A LIFE coach may not be the first person a small business turns to when times get tough. But James McKim, one of Scotland's leading practitioners, thinks companies should treat coaches as trusted advisers, in the same way they would an accountant or solicitor – and he's not the only one who thinks so.
McKim, who runs Coach Me 2, has won a contract to provide business training to new members of the National Association of Small Businesses (NASB). The ringing endorsement will also involve McKim's services being promoted to the association's 24,000
existing members.
Small companies that sign up for the new service will receive about 13 weeks of free coaching and will only pay for the service if their business improves.
Criteria by which success will be judged are set by the firms in conjunction with McKim.
Members of the Coaching Academy – the UK's largest school for coaches, through which McKim completed his own training – will be used to deliver courses in areas of the country that McKim cannot reach.
McKim's training for small businesses runs from skills such as resolving conflict and public speaking through to tips for managing stress or achieving a balance between work and life.
He said he could also refer businesses to other advisers contracted to the NASB, such as those offering marketing advice or web designing, who could also help to boost profits.
McKim said: "I find coaching still has an element of uncertainty about it – people aren't quite sure what it involves. We had to be able to open the door to coaching without the fear that it was going to cost small businesses a fortune.
"We came up with a model similar to a legal firm's 'no win, no fee' scenario. If there isn't any improvement in their results then they won't pay. We set performance targets, either related to individuals within the organisation or the overall performance of sales levels.
"It's business coaching but incorporating sales training."
The scheme has only been running for eight weeks but already ten businesses have signed up for the Coach Me 2 services.
McKim – who described the link-up with the NASB as being "quite unique" in training circles – added: "There's still a barrier but it has to be broken down.
"In America, coaching is taken for granted – most successful individuals and successful businesses, from small enterprises to large blue-chip corporations, all engage coaches.
"We engage accountants and solicitors to improve performance and that's where coaching has got to get to – it's got to become accepted as a method of improving performance. We still have to break that barrier down by showing results."
Lee Taylor-Watson, operations director at the NASB, said: "It was the long-term benefits for our members that attracted me to Coach Me 2.
"A lot of our members will get into a situation where they can't see the wood for the trees. Sometimes it's helpful to have a fresh set of eyes looking at things and pointing you in the right direction. Initial feedback since we introduced the service has been very good, it fits in nicely with what we're already doing.
"I'm a bit 'old-school' in the way I think – I used to think of life-coaching as a bit 'new age'. But when I sat down and spoke to James about how it works then it all made perfect sense.
"I think a lot of our members need help to generate new business. Other big business networks do a lot of government lobbying but we try to also offer a lot of help at grass-roots level, helping to get more people through the shop door."
McKim added: "Business people tend to lose sight of the reason why they started a business in the first place. The daily routine takes over from the target they set out with. We try to get them back on track."
