DESCRIBING THE PROJECT

I. Introduction

A review of the research identified a wide diversity of backgrounds and approaches

in the field of coaching. While there are many identified areas of similarity, there also
exist notable differences between different countries and regions, even between the
more developed coaching jurisdictions. Knowledge about similarities and differences
of coaching practices across countries, organizations and practitioners is critical in
assisting in the advancement of coaching as an industry. Understanding the
coaching industry is advantageous to a number of stakeholders such as coaches,
clients, academia and training institutions.
Unfortunately, there appears to be limited research directly targeted at the Romanian
market and none specifically examines how coaching services are used in Romanian
companies.

II. PROJECT OBJECTIVES

This research proposes to offer coaches and organizations an opportunity to
understand the current coaching practices within companies in Romania.
The purpose of this research project is to uncover the existing status of coaching
practices within Romanian companies. The study aims to determine how many of the
Romanian companies use coaching and provides insight into the reasons for which
coaching is most often used. Furthermore the study attempts to identify the specific
groups of employees within these companies that receive coaching.
This study is also concerned with how the coaching process is managed and
describes the criteria used to select coaches as well as the credentials seen as
necessary to be called a coach. These companies’ preferences in terms of
contracting external or employing internal coaches are explored, in addition to the
companies’ practices of supervision of coaches.
The study attempts to verify how many of the companies included in our study
measure the outcomes and effectiveness of a completed coaching intervention.
The value of this study lies in the ability to give other organizations that wish to
implement coaching programmes guidance in how the companies included in study
are using coaching to develop their employees. Coaches will be able to establish
what is considered as best practice and areas for further research will emerge,
allowing for growth and enhancement of the industry.

III. IMPLEMENTATION & STUDY METHODOLOGY

1. Setting up a collaboration with a Market Research Agency

ICF Romania Chapter will partner with an external research agency in order to get
help in designing the survey, collecting enough data and analyzing the data.
2. Defining the study sample

The population is defined as small, middle and big companies from Romania. It
therefore comprises employees who are managing the coaching processes within
these companies. For example, HR Managers, HR Specialists and Learning and
Development Specialists.

3. The research instrument

Will be used an online questionnaire with close-ended questions, based on the

literature review. This research study aimed to a questionnaire collecting quantitative
data. The survey questionnaire will contain questions on: the criteria used by
companies to select coaches, credentials required, companies’ preferences in terms
of contracting external or employing internal coaches, type of employees involved in
coaching programmes, and KPI’s used by companies to measure the success of
their coaching initiatives.

4. Data analysis

The statistical method to analyze the data is referred to as descriptive statistics. The
aim of descriptive statistics is not used to test hypotheses, but used to describe data
using measures of central tendency, measures of variability, tables, charts and
graphs. The results of this study are illustrated and summarized using tables, charts
and graphs.