Build Connection & Leverage the Power of Peer Coaching

Accelerating change in organizations around the world has forced L&D organizations to quickly adopt new approaches to create more meaningful employee experiences. In our new hybrid and remote working environments, connecting employees in meaningful ways is more important than ever as we seek to drive engagement and retention. Learning leaders are uniquely positioned to make an impact by equipping employees with specific tools, capabilities, and strategies to build relationships. How is the learning being reinforced? How can we create spaces where employees can hold each other accountable for making change? What can learning organizations do bring the organization’s purpose to life for employees and leaders? This session will explore how peer coaching can effectively address those questions.

The purpose of ICF—to build a more prosperous and resilient world for all—is woven throughout our learning programs to ensure every employee understands the meaning and impact of their work. Like many organizations, ICF invested in the employee experience throughout the pandemic as a way to ensure that ICF is a place where all employees feel welcomed, valued, and respected. This session will include an overview of the design, development, and implementation phases of ICF’s diversity and inclusion learning journey and the new hire onboarding experience. We’ll explore the multi-phased approach, including our assessment of current programs, gaining senior leader support and sponsorship, the launch of training courses, and the implementation of peer coaching technology for reinforcement and accountability. This session will emphasize the power of peer coaching for accelerating culture change in any organization. Our structured approach has provided an ongoing platform for employees, leaders, and learning champions to reflect on what they’ve learned in training courses, to be vulnerable and transparent with others, and to hold each other accountable for taking action. The session will highlight how ICF recognized the importance of engaging senior leadership early on in the process to gain their commitment and sponsorship, and it will highlight the importance of change management activities when launching high-visibility and high-impact learning programs. Our solution made an immediate impact, and it’s one that can be implemented at an organization of any size.

In this session, you will learn:

• Specific skills and strategies for building more inclusive organizational cultures
• How change management can be done to effectively implement innovative learning programs and solutions
• The power of peer coaching and how it can be used as a tool for learning reinforcement and accountability
• How peer coaching technology can provide meaningful metrics for measuring connection and belonging in organizations