Do you remember having a favorite manager? You know the one – the one who always encouraged you to face new challenges, achieving things which you thought were impossible and just encouraged you to be the best? Do you remember trying just that little bit harder because you wanted to succeed since the manager wanted you to also succeed… that’s why having great managers in your business can benefit you.
They make your employees work harder, without even doing anything more than simply encouraging them and helping them when they are struggling. It can make a huge difference in the success of your business. Having a manager who can effectively manage others is one of the biggest retention factors for a modern-day employee. An employee is 4 times more likely to leave if the manager is poor at their job, so how can you as a business ensure that your manager is good at their job, through training of course.
Educate Managers on the Importance of their Role
When it comes to training your managers, you need to make sure that you educate them on the importance of their role. If you already offer a strategic recruitment and selection process, and have strong company values, then normally your manager will already be performing well. They will be loyal to your company and will be invested in its success. When a manager is loyal to your company, then they will need little guidance and will do as much as they can to benefit your business.
To help managers feel loyal to your business, you should offer self-paced learning courses (things like this new manager training program), seminars, and even books that can help educate them on the importance of their role. When you help them understand the business and how they can make their job easier, they’ll become better leaders and coaches. Show them that you are just keen to create a positive workplace and they’ll be more than happy to comply.
Encourage Managers to Practice, Reflect, Learn and Repeat
If you are unsure about how to train your managers, then the answer is simple. When you want them to improve their skills, such as empathy or listening, then you should encourage them to practice, reflect, learn, and repeat. This means that they won’t be rushed to improve themselves, and instead can take the time to learn things themselves. This will appeal to them as it gives them more freedom and independence to improve their leadership skills.
This could be done through their own time, or it could be conducted through a performance review, maybe even an informal chat. But at the end of the day, when this is done every day or week, the manager will be able to reflect and learn from their behaviors. The important thing though is that they are able to learn from any feedback that they received, even if it’s negative, to make sure that they can improve their skills for the next situation.
Train Managers to Leverage Technology
Of course it is always good for managers to have soft skills, such as being able to communicate well or having good career attributes, but in today’s world, managers also need to make sure that they are skilled when it comes to technology. Not only does technology go hand in hand with soft skills, since you’ve got loads of tools and apps that can you help you connect with people, meaning that you can work remotely, you also need to make sure that you know how to use technology in order for this to work.
Due to most of these tools being online, it’s a good idea to make use of things like an eLearning course as this is both a practical and convenient way to train them. Just like the rest of your employees being able to offer them good training will help them be better at their job, and this can boost productivity. For more helpful tips on productivity, check out this article here about effective ways tech can boost productivity for your business!