Metsä Group - Coaching supports the development of managerial skills
Text: Sari Alhava
In Metsä Group, coaching was integrated as part of the personnel development program last fall. The group’s business sectors have undergone significant structural changes in the recent years. The job description of a number of employees has changed due to reorganizations and organizational changes. Resource planning and forecasts on future retirements are needed more than before.
“We have a good understanding on what kind of people are working for us and what development needs we have. This year, we have an opportunity to invest more extensively on the development of the personnel and operating models since all the basics are now almost in order. Coaching is one functional tool for achieving the goals of the development program,” describes Anneli Karhula, Senior Vice President for Human Resources in Metsä Group.
Help in new challenges and career development
Organizational structures have become flatter, and today superiors have more employees directly under them than ever before. This creates additional requirements for managerial skills. Industrial operating environments have experienced professionals who are experts in their field, but often their managerial skills do not match their technical competence.
“In addition to their other expert skills, superiors must have the desire and ability to lead. Managerial work has become more important than before. The goal in organizational and personnel changes is to ensure that people will succeed in their new positions – and coaching is one way to facilitate this,” says Mika Paljakka, Senior Vice President for Human Resources in M-Real and Botnia.
Coaching is also used for career development.
“When a company is surveying potential people for certain positions, coaching can be used to support career development and to help the employee to develop to the desired direction. This also facilitates adaptation to the new position,” Karhula adds.
Coaching helps to find one’s own strengths
Karhula reminds that coaching will not solve all problems and change anyone to a completely different person.
“Successful coaching helps the coachee to find his or her own strengths and to avoid the worst pitfalls. It is important to find the correct people for the correct positions at the correct time,” she sums.
Another significant benefit is that the launch and implementation of major changes becomes faster. Management of new tasks and learning new things takes time if one tries to solve them stubbornly alone. Individual coaching can help people to see new approaches and operating methods and to find the most suitable ways to carry out tasks.
A good coach understands people and business
One of the most important success factors of coaching is to find the most suitable coach, or trainer.
“The coach must understand both people and business. He or she must interview the company’s HR manager and the superior of the coachee extensively enough before the actual coaching to have the necessary information on the company, its situation and the coachee. The interpersonal chemistry must also match well: one person needs an activating coach, another a motivating coach, and a third a restraining coach,” Karhula and Paljakka list.
In Metsä Group, the opportunity for coaching is offered as part of the goal-oriented development program to those employees that wish to participate in it and who are considered to benefit from it. Careful preparations are taken before the coaching:
“First, the coachee’s job description must be clearly specified and both an external personal assessment and a self-assessment must be carried out. Based on these, the coach and the coachee together prepare a coaching plan, which is approved and monitored regularly, in an agreed manner, by the superior.”
New approaches and operating methods
Overall goals significant for both the company and the coachee are set for the coaching. In addition, a concrete interim goal should be set for each meeting. An interim goal could be, for example, an upcoming, important presentation or event held by the coachee. This can be prepared beforehand and analyzed afterwards together with the coach.
Not only the factual content of the presentation is discussed in the coaching, but also how the presentation should be structured and performed. The coach can help by asking questions or by challenging: ”Have you thought about it from this angle?” or ”Could this be done in another way?”
“Our priority and goal in coaching is to develop managerial skills, but as an additional benefit, the coachee may learn to see entities better and to approach issues from different angles,” Karhula states.
The results of coaching can be measured through achieving the concrete goals and through managerial work measurement instruments, such as personnel surveys and the 360° measurement. Qualitative measurement is also necessary i.e. after the coaching has ended, the coach and the coachee assess between themselves what were the benefits of the coaching.
Professional, reliable and customized to your needs
Since coaching requires effort and commitment from the company, it is also fair to demand a lot from the company organizing the coaching.
“We expect that the coaching is based on a professionally executed process and that it is designed and customized specifically for the needs of our company’s business and the coachee. Furthermore, the company’s resources must be sufficient to ensure that one sick leave will not cancel the agreed coachings for the next six months or that the company will not have to resort to using subcontractors in a larger project,” Karhula and Paljakka emphasize.
According to Paljakka, the cooperation between M-Real/Botnia and Psycon has been fruitful.
“We have also utilized other tools in Psycon’s tool box and have been extremely pleased. Psycon has an extensive portfolio and good concepts. By buying services from a familiar company, we can always trust that the quality will be high. Psycon is also familiar with the models used by our company, and we do not have to explain them from scratch at the start of each project,” he explains.
Karhula and Paljakka also tell that as customers they appreciate the good reputation of the company offering them coaching services:
“The company’s processes and ethical and moral standards must be reliable. We cannot afford to cooperate with questionable parties in matters as important as these. Data protection must be in order, and reliability is of the utmost importance throughout the entire process. The good reputation and operating methods of a partner is not only important to the selection of the service provider but also throughout the entire process – this can also be seen in the final results.”