Why It’s Important to Train New Managers, Too

New hires typically receive some type of training. Entry-level or slightly experienced employees need training to learn how to handle their responsibilities and become acquainted with business operations. Senior managers who have a multitude of important responsibilities also receive additional training to improve their own management skills and to enable them to better oversee their respective departments.

Unfortunately, this routine often leaves little room in the budget for training new managers. Hiring new managers without providing them with the proper training can be a great disservice to your company, with serious negative consequences.

An unskilled manager can have a detrimental effect on the employees he or she manages. The impact of poor management on the team include decreased morale, poor communication, worker dissatisfaction, and a general decrease in efficiency and production within the department. This hurts the entire company.

Why Management Training Is Often Ignored

Why the oversight when training new managers? The answer is simple, and more common than you might think: Senior leaders set the training budget, often putting aside a bulk of the resources for their own training and improvement needs, without considering how a worthwhile investment in middle management can improve the company.

Instead, senior leaders attend seminars, participate in leadership discussions, engage in team-building exercises and take courses on new technologies that serve to increase efficiency. This training can have a positive impact for senior leaders.

However, middle managers and front-line managers have the most contact with front-line employees, who are critical to execute the company’s day-to-day operation. Front-line and middle managers need to receive ample training as well. One could argue that management training for middle managers is even more crucial than training for senior leaders.

Middle and front-line managers are the critical pieces to keep the company organized and functioning well. Neglecting this level of the company often creates critical break downs, which are often not noticed until they become significant issues.

Benefits of Investing in Management Skills Training

Management training is comprised of many aspects, most importantly how to lead, communicate with and interact with employees. It’s easy to learn how to create a spreadsheet or order inventory. Proper management training teaches much more vital skills needed to keep employees motivated, productive and committed to the company.

Consider these benefits for the whole of the company when you set aside part of the budget for middle and front-line management training.

• A manager who knows how to properly communicate direction and assign tasks helps employees to be more productive, with less need for overbearing micromanagement.
• Likewise, good communication leads to happier, more motivated employees, especially when managers develop a habit of recognizing and appreciating employee achievements.
• A skilled manager knows how best to prioritize tasks — time management and organizational skills will lead to improved efficiency.
• Managers who know how to evaluate an employee's performance can offer encouragement and advice. They can also see where employees can best be utilized, and where the employees can use coaching to fill the gap.
• Managers who receive the same training will “speak the same language,” providing consistent management throughout the organization.
• Managers who receive training early on will get comfortable and confident with baseline management skills. Having these basic skills can result in significant cost savings for the company.
• The top reason employees leave a company is their direct manager. Having good managers with proper skillsets can have a significant impact on turnover and retention.
• Good managers know how to motivate employees. This can have a big impact on productivity.

Overall, offering management training early on in a new manager's career garners a solid, strong ROI for the whole company.

Getting New Managers Up to Speed

A new manager in the company indicates that a new department has been created, a manager has been promoted to a senior position, or a manager has quit or been let go. Regardless of the situation, new managers need to be trained and brought up to speed as quickly as possible to reduce any efficiency lost due to turnover in management positions.

A new manager who is not familiar with the department, or worse yet, does not truly know how to manage, can greatly frustrate employees and lead to mistakes, a loss in productivity and a high rate of employee turnover when dissatisfied workers elect to leave.

Professional Management Training Is Preferred

Some companies might elect to have another experienced manager train a new manager; in reality, this decision is often ineffective. Knowing how to manage and knowing how to teach management skills are two vastly different categories, which is why management training is best left to professionals who have the experience, expertise and skills needed to teach others how to be at their best.

Companies spanning diverse industries have chosen Vital Learning to provide superior management training through courses and advanced training programs. Vital Learning’s award-winning solutions are designed to be highly effective for today’s front-line and middle managers. The Leadership Essentials series contains all the baseline skills good managers need to be effective. Think about what impact quality managers would have for your company.

For more information or a free course preview, contact Vital Learning today.