Global coaching revenue is $1,979m; the average annual revenue generated by coaching globally is US$47,900 and the reported average global fee is $229 per coaching hour, according to research by the International Coach Federation (ICF).
Meanwhile, the ‘typical’ coach is female, aged over 45 years and “third-level educated” (with a master’s or doctorate), according to the ICF’s final report released at the beginning of July.
Sixty per cent of 12,133 respondents were educated to this level (compared to 17 per cent of the general US population, for example), while 90 per cent have a degree (compared to 30 per cent of the general US population).
ICF executive director, Magdalena Mook, said: “Our profession attracts highly educated people, which translates into a lack of need for regulation.”
In Western Europe, the average annual revenue from coaching is $52,100 and the average fee $277, while in Eastern Europe, it’s $24,000 and $164. The median of $25,000 doesn’t vary much per region, according to the 2012 ICF Global Coaching Study carried out in 117 countries by PricewaterhouseCoopers for the ICF. Mook, co-presenting on the research at the EMCC’s Research conference on 3-4 July, described it as “one of the most ambitious pieces of global industry research ever conducted in the field of professional coaching”.
The average number of current clients is 10 globally and in Western Europe, and eight in Eastern Europe, while the average hours worked (in coaching) each week is 13 globally, 12 in Western Europe and eight in Eastern Europe.
There is “huge variability” in fees, depending on the type of coach and their experience. Those with 10 plus years’ experience, for example, reported an average fee per session of $387 (globally) , $321 (Western Europe) and $311 (Eastern Europe), while those with less than a year’s experience reported fees of $128 (globally), $156 (Western Europe) and $109 (Eastern Europe).
However, Tony Dignan, an independent researcher who worked on the project, said the gap did not just reflect the number of years, but factors including whether the coach was sponsored by an organisation and whether they offered additional services including facilitation, counselling and mentoring (see box, key drivers).
Coaches “are quite confident and sanguine about the future”, said Dignan. “Less than one in 10 expect a reduction in volume, although fewer than half are expecting fees to rise.”
He said many planned to increase collaboration with other coaches (47 per cent globally) and offer additional services (41 per cent globally).
Coaches from 39 European countries responded and respondents included 4,397 non-ICF members. Only 2 per cent said they didn’t have coach-specific training.
lWhat gets in the way of earning high fees? See European Mentoring and Coaching Research conference roundup, page 12.
Key drivers
Number of years’ experience
Credentialling/accreditation
Professional body membership
Position of the client
Duration of coaching engagement
Number of methods used to evaluate coaching
Coaching at Work Volume 7, Issue 5