Coaching as a practice to develop and support social service professionals in the Gauteng Provincial Government

Abstract

This research explored how Social Service Professionals (SSPs) in the Gauteng Department of Social Development (GDSD) perceive the role of coaching as a practice to develop and support the professionalisation of SSPs in the said department. For this basic qualitative study, semi-structured interviews assisted with data collection from fifteen (15) participants employed as SSPs in GDSD. Key findings are that coaching as a practice is non-existent for SSPs in GDSD and that the critical success factors for coaching in GDSD are no different from that in any other organisation. Most participants supported the contribution that coaching could be a practice to develop and support service professionals. Participants further indicated they would prefer a layered approach to introducing coaching to specific levels of staff in the SSP category. Participants favoured a systematic introduction of coaching to ensure its long-term sustainability and highlighted the organisational and personal hindrances that could impact its adoption and effectiveness as a practice