Timing is Everything
Timing is Everything
When I initially called this manufacturing company two years ago the Human Resources Manager informed me that they only do internal training and never outsourced. At the time I sent her the information on our training alliance and I said I would follow up. I called a year later and the situation was still the same. I called again this past spring and everything had changed. There was a new person in Human Resources who was delighted that I called her. She said they had recently does an assessment with their first line supervisors and managers to identify any training gaps. I booked an appointment to meet with her. During the assessment I discovered that although they had done their training internally in the past, it primarily consisted of mandatory health and safety training.
She shared that most of their front line supervisors and managers had been promoted from within. None of them had any formal training on how to be effective leaders. She shared about a specific incident that a supervisor had given an employee a great review and then 2 months later wanted to fire them for poor performance. She interviewed this particular manager only to find out the reason he gave him such a great review was because he was uncomfortable giving feedback on the areas where the employee was not performing. The Human Resources Manager knew this was just one of the many areas where these supervisors and managers lacked the training and skills to be effective.
Together we confirmed they needed to have basic training in the following areas:
- Giving feedback
- Handling difficult conversations and confrontation
- Delegation
- Time/priority management
- Communication skills.
I connected her with one of my alliance partner who has extensive experience working with supervisors and managers within an organization. The first round of programs has been completed successfully and a conversation recently with the plant manager confirmed that the training we provided was exactly what they needed. We are meeting again in the fall to discuss the next level of training for these supervisors and managers. The Human Resources Manager shared with me in our last conversation how perfect the timing was that I called and how easy we made it for her to address their immediate needs.
By
Cindy Stradling CSP, CPC