How to choose the right manager training courses for your company

Manager training is one of the most important investments that an HR team can make. As you’re likely well-aware, strong employee-manager relationships correlate with higher satisfaction on the job. That means managers have the most direct influence over your workforce’s happiness and success at work. 

Over the last five years, according to a team of HBR writers from Gartner’s HR practice, there’s been a movement among HR executives to hire managers who are skilled teachers and coaches. The idea is to develop and position employees towards the best possible outcomes.

“Great managers know great performance comes from frequent, meaningful conversations with their workers,” explains a recent study from Gallup. “They know what to talk about because they know their people well, which sparks the conversations that improve performance and build genuine relationships.”

Understandably, being a great manager is tough right now given the backdrop of burnout and stress. HR leaders can provide proactive support through manager training courses. Given the number of options available, how do you choose the right solution for your unique organization? 

Here are some recommendations to explore.

Integrate manager training courses into the flow of work

These days, carving out time for learning can feel like a challenge. In addition to being managers, your team leaders are also parents, caregivers, and human beings who need time to rest and recharge. With the rise of hybrid and remote work, it can be especially tough to get everyone in a virtual or physical space together for a shared skill-building experience.

“The urgency of work invariably trumps the luxury of learning,” write Josh Bersin and Marc Zao-Sanders for a 2019 Harvard Business Review article. “On average, knowledge workers carve out just five minutes for formal learning each day. We’re all just too caught up in the inexorable flow of work.”

Since HBR published this article, the pressures have only increased due to people needing to devote more time to self-care and family, in general.

One solution is for HR leaders to blend together a mix of training options, to ensure accessibility. In other words, make sure that there’s something for everyone. These options may include mandatory courses, one-off elective training, and enrichment classes — or a mix of all of the above. That way, managers can pick the best fits for their own lifelong learning journeys. 

Become familiar with learning techniques and approaches

The best education programs and solutions are research-informed. 

The field of education is vast, with many different toolkits and learning methodologies to incorporate into courses and curriculum. Before choosing a learning solution, it will be productive to ask questions about any underlying research. What are the learning models informing the training style?

For instance, Pyn uses just-in-time learning principles to reach managers with relevant training, in important moments — before a meeting with a direct report, as an example.

Know the benefits and drawbacks of different training types

From online to in-person curriculum, what’s the best option? 

As you begin your research, you’ll find a near-limitless number of solutions ranging from one-off courses to deeper programs from universities, independent instructors, coaching platforms, and even self-guided systems that incorporate artificial intelligence. 

Digging deeper, you’ll find that every solution has its benefits and drawbacks. For instance, online learning platforms such as Coursera and LinkedIn offer low-cost certifications for a wide variety of topics, including management skills. Online learning pathways are especially valuable from an accessibility and cost perspective. However, these online experiences provide limited interaction with instructors and fellow learners. Not to mention, the curriculum will not be tailored to your unique workforce. 

Another option is to work with an independent corporate trainer, facilitator, or management coach either online or in-person. These training experts can design learning experiences based on the needs of your unique organization — and that’s awesome. The challenge of these programs is accessibility, as there needs to be timing in which everyone is available. Otherwise, some managers may feel excluded.

Individual-level programs such as 1:1 coaching, self-paced modules, and personalized apps are valuable for meeting individual learners’ needs. However, these experiences lack the benefits of instructor facilitation and team interaction.

Most likely, you’ll select a mix of options to meet the needs of your unique workforce. 

“The risk of not developing people is too great,” explains Mikaela Kiner, CEO at Reverb, in an article for Forbes. “If you're nervous about virtual training, start with a one-hour workshop or even a pilot to see how it works for you.”

Consider running an experimental program before committing to a larger program.

Questions to help you choose the right manager training courses

It’s about asking the right questions. You can consider the process as similar to conducting a gap analysis. The idea is to establish an understanding of the skills that managers need to develop, along with a plan for how to get there.

According to Dave Fogleman, chief learning officer at SkillPath, “Learning and development professionals can help new managers identify their own skills gaps by having ‘explicit conversations’ about their leadership competencies to identify areas where, without training, ‘they might go off the rails.’”

In other words, you can think of management training as a solution for building a strong culture and HR core for your organization. With this context in mind, here are some questions to navigate as you’re considering manager training courses:

What do you want your company’s managers to learn? 

Example skills could range from healthy communication dynamics to delivering constructive feedback, motivating employees, and listening. You can ask managers’ direct reports to nominate potential options. 

The key is to approach your manager training program from a curriculum design perspective. You can start by interviewing the needs of managers and employees, using the following questions:

• What management skills are you personally looking to develop?
• What challenges are you encountering with respect to team dynamics?
• What skills are you looking to build up on your team?
• What are some of your preferred learning methods?
• Would you find more value from in-person or online training — or both? Why?
• How do you envision manager training fitting into your day?

During this question and answer process, you can also ask managers to share courses that they’re interested in taking. That way, when you build your learning and development curriculum, you can work directly from your team’s nominations. After all, your managers are in the best position to self-direct their own training.

Your goal is to build a curriculum that fits into peoples’ lives at work. Let your managers take charge of their own professional development, and give them a degree of flexibility. One solution is for your HR team to offer a learning stipend, in addition to a core curriculum. That way, people can choose what’s right for them. 

How much budget do you have to invest? 

Your budget determines where you need to make tradeoffs — typically around quality, depth, and educational accessibility. These constraints will help you create tiered programs based on criteria such as a manager’s seniority and number of direct reports. Your goal is to optimize your manager training budget by choosing the precise options that people need.

How will you support managers following the training? 

When learning a new skill, practice and continued coaching are everything. For this reason, HR leaders need to take steps to establish a culture in which managers receive feedback. Options include working with coaches, arranging additional training, and asking managers to participate in group reflections. The ideal path forward will vary between organizations.

How customizable is the training? 

When building a manager training curriculum for your company, it’s important that the material makes sense for your industry, business model, and organizational culture. Before committing to a specific program, it will be important to sample the curriculum.

• What are the content licensing policies for the training you’re considering? Education is a specialized skill. It’s understandable that an experienced vendor will have clear curriculum licensing policies. One question you’ll want to ask is whether a program exists where an internal trainer can adapt material to run training in-house. In some cases, your company may be required to work with an external trainer — which can be a good thing for introducing a fresh perspective to your organization.
• How will the training get embedded as a core competency? Ultimately, the goal of your management training is to instill a new capability throughout your core culture. That means your HR team needs to ensure conditions for success over the long-term. Example initiatives include follow-up sessions, team surveys, and check-ins between managers and executives. There may also be a need to incorporate support systems through formal performance management programs.
• To what extent will senior leadership be involved? Executives, directors, and senior managers are visible role models within your company. For this reason, it’s important to encourage these leaders’ participation in management training. Senior leaders can help address questions and concerns while also providing encouragement to their own direct reports. Every manager needs mentorship — and senior leaders are in an optimal position to provide it.
• Does the training embrace best practices for diversity, equity, and inclusion? As companies move through a tough time, it’s important to remember that sensitivities are high — and rightfully so. It’s up to HR leaders and executives to ensure that every employee can come to work feeling safe, comfortable, and respected. When choosing management training programs, you’ll want to watch out for concepts that have the potential to be offensive. Examples include gender or racial stereotypes, among other implicit biases that are not otherwise easy to see.

The importance of getting the right manager training courses

Investing in your people is mission-critical. When managers are set up to succeed, organizations benefit overall. More self-aware and empowered managers mean better team dynamics, higher levels of motivation, and improved psychological safety. 

Becoming a better manager takes patience, practice, and continued interpersonal development. In remote or hybrid environments, being a manager is especially strange. That’s because we’re interacting across screens rather than being together, in person.

Building connections and meaningful working relationships across screens is a challenge. People are overwhelmed.

Manager training is a must for your organization.