Every manager wants to help their people grow.
There is an undeniable link between personal development and retention – when you are on a learning curve at work, there is no incentive to leave. Loyalty is cemented, relationships strengthen, and productivity goes through the roof.
An investment in your people offers the highest return.
Helping their people to learn is always on a leader’s mind, but the complexity of the task often means that it falls down their list of priorities. It is the role of HR and L&D to facilitate, and many departments do a great job at this, but too many managers don’t even get to the point of having the conversation with HR about their requirements. Partly this is because they want to own the development of their people, but also it may be because there isn’t an easy way for them to retain control over the direction of the training.
It is my feeling that training is more effective when the managers drive it themselves.
Interestingly, more managers source training than you might think.
In a recent survey that we conducted, we found that 49% of managers sourced training themselves. Much of it was in the Sales and IT functions (where there is a wider choice of providers). The desire for non-HR/L&D ownership of training came across clearly.
The big question for me would be whether it was fit for purpose?
With the explosion of social media, it isn’t hard to ask your network for recommendations about the best trainer in a given function. A non-expert manager will likely look at the commonest two of three names and make a decision based on a scan of their website and possibly a quick phone chat.
The trainers who are the best sales people win a lot of business this way.
Had HR or L&D been involved, they would likely have been far more thorough in their assessment of whether the training goals would be met. This is what they do, and they know what to look for. I am not suggesting that line managers are incompetent, but this simply isn’t their area of expertise.
So, 49% of managers are booking training that may not produce the best possible results.
They are not getting the optimal return on their investment.
Personally, I do not believe that the answer lies in handing all responsibility to HR and L&D. Line managers will always have an active interest in being involved in the sourcing of training – they simply need to be better informed. They need help.
This is where our training sourcing comes in.
When you work with an external company with years of experience in the training market, you are benefiting from the combined knowledge of “what has worked” for a huge range of their clients.
We give managers and HR departments the power to choose from a suitable list of providers for their needs, guiding them and advising them along the way.
Helping leaders to source their training helps them to help their people learn!
Contact us via customercare@optimuslearningservices.com or call 0845 519 7408 and we’ll help you with your training requirements.
