Ouch! Why Do You Guys Charge So Much?

Good coaches have excellent backgrounds that are difficult to find. They are confidential, unbiased and carry no baggage in the organization. You get to use them without adding them to your payroll. Lets say that you have decided to release an executive and search for a better fit. You decide that even though it is painful, it is necessary to pull the plug. Stop. Consider executive coaching as a way to protect the considerable investment that you have already made in this executive.

Even if you could fill the executive's job internally, chances are you would have to replace that individual by going outside. Consider the following estimated costs. An executive headhunter can charge up to one-third the executive's total compensation for one full year (50k to 150k or more). Most companies grant a severance package to the executive being released (10k and up). Think of the time required of your organization to interview a variety of candidates. Think of the expense involved in flying the candidates to your location in addition to meals and hotel. Consider the cost of perqs for the new executive (10k-30k). Relocation costs have risen substantially (30k-50k). More intangible costs are difficult to quantify but they include training costs, loss of departmental efficiency for a period of time, reduced productivity of the new hire, impact on critical projects that are underway, lost sales and lost customers.

Executive coaching is not inexpensive but why not improve the leaders that you already have in place? It is much more economical than finding a replacement. Depending upon the circumstances and length of the coaching engagement, clients can expect to pay from 5-10k (short program) up to 10%-15% of one year's compensation for an extended program. A typical engagement is 6-12 months. One other point. The executive coaching field is becoming more and more competitive so you can find all kinds of special deals to meet your needs.