Leadership
Transform Your Workforce with Employee Coaching at Scale
With the right mix of AI and human expertise, organizations can make workplace coaching impactful—and scalable. Find out how to do it.
June 02, 2025
Build Future Skills with Employee Coaching at Scale
Skills gaps are one of the biggest barriers to business transformation today. It’s estimated that more than half of the global workforce will need reskilling by 2030, and organizations can’t afford to fall behind.
For learning and development (L&D) leaders, the challenge is clear. How do you equip employees with the skills they need—fast and at scale?
One answer is coaching.
Long seen as a bespoke tool for senior leaders, coaching has now evolved into something bigger. It’s a powerful, scalable way to develop talent, shift culture, and drive business results.
Why Coaching Needs to Scale
Workforces are under pressure. Business needs are shifting fast, and employees need real-time support to keep up. Training programs alone aren’t enough. People need personalized development plans that stick.
Coaching works because it builds skills, behaviors, and confidence, going beyond just knowledge. But traditionally, coaching and developing employees has been reserved for executives. It was seen as too expensive and too limited to drive large-scale impact.
That’s changing.
Today, AI-powered tools and digital coaching platforms are making it possible to deliver coaching at scale, without losing the human touch that makes it so effective.
For chief learning officers CLOs), this presents a major opportunity—a chance to move beyond one-off training programs and to create a continuous learning culture that reaches every level of the organization.
The Role of Technology and AI
Coaching employees in the workplace has always been personal. That’s what makes it so effective. But personal doesn’t have to mean small-scale.
With the right technology, coaching can reach more people more efficiently without sacrificing impact.
AI is a powerful assistant in the coaching process, but it is not the coach.
At the heart of coaching is the bond between person and coach, a relationship that thrives on trust and rapport. AI coaching lacks that crucial human connection.
The right blend of technology and human expertise enables organizations to offer impactful coaching at scale, making it essential for workforce transformation.
AI-powered coaching platforms can help CLOs scale coaching by:
- Spotting skills gaps fast
Assessing workforce capabilities and highlighting where coaching will have the biggest impact - Reinforcing learning
Providing personalized follow-up recommendations so coaching lessons stick - Measuring impact
Helping track trends and coaching effectiveness, so organizations can adjust strategies in real time
The takeaway? Technology isn’t replacing coaches—it’s amplifying them.
Coaching at Scale: The Business Impact
Scaling coaching is about making learning a competitive advantage, not just reaching more people.
When employees at all levels have access to coaching, businesses see:
- Stronger leadership pipelines
Coaching develops critical leadership skills and mindsets early, building future-ready leaders at every level - Higher engagement
Employees who receive coaching feel more invested in their growth—and more committed to their organization - Greater agility
Coaching builds resilience, collaboration, and strategic thinking—all essential for navigating constant change
“Unlike other types of learning, employee coaching is deeply personal and engaging,” says Gagan. “That’s what makes it such a powerful driver of business transformation.”
In other words, coaching at scale doesn’t just build skills. It builds momentum. And this momentum can be used to drive organizational transformation.
The Ripple Effect: Coaching as a Culture Shift
One of the biggest advantages of coaching in the workplace at scale? It creates a ripple effect.
When coaching is embedded across an organization, it helps shift the entire culture, not just develop individuals.
Coached employees become coaching leaders themselves, passing on what they’ve learned to other team members and reinforcing a culture of continuous growth and improvement.
And the best part? It doesn’t take much to start the shift. When just 20% of a workforce is engaged in coaching, the ripple effect begins.
Coaching your employees is a transformation tool, not just a leadership one.
By making coaching part of how work gets done, organizations build more adaptive, high-performing teams, from frontline leaders to the C-suite.
4 Steps to Make Coaching at Scale Work
Scaling coaching takes more than just turning on a digital platform. It requires leadership buy-in and a clear strategy.
Here’s how CLOs can make it happen:
1 Align Coaching with Business Goals
Coaching at scale should directly support key business objectives such as a shift in culture. This is what we call connected coaching.
Without clear alignment, coaching initiatives can become disjointed and fail to deliver long-term impact.
Three ways you can do this:
- Identify the top priorities where coaching will drive the most impact
- Integrate coaching into learning and development programs
- Track coaching outcomes against business KPIs
2 Position Coaching as a Strength, Not a Fix
One common challenge? Some employees see coaching as remedial. But coaching isn’t about fixing weaknesses. It’s about amplifying strengths.
Frame coaching as an investment in potential, not a correction tool. Then communicate it to employees as a development tool for top performers and future leaders.
3 Support Employees’ Commitment to Coaching
Coaching requires effort and engagement. To make it work at scale, organizations must create the right conditions for success.
This can be done through:
- Leadership buy-in
Senior leaders should actively participate in coaching to set the tone
- Time allocation
Ensure employees have dedicated time to engage in coaching
- Ongoing application
Reinforce coaching lessons through workplace projects and feedback loops
When coaching is treated as a core part of employee growth (not a side activity), it drives real change.
4 Use AI and Digital Tools to Scale Impact
Technology can take the heavy lifting out of coaching administration, making it easier to personalize and scale your coaching programs.
For example, you can:
- Use AI-driven platforms to automate scheduling and track learning progress
- Leverage data insights to refine coaching strategies in real time
- Make coaching accessible through digital channels, so employees can engage no matter where they work
A multi-level development platform can collect valuable data, which can also be analyzed over time. This enables CLOs to demonstrate the value of learning initiatives to senior leadership, showing how coaching directly contributes to business outcomes.
Coaching at Scale: The Future of Workforce Development
Organizations that invest in coaching aren’t just upskilling employees. They’re building an adaptive, future-ready workforce.
For CLOs, this means moving beyond traditional training programs and embracing a more personalized and impactful approach to learning. The key takeaways?
- The right mix of technology and human expertise makes coaching scalable
- Connected coaching creates a ripple effect that transforms leadership and culture
- Strategic alignment ensures coaching drives business results and talent
Want to learn more? Read 9 Ways AI Takes Coaching to the Next Level
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