Is Health & Wellness coaching worth it?

You may skeptical about the impact coaching will have upon your life. Tim Morin, President & CEO of executive coaching company WJM Associates says, “Investing in people is not the same as investing in a new piece of equipment or a new software program”. The same is true for health and wellness coaching. Investing in your wellbeing reaps benefits. How can we know this?

The obvious benefits are easy to understand: Happier, more efficient & self-sufficient, greater enjoyment of life within a chronic condition setting, improved peace of mind, richer relationships, greater physical health, acquisition of new & reusable skills – and the list goes on.  Tying the benefits of a coaching experience back to a percentage number representing the return on your investment (ROI) is a little harder to define but not impossible. It gives a reasonable understanding as to whether your coaching cost (investment) is worth it. In this article we will take a look at measuring the tangible value of coaching.

Q: How?

A:  We prepare for this during the coaching engagement as a part of goal-setting where you identify your health and wellness goals along with the key benefit expected and how it will be measured. This information is captured pre- and post-coaching and then plugged into the standard ROI formula:

Q: How do we define the benefits achieved?

A: This requires careful identification of highest priority objective and expected benefit. Your coach will work with you early and extensively to do this. Once a goal is established, expected benefits are given a monetary value.

Q: Can you give me an example?

A: First, establish the goal. Let’s use “Taylor” as our example client. Taylor’s goal is: To feel more purposeful and satisfied with important decisions.  Next, we solidify the tangible benefit expected.  Taylor wants to achieve shorter time between choice and decision.

It takes Taylor about 3 weeks to make an important decision. Typically, Taylor procrastinates 3 days then spends an average of 1.5 hours daily in the decision-making process during the remaining 18 days (e.g. clarifying what’s needed to make decision, researching choices, evaluating pros and cons of choices, getting quotes, etc.).  Though in reality time is priceless, to arrive at a monetary value for time, we will assume value of Taylors time is equal to the value of the coach’s time and is:

Pre-coaching: Work hours to make a decision: (1.5 hours x 18 days) = 27 hr. Cost of Taylor’s time: 27 x 160= $4,320

Coaching investment by Taylor: 12 x 160 (12 hours over three months) = $1920

Post-coaching: With the same average work effort per day: 1.5 x 6 days, (no procrastination) = 9 hr.  Cost of Taylor’s time: 9 x 160 = $ 1,440.

The monetary benefit of Taylor’s time savings: $4,320 - $1,920 = $,2880.  Using this information, we calculate:

%ROI = [(Benefits Achieved (2880) - Coaching Costs (1920) / Coaching Costs (1920)] x 100 = 50%

Taylor has achieved a 50% return on the investment of coaching in terms of expedited and more confident decision making (same decision, less time). In addition, Taylor’s stress level caused by indecision and procrastination is reduced significantly and time is freed up for other activities. These are but a few positive outcomes of Taylor’s achievement.

Now, what investment in yourself are you willing to make for a better state of wellness? Remember also, there is a ripple effect (intangible) to better wellness – those people around you and important to you, including those you haven’t yet met, will benefit by your more satisfied self!

(original publication: 18 July 2018, The Northeast Georgian Newspaper, Healthy Living section)