Regardless of the type of coach you are, or where you coach (externally hired or internal workplace coaching), it is important and necessary to establish an agreement with your coachee and potentially other stakeholders from the very beginning...actually, before you even begin to coach!

There are numerous reasons for this:

• Ensuring all stakeholders agree to who is providing what, when, how, why and/or why not.
• Ensuring all stakeholders understand the ethics, insurance and/or legislative requirements related to the coaching relationship.
• Confirming rates of pay, when payment is due, what fees are required to be paid for late or missed sessions, etc.
• Confirming what success measures will be used to evaluate the coaching, including if any of those measure impact on "pay per performance" schemes related to how the coach gets paid.
• To provide clarity about how to resolve any disputes or breaches of the agreement.
• To protect all parties where it is wise to do so, and to be prepared to protect stakeholders in the rare instances of a serious problem.
• To clarify boundaries of coaching - what coaching is compared to other modalities - and to ensure all stakeholders understand these boundaries. This includes confidentiality, referrals and ending the coaching relationship with respect to the needs of the client falling outside the scope of coaching and/or the skills set of the coach.

There are certain things, which are generally often or always found in contracts. These are listed below for your consideration:

• Name of coaching business and any legal information required to be shared such as business registration details, address and contact information.
• Name of coach(es) providing services under the coaching business name.
• Name of the client (individual or company), including any contact and formally identifying information, such as business entity name and registration details. In the case of companies, there may be a "schedule" of individuals to be coached under the agreement.
• Description of services to be provided - coaching and other services, such as training, consulting, mentoring, counselling, business writing, etc?
• Listing of any services NOT to be provided and/or any disclaimers related to the list - not providing other services, such as consulting or giving business advice, and what disclaimers need to be clearly outlined about this
• Clearly listing all expectations the coach has of the client (individual and/or company) AND what the client expects of the coach / coaching business - who is responsible for what and when? What are the specific behaviours? What's measurable and what's not?
• Legal disclaimers as appropriate/required within the area of service and legal jurisdiction
• Privacy and Confidentiality - What is it? Is there a Privacy Policy? How does this meet the relevant legislation? How is it managed? What are the exceptions?
• Insurance information - What insurance policy and coverage is in place for the coaching business
• How are referrals to other providers handled? What disclaimers are required regarding referrals? What needs to be reported to whom, when and why?
• Credentials and Memberships - What professional credentials and/or memberships are required to be maintained to remain aligned with contractual requirements?Hours of Operation - Service Delivery Expectations
• Policies about being late to sessions or missing sessions - What is appropriate notice to give to avoid fees? Are sessions billed from the scheduled start of the coaching session even if the coachee is late? Are sessions billed up to the end of the schedule coaching session even if the session wraps up early? What are the terms to avoid late cancellations (e.g. less than 24 hours gets charged)? Are there exceptions due to illness or other factors? What is the fee for a "no-call-no-show"? How do these get reported on, and to whom, such as in workplace/corporate situations?
• Billing cycles, invoicing, payment methods and any other relative terms and conditions about money, including whatever refund policies are in place. Are there any "pay-for-performance" factors such as a "bonus" the coaching company could earn for meeting and exceeding the requirements and expectations of the contract and client?
• Intellectual Property - Who creates what? Who owns what? Who has permission to use what, when and with whom?
• Conflict of Interest - Clearly identifying any potential conflicts and how they are to be addressed.
• Key Performance Indicators - What is due when and to what measurable quality/quantity level? Who is responsible for these tasks? Who is responsible for measuring if these tasks meet the requirement? What reporting is required by whom, when is it required and who is it to be shared with?
• Reasons and methods for terminating the contract - Why and how can any party end the contract, what are the processes of discussing such steps before taking them (regular performance review conversations/meetings, mediation, arbitration) and who is responsible for what, how will amendments to the agreement be documented, formalised and communicated?

Some of the above items may not be appropriate for internal staff coaching agreements, but components may be included in the employment contract or other company policies. You may find it required to review any potential contract or agreement templates through Human Resources and the organisation's legal counsel.

For all other types of coaching contracts, please be sure to check with your legal counsel, insurance company, the client, the client's company and/or any other appropriate stakeholder to determine what else needs to be included in the agreement. You can also determine if anything in the above list is not required or needs to be expanded upon.

If you would like to know more about coaching contracts and to access some templates you can modify for your own purposes, there's a wealth of information you can find on the internet in a simple search, specifically on the various Coaching Tools and Resources websites.

The next issue of "Coach the Coach" will look at how to establish successful strategic alliances for your coaching business, or if you're working as an internal coach, how to partner with others internally to make the coaching service more successful.

If there are any topics you'd like me to cover in this column, please feel invited to email me directly with your requests through my website (see link in bio).

Noel Posus is a master coach with 20+ years experience as a professional educator, coach and author. He won the prestigious inaugural "Coach of the Year" award (2008/2009), Finalist in the Coaching Business of the Year (2010) and is an ambassador/leader for the coaching industry. www.noelposus.com