Management Training – Can You Afford Not To?
How much budget do you have for management training this year? “Not enough!” or “None!” I hear you cry! Management training is often seen as a “nice to have” you can’t afford right now. Whilst the recession may be easing, organisations still have to consider every penny they spend, and whether it will bring a return on investment; and let’s face it, management training is often one of those “intangibles” it’s difficult to measure.
But let’s consider for just one moment the key skills a truly great manager is going to need to have if they’re going to help you get the best out of your staff – particularly when it’s likely you’re asking your people to work harder, change their working conditions and reduce the resources they have available to them to get the job done.
Over the last twelve to eighteen months I’ve found a significant number of managers struggling:
– with “difficult” staff;
– with de-motivated staff;
– with underperforming staff;
– with appraising staff,
– with recruiting the right staff;
– with an unsupportive line manager of their own!
I could go on! These are the challenges we expect our managers to deal with every day – and they are even tougher when business is facing tough choices.
Bottom line is, many managers were promoted because they were good at the job they did before – not necessarily because they had the excellent people skills they’re going to need to deal with some of those daunting challenges.
Ruth Spellman, CEO of the Chartered Management Institute says this about training:
“If you think it’s expensive to have really competent people, try incompetent.”
After all – how much does it cost you in wasted time dealing with conflict? How much does it cost you in time and money dealing with disciplinary or grievance procedures? What about the costs of finding, hiring and re-training new staff because valuable, experienced staff are leaving? And how much has your productivity dropped because staff morale is rock bottom?
How much does it cost you in time and money dealing with disciplinary or grievance procedures? What about the costs of finding, hiring and re-training new staff because valuable, experienced staff are leaving? And how much has your productivity dropped because staff morale is rock bottom? Study after study shows a huge proportion of employees leave bosses, not companies.
What’s heartening for me is that in my experience, as with all employees, managers want to do a good job. But with the exception of a very few, naturally talented and skilled communicators (and even these will tell you there is always room for improvement!), most managers come to the role with little or no understanding of basic human psychology and how to successfully and consistently apply techniques which will ensure they get the best out of themselves and others.
So as we begin 2011 what are you doing to support and develop the most critical roles in your organisation?
“How can we still support management training on a lower budget?”
You may not be able to justify the “bells and whistles” programme you had planned – but that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways you can still give some support. And get smarter about how you measure results! (A theme for another article!)
After all – you might actually find it more than repays your investment!
Shona Garner has developed tools and techniques to help busy managers increase team performance. Through over 30 years of coaching, training and resource development, Shona leads teams and mangers to success, enhancing careers and skills. At her site, Increasing Managerial Success, Shona put together a complete database of resources to increase employee motivation and give busy managers tools for management training.
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