Instructions for using Coachmaster / Free version

Browser compatibility

Up to this point CoachMaster works well with the following browsers:

  • Internet Explorer 9 or above
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari
  • Edge

It does not work with the AOL browser so please do not use that.

Issues with Outlook

If you are using Outlook as your email system you may encounter the following problem.  Outlook appears to classify the invite to confirm your email and the invitations to join a session as Junk.

If it does so you may have to retrieve the message from Junk first.  Then do not click on the link in Outlook but copy the url into the address bar of your browser and click return or enter. This will enable you to confirm your email or enter a session without problems.

The Dashboard Screen

If you select ‘My Account’ you can change your personal settings.

If it does so you may have to retrieve the message from Junk first. Then do not click on the link in Outlook but copy the url into the address bar of your browser and click return or enter. This will enable you to confirm your email or enter a session without problems

On this screen you can change your:

  • User name – This cannot have any spaces in it
  • Real name
  • Password
  • Email address
  • Nic name – which appears next to your icon in the chat room.  Can be up to 10 characters long without spaces or commas
  • If you want to subscribe to our mailings
  • If you want to have ‘Send on return/enter key’ active in the chatroom
  • The sound you want played when someone sends you a message
  • The colour of your text in the chat log
  • The avatar you want used for yourself.  You can use one of the samples or upload your own.

Logging in

You can log into CoachMaster at http://coachmaster.co.uk

You will be asked for your ID and password and there is a link for forgotten passwords. You can find your ID from the email welcoming you to the system.

If you select My Sessions and you only have client level permission this is the screen you will see when you first log in.

 

If you have coach level permissions this is the screen you will see when you log in.

To create a new session as coach

As a coach to create a new session select ‘Add/Edit a Session’. Then click ‘New’

You will then see this screen which you can use to create a new session

  • Give the new session a name and description of your choice.
  • Leave the ‘Type’ as ‘Permanent’.
  • Select Video if you want to use the video and audio facility for the session. Select None if you just want to use text.
  • Select the question set you want to use. The drop down list will only show the question sets which are available to you.  If you are using the free version this will only be the generic ‘grow model’ question set.
  • Leave ‘Based on’ as ‘Chat room’
  • Select a date by clicking in the date box and using the drop down calendar.  If you alter the time and duration for the session remember to include a colon between the hour and minute.  The time, date and duration information is only used for the purposes of sending out the invitations and does not affect the actual CoachMaster™ sessions.
  • Add in the emails of the coachee(s) and press ‘tab’
  • Add in their name if they are not known by the system.   This will trigger an invite for them to create their own account in the same way you were invited to join the system.
  • Once you have added all the coachee(s) your want click ‘Insert’
  • An option to ‘Send Invites’ to attendees will then appear and can be used to remind attendees of the session as many times as the coach wishes.
  • The session will now be viewable and can be entered from ‘My Sessions’

 

If the coachee/mentee is not already on the system and does not log in and create a password within 24 hours the password will expire.  To resend it select ‘Add/Edit a session’, click on the session you have set up with them, click ‘Edit’ and change any letter of their email to a capital letter.  Then click ‘Save’.  This will trigger the invite to create an account being resent to them.

If you wish to change the time of a session

The time of the session is only relevant for the invite function.  Both coach and client(s) can go into any session at any time if the session is not marked as ‘completed’.  Only the coach can change the session time.

To change the session time the coach should log in and select the ‘Add/Edit a session’ menu from the left hand side.  Then select the session you wish to change from the list of sessions on the right hand side of the screen.  Click ‘Edit’ and you can then change the date from the drop down menu and the time using the 24 hour clock.  Click ‘Save’ and then you can resend out the invites.

If you wish to delete a session

To delete a session the coach should log in and select the ‘Add/Edit a session’ menu from the left hand side.  Then select the session you wish to change from the list of sessions on the right hand side of the screen.  Click ‘Edit’ change the ‘Completed’ box from ‘No’ to ‘Yes’.  Then save the session.   You will then see in bar at the bottom there is an option to delete the session.  Click on this and you will be asked to confirm. Click yes.  Only the coach can delete a session.

To change the session time the coach should log in and select the ‘Add/Edit a session’ menu from the left hand side.  Then select the session you wish to change from the list of sessions on the right hand side of the screen.  Click ‘Edit’ and you can then change the date from the drop down menu and the time using the 24 hour clock.  Click ‘Save’ and then you can resend out the invites.

 

You can test the system for yourself by running both coach and client sides yourself.  There are slightly different instructions according to whether you are using one or two computers.

If you have access to two computers

  • Create a client by entering an email account to which you have access to in the ‘Coachee’ box in the screen shot above. This has to be a different email to the one you have used for your main account
  • Access that email on your second computer and you can then verify your email and enter the session that you have set up as coach
  • You will then be able to see the coach side on one computer and the client on the other and test out the functionality of CoachMaster™.

If you are using only one PC or Mac

  • Access the email you have sent the verification to. Copy the verification url to the address bar of another browser.  For example, if you are using Internet Explorer for your main email program you should use Firefox, Chrome or Safari.
  • You can then verify your email as client.
  • You will then be able to see the coach side on one browser and the client side on the other.
  • The key fact to remember is you have to use a different browser for the coach and client sides but only if you are running both on the same computer.

Please see the next page for instructions on how to run a coaching session using CoachMaster™.

Using CoachMaster™ to run a coaching session

Once you have selected which workshop to join you will be presented with the following screen if you are a coach.

 

Online coaching screenshot

 

At the top left you have the name of the person who is the coach for the session and the person they are coaching.  So in the above session Bob is coaching Frank.  If you are coaching a team you would see each person’s icon.

In the central panel you have a number of vertical tabs which the coach uses to navigate between the different stages of the model you are using.  To open the next one simply double click on it.

For each of the stages of any model there are different subsets of questions.  Each subset has a hint at the top for the coach and sometimes there are additional hints in the questions.

Some sections might have reflective questions for the coach to think about for themselves before they start or after the session.  These are not intended to be sent to the client.

2. Features of the client’s screen

The main differences between the two sides are that the client does not have the questions set that the coach sees. The client sees the dialogue built up in the session log in the same way as the coach.

3. How to run a Coaching Session using CoachMaster

The coach can click on an ‘Ask’ button to send a question to the input panel.  Then it can be edited or free form text typed in.  The coach then clicks on the ‘Send’ button to send the question to the client.  The client sees the question on their screen, types their response and clicks on ‘Send’ button.

You are not restricted to only using text when coaching using CoachMaster™.  Many people use CoachMaster™ for phone or video coaching or even face to face.  If not using text the coach would use the questions as prompts and speak the questions to the client(s).  It is then up to the coach whether they note down the questions they have asked or the client’s answers.  We do recommend however that the coach keeps notes of the summaries of each section which can be automatically shared with the client(s).

You do not have to be online at the same time as your client(s).  CoachMaster™ can be used in an offline mode where the coach can send a number of questions to the client(s).  When the client(s) are ready they log on, see the questions and respond.  The coach then sees their responses when they next log on.  In this way a session is built up but more slowly than by instant chat.

4. Summarising a stage

Once the coach and client are satisfied that they have got as far as they need to in a particular stage the coach can select the appropriate summary tab on the bottom right and click on the pencil icon which will make the summary editable.  Then the coach can select the text they want to use in the summary and copy it to the appropriate summary panel where it can be further edited.

If the summary of a particular stage changes as you go through the session e.g. if the goal seems too ambitious the coach can click on the appropriate tab and change the text by clicking on the pencil icon.

The coach then navigates to the next stage and a dialogue is built up for that stage.  The same process occurs for all the stages until a session are completed and the client has created a series of actions they are confident will lead them towards their goal.

5. Changing a question set in mid-session.

If you find that the question set you are using is not the most appropriate, or not the best one, while you are actually conducting a session it is possible to change it for another. Click on the ‘CoachMaster Dashboard’ tab at the top of the screen. Select ‘Add/Edit a session’ from the left hand menu. Then click on the session name of the session you are working in from the list that appears on the right hand side of the screen. The detail of the session will appear on the right. Then click on ‘Edit’ button at the bottom left of the right hand screen.

You will then see this screen


When you click the drop down menu you will see all the question sets you are entitled to use. If you want to change the question set select a new question set and click ‘Insert’.

If you now go back to the ‘Chat Room’ tab and do a refresh (Function key F5 or click in the address bar click the symbol or hit ‘Enter’ or ‘Return’ keys) the question set will change to the new one you have selected.

6. Tools Menu

Below the drop down menu there is tools menu with a ‘Gear wheel’ icon.  This has the following functions:

Printing a session

Once you have completed a session you can print it by selecting ‘Print’ from the Gear Menu

Emailing the session summary

At the end of the session if you have entered the emails of the coach and client(s) correctly you can email them the summaries of the sessions by using the ‘Email’ from the Gear Menu.

Marking a session complete

You can show you have completed a session by using that function from the Gear Menu.  It will then be shown as complete on your dashboard.

Logout

If you want to finish a session then you can logout of the whole system by selecting that function from the Gear Menu.

Stopping and restarting sessions

You do not have to complete a coaching session in one go.  If you get to a point and need to stop then when you and your client want to restart the session just join it again and it will take you to the same place you left it.  In the meantime if you, or the client want to look at it just log into the session.  The sessions remain on the server until they are deleted

7. Time outs

The system is set up to log users off is there is no activity for 20 minutes.  No activity means that a user has performed no actions on the screen for 20 minutes.  This is for security and to prevent server time being used unnecessarily.  You will receive a pop up window warning you of the need to do something after 15 minutes with no activity.  But you will only receive this warning if you have pop ups enabled.  If they are surpassed you may find you are automatically logged out after 20 minutes with no activity.  In which case you can simply log on again.