Erika Ofodirinwawww.wrksolutionsonline.com

Developing Mid-Level Management: Workforce Problems vs. Workforce Solutions

Meet EvelynEvelyn has been working as a Customer Service Representative at a call center for 5 years. She enjoys her work and loves the company she works for. Management has always been impressed with Evelyn’s performance and attitude, which has resulted in her recent promotion as a manager for her department. After meeting with her previous manager for an hour to discuss the new role, Evelyn is shown her new office and briefed on what will need to be tackled immediately.

Meet Darren

Darren has also been working for a call center for 5 years, he also loves his job and the company he works for.

Senior management believes Darren is an excellent performer and has recently promoted him to manage the sales department.

After meeting with the management team. Darren is provided a training schedule and informed that he will be shadowing his supervisor.

Six months later…

Evelyn and Darren have both been in there management position for 6 months now.

Evelyn is feeling overwhelmed, dreads coming to work everyday, and has started contemplating leaving the organization she once loved.

Darren loves going to work everyday, he feels energized by his new position and his overall commitment to his company continues to strengthen.

So what happened?

Middle Level managers are one of the most crucial elements to any organization, but unfortunately more times than not organizations do not dedicate the appropriate type of training & development for them. We tend run on the assumption “Well they were excellent at their previous position… so they will be perfect as a manager.” Although this assumption is not completely wrong there is an important component we tend to forget…DEVELOPMENT

Managers are typically placed in their position because of how well they have performed for the organization, not necessarily because they are accomplished managers.Think about it…Does your organization or other organizations you know have a formal training and development program for newly promoted managers?We spend a lot of time and $$$ training new employees. For the sole purpose of ensuring that they will be able to perform their job. So why don’t we apply the same concept across the board? or in this case organizational chart.

Where to go from here

• It’s time to start shifting our energy towards more management training and development.• Luckily, there are an infinite amount of options for any

organization to select from in order to reach these goals.• You can develop a program in house, hire a specialized

consulting agency, or utilize a number of seminars available on this topic throughout the nation.

If you are considering in-househere are a couple tips…

Begin with conducting a skills analysis on your newly promoted manager or manager to be.

• This is done by coming up with what your organization considers to be essential competencies/ skills necessary to perform the managerial duties.

• Doing this will allow you to determine possible skills gap in your new manager and develop a more customized training program.

Don’t just throw them into “it.” Make sure they are comfortable before taking off the training wheels.

• Yes, I recognize that with how fast pace the business world is, it may be difficult to avoid dropping your new manager right into the mist of things. So if you must, at least provide some type of shadowing or coaching opportunity. Have another manager act as a mentor or coach for a reasonable length of time.

Check with your local Workforce Solutions to see if they are conducting any seminars or training related to some of the skills you believe your manager needs to be successful in their new role.

Final thoughts…

Mid level managers are the bridge between discussing organizational goals and executing organizational goals. It can be expensive to lose one or even worse, have an incompetent one.

If you want to avoid turning an ideal employee like Evelyn into a new job seeker, It is time to start investing in her development as a manager. She needs the confidence that she once had to continue shining in your organization.

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