Leadership Training in Manufacturing
The manufacturing industry faces many challenges. Managing the quality and quantity of output, ensuring equipment is functioning, complying with regulations and managing costs – all while dealing with rising competition from abroad – can be difficult. There can also be a shortage of quality employees, and with technology on the rise, a skills gap in existing employees. In order to equip manufacturing managers with the skills needed to effectively lead their team, leadership training in manufacturing may be necessary.
The Critical Role of the Manager
Managers play an important role in ensuring that key initiatives are executed, all while bridging the gap between senior leaders and frontline employees. The Manufacturing Manager has a big impact on the engagement, productivity, morale, turnover and quality of their organization. There's also a responsibility to align their team, keeping them engaged and committed.
What Does a Manager in Manufacturing Need to Do?
Manufacturing managers are often in a difficult position, needing to execute their own responsibilities, ensure quality and quantity of output, and manage the members of their team. Communication and listening skills are key here, as well as involving team members, delegation and taking time to coach others. Managing complaints and disciplining employees can be a part of the job, in addition to conflict resolution, supporting change, providing feedback and setting goals.
Solution: The Leadership Essentials for Manufacturing
So what are the best manufacturing leadership training courses for your employees? Vital Learning’s Leadership Essentials series manufacturing version provides a time-tested solution for today’s managers in manufacturing. This is our proven process:
- Foundational Skills: start by learning the crucial skills of leadership and communication that good managers must use every day.
- Acceleration Courses: after establishing the foundation, develop the skills that managers will inevitably need to be successful. This set of 10 interpersonal courses includes coaching, delegating, providing feedback, resolving conflict, managing complaints, etc.
- Practice, Practice, Practice: practice early and often, throughout the courses and over time, is what ensures that managers are comfortable with these skills and ultimately use them back on the job.
Best Practices for Developing Today’s Leaders in Manufacturing
How do today’s leaders in manufacturing want to learn and best learn? Follow these best practices, which are also ways in which Vital Learning’s solutions truly stand out:
Learning by Doing
Traditional online courses can be lecture-heavy, but we focus on giving people opportunities to practice their new skills. This, in turn, enables them to apply skills back at work as soon as possible.
Skill Practice and Behavior Modeling
Behavior modeling and skill practice is another core feature of our courses. Similar to Learning by Doing, behavior modeling draws on the principle of learning a skill by watching someone in action and then practicing it yourself to develop comfort level and confidence.
Learn On-the-Go
Our online courses are fully responsive, so they work great on any device – phone, tablet or laptop. Each course is broken into a maximum of eight modules so it's easier to absorb and digest the information. Plus, the “bite sized” online format makes it easier to fit each topic into your schedule.
Ongoing Skill Development
Your course may have ended, but that doesn't mean the training is done. We help leaders develop their skills over time with follow-up exercises, on-the-job worksheets, optional additional skill practice and a free reinforcement app, Vital Boost.
