How Group Coaching within Organizations Impacts the Bottom Line

Group coaching is rapidly gaining recognition as a cost-effective and scalable approach to fostering growth, innovation, and connection within organizations.

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While individual coaching has its merits, group coaching offers an efficient alternative that not only enhances individual performance at all levels of the organization, but also impacts organizational culture and financial outcomes.

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Cost Benefit of Group Coaching within Organizations

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Executive coaching often comes with a hefty price tag, ranging from $400 to $3,000 per hour, making it accessible primarily to senior leaders.

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Group coaching within organizations, on the other hand, maximizes the use of internal coaching resources to support larger employee groups at a fraction of the cost. Case studies highlight the financial benefits of group coaching. For instance: Cleveland Clinic’s coaching program contributed to $85 million in physician retention, while the International Trade Administration achieved a 225% ROI on its coaching initiatives*.

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Real-World ROI of Group Coaching

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Organizations our team has worked with that have integrated group coaching report measurable results, such as improvements in innovation management, an increase in emotional intelligence, and a strong improvement in employee morale, connection and retention.

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98% of participants report using coaching skills more regularly with their direct reports and 99% of them feel more connected to their peers. 95% of participants could link their own individual goals with broader organizational objectives and KPIs.

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By fostering collaboration and leveraging collective wisdom, group coaching helps align individuals’ goals with the organization’s focus.

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Internal coaches we have completed our group coaching certification program share the following ROI:

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• Ability to expand the impact of coaching to more employees
• Individuals at all levels of the organization apply coaching skills in their day to day interactions
• Increased collaboration between different areas of the organization as group coaching participants create connections
• First time managers feel more engaged
• Employees are grateful for the investment the organization is making in them
• Increased sense of community amongst employees

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These examples underscore how group coaching programs directly impact the bottom line by improving retention, engagement, and productivity.

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AI vs. Human Skills

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AI has proven to be wonderful for creating personalized learning pathways and even for coaching individuals. We have found that organizations that pair AI coaching with group coaching are seeing powerful results as the connections created reduce the risk of silos AI coaching can create.

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In today’s rapidly evolving workplace, leaders are becoming increasingly disconnected. Remote and hybrid work environments have led to a workforce that feels more isolated than ever (Gallup, 2023): Workplace loneliness negatively impacts engagement, innovation, and overall organizational performance. To counteract this and in addition to AI-driven coaching, organizations must prioritize human-centered approaches that foster connection, trust, and psychological safety, such as group coaching.

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Social Penetration Theory (Altman & Taylor, 1973) and Psychological Safety Theory (Kahn, W. N. 1990; Amy Edmonson, 2018; Clark, 2020) support the thesis that group coaching is a powerful method to drive professional development, engagement and retention.

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From the Social Penetration Theory perspective, group coaching enables deeper interpersonal exchanges. It leverages our evolutionary need for social cohesion by creating a space for leaders to experience cognitive diversity and build collaborative intelligence (Donna Markova, 2015), reducing stress while amplifying positive emotional drivers.

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From the Psychological Safety (Amy Edmonson, 2018) perspective, the group coaching experience allows leaders to expand their ability to co-create psychological safety in their own leadership context.

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Investing in group coaching is not just a matter of addressing current challenges but also a strategic move to future-proof organizations. With tangible ROI and improved employee experiences, the business case for group coaching is stronger than ever.

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* Source: Internal Coaching Federation

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