Page 5 - Manager Coaching Handbook

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General Coaching Guidelines

Before the Session

1. Make an outline for yourself. Ensure that you have made note of all issues you wish to discuss.
2. Prioritize the major issues. If you discuss too much, the employee will become overwhelmed.
3. Make note of specific employee behaviors that you can use to illustrate your points - try to be as
specific as possible. (i.e. instances where employee has failed to meet company standards)
4. Be prepared to offer suggestions or solutions to the problem if the employee is unable to
generate them on his/her own.

During the Session

1. Build rapport. Ask simple questions to break the ice before getting down to business.
2. Ask opened-ended questions (not yes/no) to learn more about the situation and to get the
employee's perspective. This often helps you uncover additional and critical information.
3. Be an active listener. Be sure to paraphrase and summarize what you heard the employee say.
This avoids misunderstandings later.

4. Clearly state your interpretation of the situation, using specific instances to illustrate your point.
Avoid making judgments. Focus on the behavior not on the person. Rather than saying, "You
are rude and unprofessional" give the employee the facts: "You interrupted the customer three
times and did not seem interested in answering any of the customer’s questions regarding his
policy.”
5. Clearly explain your expectations, without hedging or backing down. For example, "As an A-

Max customer service rep., you are expected to charge no more than the prescribed max
agency fee over the phone. Anything over the prescribed max amount is unacceptable." is
more effective than "Could you please charge the customer a decent agency fee over the
phone?”
6. Get the employee's input on how to resolve the issues. Do not impose a solution or goal on the

employee except as a last resort. Employees resent it and are less committed to making it work.
For example, "What steps can you take to ensure you make every effort at closing a policy
over the phone?”
7. Work together and set a specific, reasonable goal. For example, "Let’s make an effort to begin
asking the customer if he/she is a homeowner so that we can begin to qualify more customers
for the homeowner’s discount," rather than “Qualify customers for more discounts.”

8. Put an action plan together that outlines the steps needed to reach the goal. The action plan
should include: due dates, action items, and scheduled meetings to check on progress and offer
additional assistance, if necessary.
9. Summarize what occurred in the meeting. Make sure that you both have an understanding of
what will happen next. Reinforce what the two of you have agreed to.

A-Max Auto Insurance Learning & Development Version 1.0