Global Manufacturer/Distributor: Management Skills

 

 

Our Core Skills for Managers programme formed a key foundation for the Management Development framework. We created a bespoke version for the client in three modules. These covered clarifying the manager’s role, setting direction, management styles and coaching, time and meeting management, delegation, as well as influencing stakeholders. Other aspects of managerial responsibilities were covered elsewhere. The design required consultation with the business and has been subject to ongoing revision at critical points to reflect changing requirements. At the end of the programme participants presented their learning, results achieved and next steps to a senior manager.

Core to the success of the programme was ensuring the transfer of learning and its sustainability. This was achieved by encouraging participants to discuss their learning objectives with their manager prior to attending, and having a follow up discussion afterwards. The very nature of a modular design reinforced accountability and ongoing support, since the results of actions were reviewed in subsequent modules. Participants were coached on anything they continued to find challenging.

 

 

Interest and uptake in the programme was unexpectedly high – more than the Learning and Development department had anticipated. “I would recommend this course to more people within the business” said one Commodity Specialist. Participants repeatedly say that they value the modular design of the Core Skills for Managers programme. They benefit from developing strong relationships with others, having the chance to try skills and techniques and receive ongoing support to reinforce their application. A Marketing Manager within the organisation was really impressed: “A life changing experience! Excellent!”. Inviting senior managers to hear about participants’ progress has, in turn, built business champions for the value of the training.

We work with the client on an ongoing basis to continue to reinforce accountability and sustainability of learning. More recently the client has introduced a revised action plan which challenges participants to record the ROI of their actions. The aim of this is to help them to focus on which actions will make the biggest difference to the business and to present back to the business a collated record of what ROI has been achieved.