Thinking About Joining Yorkshire Accord: Understanding the Cost, Value and How to Build Your Business Case
- Karen Hickman
- 3 hours ago
- 5 min read
At Yorkshire Accord, we often reflect on what might hold organisations back from getting involved in the partnership.
We know there is interest. We regularly hear from individuals who can see the value of Coaching & Mentoring and would like to access the scheme.
But they are not always the decision-makers or budget holders — and even when they are, investments need to be justified, and that often means building a business case, with a need to convince others it's a worthwhile investment.
For those already involved, the value tends to become clear over time — but even then, it’s not always easy to fully articulate. For those looking in from the outside, making sense of it without that experience can be even harder.
This is where this blog aims to help — by setting out the offer, what’s included, the cost, and the potential return, to help you explore whether the scheme could be a good fit for your organisation.
We know that investment in staff development has reduced in many areas over the last decade. The challenge isn’t just finding cost-effective solutions, but ensuring they also deliver meaningful impact.
Our model was built on the principle of creating affordable, cross-organisational Coaching & Mentoring opportunities for staff. We recognise that every penny counts, which is why we operate on a cost-recovery basis — no one profits, and all funds are reinvested into sustaining and developing the scheme.
So if you’re looking for ways to create meaningful impact with limited resources, keep reading — we’ll help you think through the business case and set out clearly what it costs to be part of Yorkshire Accord.
Ok, so let’s start with what we actually want to know before we look any deeper
… What does it cost?
Before we answer that, we invite you to take a moment to consider what your organisation would expect to pay to:
Train and support five or more internal Coach/Mentors
Prepare Coachees/Mentees through structured briefing sessions to help them make the most of Coaching & Mentoring
Provide high-quality external Coaching or Mentoring support to ten or more employees (average of 6 sessions per person)
Offer ongoing CPD, supervision, and 1:1 support to internal Coach/Mentors
Resource the coordination, administration, and evaluation needed to make it all happen
And connect into a wider cross-sector community committed to development
If you were building that yourself, from scratch…?
Let’s put some rough numbers on it.
Coach/Mentor training (5 people): probably upwards of £3,000
Coachee/Mentee briefing sessions (e.g. 2 × 2 hours): estimate of £500
External coaching (10 people × 6 sessions): at £600–£1,500 per person, that’s £6,000–£15,000 — and that could be much higher for senior leadership or specialist support
2 × half-day CPD sessions, plus group and 1:1 supervision support:a modest estimate of £2,000
So even at the lower end, you’re quickly into around £11,500.
More typically, you might expect this to sit somewhere between £15,000 and £20,000+
…and that’s before you factor in the time needed to coordinate, manage, and sustain the programme of activity a scheme like ours generates.
But numbers are only part of the story.
Much of the real value shows up in how people think, work, and support each other.
There’s the individual impact - Coaching & Mentoring creates space for people to work through real, current challenges in a way that is personal to them — not generic advice, but something shaped around their own context and experience, helping them find their own way forward.
There’s the ripple effect - That impact rarely sits with just one individual. As people experience Coaching & Mentoring, they often begin to carry aspects of those approaches into their wider work — listening differently, asking better questions, and supporting others in a more reflective way, sometimes choosing to become a Coach or Mentor themselves. Over time, this can contribute to a more supportive environment and help to strengthen a Coaching & Mentoring culture within teams and organisations.
There’s the development of internal capability - Many of those who train and take part as Coach/Mentors go on to use those skills within their own organisations — supporting internal coaching schemes, offering support to colleagues, contributing to internal development activity, and extending the reach of Coaching & Mentoring beyond the scheme itself.
There’s the opportunity to widen access - Coaching & Mentoring can sometimes be reserved for senior leaders or specific groups. This model helps make that kind of support more accessible across a broader range of staff, creating opportunities for development at different levels and in different roles.
And alongside this, there is also the value of connection - Many Organisational Coordinators work in small teams and may be the only person in their role, with limited opportunity to connect with others who share their specialism outside their own organisation. Through the partnership, they gain access to a network of peers facing similar challenges, and have the opportunity to share thinking, test ideas, and, in some cases, build wider collaborations.
Coach/Mentors often experience something similar. Beyond the formal training, there is value in coming together with others in the network — sharing experiences, reflecting on practice, and learning from one another in a supportive environment. These moments of connection can be just as valuable as the development itself.
So, with all that in mind, let’s answer the all-important question… What does it cost?
The annual partner contribution for Yorkshire Accord is £2,500.
There is no VAT, no hidden fees, and no additional charges for accessing the core elements of the scheme.
The only additional commitment is identifying an Organisational Coordinator to support engagement from within your organisation.
Of course, this isn’t a like-for-like comparison with a commercial offer — it’s much more than that. This is a shared model. Our partners shape and sustain the scheme together, and remember it operates on a cost-recovery basis — not for profit!
So what’s the case for joining Yorkshire Accord?
Access to trained Coach/Mentors and cross-organisational support, which includes:
High-quality training and preparation for Coach/Mentors and Coachee/Mentees
Development of internal capability and Coaching & Mentoring practice
Opportunities to support a broader range of staff across your organisation
Ongoing Coach/Mentor CPD, supervision, and a professional support network
Full coordination, administration, and evaluation to support effective delivery
A model that enables meaningful, personalised development — not generic solutions
And the potential for wide-ranging positive outcomes — for individuals, teams and organisations — including shifts in thinking, behaviour and practice that can extend beyond the immediate Coaching & Mentoring relationship.
All delivered through a shared, not-for-profit partnership model.
£2,500. No hidden fees, and no additional charges.
When considered alongside the scale of activity and support involved, this represents a significant level of provision for a relatively modest investment — particularly when compared to sourcing similar elements individually.
In many organisations, that’s less than the cost of a single piece of external support — yet it enables a much broader and more sustained approach to staff development.
So if you’re exploring how to deliver meaningful impact with limited resources — and need to build a clear, credible case for investment — Yorkshire Accord may be worth considering.
If you’d like to explore what this could look like in your organisation, we’d be very happy to have a conversation.
Comments