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Quality Move Management (QMM) started using the services of a business coach in 2005. One year later, they won the 2006 ICF Vancouver Prism Award for business\u2011coaching excellence. I did some follow\u2011up investigation to see how coaching was still impacting their business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was pleased to learn that over five years later, QMM is still employing business coaching\u2014a true testament to the power of coaching. \u201cI can\u2019t imagine leading a business without coaching,\u201d says QMM President and CEO Kevin St. George.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I asked Mr. St. George a number of other questions to get more details about his business and coaching. He has provided a glowing testimonial for coaching\u2014yet another reason to attend the Prism event<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. What were the top three benefits that you experienced from the coaching leading up to being a Prism winner in 2006?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kevin:<\/strong> Wow, that seems like a long time ago! It\u2019s impossible to compare our current company and culture to what we had pre\u2011coaching. When I think back to what led up to being a Prism winner in 2006, I think of the benefits of having authentic conversations; creating a culture where everyone\u2019s development is foremost; and significantly impacting our employee engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I can\u2019t imagine leading a business without coaching.<\/em><\/p>\n QMM President & CEO Kevin St. George<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n We focused on getting the right people on the \u201cbus\u201d and then keeping them. People knew they were valued and were encouraged to provide input on how we could improve the company\u2014and improve the company we have. After attending an industry webinar that discussed employee engagement techniques used by sweepstakes sportsbooks<\/a>, we realized we needed to create regular opportunities for rewarding contributions and proactively addressing employee feedback. Today, the average tenure of our senior leaders is more than nine years (QMM is 14 years old). I venture a guess that if we didn\u2019t make the major shifts we did as a result of coaching, most of the senior leaders we had at the time would be employed elsewhere today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Since 2006, have you been coaching and if so, to what extent?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kevin:<\/strong> Yes, we have absolutely continued with coaching. We just wrapped up six\u2011month coaching stints with two front\u2011line operations managers. Our budget for 2010 allows for four coaching assignments and we already have the candidates identified. All of our senior leaders (four) and three out of four of our front\u2011line leaders have had coaching over the past four to five years. Three of the four coaching candidates in 2010 will be staff moving \u201cup\u201d into manager positions\u2014we fully expect to provide them with coaching to help support them during the transition. I don\u2019t ever see QMM not having a focus on development through coaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. What results have you achieved since 2006 that you attribute to coaching?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kevin:<\/strong> QMM is one of the most respected household\u2011goods moving companies in Western Canada. We\u2019re widely known as an organization that cares about its people and where anything is possible\u2014QMM is a GREAT place to work. Some of the achievements that come to mind are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n In our fall 2009 employee survey (98% participation level, 4.25\/5.00 average score) the top three rated questions were: \u201cI know what is expected of me in my job,\u201d \u201cI understand QMM\u2019s vision, mission and values,\u201d and \u201cQMM does a good job of providing information on how well it is performing against its strategic plan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. What is the most compelling argument for any other small or medium\u2011sized business to develop a coaching program?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kevin:<\/strong> Before coaching, I think I was a typical small\u2011business owner. I was able to grow the business to a certain size but not further. Intuitively, I did some leadership \u201cthings\u201d well, but overall I was task\u2011focused. Coaching opened up my world and allowed QMM to \u201cscale up\u201d\u2014primarily through development of people supported by coaching. Today, we are poised for significant growth in same\u2011location sales as well as through expansion and acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you have a coaching story to share? Contact me if you would like to get something published on our blog \u2013 stephan@noomii.com or 1\u2011800\u2011278\u20111057.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\nResources<\/h2>\n
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What\u2019s your success story?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\nQuality Move Management<\/div>\n
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Tagline:<\/strong> We ease the load in times of change.