I’ve spent much of my career in the technology sector.

For the last 10 years I’ve had the honour of working at Purple with chief executive Gavin Wheeldon, who’s always been something of a visionary when it comes to coaching.

“The feedback from coaching across the business and for Kerry as a coach has been spectacular,” Gavin wrote.

“We have been able to improve the effectiveness of people in their roles. Those same people have improved their personal lives too. Overall it has been a fantastic outcome for the people and the company.”

So why would tech companies use a performance coach?

With many tech businesses experiencing pressure from their boards and investors to show profitability – or at least a path to it – it’s more important than ever to look after and retain the good staff we have, and somehow increase their motivation, productivity and effectiveness.

If you’re running a hybrid tech business, you probably worry about your people. How are they really feeling? Are they motivated? Are they looking for jobs elsewhere? Do they believe in our vision and mission, are they truly bought in? Are they productive, effective and focused – while maintaining a work life balance? Do they have a clear role and know what a good day looks like in terms of results? Hmmm. Not sure?

Meet the man turning the world Purple

Here are my five top tips on why using a coach is a good idea.

You will LEARN. You will learn so much about how everyone feels and what they need. You will enable people to talk truthfully in their teams. You will create change;

You will delight, encourage and re-energise your best people. You will fast track resignations in people who have lost desire and motivation to work for you;

You will create motivation, productivity, efficiency and focus within both people and teams. It is action oriented;

You will create cultural transformation, innovation and change off the back of coaching. Positivity, vulnerability, honesty, trust and openness will be fostered. Healthy challenge and debate will start to emerge. Coaching changes the language we all use, and the culture. It’s infectious;

You will send a clear message to your people that YOU CARE about them. You will show them that you prioritise people and healthy relationships.

And a bonus one – people just love coaching. The positivity generated is really striking. People are very grateful for the coaching. They feel relieved, lighter, motivated and re-energised.

A question I always get asked is about how you measure success, or the effectiveness of the coaching.

Here’s how I do it:

Activity reports;

Employee satisfaction ratings for impact and effectiveness;

NPS scores ‘would you recommend coaching to a colleague?’;

Qualitative feedback;

Anonymised quarterly ‘theme’ reports

Usually, the people involved can just see the transformation for themselves. Which is very rewarding for everyone involved.

Shy bairns get nowt (and other leadership lessons from my mum)

So what is the first step?

The first session is always free with a good coach. Find one you like the look of and ask for a discovery session with them. I recommend business coaches who are CTIand/or ORSC trained. Who knows where it will take you?