Introduction
In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, the need for effective coaching of young talent has become increasingly crucial, especially in the South African context. As organisations strive to remain competitive and innovative, nurturing the potential of young professionals is not just beneficial but essential for long-term success.
Challenges for Youth in the Workplace
Nowadays, young talent in their twenties and early thirties feel overwhelmed with life and struggle to build resilience while learning to navigate the demands of ‘adulting’. A first or new job is often daunting and they may appear to freeze when under pressure, afraid to ask for help and unable to receive feedback. Our youth find engaging with older generations difficult and are often blind to the politics of the world of business, made even more difficult when working remotely. The move to hauling staff back to office, following Covid and the remote-working way of life, will go some way to assimilating young people into the workplace culture, but can not be used as a blunt instrument to solve the challenges being faced. Organisations themselves are ill-equipped to onboard, develop and engage their new hires and young talent, creating a sad dynamic of frustrated managers with ‘problem children’.
Much of our South African youth have not grown up with parents who work, nor have had the benefit of learning about work dynamics, budgets, product launches and politics around the dinner table from an early age. Those who have made it into employment have often done so without role models, graduating with a substandard education and with high expectations from family to succeed.
Those young people entering the world of work with a more privileged background may have somewhat different challenges but they too need a trusted advisor to guide them through their first year or two in the workplace. They may have been raised to believe that they will succeed at anything they do and wilt at the first criticism or negative remark levelled at them by a colleague or manager. They are often unable to ‘read the room’, nearly impossible when working remotely with little or no opportunities to form supportive relationships with colleagues and no one from whom to ‘watch and learn’.
Our secondary and tertiary institutions are not effective in preparing our young people for the world of work. Academic knowledge is helpful but practical workplace skills, like preparing a succinct presentation, email etiquette or providing feedback in a meeting, are often lacking. For most of our youth, the business world is unknown and unnavigable and, despite their best efforts to succeed, they are often labelled as underperformers and, over time, either ‘worked out’ or leave for greener pastures, only to face the same challenges elsewhere.
The Benefits of Business Coaching
When engaged and motivated, our young talent brings with them fresh thinking, energy, digital savvy and invaluable insight into the needs of their generation. They are our customers and the continuity of our businesses. It is vital that organisations find ways to harness their talents while creating a fostering, yet performance driven work culture.
Business coaching plays a vital role in developing young talent by improving their professional skills and building trust within the organisation. It provides a structured approach to personal and professional growth, helping young employees to navigate the complexities of the business world, add real value and accelerate their career development.
Organisations typically use various approaches to coaching their young talent, including:
- Mentorship programs: Pairing young talent with experienced professionals to provide guidance and support.
- Continuous feedback mechanisms: Implementing regular check-ins and performance conversations to track progress and address concerns.
- Skill-building workshops: Offering targeted training sessions to develop essential business and soft skills.
Supporting Managers of Young Talent
Essential to the success of business coaching is the experience and insight of the coach. Managers are not always able to lead effectively. Many managers are not able to coach. Often, they struggle to effectively guide and develop their young staff, and do not have the capacity, nor the skills to do so. Managers need to be equipped with the necessary tools and techniques to provide effective guidance and feedback, specifically when leading young talent from diverse backgrounds.
Using an External Business Coach
Engaging an external, experienced coach to work with young talent can be a significant help to already overextended, ill equipped managers. An external coach provides a safe space for a young person to learn, share concerns and get advice on challenging situations. In addition to self and soft skills development, a good coach with the right business experience can assist the staff member with more practical support in areas such as reading between the lines of a job description, unpacking the individual’s role and how it interacts with other areas of the business, advice on how to prepare for an important workshop or how to challenge one’s manager appropriately.
A combination of company-run employee engagement initiatives to help new hires assimilate to the organisation’s culture and build internal relationships and networks, with tailored coaching and mentoring by experienced business coaches, focusing on the specific needs of each individual, has the greatest chance of success.
By investing in comprehensive coaching programs for young talent, South African businesses can not only address the unique challenges faced by their youth but also cultivate a skilled and motivated workforce ready to drive innovation and growth in the years to come.
Contact Collaborate Consulting and Development to find out more about our targeted, individual youth coaching and mentoring offering, as well as our coaching offering for managers of new hires and youth at work.
