Over the last few years, group coaching has gained increased popularity as an effective tool for personal and professional development. These training programs offer participants collective wisdom, a supportive environment, and the expertise of a coach to achieve growth and the desired results. However, to ensure sustainable and long-term impact and understand how the coaching can be improved, measuring the effectiveness of the group coaching workshop is important.


Measuring the success of group coaching can be challenging. The changes can occur over months or even years and may also be external and internal.


Measuring success of group coaching


Coaching is multi-dimensional and a common perception of measuring success is a sole metric, a ‘win’, or attaining a specific goal. However, the success of coaching combines personal growth, relationship building, and team development.


This is especially true in the case of transformational coaching where the changes can be seen over months and even years.


The best start to measure success of group coaching programs is the client.

* Client-defined goals

Developing a clear purpose agreed upon by the organization and the participants. Coaching conversations help to develop a concrete plan, define future goals, and engage employees to encourage momentum in their work. Clearly defined goals strengthen employees’ growth and result in the overall success of the organization.


SMART goals standing for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound can go a long way in determining the success of group coaching training.

* Align with organizational goals

The objectives defined before the start of the coaching must ensure the desired results are in alignment with the overall organizational goals. During the training sessions, coaches must encourage participants to understand how they are connected to the organizational picture using key performance indicators (KPIs). The KPIs must be relevant and develop quantitative and qualitative measures to evaluate their actual effectiveness. KPIs could include enhancing specific skills, improving performance in certain areas, or the overall attainment of pre-determined goals.

A few examples of KPIs include initiating a leadership group coaching program to enhance skills, such as better decision-making, effective communication, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, and others. Performance-related KPIs may include higher sales, efficient task completion, and improved work quality. Group coaching for personal development or well-being may have KPIs like reducing stress levels, improving work-life balance, and better health and wellness.

* Pre and post-assessments

Both the coaches and participants complete a pre-and post-assessment, which can be an effective way to measure the success of group coaching. Pre-assessments may include collecting insights about the participants’ needs, strengths, and weaknesses, how they are perceived by others within the organization, and what is required to achieve enhanced performance. Such assessments can be conducted using multiple ways, such as online surveys or one-on-one interactions, which help to deliver more effective training aligning with the overall organizational goals.


Post-assessment can be a 360-degree feedback. This includes gathering detailed information from various stakeholders, such as direct reports, peers, and supervisors to build a holistic picture of the success of group coaching.


Also known as multi-rater feedback, 360-degree feedback involves collecting information from various sources. It may include self-assessments, assessments by peers and supervisors, and even from clients. It provides a 360-degree view of the participants’ behaviors and performances from different perspectives.
Coaches may provide structured questionnaires asking respondents to rate behaviors, competencies, and skills. Some of these may include communication skills, leadership effectiveness, problem-solving abilities, teamwork, and others. It may also include open-ended questions for qualitative assessment.


All this information is then compiled and analyzed by an unrelated third party to avoid bias and provide confidentiality and objective feedback. The analysis is shared with the participants in a constructive way to offer guidance and a development plan.

* Psychometric tools

Psychological changes can be assessed using psychometric tools to measure the effectiveness of group coaching. Some measures of effectiveness include improved abilities, enhanced capability to move ahead after setbacks, and greater motivation to achieve personal and organizational goals.


Psychometric tools provide objective data about an individual’s traits, cognitive abilities, behavioral style, and emotional intelligence. Some common tools include the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which assesses personality type based on four dimensions that include extraversion versus introversion, sensing versus intuition, thinking versus feeling and judging versus perceiving. Other tools include emotional intelligence appraisal, DisC profile, Hogan Assessments, and StrengthsFinder. These psychometric tools help track progress and measure modifications in a quantifiable and specific manner.


Measuring the effectiveness of group coaching is complex as it includes collective and individual outcomes, which are not always compatible. Effective evaluation is not only about measuring success but also finding ways to improve the program. Analyzing the feedback given by clients and participants allows coaches to identify the programs’ strengths, growth areas, and potential changes. A feedback loop ensures continuous enhancement of the training program and ensures coaching is impactful and relevant.