Job coaching

Accompanying, teaching, and training are three of the basic pillars on which job coaching is based. In essence, it is a method or process of accompaniment that aims to improve the skills and competencies of people within an organization. The objective of this type of coaching is to achieve specific challenges and, to this end, it focuses on the personal and professional development of workers, seeking to enhance their performance, motivation, and job satisfaction. Unlike other approaches, this type of job orientation does not only work on the improvement of hard skills, that is, those specific technical competencies required for the job position, but also on the development of soft skills such as communication, time management, or emotional intelligence.

The figure of the work team coach acts, therefore, as a kind of guide, a professional mentor, who helps people to identify their strengths but also those areas where there is room for improvement, setting clear goals and accompanying them in the process of achieving them. This personal attention as well as the bond of trust generated between coach and coachee contributes to improving the work environment and the cohesion of the teams since, through these practices, they feel more valued and supported.

In other words, in general terms, job coaching is an interesting tool when it comes to transforming the dynamics within companies, as it can not only contribute to improving professional development and individual performance, but also collective performance.

Knowing what job coaching is and what it's for is the starting point. But to understand its importance within work environments, it is also interesting to be clear about the main benefits of implementing job coaching strategies in the company. These are some of the most interesting ones:  

• Increases motivation and job satisfaction. When people feel that their professional development is a priority for the company, it increases their sense of belonging and involvement when contributing to organizational success. A job coach helps teams to align their individual goals with the goals of the organization, which reinforces the intrinsic motivation of each of its members. At the same time, feeling that they are developing their skills and advancing in their careers translates into greater job satisfaction, which contributes to retaining talent and fostering a positive organizational culture.
• Professional development. Another of the main benefits of having a business mentor is the improvement of job orientation. With the right advice, each person can find out in detail and understand their role better as well as how they can contribute to the team's success. In this regard, job coaching is especially interesting in the development of future leaders within the company. Through the role of the professional mentor, mentees -who receive this support- can enhance or develop key leadership skills such as decision making, team management, effective communication, or emotional intelligence, all of them basic for a positive leadership.
• Collective understanding. In addition to individual benefits, business coaching improves collective understanding and collaboration. Through coaching sessions with work teams, people learn to work better together, respect differences, and make the most of the strengths of each team member. The result? A better work environment, with more cohesive teams that can work more efficiently and creatively. However, improved communication not only benefits internal relationships, but can also have a positive impact on interactions with customers and other stakeholders. 
• Improves well-being and performance. Job coaching also has a positive impact on people's well-being and productivity. A professional mentor can provide strategies for managing pressure, reducing anxiety, and improving resilience, all resources that contribute to improving people's physical and emotional well-being. And not only that. It will also provide practical tools to optimize professional performance, such as time management, conflict resolution, or decision making, thus improving efficiency and results.      

Investing in the well-being of people within organizations is more than just a trend. It is a different way of understanding professional environments, placing human capital as an essential pillar for the growth of companies. “The greatest wealth we have as a company is our human talent,” says Tamara Lemaire, Coaching and Mentoring manager at Repsol. We have programs to promote physical and emotional well-being through which we not only promote exercise or combat sedentary lifestyles, but also provide tools for stress management or develop talks and workshops for the management of emotional well-being. 

In the field of business coaching, at Repsol we invite professionals to give talks and give webinars to employees in order to learn how to improve the management of emotions and take care of mental health. Lemaire herself, Nathalie García, a psychologist and expert in the treatment of anxiety and stress, and Marian Rojas Estapé, psychiatrist and author of several bestsellers on personal development, are just some of the guests who have participated in these sessions. In addition, with the WeLead_Flash Mentoring program, an initiative aimed at newly promoted leaders, which forms part of our strategy of accompanying them to bring out the best version of our teams, regardless of their current professional situation. 

For the Coaching and Mentoring manager at Repsol, one of our main triumphs is that, when looking for mentors: “our leaders have shown their generosity and commitment to the company and when we have called them to tell them ‘we have thought of you to set an example’, the answer has been a loud ‘yes'."