hiring the life coaches for making the employees and companies meet their career goals.

Established Life Coaching companies like Inspirathon International have many clients who seek external coaches for their employees. One such client is ABC, who sponsors coaching to its employees from Inspiration International. ABC has seen marked improvement in the overall motivation, and thereby performance of its employees. ABC pays an annual fee to Inspiration International and employees are provided with free coaching sessions.

One may point out that employees might be compelled to consider job opportunities outside the company, after consulting with a career coach, but new age companies like ABC are ready to take that plunge. They understand that the company will benefit the maximum when its employees are clear about their goals and productivity.

No Reservation in Career Coaching Anymore!

When “Coaching” as a programme was introduced in the 70s and 80s, it was reserved for the top management, as leadership programmes. For mid to low level employees, companies used to dig up an annual training programme. These programmes usually were generalised and not catered to individual needs. The employees thus, were left to fend their own career paths.

Dr Monica Nagpal Agnihotri who is an experienced Life Coach and her IILCI (Inspirathon International Life Coaching Instt.) trains batches of life coaches to cater to the qualitative improvement of the coaching & training industry says,

“Today we live in a world entirely different from what we saw just two decades back. This is true in terms of all kinds of relationships- personal or professional. Now particularly everyone is rushing into relationships as well as careers and walking out of them quickly. That is to say most of the times in their lives, people are on the crossroads due to different reasons. Now as they are stressed and imbalanced, they tend to make more mistakes than usual. Therefore, everyone requires a balanced coaching to advance in a trajectory which is useful and not harmful.”

In today’s dynamics where, talented workforce is available in plenty, the number of employers has also increased remarkably. The new start-ups and age-old companies are at constant war to find the best talent and retain them too. Career coaching services are now seen as an interesting job benefit as offered by the company. It shows that company is taking interest in the growth and development of its employees.It is thus, a win-win situation for both. Happy employees will deliver better and thus contribute to a better growth of their respective companies.

Coaching service providers like Inspiration International not only helps dissatisfied employees find the right career path, but also, nudges satisfied employees to do better in their role.

Ought to get some Personal Anecdote!

All these discussions generated some level of curiosity in me, and I decided to hire a career coach for myself to understand the norm better. I went to Inspiration International’s website and booked an appointment. At the appointed time, my appointed coach made me very comfortable pretty much at the onset of the session. We discussed my job, the skills I have and the career path I see for myself. She  made me so much at ease that I could express my anxieties that I had never spoken out loud before anyone. She made me realise my potential, certain aspects of my job that even I wasn’t aware of, things that I can avoid and skills that would help me boost my career. I realised, though the goals were clear in my head, I was lost in my actions. The support I got felt really enriching. I felt a sense of empowerment through this new knowledge.

Daniel Pink in his book ‘Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us’  writes,

“Money doesn’t motivate us to do our best work. Rather, it’s a sense of mastery, autonomy, and purpose that propels us to perform our best.”

I read these words by Dr Monica Nagpal Agnihotri in Inspirathon International’s office,

“Success means different things to different persons. According to me success is getting what you want. The issue is not success but it is ‘what do I want’. So let’s find out what this ‘I’ wants and embrace that eluding success.”

Everyone’s sharing the pie!

Even age-old companies have started to understand the importance of coaching services. They are willingly chalking out programmes that can encompass the needs of its mass employees. The classic example of this would be Citizen Financial Group, New England based regional bank, partnered with IBM, to provide a virtual career coach to all its staff.

Many companies have Internal-Job Posting programmes, where an employee from a particular function group can apply for a job in a different function. Career coach helps employees to identify their interests, and the skills they have to match them, and the exact functions they can opt for. Thus, enabling the employer have the right employee for the right job.

It is very important for the employee to be relevant with the job function they are working in. In the world where replacements are easily available, career coach can help get a focussed approach to be of value in this ever changing dynamics.