Peer-to-peer learning

What is peer coaching and how do can you do it well?

Every organization should encourage peer coaching. Here are the benefits and how to start pairing employees in your workplace.

Ryan Carruthers

March 14, 2022

Employee engagement and growth are essential to building a successful organization. Researchers at the World Economic Forum predict that half of the global workforce will need reskilling in the next few years. To prepare employees for the future in business, companies have been investing more on growth and development initiatives. The learning and development industry brings in about $165 billion each year. 

Yet, companies often overlook peer coaching as one of the best ways to develop employees. One study found that nearly 70 percent of employees turn to their peers or read articles to learn. By formalizing peer-to-peer coaching, organizations can take advantage of connections that are developing informally. 


What is peer coaching?

Peer coaching is where one or more employees collaborate to help each other define and reach their goals. 

It has further been defined as: “an avenue to develop a collaborative workplace where staff members interact freely to address curriculum and instruction, observe and teach each other, develop and analyze materials, plan, and solve problems together.” 

That is, it is a tool that organizations can use with employees to cultivate collaboration, learning and growth. 


Where does peer coaching happen?

Many different organizations and institutions use peer coaching to enhance skills and reinforce learning. Some of the places that have been successfully using peer coaching include:

Education

Teachers have been using peer coaching for a long time to build their teaching skills. 

It can also be used in a classroom setting between students. When one student who excels at a subject helps coach or teach another student who is struggling. 

For example, Minnesota State University recently announced they would be allowing hundreds of transfer students access to coaching and mentoring programs. 

Companies

Peer coaching is a common practice for workplaces of all sizes. 

It can be used as an onboarding process where new hires are paired with a co-worker from the same department to help train them. These are often referred to as new hire buddy programs

Another situation where peer coaching is successful is when new managers coach each other to help them transition into leadership roles. 

With the pandemic, more employees were working from home, and companies responded by allowing remote workers to connect and learn from each other in a virtual space. 

Employee Resource Groups or ERGs are another space where employees can find peer coaching opportunities and support. It can aid employee development and build camaraderie.  

Start a peer mentoring program guide


What are the benefits of peer coaching?

There are several advantages to using peer coaching in a workplace, such as:

For employees

Accountability - having a coach or mentor makes employees more accountable for their actions. 

Connection - peer coaching relationships can be deeper than other mentoring relationships because they share the same perspective. 

For organizations

Productivity - coaching has been shown to improve employee productivity

Learning - peer coaching allows for learning and leadership development. 

Improve teamwork - encouraging peer coaching can lead to participants collaborating on other work projects and tasks. 



Tips for effective peer-to-peer coaching

Several elements can contribute to effective peer coaching experiences, including:

Trust - When participants trust each other, they are more comfortable unveiling their vulnerabilities or weaknesses. And it is when they risk being vulnerable that growth can happen. 

Setting goals - It’s best to have some standard of measurement that allows you to see if the peer mentoring experience has been beneficial or not. 

Reflection - There needs to be a time of reflection on what was learned or discovered during the peer coaching experience. This reflection leads to a deeper level of learning. 


How to plan and implement a peer coaching program where you work

Starting a peer coaching program isn’t as difficult as it might sound. With a solid strategy and the right tools, such as Together’s mentoring software, you’ll be able to get your peer coaching program running quickly. Here are some steps you can follow in the planning and implementation process. 

What’s the goal behind your peer-to-peer coaching program?

It’s vital to define the goal or objective of your peer-to-peer coaching program. 

Are you looking to onboard new hires? Do you need to help employees transition into manager roles? Is your company looking to provide learning and growth opportunities to increase employee engagement? 

Your objective informs your measurement strategy. 

For example, if you’re looking to improve employee engagement, you can measure their satisfaction in the job or gauge if their productivity improved after the peer coaching experience.  

Know how to pair employees

Pairing employees in your peer coaching program is essential to success. If participants are matched well, they will gain a lot from the experience.

On the other hand, if the match is less than perfect, participants may not get as much out of the peer coaching. Understanding how to pair employees involves learning what makes a great match

You can also use Together’s free tool to pair your employees together based on their profiles. 

Provide pairs with discussion agendas

Kick start the connection by offering discussion agendas for participants to help guide them through meetings. Together provides customized agendas for clients, so you’ll be able to make it easier for peer coaches to cultivate connections. 

Build a coaching culture with events

Consider ways to encourage a coaching culture in your organization. Some activities can include introducing pairs to other pairs. This can lead to knowledge-sharing activities and opportunities to encourage one another.

Remember to recognize leaders

Organizations that publicly recognize leaders in coaching demonstrate they value learning. This action can encourage other employees to strive for growth. There are many ways that you can acknowledge leaders for their efforts and achievements. The key is to make sure others in the company are aware of the accolade. 

Collect feedback from employees to improve

Feedback from program participants is critical to gauge the success of the program. It can also be helpful for identifying what is working and what areas need some improvement. 


Every organization should encourage peer coaching

Employees often share their challenges and questions with their co-workers. These are the individuals they are around each day and who understand what they’re going through in a way no one else in the company really can. 

Companies can encourage this connection between peers and boost engagement with peer coaching programs. It’s also a great way to promote growth and development in your employees. 

Starting your peer coaching program is simple with Together’s mentoring platform. Our intelligent algorithm helps you get the best pairing between employees.  Our software also allows you to easily measure and report on your organization’s peer coaching program so you can see the impact. 


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