Contracting with Clients

Abstract

Contracts are an essential element in the work we do with clients. They enable a shared understanding between the main parties; the organizational clients who be paying for the coaching, as well as individual clients. Research evidence (Passmore et al. 2017) confirms that a reasonable proportion of coaches don’t use written contracts in their practice. While this varies between different forms of coaching and different countries, we believe that written contracts and agreements are an essential ingredient for successful coaching. A failure to use a written contract or an agreement leads to the potential risk of misunderstanding about the nature of coaching, how the coach will work and what the organization and the individual client can expect, and what the coach can expect. More importantly it also fails to provide a means for clients to hold their coach to account, what ethical standards can the client expect to coach to follow, and how can the client complain about their coach if they are unhappy. In this chapter we will explore the role of contracts, think about the different forms of contract that may exist and what should be included or excluded.