GENERAL FAQS
Why hire a consultant?
Choosing an experienced consultant can allow full-time employees the ability to handle the day-to-day operations of the business, which keeps them busy enough while providing needed focus and attention of what is required in order to grow and improve your business outcomes rather than maintain the status quo. An effective consultant provides temporary expertise, focused recommendations, and can catapult a vague idea into a focused, clear plan of action.
Consultants also provide significant value for an organization. They bring external objective viewpoints and diverse ideas that allow for creative solutions that enable “out of the box” thinking. Consultants can help develop strategies for growth or manage projects. In today’s current economic environment, businesses need to lighten their operations, increase their revenues, and stand-out among the competitions. Consultants can help in this regard.
COACHING FAQS
Why might I explore a coaching relationship with Custom MADE Consulting?
Coaching is a one-on-one working relationship that has foundations of trust, candor, and accountability. Oftentimes persons find themselves needs an extra push to achieve their goals, address your most pressing needs, or seek clarity around key values, concepts, or truths necessary to succeed. Through coaching, you are empowered to reach higher levels using skills, strengths, and relationships. Utilizing coaching outcomes results in more fruitful careers, personal relationships, and happiness.
What is executive coaching?
Executive coaching identifies and focuses on the special needs of managers, leaders, entrepreneurs, and professionals. A coach can be a helpful “sounding board” as she is external to your organization that provides context, confidentiality, and space to think and process. Coaches provide space for exploring that leads to the opportunity to voice frustrations and talk through new pathways or courses of action.
Examples of needs may be:
Becoming agile in your position, industry, and work environment
Creating a more effective and cohesive top-management team
Focusing on critical issues and priorities
Balancing family while building a career
Balancing demands that compete for your emerging
Maintaining personal growth and identifying fresh perspectives.
How is coaching done?
It varies from face-to-face, phone, video conference, to email or a combination of all.
Conversations are typically 30 – 90 minutes. The regularity is based on your specific needs and goals, but usually occur twice a month, but can also happen as often as weekly. If you need more intensive coaching that may look like longer sessions or “shadowing opportunities,” which allow us to observe your interactions in order to make job-specific recommendations that improve targeted skills, such as your management, communication, interpersonal interactions, and work habits.
Who are optimal candidates for coaching?
There’s no one kind of person or reason for optimal coaching candidates, but here are a few characteristics of persons who have the most success:
Reflective about becoming more effective or increasing their quality of life;
Focused on results-oriented
For a coaching relationship to be successful, it is critical for your potential coach to be someone with whom you are comfortable, have good chemistry, and can trust. Coaching requires you to have candid, confidential, and sometimes uncomfortable conversations with your coach/mentor. Therefore it is important that you find the person who you are instantly at ease, feel you can trust, who understands the subtleties of human and organizational behavior, and can effectively hold you accountable to stay on track to meet your goals. A well-matched coach is insightful, thought-provoking, and candid.
How long is the coaching relationship?
The goal of coaching is to move forward expeditiously and without major difficulties. Because the coaching relationship is custom-made to your needs, it may be a short duration (3-6 months) or longer duration (12 – 15 months) depending on your particular situation. Most coaching relationships are 6 - 9 months.
How much does coaching cost, and how is it paid?
Coaching fees are variable based upon the frequency, length of sessions, and location of coaching (ex. In-person versus remote). Coaching sessions are typically charged on an hourly basis with a preference to set a negotiated flat fee for the term of the coaching engagement. Payment occurs in advance of each counseling session.
Monthly or quarterly payments include can include phone or email contact in between sessions without an additional charge. Flat fee charges require a 30% initial retainer, a second payment (40% of the flat fee) midway of the engagement, and the remaining 30% of the flat fee is due at the end of the engagement.
STRATEGIC PLANNING FACILITATION FAQS
What is a strategic plan and why is it important?
A strategic plan dictates all the actions of all of your employees to reach your goals. Moreover, it should create focus, alignment, and buy-in so that your team works together for successful implementation.
Why do I need a Strategic Planning Facilitator?
Let’s be honest; creating a strategic plan can be time and energy exhausting. A strategic planning facilitator is an outside person hired to work for you/your organization to assist with the strategic planning process. SPF’s may also help your organization in implementing and managing your strategic plan. An SPF brings their expertise in guiding the process, allows all members of the team to participate in the planning process, provides an environment to allow full participation (versus holding information back) as well gets everyone on the same page moving forward. An SPF allows you to focus on getting the outcomes that you desire versus spending a lot of time and energy on planning the session.
What does the Strategic Planning Facilitator do?
The SPF improves the overall function of team meetings by developing a structured agenda that will include activities to engage staff in identifying critical points for inclusion in the action plan and keep the meeting process timely, organized, and effective. Other responsibilities of the SPF include preparing meeting documentation, taking notes, and assisting in the development of the implementation plan
