Stoke achieves transformation through coaching

Purpose – Shows how Stoke City Council has transformed its working culture by training employees to give coaching and therapy sessions to colleagues. Design/methodology/approach – Examines the reasons for the program, the form it takes and the results it is achieving. Findings – Explains that all council staff have free and confidential access to the service. The council also created a priority service for more urgent and complex cases to which access is through a human resource referral. Practical implications – Reveals that more than 75 staff members have so far received coaching from the network. Those off work because of anxiety and depression who received the coaching have returned to employment much sooner than expected. Social implications – Explains that the background to the initiative is that local authorities are being expected to achieve more and more on increasingly tight budgets. Originality/value – Describes the background to the success of coaching and therapy sessions at Stoke City Council.