Expected ROI by industry for executive coaching

What return should you expect from executive coaching in your industry? The honest answer is: it depends on the levers you move and what you count. This article maps the most material value drivers in Financial Services, SaaS/Tech and Healthcare—and shows how to measure them fairly. For the full framework, see our pillar guide: How to measure ROI of executive coaching programmes.

1) First, what does the evidence say—before we segment by industry?

Across sectors, meta‑analyses conclude that coaching reliably improves goal attainment, self‑efficacy and resilience—the capacities that power execution and performance. See Frontiers in Psychology (2023) and Theeboom et al. (2013). When organisations track financial benefits, case studies have reported strong returns (context‑specific), such as Manchester Inc. (average 5.7:1 ROI) and MetrixGlobal’s Fortune 500 telecom (529%–788%).

2) Financial Services: expected ROI drivers and measures

Value drivers most often moved by coaching:

• Relationship quality and risk conversations → higher win rate on complex deals.
• Forecast hygiene and governance → reduced slippage and rework.
• Manager capability and wellbeing → lower turnover in regulated teams.

Measures that convert to money:

• Win rate lift × qualified pipeline for priority products/segments.
• Forecast error and push‑rate improvements → hours saved and better allocation.
• Manager retention → avoided cost (fees + ramp time + lost productivity).
  
  

3) SaaS/Tech: expected ROI drivers and measures

Value drivers most often moved by coaching:

• Discovery depth and qualification (MEDDICC‑style) → cleaner funnels.
• Deal inspection cadence → fewer “mirage” opportunities and tighter cycles.
• Manager coaching of demos and exec alignment → improved conversion.

Measures that convert to money:

• Win rate × pipeline, segmented by ACV band.
• Cycle time compression and push‑rate reduction → capacity and predictability gains.
• Renewal/expansion enablement → retained and expanded ARR.
  
  

4) Healthcare: expected ROI drivers and measures

Value drivers most often moved by coaching:

• Clinical‑commercial conversations (compliance‑aware) → better adoption and adherence.
• Cross‑functional decision speed → fewer bottlenecks across care pathways.
• Manager wellbeing and retention → continuity in critical teams.

Measures that convert to money:

• Time‑to‑competency and conversion in key conversations → throughput and revenue proxies.
• Decision cycle time → hours saved × value/hour (capacity).
• Retention → avoided backfill cost; internal mobility gains.
  
  

5) How to measure fairly (so Finance believes the numbers)

• Baseline 8–12 weeks; run coaching 12–16 weeks; repeat measures in the last 4–8 weeks.
• Use a matched comparison cohort; add a difference‑in‑differences view where possible.
• Agree “money bridges” and conservative assumptions upfront; keep formulas visible.

For mechanism evidence that underpins these improvements, see Frontiers (2023 RCT meta‑analysis).

6) What ROI range to expect (and what drives variance)

Context matters: programme quality, participation, and which benefits you count. Measured programmes commonly land in the low‑to‑mid single‑digit multipliers over time (e.g., 3–7x) when revenue, retention and time‑saved are included—higher in some contexts, lower when scope is narrow. Treat external figures as illustrative, not guaranteed.

Documented examples include Manchester Inc. (5.7:1) and MetrixGlobal (529%–788%).

7) Governance and safeguards

• Respect regulatory requirements (e.g., FCA, privacy) when handling performance data.
• Aggregate sensitive people metrics; restrict access by role.
• Keep an audit trail of assumptions and any scope changes.
  
  

Bottom Line

Q: What is the expected ROI by industry for executive coaching?

A: It varies by context, but measured programmes often land in the low‑to‑mid single‑digit multipliers (e.g., 3–7x) when you count revenue, retention and time‑saved.

Q: What drives ROI differences across industries?

A: Sales motion complexity, regulatory overhead, baseline hygiene, manager turnover and how fully you count benefits like time‑saved and retention.

Q: How should we measure ROI to make fair comparisons?

A: Run a pre/post with a matched cohort, add a difference‑in‑differences view, and use agreed conversions with conservative assumptions.

Q: What should we prioritise to improve ROI in our industry?

A: Pick the most material value drivers for your context—e.g., inspection and hygiene in SaaS, governance and relationship depth in FS, decision speed and adoption in Healthcare—and instrument them early.