Stoke Leadership Notes & News
Are Corporate Managers faking it?
Are 63% of Corporate Managers faking it? Tips for building the case to develop a manager training program.
We’ve all heard “fake it ‘til you make it.” It’s great advice when you walk into a room and don’t know anyone, but doesn’t translate as well in all situations.
A CareerBuilder study found that 63% of employees are unsatisfied with their company offerings for learning new skills and job training.1 In the same study, 68% of those surveyed don’t feel like the learning that was offered was setting them up for success—either to move up the corporate ladder—or to be successful in a new role. That means three in five managers are “driving blind” when it comes to feeling like they have the right skill base to do their job effectively. They are experimenting and figuring it out themselves. So, yes, most likely 63% are faking it!!!
And if they are faking, it can have long-term consequences on multiple levels. Companies suffer because those managers aren’t doing their jobs effectively. Teams suffer because they aren’t as effective. Individuals suffer because they don’t feel like their managers are giving them appropriate support.
In fact, in a survey done by Gallup, 70% of employees said their engagement at work was directly attributable to their manager.2 This means employees who have effective managers are more engaged, more satisfied, and less likely to leave. And the flip side…there isn’t anything good about low morale or constant turnover.
What if your company doesn’t have a management-specific development program? Or maybe it exists, but hasn’t been evaluated or changed for several years. We have a few ideas to help you—and the HR team—get buy-in, budget, and prioritization to get a program up and running (or revamped) at your company.
Think scale. No matter if you are starting from scratch or just looking to refresh your program, ask to start with a pilot. Depending on your company size, this should be a group of 15-20 managers across all business areas of your organization. This gives exposure to the program across the enterprise. It’s also a great way to toe-dip into a possible company-wide initiative because you aren’t focusing on just one business area. And it’s easier to get feedback. Pilot programs are full of folks who know they are “the first” and are willing to give insight before it would roll out to a larger audience. Plus, you can use fun statistics when you put together your business case. McKinsey reports that organizations that focus on a growth mindset are 2.4 times more likely to hit their performance targets. 3 These companies aren’t afraid to reallocate resources to lay foundations for growth (like leadership development) for their employees to thrive.
Create a budget. Asking for money can be tough. The good news is, if you are trying a pilot program, you are only focusing on a small group of 15-20 people. The Association for Talent Development (ATD) does an annual study on training budgets. They found that small organizations (with fewer than 100 employees) spent $1,814 per employee; medium organizations (between 100 and 2,499 employees) spent $1,121 per employee; and large organizations (with 2,500 or more employees) spent the least, at $809 per employee. Larger companies can spend less per staff member because the cost of learning is spread out across more people. 4 Pilot programs bear the brunt of the development costs, but developing a program that is repeatable over time makes for cost-effectiveness.
Find the hours. There are roughly 2,000 hours in a typical work year. The internet doesn’t seem to agree on how much time companies currently spend training and developing their employees, but the most recent numbers from various studies and sources range from 30-60 hours a year. Calculated out that is 1.5-3% of an employee’s annual working hours. A manager development program may increase the number of hours spent training, but it’s a negligible amount compared to the overall hours spent working. Plus, good development programs make participants more effective at their jobs, which translates to more productive managers.
Measure. Measure. Measure. Good development programs track their impact in multiple ways. The first is through feedback from participants and their supervisors. This subjective data collection is a way to gather opinions on behavior changes after going through the development program. The second is through objective feedback. Numbers are a great way to illustrate the impact of a development program. Has turnover dropped? Have sales increased? Is your workplace more productive? One recent study found that a company that implemented a leadership development program measured a 29% ROI in the first three months after the program was completed, and a final annualized ROI of 415%. In other words, for every $1 they invested in the training program, they received back $4.15. 5
Lean into your change champions. The best thing about a pilot program: your participants can influence how the program is accepted and expanded throughout your company. They leave excited, enthusiastic, and energized, ready to implement positive change in their behaviors and those around them. The trickle-down (and up) effect is real and can help build momentum for a larger-scale implementation. Worried about how a larger program would fit into your budget? Positive change within your leaders, along with measurable results can mean you need to spend less in “reactive” areas like recruiting, employee relations, and risk/legal.
Partner with an external leadership firm. Yes, you have an HR department, but they can’t always focus on developing programs. This is where outside expertise is critical. Working with a company that does this for a living means you get to tap into their library of programs and experiences. At Stoke Leadership, we have examples that meet all kinds of learning needs. And, more importantly, we work collaboratively to build customized programs for you and your managers. Spending a budget on this partnership brings an outside perspective, industry expertise, proven exercises, and a track record of success.
After a well-executed Pilot Program, you will have the data, the momentum, and the change champions needed to make your program permanent. We’d love to have a conversation to help get this process started for you!
Sources:
2 https://www.gallup.com/workplace/395210/engage-frontline-managers.aspx
4 https://www.reworked.co/talent-management/talent-development-benchmarking-a-step-by-step-guide/
