A mid-year review of Virtual Coach

You’ll have heard us making noise about our AI powered Virtual Coach a lot this year (you are using it right!?) we’re six months in after launching the latest iteration, so it’s due time to take a look into the impact that it’s having on our clients and partners, to help you decide whether it’s the right fit for your business (spoiler: it most definitely is)

One thing that has been made very clear this year is that we’re all time poor, so before I go into the detail, here’s the ‘need-to-know’ facts pulled from an internal report run on real users of Virtual Coach in our platform:

• Over 80% of managers with access to Virtual Coach use it to prepare for, and hold debriefs.
• Survey participants with Virtual Coach used their feedback report up to 4 times more frequently than those without Virtual Coach.
• Participants using Virtual Coach were also twice as likely to create and complete ongoing post-assessment pulse check-ins.

 

We also noticed a trend when drilling into the Coach history logs, in that more and more people were engaging in the ‘coach suggested interview’ function, with survey participants engaging in interview style dialogue to further understanding and plan for ongoing development.

Aside from showing us that we haven’t been wasting our time continuing to develop Virtual Coach, our findings also confirm that using Virtual Coach drives real behavioural change and improves feedback quality.

Have a little more time? Because finding out exactly how and why Virtual Coach is so impactful is almost as interesting as the shiny statistics above.

At its core Virtual Coach is designed to help participants interpret their results through clear breakdowns of competency scores, strengths and development areas, along with offering practical coaching guidance.

For the Managers, Coaches, and HR professionals Virtual Coach can help in preparing for debriefs by interpreting individual reports and creating unique debrief guides, actionable suggestions and conversational cues.

When it comes to 360-degree feedback, understanding the data and carrying out an effective debrief and coaching session is arguably more important than the assessment itself. In fact, according to a study carried out by the Dutch Centre for Executive Coaching, it’s the single biggest predictor of behavioural change.

The findings are not all that surprising, with a comprehensive and structured debrief, participants are encouraged towards reflection, learning, behavioural change and manageable next steps, all of which further positive development. So why the need for Virtual Coach then? Well because it’s never that simple and the debrief of your dreams might just never happen. There are a million reasons why not, but the bottom: it causes a problem.

A poorly conducted debrief can reduce acceptance of the feedback, damage trust, and decrease the likelihood of behaviour change. Top this off with a superficial development plan and you’ll have done more damage than if you’d have spent your time flirting at the coffee machine. We’d hate to see a strong survey go to waste, and thanks to the AI embedded within Virtual Coach it really is an adaptable tool ready to jump in wherever you need the support. Essentially Virtual Coach can help fill the capability gap so that Managers can better spend their time elsewhere, and the participants get the most out of their assessments.

 

Virtual Coach is no different from other AI in that If you’ve got the tool, you may as well give it ago, you’ll likely be pleasantly surprised.

Click here to organise a free demo. 

 

 

 

 

 

Published by Halo Feedback, written by Erin Power