Introduction: why this action matters for adoption
Training tells people what to do; coaching helps them do it when real work is messy. In change management, this action sits in the capability-building and coaching category: it supports impacted employees as they translate new knowledge into new habits, decisions, and behaviors. Prosci’s ADKAR model treats Ability as the point where people apply knowledge and demonstrate the required new skills or behaviors, and identifies practice, coaching, feedback, and support as important to building confidence and competence [Prosci, 2024]. (prosci.com)
The evidence base supports this focus. A workplace coaching meta-analysis found positive effects on organizational outcomes, skill-based outcomes, affective outcomes, and individual-level results [Jones et al., 2016]. A separate meta-analysis found that peer, supervisor, and organizational support are positively related to training transfer and sustainment [Hughes et al., 2020]. (openresearch.surrey.ac.uk)
What this action is and when to use it
This action pairs impacted employees, managers, sponsors, or other stakeholders with a mentor, coach, peer coach, or trained people manager who can help them apply new skills in context. Coaching and mentoring are both development approaches based on one-to-one conversations that enhance skills, knowledge, or work performance [CIPD, 2025]. Coaching is usually more goal- and performance-focused; mentoring usually draws on the experience of a more knowledgeable colleague and may last longer [CIPD, 2025]. (cipd.org)
Use this action when people understand the change but are not yet confident applying it. It is especially useful before go-live, during hypercare, after role-based training, when resistance is caused by skill anxiety, when managers need to lead their teams differently, or when high-impact roles must model new behaviors. Prosci recommends using coaching to identify individual barrier points and create action plans rather than treating all resistance as the same issue [Prosci, 2023]. (prosci.com)
Preparation: inputs, stakeholders, materials, timing, and decisions needed
Start with a clear adoption target. Define the future-state behaviors, decisions, system actions, customer interactions, or leadership routines that people must perform. Then identify who needs support, where the highest adoption risk sits, and what type of support is appropriate: manager coaching, peer mentoring, expert coaching, sponsor coaching, or external coaching.
Select mentors or coaches for credibility, psychological safety, availability, and proximity to the work. Do not choose people only because they are senior or technically expert. The U.S. Department of Commerce describes mentoring as a shared learning responsibility and recommends a learning contract aligned among mentor, mentee, and supervisor [U.S. Department of Commerce]. (commerce.gov)
Prepare a simple pack: change story, role-impact summary, behavior checklist, coaching conversation guide, escalation route, FAQs, practice scenarios, confidentiality guidance, and adoption measures. For formal coaching, clarify roles, responsibilities, goals, frequency, confidentiality, and information sharing before coaching begins [ICF, 2024]. (coachingfederation.org)
Step-by-step facilitation guide
Define the coaching purpose. State the specific adoption outcome: for example, “Help service agents resolve customer cases in the new CRM without reverting to spreadsheets.”
Segment the audience. Identify employees who need basic confidence, experts who need advanced problem-solving, managers who need coaching skills, and sponsors who need to model the change.
Choose the support model. Use managers for role expectations and reinforcement, peer mentors for practical know-how, specialist coaches for complex skill gaps, and external coaches for senior leaders or sensitive behavior shifts.
Match thoughtfully. Pair people based on workflow, role, trust, location, schedule, language, and change impact. Avoid matching someone with a person who will evaluate them unless the boundaries are explicit.
Brief coaches and mentors. Explain the change, the desired behaviors, common resistance patterns, what to document, what not to document, and when to escalate systemic barriers.
Launch with a three-way agreement. The employee, mentor or coach, and manager should agree on goals, cadence, confidentiality, and how progress will be discussed. This mirrors ethical coaching guidance on agreements and information sharing [ICF, 2024].
Run practical sessions. Each session should focus on real work: a difficult customer conversation, a new approval step, a system transaction, or a team leadership moment. The output should be a small action to try before the next session.
Review barriers and patterns. Change leads should collect aggregated themes, not private coaching details. If many employees struggle with the same issue, fix the process, job aid, system design, or training.
Reinforce and taper. Increase support near go-live, maintain it during early adoption, then reduce frequency as confidence and usage stabilize. Continue support for late adopters and high-risk roles.
Example: applying this in a real change initiative
A company introduces a new procurement workflow that requires managers to raise purchase requests in a digital platform instead of emailing finance. Training attendance is high, but early adoption is low because managers fear choosing the wrong category code and delaying supplier payments.
The change manager identifies the Ability gap and pairs each department with a procurement “floor coach.” Coaches hold two short practice sessions before go-live, join office hours during the first month, and review real purchase requests with managers. People managers reinforce the behavior in team meetings, while the change lead tracks adoption patterns. Within three weeks, the project team sees fewer email workarounds, faster first-time-right submissions, and fewer repeated help-desk questions.
Roles and responsibilities
The change manager designs the approach, identifies impacted groups, prepares materials, monitors adoption patterns, and escalates systemic barriers. People managers set expectations, make time for coaching, reinforce behavior, and support employees through resistance. Mentors and coaches provide practical guidance, feedback, and role modeling while respecting boundaries. Employees own their practice, bring real examples, ask for feedback, and follow through on agreed actions. Sponsors remove obstacles, recognize adoption, and model the change in visible decisions.
Common mistakes to avoid
A common mistake is treating mentoring as a vague buddy system rather than a change adoption intervention. Another is using the mentor as a help desk, compliance monitor, or substitute manager. Coaching also fails when mentors are selected for status rather than trust and relevance, when sessions are one-off, when confidentiality is unclear, or when the organization collects detailed personal coaching notes instead of aggregate adoption themes. Finally, do not coach people to work around a poor process; if multiple employees struggle with the same barrier, redesign the enablement or the solution.
Measures of success or adoption indicators
Measure whether support is creating confidence, capability, and behavior change. Useful indicators include coaching participation, completion of action plans, employee confidence scores, observed behavior checklists, first-time-right rates, reduction in workarounds, support-ticket trends, speed to proficiency, quality outcomes, manager observations, and sustained use after hypercare. Because peer and supervisor support are linked to training transfer and sustainment, track not only whether sessions happened but whether employees are applying the new skill in the flow of work [Hughes et al., 2020]. (journals.sagepub.com)
Checklist for the change manager
The future-state behaviors are defined.
Impacted groups and high-risk roles are identified.
Coaches or mentors are selected for credibility, trust, and availability.
Matching criteria are clear.
Coaching goals, cadence, boundaries, and confidentiality are documented.
Managers understand their reinforcement role.
Mentors have job aids, practice scenarios, and escalation routes.
Adoption indicators are agreed before launch.
Aggregate themes are reviewed regularly.
Support is adjusted by project phase and resistance level.
Optional reusable worksheet
Mentor or coach session worksheet
Employee name:
Coach or mentor:
Date:
Change behavior being practiced:
Real situation discussed:
What is working:
Barrier or concern:
Practice or feedback provided:
Action to try before next session:
Support needed from manager or project team:
Follow-up date:
Confidentiality note: only agreed actions and systemic barriers will be shared, not private discussion details.
References
Prosci. “Change Management Process.” Published July 1, 2024; updated August 20, 2025. https://www.prosci.com/blog/change-management-process
Prosci. “Creating Successful Coaching With the ADKAR Model.” Published April 26, 2023; updated August 2, 2024. https://www.prosci.com/blog/creating-successful-coaching-with-the-adkar-model
CIPD. “Coaching and mentoring.” August 11, 2025. https://www.cipd.org/en/knowledge/factsheets/coaching-mentoring-factsheet/
Jones, R. J., Woods, S. A., & Guillaume, Y. R. F. “The effectiveness of workplace coaching: A meta-analysis of learning and performance outcomes from coaching.” Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 2016. https://openresearch.surrey.ac.uk/esploro/outputs/journalArticle/The-effectiveness-of-workplace-coaching-A/99513563302346
Hughes, A. M., Zajac, S., Woods, A. L., & Salas, E. “The Role of Work Environment in Training Sustainment: A Meta-Analysis.” Human Factors, 2020. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0018720819845988
International Coaching Federation. “ICF Code of Ethics.” 2024. https://coachingfederation.org/app/uploads/2024/11/ethics-code-of-ethics-2024.11.04.pdf
U.S. Department of Commerce. “Mentoring.” No date listed. https://www.commerce.gov/hr/employees/training/leadership/mentoring
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. “Career Development: Definitions.” No date listed. https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/training-and-development/career-development/#url=Definitions