Posted on February 24, 2010 by Stephan Wiedner

Quality Move Management (QMM) started using the services of a business coach in 2005. One year later, they won the 2006 ICF Vancouver Prism Award for business coaching excellence. I did some follow-up investigation to see how coaching was still impacting their business.

I was pleased to learn that over five years later, QMM is still employing business coaching – a true testament to the power of coaching. “I can’t imagine leading a business without coaching” says QMM President and CEO, Kevin St. George.

I asked Mr. St. George a number of other questions to get more details about his business and coaching. He has provided a glowing testimonial for coaching – yet another reason to attend the Prism event.

1. What were the top 3 benefits that you experienced from the coaching leading up to being a Prism winner in 2006?

Kevin: Wow, that seems like a long time ago! It’s impossible to compare our current company and culture to what we had pre-coaching. When I think back to what led up to being a Prism winner in 2006, I think of the benefits of having authentic conversations; creating a culture where everyone’s development is foremost; and significantly impacting our employee engagement.

We focused on getting the right people on the “bus” and then keeping them. People knew they were valued and they were encouraged to provide input on how we could improve the company – and improve the company we have. Today the average tenure of our senior leaders is more than 9 years (QMM is 14 years old). I venture a guess that if we didn’t make the major shifts we did as a result of coaching, most of the senior leaders we had at the time would be employed elsewhere today.

2. Since 2006, have you been coaching and if so, to what extent?

Kevin: Yes, we have absolutely continued with coaching. We just wrapped-up six month coaching stints with two front-line operation managers. Our budget for 2010 allows for 4 coaching assignments and we already have the candidates identified. All of our senior leaders (4) and 3 out of 4 of our front-line leaders have had coaching over the past 4-5 years. 3 of the 4 coaching candidates in 2010 will be staff that are moving “up” into manager positions – we fully expect to provide them with coaching to help support them during the transition. I don’t ever see QMM not having a focus on development through coaching.

3. What results have you achieved since 2006 that you attribute to coaching?

Kevin: QMM is one of the most respected household goods moving companies in Western Canada. We’re widely known as being an organization that cares about their people and where anything is possible – QMM is a GREAT place to work. Some of the achievements that come to mind are:

• being named the #2 most financially successful Allied agent in the western half of the US/Canada in 2008 (2009 announcement still pending);
• equaling our best year ever in 2009 in spite of the so-called recession around us; and
• establishing a very conservative growth budget of 18% in 2010.

In our fall 2009 employee survey (98% participation level, 4.25/5.00 average score) the top 3 rated questions were: I know what is expected of me in my job; I understand QMM’s vision, mission and values; and QMM does a good job of providing information on how well it is performing against its strategic plan.

4. What is the most compelling argument for any other small or medium-sized business to develop a coaching program?

Kevin: Before coaching I think I was a typical small business owner. I was able to grow the business to certain size but not further. Intuitively I did some leadership “things” well but overall I was task focused. Coaching opened up my world and allowed QMM to “scale up” – primarily through development of people supported by coaching. Today we are poised for significant growth in same location sales as well as through expansion and acquisition.

What’s your success story?

Do you have a coaching story to share? Contact me if you would like to get something published on our blog – stephan@noomii.com or 1-800-278-1057.

Quality Move Management

Tagline: We ease the load in times of change.
Website: qmm.com
Location: Vancouver & Calgary, Canada
Years in Business: 14
Years Coaching: 6

We are the Vancouver and Calgary movers committed to providing world-class relocation solutions of the highest quality for individuals, families, employees and businesses. Worldwide, our clients receive dedicated service from an award-winning team trained to go above and beyond expectations. With a proven record of accomplishment of innovation and value, we have the resources to ensure your relocation is a success from start to finish. We are committed to being the best relocation and moving services company in Canada.