RogenSi : BT - Coaching for performance

BT operates in 170 countries and is one of the world's leading providers of communications solutions and services. Its principal activities include networked IT services, local, national and international telecommunications services and higher-value broadband and internet products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, Openreach, BT Retail and BT Wholesale.

BT Commercial & Brands is a primary sales channel within the BT Group, focusing on the supply of communications solutions to corporate clients. BT’s partnership with RogenSi began in 2002 with the creation of the ‘Powerful Coaching’ program, which aimed to instil a coaching culture within the business and stimulate powerful, measurable and sustainable results.

Client Situation

RogenSi was engaged to effect an improvement in business results. Focusing on certain development areas that were highlighted in an employee survey, the RogenSi team worked with BT management to develop a program to create management consistency and accountability across the business and address the perception that the approach of team leaders tended to be directive. Delegates gained the skills, mindset and flexibility to coach every member of their team to achieve optimal results.

RogenSi’s Approach

The ‘Powerful Coaching’ program is structured in four modules, separated by one-to-two month implementation periods when delegates can apply and test themselves against new personal commitments. The first module – a two-day coaching workshop – covers questioning, feedback, management styles and leadership. It also introduces the GROW model for efficient and effective coaching. The second module – a written examination – allows delegates to test their understanding of specific key deliverables. The third module is structured preparation, which enables delegates to build their confidence and expertise before the final module in which each delegate is tested for competence culminating in coaching accreditation. Throughout the program delegates receive feedback against certain key behaviours and against their own learning logs and SMART action plans.

Client Outcome

The Powerful Coaching program has been highly successful in embedding a coaching culture within BT Commercial & Brands. By addressing the issues arising from the employee survey, it has resulted in:

Improved motivation
Increased sales
Greater trust between team members
Increased job satisfaction and employer advocacy
Increased retention

As the program was about modifying the way people normally react and behave, it was anticipated that it would take two years to achieve a measurable uplift in business performance. However, less than a year into the program, positive indicators were far-exceeding expectations. Specifically:

The pre- and post-course measurement, based on BT management capabilities and program objectives, showed a positive shift in the average score for every one of the 16 behaviours identified. This was particularly encouraging as the post-course scores reflected shifts in ‘awareness’ as well as ‘intention’ and ‘behaviour’
The positive shift was consistent across all 16 desired behaviours
For two-thirds of the questions, the minimum scores across the group improved by between 30 percent and 100 percent

Half of the minimum scores improved by at least 50 percent, suggesting that coaching impacted not only those eager and readily able to learn, but also ‘weaker’ performers. It was particularly encouraging that peers, managers and team members also observed a marked improvement in delegates’ coaching behaviours

"Improving people’s performance is key to our success as a business, and it’s through the performance of the sales and service teams that we will be successful going forward. The coaching program we’ve been running with RogenSi has been instrumental in helping those people improve their performance through changes in their behaviour.”

Colin Mattey
Director, BT Commercial & Brands