A recent article from SHRM’s HR Magazine discusses training and development for the most crucial segment of the workforce: middle management. This segment is often pressured from the top by upper executives, and the bottom by customer-facing employees. A middle manager who is well trained will better communicate the company's objectives to employees and help minimize the "us vs. them" attitude, improving satisfaction and morale of the workers. H.R. professionals can support the middle management training initiative by addressing the needs of new and veteran managers, reduce barriers of training, and create opportunities for middle managers to network with one another to learn different aspects of the organization (
Tyler, 51).
It is vital to properly prepare and train front-line employees before they enter a supervisory role. In my experience, our company typically promotes an employee with years of experience, give him a raise and a nifty title, and throws him into a supervisor position. However, it is very difficult for them to work alongside coworkers for ten years or so, to being their boss the next day, as a supervisor now responsible for disciplining, reviewing and assuring workers are doing their jobs properly and safely. The article mentions a program used by the Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) in
Atlanta to develop middle management. This seven-month program covers hiring, performance management, company polices and procedures, delegating, time management, transition from a subject matter expert to a people manager, team development and resolving interpersonal conflict. Their first group graduated from this program in November 2010. After reading about this program, I am interested in using some of these ideas to improve the way we promote managers at my work in the future, as proper training can lead to more effective management.
Tyler, Kathryn. "The Strongest Link."
HR Magazine. February 2011; 51-53.
Ashely, you are right about targeting middle managers, this group is responsible for cascading the corporate brand down throughout the organizational ladder. If this group is not motivated, the culture will suffer.
ReplyDeleteI've read that many companies experience high turnover of their middle managers, and this makes a lot of sense after reading what you wrote about how they feel unmotivated when there is a lack of training and development. Middle managers should definitely be invested in because they are the ones implementing the strategies of top management.
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