The effect of workplace coaching on employee performance: the case of Tri An factory, Nestlé Vietnam

The study was carried out at Tri An Factory TAF, Nestlé Vietnam company and it comprises of a literature review, which includes the concept and essential principles of coaching, some key

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY

-oOo -

PHAM HUU CHINH

THE EFFECT OF WORKPLACE COACHING

ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE: THE CASE OF

TRI AN FACTORY, NESTLÉ VIETNAM

EXECUTIVE MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

HO CHI MINH CITY – 2018

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY

-oOo -

PHAM HUU CHINH

THE EFFECT OF WORKPLACE COACHING

ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE: THE CASE OF

TRI AN FACTORY, NESTLÉ VIETNAM

Major: Business Administration (Executive Master of Business Administration)

ECONOMIC MASTER THESIS

SUPERVISOR:

Prof NGUYEN DONG PHONG, Ph.D

HO CHI MINH CITY – 2018

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY

I confirm that this master thesis is based on my independent research The figures and results presented in this thesis are real data from survey conducted by the author with assistance of employees of Tri An Factory (TAF), Nestlé Vietnam Company

Proposals, solutions and recommendations were drawn from this study based on operation evaluation as well as on comments and advices of TAF Management Board

I am fully responsible for eventual errors or fault caused

Author of the thesis

Pham Huu Chinh

TABLE OF CONTENT

LIST OF FIGURES

LIST OF TABLES

CHAPTER ONE 1

INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 About Nestlé Group, Nestlé Vietnam Company and Tri An Factory 3

1.3 Problem statement 5

1.4 Objective of the study 6

1.5 Research questions 7

1.6 Subjects of the study 7

1.7 Scope and limitation of the study 7

1.8 Framework of the study 8

1.9 Research structure 9

CHAPTER TWO 11

LITERATURE REVIEW 11

2.1 Introduction 11

2.2 Workplace Coaching 11

2.2.1 The origin and concept of coaching 11

2.2.2 Definitions and essential principles of coaching 12

2.2.3 Why workplace coaching? 14

2.2.4 Some key factors for coaching effectiveness 15

2.2.4.1 Building the trustworthy coach-coachee relationship 15

2.2.4.2 Providing needed support to employees 16

2.2.4.3 Enhancing employee awareness 17

2.2.4.4 Promoting employee motivation 19

2.3 Employee performance 20

2.4 Relationship between workplace coach and employee performance 22

2.5 Summary 23

CHAPTER THREE 25

RESEARCH METHODS 25

3.1 Introduction 25

3.2 Research Design 25

3.3 Target Population 25

3.4 Sample Size and Sampling approach 25

3.5 Questionnaire 26

3.5.1 Common sources of error 26

3.5.2 Construction of the questionnaire 27

3.5.3 Pre-testing and validation 28

3.6 Validity 28

3.7 Reliability 28

3.8 Data Collection Method 29

3.9 Methods of Data Analysis 30

3.10 Ethical Considerations 31

3.11 Summary 31

CHAPTER FOUR 32

ANALYSIS OF RESULTS 32

4.1 Introduction 32

4.2 Sample Description 32

4.3 Evaluate the reliability of measurement scales 36

4.4 Critical factors of the coaching effectiveness 37

4.4.1 Coach – Coachee Relationship 37

4.4.2 Employee Awareness 39

4.4.3 Employee Motivation 41

4.4.4 Support given to employees 42

4.4.5 Summary 43

4.5 The Effect of Workplace Coaching on Employee Performance 44

4.5.1 Employee performance 44

4.5.2 Correlation between workplace coaching effectiveness and employee performance

46

4.6 Management discussion about the findings 49

4.7 Summary 51

CHAPTER FIVE 53

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 53

5.1 Conclusion of the study 53

5.2 Recommendations 54

5.3 Limitations and suggestions for future research 58

REFERENCES

APPENDICES

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1: The relationship between dependent and independent variables 9

Figure 4.1: Role of employees in coaching practices at TAF 34

Figure 4.2: Status of employee training about coaching 34

Figure 4.3: Response frequency about coach-coachee relationship 37

Figure 4.4: Employee responding to question CR2 38

Figure 4.5: Response frequency about employee awareness 39

Figure 4.6: Response frequency about employee motivation 41

Figure 4.7: Response frequency about support given in coaching 42

Figure 4.8: Response frequency about employee performance 44

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1: Distribution of Demographic Information 33

Table 4.2: Employees who haven’t joined the training about coaching 35

Table 4.3: The reliability of measurement scales 36

Table 4.4: Detail results of relationship in coaching 38

Table 4.5: Detail results of employee awareness 40

Table 4.6: Detail results of employee motivation 41

Table 4.7: Detail results of support given to employees in coaching 43

Table 4.8: Employee performance results from coaching activities 45

Table 4.9: Key factors of workplace coaching effectiveness and employee performance 46

Table 4.10: Different demographic groups impacting to coaching 47

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to determine how the use of workplace coaching

as a human management and development tool can facilitate improvements to employee performance and in turn providing a platform to increase the competitive advantage of the organization The study was carried out at Tri An Factory (TAF), Nestlé Vietnam company and it comprises of a literature review, which includes the concept and essential principles of coaching, some key drivers of effective coaching, the employee performance and the correlation between workplace coaching and employee performance A quantitative research approach was used for this study with the participation of 190 employees from all working positions within TAF

The findings of the study revealed that workplace coaching is an effective human management and development tool at TAF and it has positive impacts on employee performance The key factors, which contributed to workplace coaching effectiveness, were building trustful coach-coachee relationship, enhancing the awareness and motivation of employees, and giving them the needed support The employee performance was determined by employee work productivity, product quality and customer satisfaction All were improved as the results of workplace coaching

Whilst the study proved the effectiveness of workplace coaching and its positive impacts on employee performance, the findings also showed that there are opportunities for further improvements to workplace coaching at TAF The areas of improvements identified are using appropriate approach for each individual/ group based on their preference, promoting employee understanding about purposes and benefits of coaching, spending more time to coach employees, building criteria and using those to measure the effectiveness of coaching sessions

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

In the present business environment, organizations are subjected to increased competition, fast-paced change, increased demands from customers and different stakeholders These factors are putting a huge pressure on organizations To compete and take the lead, companies are more conscious of their need of a competent, motivated and productive workforce which is considered as a distinctive and inimitable advantage

Since the traditional employee development does not always deliver the desired results, organizations often use coaching as a way to develop employee self-confidence, self-efficacy, and contribute to actions that create results (Passmore and Fillery-Travis, 2011) The reason behind this trend could be that coaching is about helping people to improve their performance not by telling them what to do but by enabling them to learn how to change, making coaching a widely recognized tool Coaching is a well-established practice that researchers have defined in different ways According to Smither (2011) coaching “is a one-to-one learning and development intervention that uses a collaborative, reflective, goal-focused relationship to achieve professional outcomes that are valued by the coachee” (Smither, 2011, p.137) Grant (2001) defined coaching as a collaborative, solution-focused, result-orientated systematic process, in which the coach facilitates the enhancement of the coachee’s performance in various domains and fosters self-directed learning, goal attainment and personal growth of the coachee

From a different angle, coaching is a term often related to the sports industry Athletes often pay astronomical wages to the best individuals in their field to coach them In most of these cases, the coach does not manage them or tell them what to

do but rather tries to get the best out of them by transforming physical and psychological strengths into competency The coach’s job is to support, guide and motivate the coachee to gain a better understanding of themselves in order to enable them to reach the peak of their capabilities (Whitmore, 2004)

By applying this philosophy in workplace coaching, it can help individuals to realize their strengths and weaknesses Enabling them to find the answer to what works better for them rather than giving them the answers ready on the plate Coaching aims to empower people and help them to discover their potential abilities and talents instead of focusing on what they cannot do (Wright, 2005) After all, coaching is about unlocking people’s potential with the intention to improve/maximize their performance (Whitmore, 2004); a coach does not teach but rather helps the coachee to learn Coaching can be a challenging endeavor for the coachee as well as the coach It is essential for the coach to have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities as well as being equipped with the desired behaviors and characteristics that can enable all parties involved to gain the best experience from the coaching sessions (Grant, 2006)

Success of a coaching process heavily depends on the trustful relationships between the coach and the employee (Wu, Cheng and Huang, 2010) Thus while using coaching method, the coach first understands the cultural diversity of the individual employee (Serrat 2010) The cultural diversity such as religion, race, color, belief systems, gender, and ethnicity among others may considerably affect the coach and coachee relationships (Wilkesmann & Fischer, 2009) The outcome

of coaching for employees includes enhanced self-awareness, enhanced knowledge and skills, greater motivation and morale, improved clarity about career direction, increased innovation which all lead to improved performance (Stolmack and Martin, 2011)

Despite the global popularity of coaching, there is a shortage in the number of empirical studies exploring the effects of workplace coaching on employee performance More specifically, there is an absence of such studies in Vietnam, especially in the manufacturing sector The typical respondents being surveyed in those researches were mainly managers or coaches who have delivered the coaching sessions but not coachees who have received the coaching sessions

Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine some key factors linking workplace coaching to employee performance, through analyzing the perception of coaches and coachees The key factors investigated were the coach-coachee

relationship, the awareness and motivation of coachees (employees), and the support given to them

The conclusion provided would offer the recommendations on how to better coach employees to enhance their performance

1.2 About Nestlé Group, Nestlé Vietnam Company and Tri An Factory

Nestlé Group is a Swiss-based company specialized in manufacturing and trading of processed dairy and foods with famous brands such as NAN, Nescafé Milo, Maggi, and KitKat The company was founded in 1866 by Henri Nestlé, a Swiss pharmacist Today, Nestlé has more than 10,000 different types of products manufactured from nearly 500 plants in 130 countries and each day Nestlé sells out more than 1 billion units worldwide

Nestlé has its presence at Saigon since 1912 and stopped doing business in Vietnam in 1972 In 1992, Lavie Company, a joint-venture between Perrier Vittel

of Nestlé and a Long An Trading Company was founded In 1993, Nestlé officially returned to Vietnam and opened a representative office in Ho Chi Minh City In

1995, Nestlé Vietnam was born and the construction of its first manufacturing site named Dong Nai Factory (DNF) started Up to now, Nestlé Vietnam has four factories, three in Dong Nai province and one in Hung Yen province

Tri An Factory (TAF) as one of those, is located at Amata Industrial Zone, Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province The total investment of Nestlé to build TAF was nearly 300 million USD The factory started to be built in March 2011 and put in commercial operation from December 2012 onwards It is one of thirty-two Nestlé coffee manufacturing plants worldwide and is the largest factory in Southeast Asia with the most advanced technology in the world

So far, TAF has two processing lines being operated - Pure Soluble Coffee powder (PSC) and Decaffeinated Green Coffee bean (DGC), supplying semi-finished products to other Nestlé factories in Vietnam as well as other markets all over the world The PSC line was put in commercial operation in 2012 and the DGC line was commissioned in 2014 Currently the extension of TAF’s manufacturing capacity is ongoing by including a Nescafé Dolce Gusto (NDG) production line, which is put into commercial operation as of July 2018 The NDG

plant will produce and supply premium coffee capsule products for 13 countries in Asia and Oceania (Australia and New Zealand), including Vietnam

TAF has a total headcount of 248 people in which 19 persons are at Management level and 229 persons are at Non-Management level The educational background

of TAF workforce consists of 54% people graduated from University or higher levels, 21% graduated from College and the rest graduated from Vocational School

or High School Most of TAF employees are male, occupying 86% of the workforce; only 14% of population is female mainly working in office environment

or as clerks

After more than five years of operation, TAF employees have gained a lot of knowledge and experiences The factory has been spending a significant amount of money, time and effort in training and developing its people From 2013 up to

2017, TAF has provided 69,297 man-hours for training, creating a favorable environment for people’s learning, working and development

Beside the above traditional practices of human resource development, workplace coaching has been applied from first days of TAF operation Coaching is one of the mandatory leadership competencies required for employees, especially for managers and supervisors; and it is considered as a powerful tool in developing people and promoting their performance More than 80% of TAF employees have been trained about basic coaching competency and therefore many of them have been in the role of a coach or/ and a coachee during their daily routine

Coaching is normally used during face-to-face, one-to-one discussion between a coach and a coachee Managers mainly use the tool to coach their subordinates in order to motivate them doing their best in work and encourage them to actively participate in changes

Next to above points, coaching has been used to enhance self-awareness of employees Knowing their strengths and weaknesses, their potential capability encourages them to be confident in taking challenges, and to find the improved ways of doing things

Last but not least, coaching is used to help employees seeing issues and situations from different angles and have the widest view possible This will enable them to find the most suitable solution leading to enhanced business contribution

During coaching sessions, coaches also feedback about the employees’ behavior

or performance It is also a good opportunity to recognize them for good work done, to listen and get feedbacks from employees about their work and any difficulties they have Based on this, the coach can build good relationship with employees as well as support them to find solution for those difficulties

There are also cases of employees coaching their colleagues to improve their functional competencies An example would be how to operate properly and efficiently a specific machine or to solve a problem occurred in works

1.3 Problem statement

Coaching has been applied at TAF for more than five years, starting from the first days of its operation However, coaching practices are still not fully utilized and sustained on the daily routine Managers struggle to reserve the time for coaching of their subordinates and do not have yet clear criteria to measure the effectiveness of coaching

Besides that, from the strategy of Factory in year 2020 (F2020) introduced by Nestlé Group from early 2018, the approach regarding performance was changed

In the past, each division of the company had its own goal specifically to its nature

of operation For example, Technical Division had the goal of Cost of Production (COP) while Supply Chain Division had the goal of Cost of Delivery (COD) and Commercial Divisions had the goal of Product Fixed Marketing Expenses (PFME) With different goals for different divisions, they did not always support well the goal of Total Delivery Cost (TDC) – the most important goal of the whole organization

By focusing on its own goal, the Technical Division may insistently ask Supply Chain Division to have a long run for each product, which would help factories lowering the COP On the other hand, a long run can affect Supply Chain Division

by requiring more storage space and having high risk of write-off because products could not be sold all out before getting expired Financially speaking, a long run can cause higher working capital and in addition from Marketing and Sale sides, a negative impact regarding freshness of products and therefore a short remaining shelf-life products for customers

To conclude, while one division can have benefit of a solution, losses may be suffered by other divisions and in overall, the organization could be negatively impacted

The new approach is that all divisions - Technical, Supply Chain, Human Resource, Finance or Marketing and Sales, have a common goal of TDC Silo thinking and working will hinder the organization to achieve this goal Thus, the aim is to break all silo thinking and to work together as one team towards the same goal

All solutions and decisions are based on this common (TDC) goal of the organization Nestlé Group has cascaded the target to all markets to optimize the operation and reduce 5% of TDC for each year from 2018 to 2020 It is a very challenging target for all divisions of Nestlé Vietnam Company in general and for TAF in particular as the coffee product category has experienced fierce competition within local market as well as oversea

With this direction, TAF needs to sustain and further improve its operation to ensure good quality products delivered while costs are optimized To win this challenge, TAF employees, as each individual and as a whole team, must find better and smarter ways of working More than ever, employees need to be fully aware of the change and commit to it The challenge is to enhance the awareness of employees about this strategy, and to convince and motivate them to support this change

The Management Board of TAF has identified that coaching is the most important tool to motivate and keep employees energized to perform their works well In order to deliver the expected results, coaching needs to be further promoted and enhanced

Therefore, this research is aimed to determine the coaching practices being applied at TAF and the level of its impacts on the performance of employees Based on that, recommendations are proposed for further improvements

1.4 Objective of the study

The success of an organization largely depends on its employees and the way they perform their works Enhancing coaching effectiveness can lead to

improvements of employee performance and it is vital to the success and sustainability of both organization and the individual Therefore, the main objectives of this study are:

To explore the effectiveness of workplace coaching at TAF

To determine the impacts of workplace coaching on employee performance

To evaluate the findings and identify the opportunities for improvement of workplace coaching practices in order to further promote its effect on employee performance

1.5 Research questions

With the research objectives as a basis, the following questions were compiled to ensure that there was an alignment between the research objectives and the study

Is the coach building good relationship with coachee at TAF?

Is the employee awareness being enhanced as a result of coaching?

Is the motivation of employees being promoted as a result of coaching? Does coach provide employees the needed support to help them perform better?

Is work performance of employees improving as the results of coaching?

1.6 Subjects of the study

The study was conducted at TAF, Nestlé Vietnam Company Employees from all departments who have delivered coaching and/or been coached were the target subjects of this research

1.7 Scope and limitation of the study

There is a wide range of coaching types and the factors influencing the effectiveness of coaching as well as the employee performance

Within this study, the author will focus on:

- One-to-one coaching at workplace delivered by internal coaches of TAF, means from managers to their subordinates or from peer to peer

- For coaching effectiveness, the author focuses on evaluating the four key factors which are:

The relationship built-up between coach and coachee,

The support that coach offers to coachees,

The enhancement of employee awareness (self-awareness and business awareness),

And the motivation of employees

- For employee performance, the author focuses on evaluating the impacts of workplace coaching on:

1.8 Framework of the study

The following variables have been identified and labeled as dependent variable and independent variable

Employee Performance

Employee performance is the dependent variable, which depends upon workplace coaching effectiveness Literature review also reveals that employee performance is improved by providing effective workplace coaching

Workplace Coaching

Workplace coaching is the independent variable in this research The research aims to explore the effects of workplace coaching on the performance of employees

at Tri An Factory, Nestlé Vietnam Company

The research focuses in the four critical factors of workplace coaching effectiveness, which are the coach-coachee relationship, the employees awareness, the motivation of employees and the support given to employees

1.9 Research structure

The research is organized in five chapters as following:

Chapter One: Introduction

This chapter commences with the environment in which organizations are doing business - fierce competition and rapid changes It highlights human capital as the competitive advantage of organizations and coaching is an important development tool to promote the employee performance through unlocking their potential It provides valuable details on the background and context within which the study was conducted The objectives and the outlines of the research are described in this chapter

Chapter Two: Literature review

This chapter presents literature on the concept of workplace coaching, the essential principles of coaching and its impacts on employee performance The literature also focuses on four key factors of workplace coaching effectiveness that are the coach-coachee relationship, the employee awareness, the motivation of employees and the support given to them The literature in this chapter highlights the causal relationship between workplace coaching and employee performance

Chapter Three: Research methods

This chapter details the research method used in this study It provides valuable insights into the research design, the sampling approach, the research instrument and the process of data collection used The method for the statistical analysis of the data will be detailed in this chapter This chapter concludes with a discussion on the ethical considerations relevant to this study

Chapter Four: Analysis of results

In this chapter, the research findings of the study are presented in various graphical formats, namely figures and tables The research findings are interpreted

Figure 1.1: The relationship between dependent and independent variables

and discussed; the research questions and objectives are verified through the key findings of the study

Chapter Five: Conclusion and recommendations

This chapter highlights the conclusions drawn and the practical recommendations offered Limitations of the study and suggestions for further research are discussed and proposed at the last part of this chapter

The following chapter presents the literature review about workplace coaching and employee performance to support this study

CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction

The aim of this chapter is to present a comprehensive review of research materials related to coaching at workplace and its correlation to employee performance The main sources used for this literature review comprised of researches, books, journal articles and the internet

The scope of this chapter covers:

The origin and concept of coaching,

The definition and essential principles of coaching,

The key factors contributing to workplace coaching effectiveness: The coach-coachee relationship, the awareness and motivation of coachees (employees), and the support given to employees

The theories about employee performance

The relationship between workplace coaching and employee performance

2.2 Workplace Coaching

2.2.1 The origin and concept of coaching

Before trying to define coaching as it is today, let us refer to the origin of the word and the concept of coaching The word “Coach” came from “Kocs”, a Hungarian village where high quality horse-drawn carriages were made That particular style of carriage became so popular that the term “Kocs” was soon used for all carriages (O’Connor and Lages, 2007) In the 19th century, English university students began to use this word as slang for tutors of such excellence that their students felt as if they were carried through their academic career in the carriage driven by their tutor (Wilson, 2004)

During the 1880s, the term “Coach” was mainly used to describe a sport coach Given that coaching has its roots in the area of sports, it also dates back to ancient Greece where coaches trained many of the athletes for Olympic Games (American Management Association, 2008)

The concept of coaching can also be traced back to Socrates, the famous Greek philosopher, who believed that individuals have their own answers to the questions raised and learn best when they have ownership of their situation In this way, he stimulated critical thinking and passed responsibility on the individual, with the latter being the fundamental principle of coaching (O’Connor and Lages, 2007) – “I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think!”

2.2.2 Definitions and essential principles of coaching

Coaching can be defined in many different ways depending on the “how” and the “why” of its implementation, as well as on the “way” it is perceived by scholars and practitioners

According to Smither (2011), coaching “is a one-to-one learning and development intervention that uses a collaborative, reflective, goal-focused relationship to achieve professional outcomes that are valued by the coachee” (Smither, 2011, p.137) Grant (2001) defined coaching as a collaborative, solution-focused, result-orientated systematic process, in which the coach facilitates the enhancement of the coachee’s performance in various domains and fosters self-directed learning, goal attainment and personal growth of the coachee Furthermore, Antonioni (2000) argued that coaching is a kind of partnership between the coachee (employee) and the coach, who usually is employee’s manager, and who aims at developing this employee’s skills and enhancing his full potential Besides, Whitmore (2004, p.8) stated that coaching is “unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their performance”

From the definitions that have been presented, coaching is not merely a process,

a technique, a dialogue, or a partnership but it is a way of managing and treating people, a way of thinking, a way of being (Whitmore, 2004), while Rosinski considered it an art (Rosinski, 2003)

Coaching usually involves two parties, the coach and the coachee, i.e the individual being coached, and is usually a one-to-one relationship It is probably the only non-therapeutic kind of relationship where the coachee has nothing to worry about regarding the other parties The sole interest in the conversation and the only focus is the coachee, not the coach It is generally used for development and

growth, to improve performance and to achieve goals pertaining either to personal

or professional subjects

Given that all individuals have the native potential to find solutions to their own problems, the principal purpose of every coaching interaction is to build the coachee’s awareness, self-belief and responsibility These elements are crucial in their entirety in order to unlock the human potential and set the base toward change and goal realization Awareness is just as much about understanding and clarifying their own thoughts, emotions and actions as it is about other people and the environment around them Coaches help them broaden the limits of their views and see what is no longer necessary, what might be rearranged and to identify possible gaps that need to be filled (Wilson, 2007) By taking responsibility and ownership

of their personal decisions, the individual has an opportunity to learn and develop, and increases their will and engagement toward their goals This, in turn, helps the coachee to build confidence, which is a key to unleash potential and growth Moving forward, some other key principles of coaching are blame-free, solution focus, challenge and action The coach is not there to form any kind of opinion on the coachee’s actions, behaviors or thinking, but instead to remain an external neutral and objective “eye” of the individual who then will challenge them to look for new perspectives in a supportive way (Wilson, 2007) It is important to remember that a coach is neither an expert nor a mentor but rather someone who manages to show the coachee the way to explore their own experiences and resources and facilitates them to generate their own solutions and answers (McGovern et al., 2001) Throughout the coaching dialogue, a solution-focused mindset governs; a good coach will support, listen and direct the coachee’s focus to resolving the problems they face Dwelling on the problem is certainly not useful and it is the coach’s job to shift the focus of the individual to the solution and toward the future At the end of the coaching session, the coachee should feel ready

to make the changes needed and proceed to action, considering that he has set new, clear goals and has gained insight of the situation (Wilson, 2007)

On the whole, the above mentioned principles and key elements of coaching create an environment in which the individual will learn and behave differently, thus resulting in enhancing that person’s capability of performing or realizing long

and short-term goals (Miller and Homan, 2002) The process is 100 percent coachee-led, with the coachee setting the content and agenda and the coach managing and facilitating it

In the next section, we are going to focus on workplace coaching and some factors, which are critical for coaching effectiveness

Coaching has grown tremendously over the past few decades, and business environments were a catalyst in this Coaching opportunities and applications in the workplace are numerous, and so within corporations, workplace coaching found rich soil to grow and flourish

Literature strongly suggests that workplace coaching can both play a key role in improving individual and organizational performance and assisting individuals to reach their full potential through learning and development processes (Grant, 2006)

We are living in an era of continuous rapid changes wherein the only constant is the change itself By nature, all humans are reluctant to change; coaching helps people accept and promote it Moreover, given that coaching focuses on the individual and we live and work in a fairly complex system as Grant states, a change in the individual could result in changing the organization (Greene and Grant, 2003) Furthermore, corporate uncertainty has increased the level of pressure and stress In addition to the increased pace in which work is conducted and the long working hours, managers are expected to coach their people to adapt, learn quickly and be effective Coaching is the only way they can achieve this (Miller and Homan, 2002) Another point is that flat organizations have created the need for a broad spectrum of managerial skills and competencies (especially those of coaching), the development of which can be enhanced by their own individual coaching, as a learning process (O’Connor and Lages, 2007) Finally, the social capital of the organization is nowadays its most competitive advantage Therefore, supervision is no longer enough as a managerial skill Cooperation, inclusion, empowerment and motivation are of high importance People need relationships of trust and open communication with managers and peers in order to fulfill their

needs and increase their performance Once again, coaching is the means to that end

2.2.4 Some key factors for coaching effectiveness

Coaching may not deliver its expected results and not have any value to the organization if it is applied wrongly For coaching to work effectively, there are many critical factors that could hinder or foster its results In this study, the author focused on the following four factors affecting the coaching effectiveness: the coach-coachee relationship, the supports given to coachees (employees), the awareness of employee and the motivation of employee These factors will be assessed critically in the following part of literature review

2.2.4.1 Building the trustworthy coach-coachee relationship

An effective coach will need to have skills to establish rapport, consolidate trust from coachees (Gwyther-Jones, 2011) A number of researchers have cited the essential role of trust in the success of coaching relationships (Hunt & Weintraub, 2002; Gyllensten & Palmer, 2007; Grant, 2014) Gyllensten and Palmer (2007) identified a coach’s ability to imbue trust into the coaching relationship is one of the main factors to predict coaching success Building the mutual trust is one of the primary steps involved in the coaching process Similarly, Hunt and Weintraub (2002) stated that trust in the coach-coachee relationship is “probably the most important element” of a context for coaching In other words, a trusting relationship between the coach and coachee is an important foundation or precursor for effective coaching

Coaches need to work on creating effective relationships with their coachees by using the various tools and techniques They will ask questions, listen carefully, and make the coachees feel that they are the center of the attention In this way, the coachee will feel valued, relaxed and confident By being open, friendly and approachable, the coach can win over the coachee and help them to open up and share their personal experiences Furthermore, the coach must recognize that every coachee is a unique individual (and should be seen as such) Therefore, although one approach could be appropriate for this coachee, it might not be effective for

others Thus, coaches need to be flexible in their approaches and to be adaptable to various situations that might arise in different sessions

2.2.4.2 Providing needed support to employees

Along with building trustworthy relationship as mentioned above, giving employees the support is important to coaching effectiveness (Wilson, 2007; Grant, 2014) Effective coaches start by ensuring that their employees are properly supported so that they can perform effectively (Longenecker, 2010) An effective leader will ensure that their employees have all facilities, information, authority and/or sanction they need to get the job done All of these factors set the stage for employee performance and are the primary responsibility of any manager who is serious about improving the performance of their employees Starting here is critical because it proves to employees that their leader is willing to equip them to

do their work and sends a message that the manager is serious about the success of the employee Equipping people to succeed just might be a coach’s most important job that is not always given the attention that it deserves

Research indicates that coaching outcomes can be predicted by five key coaching behaviors and one of those is giving the support to coachees (employees) (Grant, 2014) Coaches support in transferring intended change into practice through techniques such as rehearsal of specific actions within the coaching session, shadowing or accompanying the coachee whilst they perform intended actions or behavior changes in the workplace (Grant, 2014)

By active listening, the coach ensures that the coachee feels comfortable and motivated to talk about their issues, feelings and problems A good coach is a good listener and they remember to look at things from the coachee’s point of view rather than just trying to force their own views and opinions

Additionally, asking the coachee to share some things that they feel proud of in their career can be very beneficial, especially when the coachee is somehow negative towards coaching By asking them to discuss positive things regarding their career often will make them less guarded, less negative or suspicious about coaching This can make them feel more comfortable which would consequently mean that they will more engage in the coaching process

However, challenging is also very important in coaching process The coach should challenge the coachee to think critically and find opportunities for further improvement rather than just leave them in their comfort zone to talk about the things that they are doing well Follow up questions that challenge the coachee can

be equally important Such questions can be for example: How did you achieve success in these 2-3 things and how can you use what you learnt now? How can you make the situation you are facing now also a success? How can you use your strengths? What help/support do you need? These challenging questions can help the coachee to consider different perspectives and options that they did not consider before The intention is not to draw their attention to the negative parts of their work but to help them understand their abilities and competencies which they could use and explore further in their role

It is important to understand that there is no right or wrong answer and that different people have different backgrounds, experiences, values and expectations The coach needs to learn how to cope with them and how to deal with them rather than judging them Sometimes when there is a perceived weakness in a person you can use that weakness to create a success For example, if you are dealing with a person that changes their mind all the time, rather than consider it as a disadvantage for that person, why not view it from the perspective that the person is creative A good coach understands that some people adjust quicker than others and the coach should always keep this in mind By being supportive and patient, it can allow the coachee to take his/her time to modify their behavior without discouraging them by being too critical

In summary, coaching is all about helping/ supporting employees to unlock their potential (Whitmore, 2004) To promote the coaching effectiveness, it is very important for coaches to show their full support to employees mentally and physically To create a safe environment in which employees can feel comfortable taking the risks necessary to learn and develop

2.2.4.3 Enhancing employee awareness

The notion of awareness is embedded in the organizational literature In this study, the author focuses on two concepts of awareness: employee self-awareness and business awareness

There are many definitions of awareness; Hofstadter (2007) equates awareness to consciousness Wikipedia (2016) states that it is the capacity for introspection and the ability to recognize oneself as an individual separate from the environment and other individuals Pathway to Happiness (2015) argues that “self-awareness is having a clear perception of your personality, including strengths, weaknesses, thoughts, beliefs, motivation, and emotion Self-awareness allows you

self-to understand other people, how they perceive you, your attitude and your responses to them in the moment”

With all above definitions and many from other scholars and practitioners, we can say that self-awareness is the foundation that helps employees improve themselves, learn to make wiser decisions and listen to their thoughts and feelings Whenever having a failure, we often blame the external factors because this is the easiest way to justify; but we should actually think and look at different perspectives and learn from the experience Being aware of who we are, what we think and what we do are invaluable because it leads to self-recognition and then to change

Along with self-awareness, the business awareness is very critical for employees

to perform properly and effectively Employees need information about changes occurring in the firm’s external environment and the firm’s strategic goals as well

as an understanding of the impact of their work on the achievement of these goals Having clear information about a firm’s strategic goals and the changes occurring

in its external environment allows employees to see the “big picture” and creates the buy-in needed for ongoing improvements in the business Employees should have good judgment and be aware of shifting financial, social, political, technological, and environmental forces – the context in which their organization operates and be able to leverage this knowledge in daily work activities

Effective coaches help employees enhance their awareness by encouraging them

to share their personal point of view and their perception about work and organization; based on that coaches give employees the feedback and challenge them to think and gain insights of the situation (Wilson, 2007) When they are clear and convinced about what are the best things to do, they will commit to perform and deliver the expected results without or with minimal supervision and control In

contrast, if the coach cannot promote the awareness of employees, they will feel unconsciously and do not have dynamism to perform their work or even in the worst case, they may leave the organization To further promoting employee awareness through coaching, literature suggests that coachees being educated about what coaching is, why it will bring value to both the individual and the organization and exactly how it will be done, is a major determinant of the end result (Wasylyshyn, 2003) Without it, coachees cannot be fully engaged in the process, since they may hold misconceptions about the underlying reasons of the company’s decision and not be receptive to it That is because coaching has been linked in the past with performance issues and used as a remedial tool to correct an employee’s performance and behavior (Underhill et al., 2009)

In conclusion, self-awareness and business awareness enable individuals to be more receptive to development in their working environment, allowing them to respond more effectively to challenging and changing situations (Dane, 2011) Good self-awareness and business awareness may facilitate the implementation of intentions into action They enable employees to achieve intended work-related goals Coaching promotes employee awareness by helping and encouraging them to perform their best and in turn contribute significantly to organization goals

2.2.4.4 Promoting employee motivation

Anyim et al (2012, p.34) states “motivation is the act of stimulating someone or oneself to get desired course of action or to push the right button to get desired reactions” In this respect, Price (2001) argues that motivational factors are a group

of simulators, which boost employee productivity and improve their performance Yet, we should note that motivation is a relative concept given that it depends on each individual’s personality, background, education, culture, experience, age, preferences and taste It cannot be generalized since it is a subject with multidimensional theories In fact, some individuals may get motivated by particular factors that appear to be worthless to others Therefore, it is crucial for coaches to recognize each employee’s necessities and preferences in order to satisfy those needs and to generate motivation accordingly People can never be totally understood given their invisible inner thoughts; thus, coaches should be

attentive to which motivation styles to adopt with each individual in order to boost performance and job satisfaction

Motivation is considered one of the main competitive advantages of many organizations (Johnson, 2005) It has been quite a while that firms have motivation

as their center of attention mainly because of its impact on employee performance Whenever employees get motivated, their work satisfaction is enhanced leading to

a boost in their performance In this regard, Parfvonova (2009) affirms that motivation increases the employee work commitment, job appreciation, participation and decision-making, which in turn, help the organization in achieving its goals and objectives Thus, motivation can induce employees to double their efforts and manage their work despite any hindrance they can encounter It has a direct effect on employee performance (Uddin et al., 2013)

According to Stener (2007, p.31), “coaching contributes to individual development by offering an opportunity to improve the motivation and skills of the employees, which in turn will increase their job performance” Thus, coaching interventions have proven to have a positive impact on employee motivation This

is further backed by Amorose and Anderson-Butcher (2007) who highlight the positive liaison between coaching sessions and employee motivation When the coachees perceive the significant investment granted by their organizations to develop their skills, they get highly energetic and passionate about their work The coachees appreciate the attention of the coach who uses personalized techniques This amplifies their motivation and makes them want to sacrifice more for the organization they belong to In this respect, Grant and O’Connor (2010, p.103) affirm that good coaching improves motivation, develops understanding and generates a positive attitude and self-efficacy, which lead to progress and change Motivated employees are more willing to take initiatives and to double their efforts towards performance enhancement

successfully in a certain period of time (Yıldız et al., 2008) According to Mangkunagara (2001), employee performance is the result of the quality and quantity of work achieved by an employee in carrying out his duties in accordance with the responsibilities assigned to him Employee performance has also been recognized by Bilgin et al (2012) as the qualitative and quantitative evaluation, as well as the consequences of a particular assigned task Furthermore, George and Jones (2008) state that employee performance may be perceived as the evaluation

of an individual’s outcome of a certain job that indicates how well or poorly a job is performed

Employee performance is the key behind the success of any business When employees have good performance, they contribute greatly to organization goals along with customer satisfaction In order to improve the performance of employee, first, it is necessary to recognize staff, to distinguish between successful and unsuccessful staff (Pınar, 2012) In addition to this purpose, to provide feedback to employees related to their performance, to create and determine goals, to determine the purposes of business and the development needs, to improve the performance of whole business, to provide guidance to insufficient employees are also among the purposes of performance evaluation (Grote, 2001)

There are two criteria of employee performance measurement, namely (1) the measurement is based on the final results (results-based performance evaluation) and (2) the measurement is based on the behavior (behavior-based performance evaluation) (Gomes, 2003)

Measurements based on results measure the achievement of the organization’s goals or measure only the final results The goals are set by the organization management, and then the employee driven and assessed their performance based

on how much the employee achieved the goals which have been set This criterion refers to the concept of management by objectives (MBO) The targets are clear and can be measured quantitatively However, its main weakness is in the practice

of organizational life, many jobs are naturally non-quantifiable, so they cannot be measured quantitatively (Gomes, 2003)

Measurements based on behavior emphasize the ways and means to achieve goals, and not only the achievement of the end results Measurements based on

behavior are leaning on the qualitative aspects rather than measurable quantitative aspects Measurements based on behavior are generally assumed subjective where employees can accurately decipher the effective performance for himself or for his coworkers Performance based on behavioral aspects of the disclosure, broader aspects of the work in order to obtain a comprehensive picture of performance

In this study, the employee performance is measured on behavior-based measurements with three dimensions: Work productivity, product quality and customer satisfaction, which are perceived by employees through coaching practices at workplace

2.4 Relationship between workplace coach and employee performance

Today, firms are working on developing their human capital skills to improve their performance and effectively compete in the market Thus, by introducing coaching, they are targeting to promote the performance of their employees Rider (2002, p.234) asserts “coaching is valued for its capacity to enable managers and employees to learn and develop and thereby to enhance their personal and organizational effectiveness” Moreover, Selman (2012) argues that for a company

to differentiate itself from others, it should have: (a) the capability to introduce and maintain suitable changes, (b) the competencies for creating and maintaining long-term relationships, and (c) the integrity and constancy with people reflecting their responsibilities and values Coaching is concerned with creating conditions so that people can perform to the best of their ability

In coaching, employees receive instant feedback about their performance; this reinforces success and helps them quickly to correct any mistakes Coaching helps coaches to bring out the best in employees throughout the organization and they begin to embrace and engage in critical thinking Employees at all levels accept ownership and accountability for their working product and relationships They require less daily and direct supervision from managers as they develop their skills and strive to reach their full potential (Whitmore, 2004)

In a business context, it is imperative that managers have solid coaching skills These skills are instrumental in assisting employees to improve their performance and in turn to achieve the goals of organization (Demarco, 2013) According to

Demarco (2013), a manager who is able to coach is able to make a profound improvement in the performance of employees while keeping them motivated Many studies demonstrated that correctly coaching employees positively impacts the bottom-line and further that organizations that have adopted a combination approach of training and coaching have achieved significant bottom-line profitability Training as a stand-alone employee development tool is able to improve productivity by only 22.4%, however as combination of both training and coaching increases productivity by approximately 88% (Demarco, 2013) The Industrial Society produced a report based on a survey of 5,700 Human Resource specialists with 84% of respondents agree that workplace coaching generates improvements in employee performance; 79% agree that it allows fuller use of individual’s talents/ potential; and 69% agree that it promotes higher organizational performance/ productivity (Wilson, 2004) Furthermore, in the study of Longenecker (2010), a sample of 219 managers were surveyed and asked to respond to a series of questions about workplace coaching; one of the findings was that 93% of managers agree that employees want and need coaching to improve their performance

• Support to employees: Coaching is all about supporting employees to unlock their potential It is very important for coaches to show their full support to employees mentally and physically It determines that the coach is serious about the

success of employees and makes them feel safe to take risks for learning and developing

• Employee awareness: Having good self-awareness and business awareness helps employees to have better understanding about themselves and about the organizational strategy as well as the external environment in which their organization is working on These help employees to see “big picture”, then they will commit to perform and deliver the expected results without or with minimal supervision and control The coach helps employees to enhance the awareness by understanding their point of view and perception about work and organization; based on that the coach gives employees the feedback and challenge them to think and gain insights of the situation

• Employee motivation: Motivation is the “fuel” for a machine to run If employees do not have good motivation, they cannot perform and deliver the results as expected Therefore, keeping employees motivated is very important to boost their performance Coaching is all about employees, the coach is not there to tell or direct employees what to do but to encourage and support them to find their own solution This generates the feeling of being recognized and increases job satisfaction, which lead to progress and change

By practicing well the above four factors, the workplace coaching effectiveness will be improved and as the outcome, it has positive effect on employee performance

The general conclusion drawn from the review of the literature demonstrates that there is a definite need for workplace coaching and that the benefits of workplace coaching are significant As a result, workplace coaching benefits individuals at a personal level by working on improving individual performance, and, subsequently, organizational performance

CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODS

3.1 Introduction

This chapter describes how the research was conducted It explains the research design, the target population, and the sample of the study In addition, the methods used for data collection and how the data were analyzed to produce the required information for this study are explained

3.3 Target Population

The target population was all 248 persons who are permanent employees of TAF Within this population, only employees who have played the role as the coach, and/ or the coachee in coaching sessions will be asked to participate in the survey

3.4 Sample Size and Sampling approach

Bryman & Bell (2007) posit that the decision about the sample size is multifaceted and that there is no single correct answer

The decision about the sample size often represents a compromise between precision, time constraints and costs (Bryman & Bell, 2007) The sample size is significantly influenced by the type of data analysis the researcher plans to undertake, as well as the conclusions he/she wants to draw from the data (Davies, 2007) For a descriptive or exploratory survey, a sample size between 60 – 120

participants is considered acceptable However, in the instance that the researcher is testing on a hypothesis then the sample size needs to be large enough to ensure that the researcher can observe differences between certain key variables (Davies, 2007) This research was conducted within TAF, it has 248 employees in total and the author would like to get the feedback from as many respondents as possible The single random sampling approach was utilized for this study as the targeted population is across all departments of TAF and most of people work on shifts

3.5 Questionnaire

A research interview is considered to be a leading data collection strategy that can be utilized for both quantitative and qualitative research (Bryman & Bell, 2007) The aim of the researcher is to standardize the interviewing process of the respondents This can be achieved by asking each respondent the exact same questions, as well as providing a framework for their responses The results achieved through this process will demonstrate a true variation and will not be the result of the interviewer providing different contexts for each respondent (Bryman

& Bell, 2007)

In the instance that survey errors do occur, there are some common sources that contribute to the occurrence of these errors (Bryman & Bell, 2007) These common sources are:

Questions that are inappropriately or poorly worded

The manner in which the interviewer poses the question

The interviewee misinterpreting the question

The interviewee experiencing difficulties recalling past experiences

The manner in which the interviewer has recorded the information

The manner in which the data is processed, either when answers of the respondents are being coded or when the data is being entered is flawed

3.5.2 Construction of the questionnaire

Bhattacharyya (2006) posits that a questionnaire has two functions Firstly, the questionnaire should effectively translate the research objectives into specific questions and secondly, it should encourage cooperation from the respondents to provide correct information The construction of a questionnaire comprises of nine following steps (Bhattacharyya, 2006):

1) Determine what information is required

2) Determine the type of questionnaire that will be utilized (personal interview, email)

3) Formulate the content of each question

4) Determine the type of questions that will be used in the survey ended, ranking, closed etc.)

(open-5) Decide the approach you will use to word each question

6) Establish a suitable sequence for the questions

7) Create a suitable layout for the questionnaire, as well as a format for reproduction

8) Create a draft questionnaire and test the questionnaire

9) Make the necessary amendments to the questionnaire and prepare the final questionnaire

The questionnaire for this study was developed in a systematic manner based on the insights gained from the literature review

The author created both the questionnaire and the scales that were applied to the questions The questionnaire consisted of the following questions:

Relationship between the coach and coachees (employees) (coded as CR) with 5 questions,

Employee awareness (coded as CA) with 5 questions,

Employee motivation (coded as CM) with 7 questions,

Support given to employees (coded as CS) with 5 questions,

Employee performance (coded as EP) with 8 questions

For the demographic profile of the respondents, there were 7 questions

In order to reduce the possibility of errors occurring, the posed questions were kept both short and unambiguous The questionnaire comprised of only close questions

3.5.3 Pre-testing and validation

The process of pre-testing the questionnaire is vitally important in determining if there are any weaknesses in the design (Cooper and Schindler, 2003) To ensure that validity and reliability of the questionnaire, 10 participants from different departments were randomly selected to participate in the pre-testing process The feedback obtained from the participants of the pre-testing process enabled the author to amend some wordings of questions to be more common for better understanding This was also taken into consideration that the questionnaire would

be translated from English to Vietnamese for local employees

3.7 Reliability

Reliability refers to the ability of the same measurement to be carried out continually over period of time to provide the same results (Treiman, 2009) In this study the research instrument used only required the participants to indicate their preferred answer with a tick The author made use of only close-ended questions, thus no discussion responses were required from the participants

These factors collectively made this research instrument consistent when collecting data at varied times during the study and even at a later stage in the study Further, the results achieved in the pre-testing process were the same as the results achieved in the study, which strongly supported the reliability of the testing

3.8 Data Collection Method

Researchers can make use of either questionnaires or interviews to extract information from respondents (Krishnaswamy et al., 2006) A researcher may choose either single or multiple procedures to collect data; the approach adopted by the researcher is dependent on the research study (Krishnaswamy et al., 2006) Data for the purposes of research may be obtained from two possible sources namely, primary source or a secondary source

Krishnaswamy et al., (2006) state that three methods exist for collection of secondary data:

Data that is obtainable from published research journals, in books, reports and publications that are available to the public

A researcher may perform a search for data that is already in existence within an organization This data could be in the form of organizational reports, minutes of meetings and various other forms of internal communications

A researcher can perform a search for data on various databases that are found on the World Wide Web

Krishnaswamy et al., (2006) suggest that primary data may be collected by making use of either a questionnaire or by conducting interviews The researcher could use observation as a primary data collection tool This data collection approach entails the researcher observing certain phenomena in their subjects Despite the existence of many possible methods for primary data collection, the author chose to use a paper questionnaire for the purpose of data collection based

on the following reasons:

Hard copy of questionnaire will be more convenient and faster for employees to respond since they do not need to access a computer to do as with e-form

The survey supporters can explain to respondents in case they have any questions in a timely manner

This method of data collection was both cost and time-effective as all employees are in the same location

To ensure the success of the survey, before delivering the questionnaire to participants, the author physically come or sent e-mail to Heads of Departments and supervisors to share about the purpose of the study and asked for their support Then, survey supporters physically sent the questionnaire to the target persons The survey supporters, who have been carefully selected and trained, were present to help employees in case of any questions or any difficulties while filling the questionnaire Firstly, the survey supporters asked employees to read the Introduction Letter and asked if they have participated in any coaching sessions as

a role of a coach and/ or a coachee Then the survey supporters provided the questionnaire only to employees who answered “Yes” and asked for their fulfillment It took about 15 minutes for a participant to finish all questions The participants filled in the questionnaire during break, at the beginning or at the end

of their shifts Individuals were asked to indicate the extent of agreement or disagreement on a five-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) The survey was carried out from 9th to 20th April 2018; 214 questionnaires were delivered to 214 employees from all departments of TAF and the author received back a total of 190 completed questionnaires

3.9 Methods of Data Analysis

Once the data has been collected, the next process was to meaningfully analyze the data The original data of this study were first captured into Microsoft Excel The data were then exported from Microsoft Excel into Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA) 190 questionnaires were completed and all could be used for analysis The author made use of descriptive statistics for describing the primary data collected Simple descriptive statistics that makes use of percentages was also used The statistical analysis for the individual variables comprised of frequency distribution statistics in the form of frequency (count) and percentages The results of the statistical analysis

were graphically illustrated in the form of bar graphs and charts The statistical analysis also comprised of cross tabulation statistics in the form of two-way frequency distribution tables that calculated differences between the demographical variables and any additional variables of interest in the study

3.10 Ethical Considerations

Ethical considerations pervade all aspects of research design and extend beyond the collection and presentation of data The author purposely performed the following activities to ensure that all essential ethical considerations were appropriately addressed:

The relevant consent was obtained from Tri An Factory, Nestlé Vietnam Company to conduct this study

The participants were provided with detailed information that provided valuable insight into the background and purpose of this research The information provided also explained what was required of the respondents in relation to answering the questionnaire Also, accompanied with the questionnaire was a cover letter that detailed the nature of this study

Participants were informed of the fact that their participation in this study was purely on a voluntary basis They were also informed that they could decline to take part in the study if they felt intimated

The study did not require participants to furnish their names or contact details, thus providing assurance that their submissions would remain confidential

The research design used in this study was quantitative The sample for the study was obtained through simple random sampling of TAF population The data collection approaches as well as the statistical analysis techniques were also discussed in this chapter The questionnaire was designed to ensure that it reflects fully the perception of respondents about how workplace coaching has been applied

at TAF and its impacts on employee performance The quantitative approach was followed because it supported the large sample size from both collection and analysis perspectives

CHAPTER FOUR ANALYSIS OF RESULTS 4.1 Introduction

This chapter presents the analyses and findings of the study It provides general information gathered from the respondents in determining the perceived effects of workplace coaching on the employee performance at TAF, Nestlé Vietnam Company 214 employees from all departments across TAF were asked to respond

to the questionnaire and the author has received back 190 completed questionnaires

The questionnaire was designed to capture data relating to two key areas of coaching The first part was related to the four critical factors of workplace coaching effectiveness, which are coach-coachee relationship (CR), employee awareness (CA), employee motivation (CM), and support given to employees (CS) The second part focused on the impacts of workplace coaching on employee performance (EP) by three dimensions: employee work productivity, product quality and customer satisfaction through the perception of employees Besides, the demographic differences were determined if they have any different impacts on the effectiveness of workplace coaching and consequently on the employee performance

4.2 Sample Description

Total 214 employees were asked to participate in the survey and 190 participants completed the questionnaire and sent back to the author There were 24 participants who have not completed and sent the questionnaires back to the author The main reason is that they were busy and did not have time to answer For 34 persons who did not join the survey were mainly the new comers, not participated in any coaching session yet, and a minority were on leave or the survey supporters could not reach them

With 190 respondents, the results showed that 84.2% were male, the majority of the participants were equal or less than 40 years old (95.8%), 82.1% have graduated from college or higher level of education, over half of participants (51.6%) have worked at TAF for more than 3 years, and 59.7% were operators or clerks