Case Studies

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A Virtual Classroom: Remote Coaching at an F100 Financial Services Firm

We look at the virtual environment as a different medium through which participants can interact, and use the virtual technology to help enable the types of interactions participants will need to perform on the job. Below we describe a course on coaching for an F100 Financial Services firm that was originally delivered in a classroom setting, and then converted to a virtual setting. We leveraged the new virtual delivery medium to focus on a skill not covered in the classroom course – remote coaching.

The simulation focuses on a coaching conversation in which participants must address an urgent situation involving a client, team members, and a counselee. The character in the simulation has particular issues that the manager needs to address. The issues are brought to the participants’ attention through a packet of information (emails and supporting documentation) and directly by the character.

The participants must address this situation through a remote coaching conversation with the fictional character. Participants are ultimately evaluated based on the character’s perception of his/her relationship with the manager, emotional well-being after interacting with the manager, and perception of the effectiveness of the manager’s approach.

Prior to the course, students access a course website to review relevant materials and identify a real-world personal coaching situation they have experienced. The course begins with participants “meeting” in small teams to plan for the role-play (conducted in a conference call on Centra). Together via Centra, the team fills out a conversation planning template to prepare for the call. The facilitator watches as they fill it out and provides ideas if they are struggling.

Facilitators play the character role during the actual coaching conversations. During the conversations, one team member converses with the fictional character for 5 minutes, then turns it over to the other member for the remaining 5 minutes. The other team members watch, using feedback forms to record their opinions on the effectiveness of the conversation.

After the conversation, the facilitator steps out of the fictional role to provide the participant feedback on his/her performance and guidance on any resources that might be helpful for future use. During the debrief the facilitator uses real-world stories to illustrate key points.

In the second portion of the training, participants focus on preparing for a real-world coaching opportunity based on situations participants have identified in pre-work. The course concludes with a coach-led course debrief, where the coach highlights common themes and facilitates discussion about lessons learned and key takeaways. Simulated practice of real-world tasks, the opportunity to make mistakes similar to those they might make on the job, use of real stories to drive home key points, small collaborative teams, and exposure to real world consequences in the form of the characters’ reaction are all hallmarks of our design, in virtual programs and other modalities.