2020 Prism Award Winner: International Trade Association
Nominations for the 2021 International Prism Award have been extended through June 27! If you are an ICF-Credentialed Coach working within a business or organization with a strong coaching culture, we encourage you to nominate your organization here.
This week, we feature the 2020 award winner, International Trade Administration.
Any organization with a global workforce of nearly 2,000 employees faces daunting challenges maintaining motivation and productivity. For the International Trade Administration (ITA), these challenges are magnified. Employees are spread over more than 70 countries. Staff development and retention are constant priorities. New and innovative approaches are needed.
To meet these challenges and more, ITA adopted what today is viewed as a visionary approach. The organization established a Human Capital Talent Management Division and redoubled its commitment to enhanced talent management and optimization. Central to this innovative initiative was the creation of an internal coaching program.
ITA was ahead of the curve among federal agencies in its proactive approach to coaching. The organization started developing its coaching program in 2016, more than a year before other federal coaching initiatives began. By the time a 2017 Executive Order was issued requiring federal agencies to reduce costs while working to maximize employee performance, ITA’s internal coaching program was well underway.
Initially launched on a pilot basis, the ITA coaching program expanded rapidly such that today, coaching is available for any US-based employee. ITA continues to work toward its vision of making coaching available to all global staff. By 2019, the ongoing effort and underlying adoption of a coaching culture earned the ITA coaching program the United States Department of Commerce’s second highest achievement, the Secretarial Silver Medal Award, acknowledging the program’s organizational impact.
“This coaching program changed my life on all fronts within six months,” said an employee commenting on the value of the effort.
In recognition of the agency’s sustained commitment to coaching, ITA earned the International Coaching Federation’s (ICF) top honor for organizations with strong coaching cultures: the 2020 International Prism Award. ICF’s Prism Award program honors organizations that have achieved the highest standard of excellence in coaching programs that yield discernible and measurable positive impacts, meet rigorous professional standards, achieve key strategic goals, and shape organizational culture.
Read the full case study here and visit the Prism Award page to learn how to nominate your organization for the 2021 Prism Award.
ICF Prism Award
The ICF International Prism Award honors businesses and organizations with coaching programs that fulfill rigorous professional standards, address key strategic goals, shape organizational culture, and yield discernible and measurable positive impacts. For more information about the program, please contact Abby Heverin, ICF Assistant Director of Communications and Awards, at abby.heverin@coachfederation.org.
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