The effect of workplace coaching on employee performance the case of tri an factory, nestlé vietnam

Figure 1.1: The relationship between dependent and independent variables...9Figure 4.1: Role of employees in coaching practices at TAF...34 Figure 4.2: Status of employee training about

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

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

I confirm that this master thesis is based on my independent research Thefigures and results presented in this thesis are real data from survey conducted bythe author with assistance of employees of Tri An Factory (TAF), Nestlé VietnamCompany.

Proposals, solutions and recommendations were drawn from this study based onoperation evaluation as well as on comments and advices of TAF ManagementBoard

I am fully responsible for eventual errors or fault caused

Author of the thesisPham Huu Chinh

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

3.5.1 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

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

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

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

as a human management and development tool can facilitate improvements toemployee performance and in turn providing a platform to increase the competitiveadvantage 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 theconcept and essential principles of coaching, some key drivers of effectivecoaching, the employee performance and the correlation between workplacecoaching and employee performance A quantitative research approach was usedfor this study with the participation of 190 employees from all working positionswithin TAF

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

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

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

In the present business environment, organizations are subjected to increasedcompetition, fast-paced change, increased demands from customers and differentstakeholders These factors are putting a huge pressure on organizations Tocompete and take the lead, companies are more conscious of their need of acompetent, motivated and productive workforce which is considered as a distinctiveand inimitable advantage

Since the traditional employee development does not always deliver the desiredresults, organizations often use coaching as a way to develop employee self-confidence, self-efficacy, and contribute to actions that create results (Passmore andFillery-Travis, 2011) The reason behind this trend could be that coaching is abouthelping people to improve their performance not by telling them what to do but byenabling them to learn how to change, making coaching a widely recognized tool.Coaching is a well-established practice that researchers have defined in differentways According to Smither (2011) coaching “is a one-to-one learning anddevelopment intervention that uses a collaborative, reflective, goal-focusedrelationship 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 theenhancement 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 coachthem 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 andpsychological strengths into competency The coach’s job is to support, guide andmotivate the coachee to gain a better understanding of themselves in order to enablethem to reach the peak of their capabilities (Whitmore, 2004)

By applying this philosophy in workplace coaching, it can help individuals torealize their strengths and weaknesses Enabling them to find the answer to whatworks better for them rather than giving them the answers ready on the plate.

Coaching aims to empower people and help them to discover their potentialabilities and talents instead of focusing on what they cannot do (Wright, 2005).After all, coaching is about unlocking people’s potential with the intention toimprove/maximize their performance (Whitmore, 2004); a coach does not teach butrather helps the coachee to learn Coaching can be a challenging endeavor for thecoachee as well as the coach It is essential for the coach to have a clearunderstanding of their roles and responsibilities as well as being equipped with thedesired behaviors and characteristics that can enable all parties involved to gain thebest experience from the coaching sessions (Grant, 2006)

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

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

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

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

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

The conclusion provided would offer the recommendations on how to bettercoach 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 andtrading of processed dairy and foods with famous brands such as NAN, NescaféMilo, Maggi, and KitKat The company was founded in 1866 by Henri Nestlé, aSwiss pharmacist Today, Nestlé has more than 10,000 different types of productsmanufactured from nearly 500 plants in 130 countries and each day Nestlé sells outmore than 1 billion units worldwide

Nestlé has its presence at Saigon since 1912 and stopped doing business inVietnam 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 officiallyreturned 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 sitenamed Dong Nai Factory (DNF) started Up to now, Nestlé Vietnam has fourfactories, 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, BienHoa City, Dong Nai Province The total investment of Nestlé to build TAF wasnearly 300 million USD The factory started to be built in March 2011 and put incommercial operation from December 2012 onwards It is one of thirty-two Nestlécoffee manufacturing plants worldwide and is the largest factory in Southeast Asiawith the most advanced technology in the world

So far, TAF has two processing lines being operated - Pure Soluble Coffeepowder (PSC) and Decaffeinated Green Coffee bean (DGC), supplying semi-finished products to other Nestlé factories in Vietnam as well as other markets allover the world The PSC line was put in commercial operation in 2012 and theDGC line was commissioned in 2014 Currently the extension of TAF’smanufacturing 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 inAsia and Oceania (Australia and New Zealand), including Vietnam.

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

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

or High School Most of TAF employees are male, occupying 86% of theworkforce; 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 ofknowledge and experiences The factory has been spending a significant amount ofmoney, 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 favorableenvironment 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 isone of the mandatory leadership competencies required for employees, especiallyfor managers and supervisors; and it is considered as a powerful tool in developingpeople and promoting their performance More than 80% of TAF employees havebeen trained about basic coaching competency and therefore many of them havebeen 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 acoach and a coachee Managers mainly use the tool to coach their subordinates inorder to motivate them doing their best in work and encourage them to activelyparticipate in changes

Next to above points, coaching has been used to enhance self-awareness ofemployees Knowing their strengths and weaknesses, their potential capabilityencourages them to be confident in taking challenges, and to find the improvedways of doing things

Last but not least, coaching is used to help employees seeing issues andsituations from different angles and have the widest view possible This will enablethem 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 workdone, to listen and get feedbacks from employees about their work and anydifficulties they have Based on this, the coach can build good relationship withemployees as well as support them to find solution for those difficulties

There are also cases of employees coaching their colleagues to improve theirfunctional competencies An example would be how to operate properly andefficiently 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 thefirst days of its operation However, coaching practices are still not fully utilizedand sustained on the daily routine Managers struggle to reserve the time forcoaching of their subordinates and do not have yet clear criteria to measure theeffectiveness of coaching

Besides that, from the strategy of Factory in year 2020 (F2020) introduced byNestlé 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) andCommercial Divisions had the goal of Product Fixed Marketing Expenses (PFME).With different goals for different divisions, they did not always support well thegoal of Total Delivery Cost (TDC) – the most important goal of the wholeorganization

By focusing on its own goal, the Technical Division may insistently ask SupplyChain Division to have a long run for each product, which would help factorieslowering 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 productscould not be sold all out before getting expired Financially speaking, a long runcan cause higher working capital and in addition from Marketing and Sale sides, anegative impact regarding freshness of products and therefore a short remainingshelf-life products for customers

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

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

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

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

The Management Board of TAF has identified that coaching is the mostimportant tool to motivate and keep employees energized to perform their workswell In order to deliver the expected results, coaching needs to be further promotedand enhanced

Therefore, this research is aimed to determine the coaching practices beingapplied 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 waythey perform their works Enhancing coaching effectiveness can lead to

improvements of employee performance and it is vital to the success andsustainability of both organization and the individual Therefore, the mainobjectives 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 ofworkplace coaching practices in order to further promote its effect on employeeperformance

1.5 Research questions

With the research objectives as a basis, the following questions were compiled toensure 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? Doescoach 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 alldepartments who have delivered coaching and/or been coached were the targetsubjects of this research

1.7 Scope and limitation of the study

There is a wide range of coaching types and the factors influencing theeffectiveness 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 variableand independent variable

Employee Performance

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

Workplace Coaching

Workplace coaching is the independent variable in this research The researchaims 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 coachingeffectiveness, which are the coach-coachee relationship, the employees awareness,the motivation of employees and the support given to employees

Figure 1.1: The relationship between dependent and independent variables

Workplace Coaching

Employee Performance

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 doingbusiness - fierce competition and rapid changes It highlights human capital as thecompetitive advantage of organizations and coaching is an important developmenttool to promote the employee performance through unlocking their potential Itprovides valuable details on the background and context within which the studywas conducted The objectives and the outlines of the research are described in thischapter

Chapter Two: Literature review

This chapter presents literature on the concept of workplace coaching, theessential principles of coaching and its impacts on employee performance Theliterature also focuses on four key factors of workplace coaching effectiveness thatare the coach-coachee relationship, the employee awareness, the motivation ofemployees and the support given to them The literature in this chapter highlightsthe causal relationship between workplace coaching and employee performance

Chapter Three: Research methods

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

Chapter Four: Analysis of results

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

and discussed; the research questions and objectives are verified through the keyfindings of the study.

Chapter Five: Conclusion and recommendations

This chapter highlights the conclusions drawn and the practicalrecommendations offered Limitations of the study and suggestions for furtherresearch 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: Thecoach-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 employeeperformance

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 theword and the concept of coaching The word “Coach” came from “Kocs”, aHungarian village where high quality horse-drawn carriages were made Thatparticular style of carriage became so popular that the term “Kocs” was soon usedfor all carriages (O’Connor and Lages, 2007) In the 19th century, Englishuniversity students began to use this word as slang for tutors of such excellence thattheir students felt as if they were carried through their academic career in thecarriage 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 ancientGreece where coaches trained many of the athletes for Olympic Games (AmericanManagement Association, 2008)

The concept of coaching can also be traced back to Socrates, the famous Greekphilosopher, who believed that individuals have their own answers to the questionsraised and learn best when they have ownership of their situation In this way, hestimulated critical thinking and passed responsibility on the individual, with thelatter being the fundamental principle of coaching (O’Connor and Lages, 2007) – “Icannot 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” andthe “why” of its implementation, as well as on the “way” it is perceived by scholarsand practitioners

According to Smither (2011), coaching “is a one-to-one learning anddevelopment intervention that uses a collaborative, reflective, goal-focusedrelationship 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 theenhancement 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 atdeveloping this employee’s skills and enhancing his full potential Besides,Whitmore (2004, p.8) stated that coaching is “unlocking a person’s potential tomaximize 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 treatingpeople, a way of thinking, a way of being (Whitmore, 2004), while Rosinskiconsidered it an art (Rosinski, 2003)

Coaching usually involves two parties, the coach and the coachee, i.e theindividual being coached, and is usually a one-to-one relationship It is probably theonly non-therapeutic kind of relationship where the coachee has nothing to worryabout regarding the other parties The sole interest in the conversation and the onlyfocus 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 ownproblems, the principal purpose of every coaching interaction is to build thecoachee’s awareness, self-belief and responsibility These elements are crucial intheir entirety in order to unlock the human potential and set the base toward changeand goal realization Awareness is just as much about understanding and clarifyingtheir own thoughts, emotions and actions as it is about other people and theenvironment around them Coaches help them broaden the limits of their views andsee what is no longer necessary, what might be rearranged and to identify possiblegaps 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 thecoachee to build confidence, which is a key to unleash potential and growth.Moving forward, some other key principles of coaching are blame-free, solutionfocus, challenge and action The coach is not there to form any kind of opinion onthe coachee’s actions, behaviors or thinking, but instead to remain an externalneutral and objective “eye” of the individual who then will challenge them to lookfor new perspectives in a supportive way (Wilson, 2007) It is important toremember that a coach is neither an expert nor a mentor but rather someone whomanages to show the coachee the way to explore their own experiences andresources and facilitates them to generate their own solutions and answers(McGovern et al., 2001) Throughout the coaching dialogue, a solution-focusedmindset governs; a good coach will support, listen and direct the coachee’s focus toresolving the problems they face Dwelling on the problem is certainly not usefuland it is the coach’s job to shift the focus of the individual to the solution andtoward 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 coachingcreate 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 percentcoachee-led, with the coachee setting the content and agenda and the coachmanaging and facilitating it.

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

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

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

We are living in an era of continuous rapid changes wherein the only constant isthe change itself By nature, all humans are reluctant to change; coaching helpspeople accept and promote it Moreover, given that coaching focuses on theindividual and we live and work in a fairly complex system as Grant states, achange in the individual could result in changing the organization (Greene andGrant, 2003) Furthermore, corporate uncertainty has increased the level of pressureand stress In addition to the increased pace in which work is conducted and thelong working hours, managers are expected to coach their people to adapt, learnquickly and be effective Coaching is the only way they can achieve this (Miller andHoman, 2002) Another point is that flat organizations have created the need for abroad spectrum of managerial skills and competencies (especially those ofcoaching), the development of which can be enhanced by their own individualcoaching, as a learning process (O’Connor and Lages, 2007) Finally, the socialcapital 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 oftrust and open communication with managers and peers in order to fulfill their

needs and increase their performance Once again, coaching is the means to thatend.

2.2.4 Some key factors for coaching effectiveness

Coaching may not deliver its expected results and not have any value to theorganization if it is applied wrongly For coaching to work effectively, there aremany critical factors that could hinder or foster its results In this study, the authorfocused on the following four factors affecting the coaching effectiveness: thecoach-coachee relationship, the supports given to coachees (employees), theawareness of employee and the motivation of employee These factors will beassessed 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 trustfrom coachees (Gwyther-Jones, 2011) A number of researchers have cited theessential 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 ofthe main factors to predict coaching success Building the mutual trust is one of theprimary steps involved in the coaching process Similarly, Hunt and Weintraub(2002) stated that trust in the coach-coachee relationship is “probably the mostimportant element” of a context for coaching In other words, a trusting relationshipbetween the coach and coachee is an important foundation or precursor for effectivecoaching

Coaches need to work on creating effective relationships with their coachees byusing the various tools and techniques They will ask questions, listen carefully, andmake the coachees feel that they are the center of the attention In this way, thecoachee will feel valued, relaxed and confident By being open, friendly andapproachable, the coach can win over the coachee and help them to open up andshare their personal experiences Furthermore, the coach must recognize that everycoachee is a unique individual (and should be seen as such) Therefore, althoughone 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 tovarious situations that might arise in different sessions.

2.2.4.2 Providing needed support to employees

Along with building trustworthy relationship as mentioned above, givingemployees the support is important to coaching effectiveness (Wilson, 2007; Grant,2014) Effective coaches start by ensuring that their employees are properlysupported so that they can perform effectively (Longenecker, 2010) An effectiveleader will ensure that their employees have all facilities, information, authorityand/or sanction they need to get the job done All of these factors set the stage foremployee performance and are the primary responsibility of any manager who isserious about improving the performance of their employees Starting here iscritical 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 ofthe employee Equipping people to succeed just might be a coach’s most importantjob that is not always given the attention that it deserves

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

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

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

However, challenging is also very important in coaching process The coachshould challenge the coachee to think critically and find opportunities for furtherimprovement rather than just leave them in their comfort zone to talk about thethings 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 achievesuccess in these 2-3 things and how can you use what you learnt now? How canyou make the situation you are facing now also a success? How can you use yourstrengths? What help/support do you need? These challenging questions can helpthe coachee to consider different perspectives and options that they did not considerbefore The intention is not to draw their attention to the negative parts of theirwork but to help them understand their abilities and competencies which they coulduse and explore further in their role

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

In summary, coaching is all about helping/ supporting employees to unlock theirpotential (Whitmore, 2004) To promote the coaching effectiveness, it is veryimportant for coaches to show their full support to employees mentally andphysically To create a safe environment in which employees can feel comfortabletaking 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 thisstudy, the author focuses on two concepts of awareness: employee self-awarenessand business awareness

There are many definitions of awareness; Hofstadter (2007) equates awareness to consciousness Wikipedia (2016) states that it is the capacity forintrospection and the ability to recognize oneself as an individual separate from theenvironment 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 yourresponses to them in the moment”

With all above definitions and many from other scholars and practitioners, wecan say that self-awareness is the foundation that helps employees improvethemselves, 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 theeasiest way to justify; but we should actually think and look at differentperspectives and learn from the experience Being aware of who we are, what wethink and what we do are invaluable because it leads to self-recognition and then tochange

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

to perform properly and effectively Employees need information about changesoccurring 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 createsthe buy-in needed for ongoing improvements in the business Employees shouldhave good judgment and be aware of shifting financial, social, political,technological, and environmental forces – the context in which their organizationoperates 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 andorganization; based on that coaches give employees the feedback and challengethem to think and gain insights of the situation (Wilson, 2007) When they are clearand convinced about what are the best things to do, they will commit to performand deliver the expected results without or with minimal supervision and control In

contrast, if the coach cannot promote the awareness of employees, they will feelunconsciously and do not have dynamism to perform their work or even in theworst case, they may leave the organization To further promoting employeeawareness through coaching, literature suggests that coachees being educated aboutwhat coaching is, why it will bring value to both the individual and the organizationand 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’sdecision and not be receptive to it That is because coaching has been linked in thepast with performance issues and used as a remedial tool to correct an employee’sperformance and behavior (Underhill et al., 2009).

In conclusion, self-awareness and business awareness enable individuals to bemore receptive to development in their working environment, allowing them torespond more effectively to challenging and changing situations (Dane, 2011).Good self-awareness and business awareness may facilitate the implementation ofintentions into action They enable employees to achieve intended work-relatedgoals Coaching promotes employee awareness by helping and encouraging them toperform 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 oroneself to get desired course of action or to push the right button to get desiredreactions” 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 oneach individual’s personality, background, education, culture, experience, age,preferences and taste It cannot be generalized since it is a subject withmultidimensional theories In fact, some individuals may get motivated byparticular factors that appear to be worthless to others Therefore, it is crucial forcoaches to recognize each employee’s necessities and preferences in order to satisfythose needs and to generate motivation accordingly People can never be totallyunderstood given their invisible inner thoughts; thus, coaches should be

attentive to which motivation styles to adopt with each individual in order to boostperformance and job satisfaction.

Motivation is considered one of the main competitive advantages of manyorganizations (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 aboost in their performance In this regard, Parfvonova (2009) affirms thatmotivation increases the employee work commitment, job appreciation,participation and decision-making, which in turn, help the organization in achievingits goals and objectives Thus, motivation can induce employees to double theirefforts and manage their work despite any hindrance they can encounter It has adirect effect on employee performance (Uddin et al., 2013)

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

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

successfully in a certain period of time (Yıldız et al., 2008) According toMangkunagara (2001), employee performance is the result of the quality andquantity of work achieved by an employee in carrying out his duties in accordancewith the responsibilities assigned to him Employee performance has also beenrecognized by Bilgin et al (2012) as the qualitative and quantitative evaluation, aswell as the consequences of a particular assigned task Furthermore, George andJones (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 isperformed

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

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

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

on how much the employee achieved the goals which have been set This criterionrefers to the concept of management by objectives (MBO) The targets are clear andcan be measured quantitatively However, its main weakness is in the practice oforganizational life, many jobs are naturally non-quantifiable, so they cannot bemeasured quantitatively (Gomes, 2003)

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

behavior are leaning on the qualitative aspects rather than measurable quantitativeaspects Measurements based on behavior are generally assumed subjective whereemployees can accurately decipher the effective performance for himself or for hiscoworkers Performance based on behavioral aspects of the disclosure, broaderaspects of the work in order to obtain a comprehensive picture of performance.

In this study, the employee performance is measured on behavior-basedmeasurements with three dimensions: Work productivity, product quality andcustomer satisfaction, which are perceived by employees through coachingpractices at workplace

2.4 Relationship between workplace coach and employee performance

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

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

In coaching, employees receive instant feedback about their performance; thisreinforces success and helps them quickly to correct any mistakes Coaching helpscoaches to bring out the best in employees throughout the organization and theybegin to embrace and engage in critical thinking Employees at all levels acceptownership and accountability for their working product and relationships Theyrequire less daily and direct supervision from managers as they develop their skillsand 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 performanceand 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 profoundimprovement in the performance of employees while keeping them motivated.Many studies demonstrated that correctly coaching employees positively impactsthe bottom-line and further that organizations that have adopted a combinationapproach of training and coaching have achieved significant bottom-lineprofitability Training as a stand-alone employee development tool is able toimprove productivity by only 22.4%, however as combination of both training andcoaching increases productivity by approximately 88% (Demarco, 2013) TheIndustrial Society produced a report based on a survey of 5,700 Human Resourcespecialists with 84% of respondents agree that workplace coaching generatesimprovements in employee performance; 79% agree that it allows fuller use ofindividual’s talents/ potential; and 69% agree that it promotes higher organizationalperformance/ productivity (Wilson, 2004) Furthermore, in the study ofLongenecker (2010), a sample of 219 managers were surveyed and asked torespond to a series of questions about workplace coaching; one of the findings wasthat 93% of managers agree that employees want and need coaching to improvetheir performance.

• Support to employees: Coaching is all about supporting employees to unlocktheir potential It is very important for coaches to show their full support to employeesmentally 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 awarenesshelps employees to have better understanding about themselves and about theorganizational 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 toperform and deliver the expected results without or with minimal supervision andcontrol The coach helps employees to enhance the awareness by understanding theirpoint of view and perception about work and organization; based on that the coachgives employees the feedback and challenge them to think and gain insights of thesituation

• Employee motivation: Motivation is the “fuel” for a machine to run Ifemployees do not have good motivation, they cannot perform and deliver the results

as expected Therefore, keeping employees motivated is very important to boosttheir performance Coaching is all about employees, the coach is not there to tell ordirect employees what to do but to encourage and support them to find their ownsolution This generates the feeling of being recognized and increases jobsatisfaction, which lead to progress and change

By practicing well the above four factors, the workplace coaching effectivenesswill be improved and as the outcome, it has positive effect on employeeperformance

The general conclusion drawn from the review of the literature demonstrates thatthere is a definite need for workplace coaching and that the benefits of workplacecoaching are significant As a result, workplace coaching benefits individuals at apersonal 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 researchdesign, the target population, and the sample of the study In addition, the methodsused for data collection and how the data were analyzed to produce the requiredinformation for this study are explained

3.3 Target Population

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

3.4 Sample Size and Sampling approach

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

The decision about the sample size often represents a compromise betweenprecision, time constraints and costs (Bryman & Bell, 2007) The sample size issignificantly influenced by the type of data analysis the researcher plans toundertake, 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 istesting on a hypothesis then the sample size needs to be large enough to ensure thatthe researcher can observe differences between certain key variables (Davies, 2007)This research was conducted within TAF, it has 248 employees in total and theauthor would like to get the feedback from as many respondents as possible Thesingle random sampling approach was utilized for this study as the targetedpopulation 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 thatcan be utilized for both quantitative and qualitative research (Bryman & Bell,2007) The aim of the researcher is to standardize the interviewing process of therespondents This can be achieved by asking each respondent the exact samequestions, as well as providing a framework for their responses The resultsachieved through this process will demonstrate a true variation and will not be theresult 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 thatcontribute to the occurrence of these errors (Bryman & Bell, 2007) These commonsources 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 therespondents 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, thequestionnaire should effectively translate the research objectives into specificquestions and secondly, it should encourage cooperation from the respondents toprovide correct information The construction of a questionnaire comprises of ninefollowing 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

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 werekept both short and unambiguous The questionnaire comprised of only closequestions.

3.5.3 Pre-testing and validation

The process of pre-testing the questionnaire is vitally important in determining ifthere are any weaknesses in the design (Cooper and Schindler, 2003) To ensurethat validity and reliability of the questionnaire, 10 participants from differentdepartments were randomly selected to participate in the pre-testing process Thefeedback obtained from the participants of the pre-testing process enabled theauthor to amend some wordings of questions to be more common for betterunderstanding 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 outcontinually over period of time to provide the same results (Treiman, 2009) In thisstudy the research instrument used only required the participants to indicate theirpreferred 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 whencollecting data at varied times during the study and even at a later stage in thestudy Further, the results achieved in the pre-testing process were the same as theresults 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 extractinformation from respondents (Krishnaswamy et al., 2006) A researcher maychoose either single or multiple procedures to collect data; the approach adopted bythe researcher is dependent on the research study (Krishnaswamy et al., 2006) Datafor 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 ofsecondary data:

Data that is obtainable from published research journals, in books, reports andpublications 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 ofmeetings and various other forms of internal communications

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

Krishnaswamy et al., (2006) suggest that primary data may be collected bymaking use of either a questionnaire or by conducting interviews The researchercould use observation as a primary data collection tool This data collectionapproach entails the researcher observing certain phenomena in their subjects.Despite the existence of many possible methods for primary data collection, theauthor 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 anyquestions in a timely manner.

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

To ensure the success of the survey, before delivering the questionnaire toparticipants, the author physically come or sent e-mail to Heads of Departments andsupervisors to share about the purpose of the study and asked for their support.Then, survey supporters physically sent the questionnaire to the target persons Thesurvey supporters, who have been carefully selected and trained, were present tohelp employees in case of any questions or any difficulties while filling thequestionnaire Firstly, the survey supporters asked employees to read theIntroduction Letter and asked if they have participated in any coaching sessions as arole of a coach and/ or a coachee Then the survey supporters provided thequestionnaire only to employees who answered “Yes” and asked for theirfulfillment It took about 15 minutes for a participant to finish all questions Theparticipants 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 ordisagreement 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; 214questionnaires were delivered to 214 employees from all departments of TAF andthe 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 analyzethe 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 theSocial Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA) 190questionnaires were completed and all could be used for analysis The author madeuse of descriptive statistics for describing the primary data collected Simpledescriptive statistics that makes use of percentages was also used The statisticalanalysis for the individual variables comprised of frequency distribution statistics inthe form of frequency (count) and percentages The results of the statistical analysis

were graphically illustrated in the form of bar graphs and charts The statisticalanalysis also comprised of cross tabulation statistics in the form of two-wayfrequency distribution tables that calculated differences between the demographicalvariables and any additional variables of interest in the study.

Ethical considerations pervade all aspects of research design and extend beyondthe collection and presentation of data The author purposely performed thefollowing activities to ensure that all essential ethical considerations wereappropriately addressed:

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

The participants were provided with detailed information that providedvaluable insight into the background and purpose of this research The informationprovided also explained what was required of the respondents in relation toanswering the questionnaire Also, accompanied with the questionnaire was a coverletter that detailed the nature of this study

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

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

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

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

CHAPTER FOUR ANALYSIS OF RESULTS 4.1 Introduction

This chapter presents the analyses and findings of the study It provides generalinformation gathered from the respondents in determining the perceived effects ofworkplace coaching on the employee performance at TAF, Nestlé VietnamCompany 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 ofcoaching The first part was related to the four critical factors of workplacecoaching effectiveness, which are coach-coachee relationship (CR), employeeawareness (CA), employee motivation (CM), and support given to employees (CS).The second part focused on the impacts of workplace coaching on employeeperformance (EP) by three dimensions: employee work productivity, productquality and customer satisfaction through the perception of employees Besides, thedemographic differences were determined if they have any different impacts on theeffectiveness of workplace coaching and consequently on the employeeperformance

4.2 Sample Description

Total 214 employees were asked to participate in the survey and 190 participantscompleted the questionnaire and sent back to the author There were 24 participantswho have not completed and sent the questionnaires back to the author The mainreason is that they were busy and did not have time to answer For 34 persons whodid not join the survey were mainly the new comers, not participated in anycoaching session yet, and a minority were on leave or the survey supporters couldnot reach them

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