Contract with the client (coachee)
A type of oral Agreement between the Coach and the Coachee made after both partners have been chosen (it is quite a common practice in Poland for a Coachee to meet with a few coaches before beginning a coaching process). The contract contains details referring to both communication and the organisation of meetings, which will abide both sides throughout the whole coaching process.
In Life coaching , the contract is usually extended, and contains also formal matters, like payment details or location, for example. In Business coaching, formal issues are discussed with the HR department at a different stage, therefore there is no need to include them again in this contract.
A contract may include such topics as openness in communication, honesty in the relationship, the accepted form of addressing each other and communication as such. In further order also punctuality, preferred time of meetings, a form of providing Feedback, etc.
A lack of any contract may be perceived as malpractice, because when The client does not possess basic information about how the meetings will proceed, it is easy to make a mistake. During later meetings, in case of organisational Problem s or some issues in the coach-client relationship, if there is no contract, then there is also no point of reference ( the coach cannot recall the rules of cooperation that have been mutually agreed upon). A quite common situation, when referring to the contract is very useful, is for example, when The client expects the coach to give him advice. In such a case, the coach may refer to the Agreements made in the contract, where he informed the client what coaching is and that giving advice on what to do is impossible.