Coaching

A coaching session is a confidential, supportive, one-to-one meeting with an experienced and qualified coach. Your coach will use their coaching skills to listen to you and ask questions so that you can consider different perspectives and find solutions to your own challenges. 

Coaching usually spans four to six sessions with each session typically being one hour long. 

Arranging coaching sessions

Coaching sessions can be arranged in one of three ways: management referral, Occupational Health referral and self referral.

Management referral

If you are a line manager and intend to refer a direct report for coaching, you should email coaching@essex.ac.uk with your request. Before you do this your direct report will need to agree to be coached, and be aware of the objectives for the coaching sessions.

The role of the line manager is very important in the coaching process and the line manager should show their support by discussing the progress of the sessions with their direct reports.

The content of the coaching sessions will remain confidential between the coach and coachee and the coach will not report back directly to the line manager without the agreement of the coachee.

Occupational Health

Occupational Health referrals can result in a recommendation for coaching. If this is the case, and employee agrees, a member of Occupational Health will email coaching@essex.ac.uk and request coaching.

Self-referral

For a self-referral, the coachee will need to email coaching@essex.ac.uk to request coaching. They will then be contacted with details of available coaches and more information about coaching. 

Starting coaching

Once a date for the first session has been agreed, the coachee will be sent a coaching contract and a form to help prepare them for their first session.