Do you remember your first time becoming a manager? Did you feel prepared? Supported? Focused? Impactful? Were you a part of any management training programs? Or did you feel that you were thrown into the ring and not exactly sure how to proceed, with no guidance?
Many new managers associate with the latter. Often times, first time managers are people that have been high performers on their team who become elevated to managers and suddenly have a team of their own. Many companies seem to believe that if someone is good at their job, that they will be a good manager. But that is often not the case.
Management is a skill in itself, and thus employees need to be trained in it in order to succeed. Successfully training and supporting managers, especially first time managers, is crucial to the success of any business.
Here are 4 things to know about management training programs.
1. Most managers don’t receive enough management training- or any at all.
Studies suggest that about 58% of managers don’t receive any management training at all. What kind of message does that send? It does not emphasize that being a good manager requires specific skills that go beyond simply being a high-performing team member who now has other team members working under them. Without any training at all, these managers are thrown into a management role with no experience and no guidance, and that can be awful, not only for them, but for everyone that they manage.
2. Ineffective managers cost money.
Management training programs cost money. But failing to properly train managers costs way more. There are many negative effects of poor management, including decreased productivity, decreased employee engagement and morale, increased turnover, and decreased performance. These costs add up. According to Gallup, managers who are not engaged or who are actively disengaged cost the U.S. economy $319 billion to $398 billion annually. Furthermore, the total loss to a business from ineffective training is estimated to be around $13.5 million per year per 1,000 employees.
3. Managers have a huge impact on the success of the business.
Chances are, you can probably think of a bad boss that negatively influenced you at some point in your career. You may have even left a job because of them. This is not uncommon- according to Gallup, one in two employees have left their job to get away from their manager at some point in their career. Managers play perhaps one of the most important roles in a business. Yes, company executives at the top are the ones that create the strategy, but managers are the people who turn that strategy into action on a day-to-day basis. Research has found that managers influence at least 70% of employees’ engagement. And teams that have talented managers realize a 48% increase in profitability, a 22% increase in productivity and a 30% increase in employee engagement scores. The level of impact that managers have on the day-to-day success of an organization makes it extremely worthwhile to invest in management training programs.
4. Many managers struggle with team building.
The Predictive Index’s 2019 People Management Report has found that nearly 30% of employees believe their manager lacks team-building skills. Beyond simply executing on strategy and measuring performance, managers must be skilled at building a strong team culture. Culture is often what keeps people at an organization. When a manager is not good at building and sustaining a positive team culture, the entire morale of the team is soured. This is especially concerning when you consider that 70% of U.S. employees report feeling unengaged.
A key part of team building that managers struggle with is building a culture of trust- a reported 96% of employees with good managers feel they can approach their boss with problems; just 43% of workers with bad managers feel the same. Building a high trust work environment is crucial, because it greatly impacts employee engagement. In fact, employees in more high trust work environments reported feeling 76% more engaged with their jobs. Offering training that helps managers create strong, engaged teams is extremely important.
If your organization is interested in learning more about how Verb can help you with management training, schedule a few minutes to talk to one of our learning experts today!