Ready to bring the power of Torch Coaching to your organization? Here you’ll find all the resources you need to get a successful coaching program up and running, including best practice tips, tried and true strategies, and customizable templates.
We’ve broken down each program management milestone below so you can easily review what you’ll accomplish in each, why it’s important, and how to get it done. You got this (and we’re here to help)!
Understanding the coaching experience
What you’ll accomplish
You’ve decided to launch a Torch coaching program for your organization. Now what? Start by getting a feel for the participant experience, including the key coaching milestones and activities participants will complete throughout your program.
Why it’s important
If you’re familiar with the experience, you’ll feel more confident and comfortable socializing it out across your organization.
How to get it done
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Read our Intro to Coaching to orient yourself to the participant journey. You’ll also learn the basics about coaching surveys, the 360 assessment, manager alignment meetings, and colleague feedback.
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If you’re curious about the notifications participants will receive during your program, review our enrollment and partnership email notifications overview.
Your next step
Download the program management workbook for access to the customizable templates and worksheets you’ll complete as you move through this toolkit.
Defining program success
What you’ll accomplish
Link your Torch coaching program to key organizational outcomes by starting with your organization’s overall strategy (e.g. “expand internationally” or “improve customer retention”) and working backwards. This will help you determine your “north star” for how to measure program value and reference reporting data accordingly.
Why it’s important
A deep understanding of your organization’s top-level strategy and relative objectives sets you up to effectively design your coaching program to support and contribute to the overall strategy. You’ll also be able to more easily assess the impact of coaching at the end of the program if you’ve clearly identified your goals.
How to get it done
Your next step
In the program management workbook, complete the Participant Expectations and Program Goals worksheets.
Selecting participants
What you’ll accomplish
Develop a participant selection process for your organization designed to select the right people at the right time.
Why it’s important
Strong engagement in a coaching program starts with an equitable, formal and transparent selection process. When you get the selection right, participants are more likely to start engaged and stay engaged.
How to get it done
Your next step
Download the participant list template and fill it out with the employees you’ve identified for coaching. Once you’re done, share the completed list with your Torch account team or submit it to us by clicking Request support in the top-right of this article.
Developing a communication plan
What you’ll accomplish
It’s crucial to let employees know about your upcoming Torch coaching program, the priority it is to your business, and the expectations you have for participants. Now’s the time to create a well-thought-out communications plan.
Why it’s important
In addition to giving you peace of mind, your communication plan will guide you in promoting your Torch coaching program internally, help with change management, and reduce unnecessary questions along the way. It also builds advocates across your business by ensuring leaders and cross-functional collaborators are aware of the program and its importance.
How to get it done
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Check out our curated library of sample email templates you can use as a jumping off point, with communications spanning from pre-launch to program close out.
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To make sure participants are in-the-know with important program info, decide if you want to share our Getting Started with Torch Coaching quick-start guide, or customize your own version using our template.
Your next step
In the program management workbook, fill out the Communications Plan sheet with your program-specific info.
Setting up your program
What you’ll accomplish
Before launching your program, ensure your organization has granted participants access to Torch and provided them with the necessary permissions to receive coaching emails and calendar invites.
Why it’s important
If your organization only allows emails and calendar invites from trusted sources and traffic from approved sites, you’ll need to make sure Torch is one of them. This will help get your program off to a smooth start by ensuring participants can easily access their coaching partnerships and won’t miss any communications about upcoming meetings or coaching milestones.
How to get it done
- Send our list of domains and IP addresses to your IT team so they can be added to your organization’s allowlist.
Your next step
Check with your IT team if your organization would like to set up Single Sign-On. This service allows your participants to log into Torch using your organization’s authentication provider (such as Okta) instead of their email and password.
Managing your program
What you’ll accomplish
As the leader of your organization’s coaching program, you’ll use Torch reporting and management tools to monitor progress and drive participant engagement.
Why it’s important
Keeping an eye on engagement trends, like meeting utilization and satisfaction, can help you identify any participants who may need extra support to get the most out of their coaching experience. You’ll also be equipped to determine if a participant needs to be swapped out with someone else.
How to get it done
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Learn about action items (spoiler: these alerts help you keep your program on track by identifying any participants who are behind on coaching tasks) and how to manage them.
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For the most common reporting topics along with the supporting data points and how to access them, reference our reporting overview.
Your next step
Review our Tips for Keeping Up Coaching Momentum. This best practices guide includes a link to our 22 Ways to Leverage Your Torch Coaching Meetings article, which you can share with participants to help them jumpstart the conversation with their coaches.
Working with internal stakeholders
What you’ll accomplish
Keep managers of coaching participants informed about what to expect and how to best support their direct reports throughout their coaching journeys. As your program reaches its midpoint and beyond, feel confident in telling “the story of your program” by sharing key metrics and results with other leaders in your organization.
Why it’s important
While your participants will experience the benefits of coaching firsthand, managers and other leaders within your organization will be relying on you to communicate key guidance and highlight how coaching has made a positive impact.
How to get it done
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Share our Toolkit for Leaders with managers of coaching participants to give them a sense of how coaching works, what it’s used for, and how they can best support their direct reports.
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At the end of your program, check out the Coaching Impact report for a holistic view into participants’ growth, top areas of improvement, and reflections on their coaching experience.
Your next step
Create a copy of our executive summary templates. After deciding on your preferred layout, customize the highlighted sections with your program data. From there, you’re all set to share with your internal stakeholders.