Buildinga Performance-Driven Organisation at Coach For Life

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Coach For Life (CFL) is a Surat-based coaching and consulting company founded in 2011 by Ms Minal Shah, who has served as its CEO since inception. The company’s mission is singular and deeply held: to contribute to the lives of as many people as possible so they can live happy, healthy, and fulfilling lives. CFL delivers this mission through personal coaching, corporate training, life transformation workshops, and consulting engagements across India.

Despite having a clear external purpose, the company’s internal people management systems had not kept pace with its growth. Ms Shah engaged Dr Meenu Rathore for a six-month consulting engagement to build the organisational infrastructure needed to make every employee productive, clear on their responsibilities, and aligned with their own growth. The results were significant enough that engagement was extended for another year.

 

INDUSTRY Life & Business Coaching

LOCATION Surat, Gujarat, India

ENGAGEMENT TYPE HR & Organisational Consulting

ENGAGEMENT YEAR 2021 Onwards

THE CHALLENGE

Ms Minal Shah had long held a vision for how a well-functioning internal organisation should look. She had the theoretical knowledge of what was required but found it difficult to bridge the execution gap on her own. Previous attempts to work with consultants had not translated theory into practical, lasting implementation.

The specific challenges the organisation faced included:

• Employees lacked clarity on their exact roles, job descriptions, and the results they were expected to produce.
• No structured performance measurement system existed, making it impossible to track progress, reward performers, or identify underperformance consistently.
• HR activities were ad hoc, with no annual budget, calendar, or defined agenda for engagement or development initiatives.
• Policies existed in draft form but had not been properly implemented, audited, or made operational.
• There was limited transparency between management and the team, and employee engagement and internal bonding activities were largely absent.

On the recommendation of a close participant, Ms Shah connected with Dr Meenu Rathore, whose execution-first consulting approach aligned with exactly what the organisation needed.

THE APPROACH

Dr Meenu Rathore initiated the engagement with a thorough diagnostic phase. Her team conducted 1-2-1 counselling sessions with every employee to identify what was missing at an individual level. This bottom-up discovery process ensured that the intervention was grounded in actual organisational reality rather than assumptions.

The engagement was structured across four core areas:

1.  Role Clarity and Job Description Framework

Clear job descriptions were defined for each employee, specifying their exact areas of work, the results they were responsible for producing, and the KRAs (Key Result Areas) against which they would be measured. Individual KRA systems were built, along with team- and company level KRA frameworks, providing every stakeholder with a unified view of performance across the organisation.

2.  Performance Measurement and Monthly Review Process

A structured performance measurement system was designed and deployed. Every employee’s performance is now measured monthly, with a transparent review process that makes clear who has performed best and how results will link to increments and career progression. A daily reporting system was also introduced, adding a layer of consistent accountability.

3.  HR Activity Planning and Policy Implementation

An annual HR activity budget and calendar were created, with each activity assigned a defined agenda and budget. Existing policies drafted but never implemented were revisited, edited, and made operational, along with a process for regular policy audits to ensure ongoing compliance.

4.  Culture, Engagement, and Transparency

Employee engagement activities and internal bonding initiatives that had never been held were introduced and executed. These created a new organisational atmosphere characterised by discipline, mutual trust, and bonding between management and the team. The increased transparency between leadership and staff became one of the most appreciated outcomes of the engagement.

RESULT SANDIMPACT

KRAs Defined For Every Employee

Monthly Reviews Performance Measured

1-Year Retainer Engagement Extended

The outcomes of the engagement delivered both structural and cultural transformation at Coach For Life:

• Role Clarity: Every employee now knows precisely what they are responsible for, what results they need to deliver, and how those results will determine their growth and increments.
• Performance Culture: Monthly performance measurement is now a standard practice, with a recognition system for top performers and full transparency on appraisal parameters.
• Policy and Process Discipline: All HR policies are now properly implemented and audited, with an annual calendar ensuring that HR activities are planned, budgeted, and executed consistently.
• New Culture: A new organisational environment has taken shape, defined by discipline, employee engagement, inter-team bonding, and a meaningful increase in management team transparency.
• Sustained Engagement: Following six months of highly effective implementation, Coach For Life extended the engagement for a further year, to ensure that the systems and culture built are maintained and continued.