Hays Reports Millions Being Spent on Coaching Without a Business Purpose

LONDON, September 7, 2010 - Hays Senior Finance reports that while multi-millions of pounds are spent
on coaching across the UK, 15% of organisations admit they have absolutely no
measurements in place to assess the impact of their programmes.

A new survey from Hays Senior Finance, working with expert coach/ mentors
LeaderShape, shows that coaching is often undertaken without evaluating the
return on investment. The survey also shows that 68% of businesses fail to
use coaching directly to address corporate objectives and outcomes are often
simply referenced at a personal level.

According to the data, the majority of coach-mentoring programmes are for
individuals, with 72% deployed to develop individual talents or address
personal worries.

Chris McCarthy, director at Hays Senior Finance, said: "In far too many
cases companies are leaving it to individuals to set the framework for their
own coaching or mentoring - with little or no reference to business needs.
They then fail to check the standards of their programmes and show little
concern for the outcomes. Support can be extremely effective when a
professional starts a new role, but it is essential it is carried out in the
right manner by people who understand the specific needs of these
individuals."

The survey showed that if a senior finance professional leaves within
three months of starting a new role not only is there a financial cost, but
it dampens staff morale. The vast majority of respondents (96%) agreed that
these appointments would benefit from confidential support during this
period.

One major concern revealed by the Hays Senior Finance/LeaderShape survey
is the lack of ongoing professional development for providers. Internal
coach-mentors are the preferred choice by those who use coaching, with 73% of
companies using in-house support. However, 16% of coaches and 28% of mentors
do not receive any training or support themselves, while companies describe
29% of team or group facilitators as untrained.

Chris Gulliver from LeaderShape commented: "This is a very expensive
missed opportunity for UK Plc in fast-moving times. Increasing amounts of
money are being spent on coaching as a universal panacea but many companies
have no comprehensive overview or sense of purpose.

"There is a clear lack of framework and training given to those who are
delivering many of these programmes with the obvious outcome that they simply
don't understand how to use coaching effectively and spend money wisely. In
what other area of business would money be laid out with so little thought to
evaluating its impact?"

Chris Gulliver added: "Coaching is not regularly applied where it can
often be most effective - within the leadership teams. And it is clear that
many services are being given to staff, often in difficult situations, by
people who are themselves untrained and unsupported. We believe it is
essential to upskill internal providers by training them in a range of coach
mentoring and facilitation options. It is equally important to track observed
outcomes against business objectives. Otherwise businesses could waste time
and money and miss the opportunity to boost success."

Notes to Editors

About Hays (www.hays.co.uk/)

Hays Senior Finance is part of Hays plc (the "Group") the leading global
specialist recruiting group. It is the expert at recruiting qualified,
professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK
and Australia and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe. It
operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent
positions, contract roles and temporary assignments.

The Group employs over 6,700 staff operating from 345 offices in 28
countries, recruiting across 17 specialisms and numerous sub-specialisms
including Finance jobs (www.hays.co.uk/accountancy/), IT jobs
(www.hays.co.uk/it/), accountancy jobs, architecture jobs
(www.hays.co.uk/architecture/) and health and safety jobs
(www.hays.co.uk/hs/).

    For further press information please contact:
    Alexandra Tucker
    Hays
    2nd Floor
    Stockley House
    130 Wilton Road
    London
    SW1V 1LQ
    +44(0)20-7259-8821
    www.hays.co.uk

For further press information please contact: Alexandra Tucker, Hays, 2nd Floor, Stockley House, 130 Wilton Road, London, SW1V 1LQ, +44(0)20-7259-8821