Business Case Study Assignment: Developing Coaching Strategies Sim Hardware

Question

Task

Prepare a well-researched business case study assignment concerning the case of Sim Hardware. Your task is to identify the risks encounter by the company and develop coaching and training strategies.

Answer

Executive Summary
The business case study assignment is focused on the exploring the case of Sim Hardware which is one of the renowned hardware companies in Australia operating in 1928. In recent times, the company wishes to be a market leader in the upcoming five years, thusthe prevalent risks and other issues related to employees can be improved through Coaching Strategies. The required resources will be finances, coaching rooms, electronic devices, stationery items, and an efficient coach. The coaching strategy will be undertaken in 8 months while the coach and coachee will be inducted for the same. Constructive feedback and improvement in the performance will be some of the monitoring and implementing companies. Also, employees and coaches will be rewarded for making a significant contribution to the coaching programs.

Introduction
Sim Hardware has been renowned companies for selling hardware in Australia. The products sold by the company include hardware, tools, paint, house wires, outdoor and garden at the competitiveprices for improving the homes of Australia. Sim’s Home Goods services are specializedin the manufacturing and sale of small household furniture. At the beginning of 1928, the company had initially employed 60 staff which included family and friends. To achieve vision & mission, business objectives, the company has to implement and monitor the risk mitigation process. Hence, the report will underline and develop coaching and training strategies on risks identified by the company.

Need for Coaching Programs
Sim Hardware operates through various product divisions through which the workers are exposed to several health risks and occupational hazards. Some of the occupational hazards are manual handling of equipment, accidents in the warehouse while storing and using paints, turpentines, and other hazardous material, exposure to hazardous chemicals, and incidents related to uplifting heavy materials in customer service areas as well in the organization. Additionally, other challenges are faced by the organization which relates to the attracting, retention, and development of top talents that cannot be achieved only through the training initiatives in the organizations (Collins, 2014, chap 1). Thus, it has become essential for the organizationfor the implementing coaching programs to help the employees in reaching their potentials while also contributing to strong business results. It is said that efficient leadership settings and coaching programs are considered to be intangible tools meeting the requirements of varied individuals working in the firm.

Detailed Framework

Organizational Context and Needs
In the current scenarios, the vision statement includes that in the upcoming five years, the business of the Sim Hardware will be a leader in the Australian Market. In this view, the Chief Financial Officer is responsible for identifying and managing risks thus appointing the system owners for mitigation of risks. Thus, the identified risks are

• Difficulty in sourcing skilled and trained staffs
• Poor inventory management from wastage or unsaleable stocks
• Emerging competitiveness in the Australian Hardware market
• Poor product quality from the suppliers
• Environmental risks due to operations
• Work-related risks include manual operations of handling heavy materials or other accidents in the warehouse or the customer service areas.
• Risks to the community related to the operations of Sim Hardware
• Failure in compliance of jurisdictions Like Workplace Health and Safety 2011, Privacy Act 1988, business licenses, and others.

Resources Required
Several tangible and intangible resources will be required for implementing coaching strategies successfully in Sim Hardware. They include

• Dedicated Coaching rooms
• Three projectors
• 10 – 12 computer systems
• Props for several activities
• Eco- friendly disposables (for serving refreshments for trainees/guest speakers/ coaches)
• Desks and Chairs
• Appropriate cooling and lighting of the rooms
• Stationery items like note pads, pens, pencils, worksheets, and others.

Lastly, Sim Hardware will require efficient and knowledgeable coaches that have corporate experiences and teaching abilities. The company should also identify areas of development and specific employees in each department that are in urgent need of improvement.

Expected Outcomes
The outcomes of the coaching strategy will improve the overall performance of the employees. Some of the expected outcomes will include

• Trained and Skilled employees
• Improved inventory management and reduced wastages
• Efficient monitoring and tracking of the products procured from suppliers to verify the quality.
• Reduction in environmental risks and workplace accidents
• Improvement in work-related risks
• Improved compliances with jurisdictions for reducing the consequences of noncompliance like penalties, cancellation of business licenses, and others.
• Improvement in employee confidence and communication skills
• Efficient management of work-life balances amongst the employees
• Enhanced productivity and improvement of decision-making capabilities.

Interactive Methods
It is commonly demonstrated that coaching has a long- term impact on the team and individuals as well. Social and communication skills are important for both the coach and coachee for experiencing effective outcomes of the coaching programs. In this view, constructive feedback is one of the important features that help both the coach and coaches in managing their relationships during the programs (Kimsey-House et al, 2018, chap 2). To yield productive results in improving the workplace culture, the coaching leader should adopt appropriate coaching methods and styles that might be democratic, authoritarian, Holistic, autocratic, and visionary in nature. The coach should be alert while adopting style as negative impacts like changes goals, triggering of emotional issues, and reduce attention towards work can hamper the work performance and business culture.

Learning styles of the Employees
The teachings and outcomes of coaching are perceived variably by the employees in the workplace setting (Sekerin et al, 2018, p. 69). The understanding of the learning styles will help in effective communication. Different types of learners include visual, auditory, reading/ writing, and kinaesthetic learners.

Roles and Responsibilities of Individuals
Roles and responsibilities in the implementation of the coaching program will be

• HR will responsible for identifying employee from each department
• Store managers and departmental managers of each store will be responsible for identifying areas of development for coaching programs.
• The role of coachee will be of a student thus exhibiting learning skills, while regularly attending the coaching as per roster.
• The Coach will take the role of a teacher thus, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each employee thus aligning the coaching strategies accordingly.
• The Chief Financial Officer will be accountable for devising budgets for coaching according to each store’sfinancial reserves.

Scope of the Strategy
The scope of the coaching strategy will be a reduction in the organizational risks and employee morale and behavioural patterns. Thus, the coaching strategies shall be administered and managed by the line managers, coaches, and HRM.

Organizational Support
In the initial step, areas of development should be detected efficiently thus, finances to be allocated. The hiring of efficient coach and detection of employees for coachingshould be collaboratively done by the HR, line managers, and store managers. Also, the administrative staff will help in shifting materials and setting the coaching room. Also, employees will participate in the coaching programs and work efficiently in achieving the overall objective of the Sim Hardware.

Timelines for achieving Coaching Strategy
Gannt Chart has been prepared for eight months for the successful implementation and monitoring of the coaching strategy.

Induction, Design and Training tools
Induction and Training policies will be designed for ensuring that the coaching strategy gains success. In this view, procedures and policies will include management participation, selecting employees, deploying methods to evaluate programs, specifying the duration of coaching in a week for each store of Sim hardware and others. Tool and equipmentwill be required that includes activities, stationery items, desks and chairs, projectors, computer systems, creation of rest tooms for facilitators and others. Besides, the GROW Model will be chosen as a coaching model as it will provide opportunities to the coachee for reaching organizational objectives.

Training Programs

• Training programs of Sim Hardware will include
• Sales Training
• Training in Technical areas
• Management and leadership training
• Health and Safety Training
• External training
• Community Sensitivity training

Developing a Recruitment process
To develop the recruitment process, the job description for the coach and coachee will be developed then the interview process and selection criteria will be designed. In this view, the coach will be recruited based on their experience, knowledge, and prompt answers. A minimum of 4 coaches will be recruited in the initial stage, after 8 months, coaches can be increased be depending on the organizational needs and improvements. Selection criteria will be dependent on the prompt answer and verification with the documents presented by the applicant.

Implementation Plans
The work performance of each employee will be calculated for detecting the suitable coaches for the programs. All thepotential coaches will be communicated through organized meetingsthat they are obligated to participate in the coaching programs for their personal and professional growth. They will be motivated and encouraged to reap the benefits of a coaching strategy. Also, promotions will be done through notices, circulars, and intranets for motivating the employees about the coaching strategy. Activity updates of the coaching will be promoted through organizational annual newsletters, reports, and intranets.

Coaching Strategies

Recruitment of Coaches and Coachees

Job Description for Coach

• Coaches should be capable of bringing value to the Sim Hardware
• The coach should possess adequate experience in corporate structure
• Should be able to understand employee needs and develop activities accordingly

Job Description for Coachee

• Should be dedicated to adopting the learnings from coaching into organizational work
• Should be attentive and regular in all coaching classes
• Should be capable of managing work- coaching and life balance

After developing the Job description interview process and selection criteria will be designed.

Sample Interview Questions would be

• What are your name and current work profile?
• Why did chose coaching and training as a profession?
• What relevant experience do you possess?
• What is your skill sets personally and professionally?
• What are the growth opportunities you are looking at in Sim Hardware?

Criteria for Selection

• Confident answers with evidence (documents of the applicant)
• Expertise in the field
• Clearing the Entry Level Examination

Induction Requirements
All the employees and coaches will be briefed about the organizational policies and the expected outcomes from the commencement of these programs.

Recruitment process and Required staffs

 

Matching Managing Coach – coachee relationship

Managing Coach – Coachee Relationships
To manage the coach- coachee relationship several tools, mechanisms, and procedures will be devised.

Tools & Mechanisms
Professional Boundaries- Every Coach and coachee will be brief about maintaining professional boundaries thus, practicing ethical and legal codes. This will help in reducing biasness or any other discrimination for building strong professional relations (Milner et al, 2018, chap 1).

Motivation and Commitment– Both the Coach and coachee will be inducted by the HR for exhibiting motivation and commitment in this teaching & learning process (Milner et al, 2018, chap 1).

Procedures- Effective communication and constructive feedback are important procedures for understanding each other in the coach- coachee relationships. It will further help in designing the curriculum of the coach programs while also reducing misinterpretations amongst the teachers and learners.

Matching Coach – coachee relationship
Tools- The relationship between coach and coachee can be matched through tests of personality. Personality tests include

Big Five Factors- The aspects of Big Five Personality Factors like Openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism will help in matching coach- coachee relationships (Dalpé et al, 2019, p. 285).

EI (Emotional Intelligence) Test- The EQ helps gain knowledge and insights about the emotional aspect of the person. This will help in managing emotions like anger, distress, and others amongst the Coach- Coachee (Goleman et al, 2013, chap 2).

Resolving Conflicts
Closed communication and inadequate leadership style often result in conflicts and differences amongst the coach and coaches. These conflicts can be resolved through active listening, identification of disagreed points, and situations (Lukiyanov et al, 2012, p. 682). Additionally, both parties should view conflict as growth opportunities that will further help in working together.

Compliance Requirement
Sim Hardware should comply with the workplace regulations legislations that are Work Health & Safety Act of 2011 and the pay structure should be designed for the coach as well as other employees according to the Fair Work Act of 2019. The organization should follow the Privacy Act of 1988 while using, storing, and collecting personal and sensitive information. Sim Hardware HR will require licenses related to organization, probation, and activities before commencing coaching programs.

Monitoring Coaching Activities
Coaching activities can be monitored through evidence and documents of tasks completed, attendance of the employees, and improvement or scores of each participant. After the employees have to attend the coaching programs, his performance will be compared with previous data for measuring the success of this strategy. Also, growth in sales revenue and customer satisfaction will help in reviewing the implementation of the coaching strategy (Stern&Brackett, 2012, p.263).

Organizational Rewards
Data collection will be done on the work performance of the employees and the overall achievement of organizational objectives and targets. Also, separate interviews and interactive sessions will be conducted amongst employees and coaches. The employee and the coach will be rewarded with certifications and monetary incentives (in case the organizational targets have been met). Also, promotions and appraisals will be provided based on the improved performance.

Conclusion
The report has analysed the Coaching strategies for mitigating the risks while also improving employee engagement and commitment for meeting the objectives of Sim Hardware (that is becoming a market leader in the upcoming five years). The successful implementation of the Coaching Strategy will help Sim Hardware in gaining a competitive edge and market domination.

Reference List
Australian Government, 2020. Australian business and environment laws. [online] Available at : [ Accessed 14 Sep 2020].

Collins, G., 2014. Christian coaching: Helping others turn potential into reality. Tyndale House.

Dalpé, J., Demers, M., Verner-Filion, J., and Vallerand, R.J., 2019. From personality to passion: The role of the Big Five factors. Personality and Individual Differences, 138, pp.280-285.

Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R.E., and McKee, A., 2013. Primal leadership: Unleashing the power of emotional intelligence. Harvard Business Press.

Kimsey-House, H., Kimsey-House, K., Sandahl, P., and Whitworth, L., 2018. Co-active coaching: Changing business, transforming lives. Hachette UK.

Lukiyanov, M., and Thiruppathi, A., Microsoft Corp, 2012. Resolving conflicts in content management systems. U.S. Patent 8,090,681.

Milner, J., McCarthy, G., and Milner, T., 2018. Training for the coaching leader: how organizations can support managers. Business case study assignment Journal of Management Development. Chap 1

Sekerin, V.D., Gaisina, L.M., Shutov, N.V., Abdrakhmanov, N.K., and Valitova, N.E., 2018. Improving the quality of competence-oriented training of personnel at industrial enterprises. Calitatea, 19(165), pp.68-72.

Stern, R., and Brackett, M.A., 2012. Personal, professional coaching: Transforming professional development for teacher and administrative leaders. Volume 11, Number 1–Winter 2012, 263.