Executive coaches report steady demand for their services despite the recession. Individual and corporate clients say the one-on-one counseling is critical for career success, especially during tough economic times.
Coaches typically are hired by companies, at $300 an hour or more, to hone the management or communication skills of senior leaders and rising stars. Even with the recession, many coaches say some companies are retaining their services to help them get lean and efficient. Coaches also said they are seeing an increase in individuals hiring coaches on their own.
Amber Romine, director in global human capital at consultancy PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLC's Washington, D.C. office, said she fields a steady stream of requests from clients looking for referrals from clients looking for referrals to executive coaches.
Coaches say many companies use their services to retain top talent and support senior leaders while coping with smaller staffs and recession-starved budgets. Whereas, some small business owners use coaches as sounding boards.
Humana Inc., a Louisville, Ky., health insurer, also is protecting its coaching program. Humana this year will spend between $17,000 and $30,000 for six months of sessions for each of about 50 senior employees, said Jeff Nally, who heads the firm's executive coaching initiative. The company now encourages participants to conduct more counseling sessions by phone, which saves money on coaches' travel fees.
A 2007 study commissioned by the International Coach Federation pegged annual revenue worldwide for the industry, which includes life, career and executive coaches, at $1.5 billion, with about half the study's 5,415 respondents in the U.S. Of the respondents, 58% reported executive coaching as their specialty.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, August 25, 2009
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