Introduction
Employment coaching involves a trained coach working collaboratively with a participant to set personalized employment goals and determine action steps to meet those goals. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the programs included in the Evaluation of Employment Coaching for TANF and Related Populations were typically providing employment coaching in person, either in the program’s office or the participant’s home. But the pandemic profoundly disrupted the normal operation of employment coaching programs. The programs had to adapt in fundamental ways because in-person coaching was no longer safe and because participants’ needs changed.
This brief discusses how the four programs in this study adapted during the pandemic and identifies lessons learned that affect how these programs offer coaching. Interviews with staff and participants and analysis of data on service use at the coaching programs inform the findings in this brief.
Purpose
This brief is intended to share lessons from four employment coaching programs that made major changes to their operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to informing the interpretation of findings from the impact study of the programs, this discussion could provide other employment programs information about modifying service delivery and meeting client needs. The lessons learned from the experiences of the programs in this study might be helpful to other programs implementing coaching or other approaches that involve close staff-participant interaction, during a public health crisis or other type of emergency.
Key Findings and Highlights
- All four programs found that it was feasible to provide coaching virtually, identified some benefits and drawbacks, and plan to revert to mostly in-person coaching supplemented with some virtual coaching after the pandemic ends.
- All four programs adapted to changing participant needs during the pandemic.
- Programs also adapted to support their staff, and staff reported feeling supported by these changes.
- Staff reported that programs responded effectively to the pandemic.
- Participants felt that coaching was particularly beneficial during the pandemic.
Methods
The study team conducted 43 90-minute, semi-structured interviews with staff. The team interviewed 9 to 13 staff from each program, including program directors, local directors, supervisors, program managers, and coaches. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 participants: four from MyGoals—two from Baltimore and two from Houston—and two from each of the other three programs; there were two interviews at each MyGoals location because each MyGoals location had about as many study enrollments as each of the other programs.
Citation
Kharsa, Miranda and Kristen Joyce (2022). “Employment Coaching During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons Learned.” #2022-79. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.