Using a Coach Approach to Improve Efficiency and Effectiveness of CCR Response to Data Requests NAACCR Annual Meeting, June 16, 2009 San Diego, CA Karen Knight, Director NC Central Cancer Registry

Outline What is coaching? Why do it? Description of project Who What Initial results Next Steps

“Professional” Sports?

Executive Perk?

In addition, coaching is NOT Mentoring Training Counseling Facilitating

Coaching is defined by International Coaching Federation (ICF) “Coaching is partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”

Coaching is… Coaching has not happened if the person or group being coached is not taking effective action.

Organizations that Use Coaching IBM – first internal coaching program NCI – “Sherpa” Coaching Project to help leaders develop coaching skills US Federal Government – executive coaching Most organizations that use coaching, only provide it in leadership development or for executives.

Why Use Coaching in a CCR? I wanted to address some ongoing issues and I was looking for an innovative solution that didn’t cost much… … and I wanted to use some new skills!

Issues in Responding to Data Requests Increased demand “Putting out fires” Re-work due to not asking the right questions/making assumptions Staff too dependent on supervisor Staff desire to do “more interesting” projects, but too little time Data requesters are often unclear about what they want!

Why a coaching initiative? Coaching initiatives have shown to improve morale and employee engagement Improve efficiency and accuracy Empower employees – ownership of issues and solutions Being coached is training to learn how to have coaching conversation with customers and peers And, I was really curious how it would work!

Project Goals Empower staff to take ownership of solutions Improve efficiency and productivity of data requests process Build teamwork culture Build capacity for staff to use coaching among themselves and with customers

Project Plan 6 staff, including supervisor Initial survey for what works, what doesn’t work, and what might help (February) Group coaching meetings, using unique meeting structure, every few weeks Mid-project survey in May

Meeting Structure – “Rounds”  Volunteer takes notes to distribute  Check in (“Highs/Lows”) – All  Accountability – All – Reporting on action items  Clearings – If something in the way of working together  Intention – All – Individual’s intention for participation  Work – Time for training and coaching  Action – All – Take ownership of next steps  Feedback – What worked/didn’t work about meeting? The structure creates an environment for everyone to participate.

Group Agreements  Refrain from “Cross-Talk” – allows everyone to feel free to participate with unsolicited advice  Responsible for their own opinions and experience  Use “I” statements  Be respectful of others’ opinions and experience  Responsible to bring up questions or concerns to the group to clear it up, i.e., avoid “gossip” outside the group

Meeting topics and outcomes 1.Kick off - Brainstorm strengths, weaknesses and ideas to improve processes 2.Refine defined outcomes and used group coaching on high priority item 3.Group priority setting and individual coaching in front of group with debrief 4.Further breakdown of coaching components, more coaching, with more debrief 5.Practice! Team members coached each other

Basic coaching model* 1.Connect 2.Focus 3.Discover 4.Act 5.Evaluate Integrated into group structure and coaching conversations. * The complete idiot’s guide to coaching for excellence, Jane Creswell, 2008.

Elements of a coaching culture 1.Driven by client’s motivation and “want” 2.Assumes client has access to innovative and practical solutions 3.Focuses on action and personal responsibility 4.Respects and encourages strengths and support, not weaknesses * The complete idiot’s guide to coaching for excellence, Jane Creswell, 2008.

Results: Employee Satisfaction PrePost% Change # Complex Requests % Contribution to improving efficiency % Teamwork in data requests % Communication among peers % Communication with data users % Engagement in work %

Results: What do you think was the impact of the project on each of the following? Average rank (1-10 scale) # Complex Requests7.0 Contribution to improving efficiency 8.0 Teamwork in data requests7.7 Communication among peers7.3 Communication with data users 8.8 Engagement in work9.2

Results – Perceived Organizational Benefits Increased communication Good ideas for improvements (improved data request form, training, procedures) New publication/project ideas More of a team “identity” Improve efficiency/productivity

Results – Perceived Personal Benefits I feel like more of a team member Made me think about things I hadn’t previously More engaged because I can see effects of my contribution (Supervisor) Appreciate feedback and see the benefit of group projects

Results – Employee Initiated Projects 3 staff studies using CCR data (in progress) 2 new web reports (in progress) Data request form and tracking to improve communication (completed) Customer satisfaction guidelines (completed) Revisions to staff training manual for responding to data requests (in progress) Cross-training for NAACCR/NPCR submission activities (in progress)

Results – Suggested Improvements Team building activities “Forcing” the group to work together to find a solution Everyone needs to volunteer Finish action items! Be more transparent about project methods from the beginning (I used the surprise approach. )

Next Steps for the NC CCR Continue with practice coaching, with the intention of integration in daily work (with customers and each other!) Continue with group coaching Re-evaluate in 6 months based on projects and staff perceptions GOAL: By end of next 6 months, self-sustaining group!

Resources The complete idiot’s guide to coaching for excellence. Jane Creswell, The evolution of coaching in the US federal government. G. Lee Salmon. IJCO, Contact me if you want to discuss ideas for implementation at your registry.

My contact information Karen Knight, Director NC Central Cancer Registry

Acknowledgements The North Carolina Central Cancer Registry acknowledges the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for its support under cooperative agreement NC U58 DP awarded to the North Carolina Central Cancer Registry. The content of this presentation is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.