The ROI of Clarity: How to measure coaching impact

How to measure coaching impact beyond "feeling good."

For decades, executive coaching was treated as a "soft" perk—a nice-to-have for the C-suite that was notoriously hard to quantify. But as we move through 2025, the data has shifted. In an economy defined by efficiency, coaching is no longer about "feeling supported"; it is about performance capability.

The Hard Numbers of Soft Skills According to the 2025 ICF Global Coaching Study, the coaching industry has seen a 54% surge in practitioners, driven not by hype, but by measurable demand. Why? because the Return on Investment (ROI) is finally undeniable. A landmark study by Metrix Global found that executive coaching produced a **788% ROI** when factors like increased productivity and employee retention were accounted for.

But financial ROI is a lagging indicator. At ClappCoach, we focus on leading indicators—specifically Competency Growth.

Measuring What Matters Research from the International Coaching Federation (2024) suggests that the old metric—"User Satisfaction"—is dead. A happy employee isn't necessarily a high-performing one. Instead, we must measure **Clarity**.

• Decision Velocity: How fast can a leader make a correct decision?
• Conflict Resolution Time: How quickly are team disputes resolved?
• Retention of High-Potentials: Are your best people staying?

The ClappCoach Approach We don't just ask "Did you like your session?" We track behavioral shifts. We use a competency-based framework that ties coaching objectives directly to business KPIs. If a manager’s clarity improves, their team’s output speed increases. That is the math of mental fitness.