A recent survey conducted by employee training specialists Grovo showed that “98% of managers feel managers need more training”.
“More specifically, 98% of managers believe managers at their company need more training to deal effectively with ‘important issues such as professional development, conflict resolution, employee turnover, time management and project management’. In short, a great deal of what middle management entails,” wrote author and management researcher Victor Lipman in
Forbes.
He urged HR not to forego the training programs as two out of five managers responded that they were “unprepared for management when they assumed the role” while middle managers also said that felt that “less than half” of senior management were effective in their roles.
“As more and more companies jettison training programs – since they’re often hard to demonstrate short-term ROI on – it’s not surprising managerial readiness will suffer,” he said.
He also said that the figures from the survey were consistent with the “fact there’s an epidemic of employee disengagement out there, with multiple surveys showing only around 30% of employees fully engaged.”
Eighty-seven per cent of those surveyed also said that they wished they had had some form of management training before being thrust into the role, reported Lipman.
“The transition to management is a tricky one, calling on an entirely different skill set from the often more technical orientation of an individual contributor,” he added.
“HR departments and others in charge of preparing managers would do well not to underestimate the complexity of the role,” he concluded, adding that managers often take on other duties akin to that of psychologists, coaches or diplomats, depending on what the situation calls for.
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