ROI of Coaching

Leadership coaching has emerged as a highly effective and powerful tool for developing organizational leaders.  Below are some research findings and case studies that underscore the value of coaching:

A Fortune 500 firm engaged Metrix Global LLC to determine the business benefits and return on investment for an executive coaching program.  The bottom line:  coaching produced a 529% ROI (5$ return for every $1 spent on coaching) as well as significant intangible benefits to the business.  When the financial benefits of employee retention were rolled into the results, the ROI was nearly eight to one, or 788%.
Executive Briefing: Case Study on the Return on Investment of Executive Coaching, MetrixGlobal, LLC, Merrill C. Anderson, Ph.D., November 2, 2001.

Coaching enhances the impact of executives, increases their speed in becoming effective within the organization and improves overall job satisfaction and retention.  In one study, with only training given, productivity increased by 22%.  However, when coupled with coaching productivity increased by 88%.  
The Case for Executive Coaching by Andrew W. Talkington.  Laurie S. Voss & Pamela S. Wise.  Business Magazine Chemistry Section, November 2002.

Companies such as Motorola and IBM offer coaching as a part of their executive development programs.  When asked for a conservative estimate of the monetary payoff from the coaching they received, managers described an average return of more than $100,000 or about six times what the coaching had cost their companies.
Fortune Magazine, Executive Coaching – With Returns a CFO Could Love, February 19, 2001.

Studies in school leadership have noted a positive correlation between a school’s leadership and academic achievement.  One analysis of 69 studies involving 2,802 schools, 14,000 teachers and 1.4 million students showed that improving an average principal’s leadership by 34% usually results in a 10% increase in student achievement in that principal’s school over time.  Similarly, a 49% increase in leadership ability predicted a 22% academic achievement increase over time.
School Leadership that Works: From Research to Results.  R. J. Marzono, T. Walters and B. McNulty.  Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2005.

A formal study done in British Columbia that involved 18 principals, vice principals and district office administrators found that “coaching resulted in the participants gaining new skills, taking different approaches in their jobs, increasing their sense of well-being, gaining better balance, and feeling supported, all results which (are likely to) increase the effectiveness of the school district’s leaders and will likely retain them as leaders.  
Coaching Educational Leaders by N. Bradley, B. MacGregor, S. Ryan-McNee & S. McCoubrey, BC Educational Leadership Research, May 2006.