Management Development Programs | SkillsPacks for Managers

Management Development Program Definition

Your management development program guide is for directors and managers looking to develop a management training program. This 2nd Edition Guide To Management Training Programs is a useful question and answer resource for training managers, HR managers and senior management professionals. Exploring key topics it covers a wide range of common questions including: what is a management training program?; why do you need management training? how much will it cost? plus how how to deliver a management training program inhouse. Additionally, there are tips and techniques for managing a training program plus a list of training companies for you to explore hiring an external training provider.

Management Development Guide

Read the main sections of the guide by visiting the links below and viewing the management development program tips:

Management Development Program Definition

Management development programs are developed by businesses and organisations to develop the soft skills of their managers. The Cambridge dictionary defines this as “activities and courses that are intended to develop and improve the skills of the managers in a company.”

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What are Management Development Programs?

Management development programs are courses aimed at improving a manager in soft skills plus key management disciplines such as time management, managing conflict, how to delegate, delivering effective feedback etc.

This management training can be delivered as part of a wider learning program supported by analysis, evaluation, coaching and further training interventions.

Why Management Development Programs?

Learning through collaboration. Managers learn most effectively when in teams/groups. There is the opportunity to develop and engage with ideas collaboratively, share and learn from colleagues experiences. A training day can become a team-building exercise delivered away from the daily/regular demands of a corporate working environment. Managers have the opportunity to network, collaborate and problem-solve in ways that they wouldn’t normally be able to in the workplace.
Widen perspectives. Furthermore, using a third-party training provider offers further benefits including non-company insight, wide-ranging experience, independence of thought and approach and an absence of bias. It can also help gain momentum for solutions and action which would otherwise be missed.
Save Time. How is your time? Do you have space to develop training programs and activities? If you’re like many training managers you may find your time is stretched. As much as you’d like to focus on development, the daily demands of your role means that time to build, develop and test a management training program is missing.
Flexibility and Deliverability. That said, slicing management training into a bigger learning and development program is deliverable. Existing training materials and training courses can be chopped, changed, restructured and built into a wider development program relatively simply. In this sense, management training programs are deliverable.
Helps Drive Change. As such, management training programs are tangible. Their concept can be grasped simply by employees. Add to this a branded package bundled with timely communication and completion certificates and staff will have something identifiable which they can relate to.

What are the Best Management Development Programs?

A common question. Whilst you’ll find many training providers, companies and business schools promoting their management training, the best management program is the one which meets your needs. Management development programs are not one size fits all. An effective learning program will be designed to meet your needs, delivered effectively and costs a price which meets your budget.

For bespoke management development programs, delivered as in house training and coaching, Train in a day provide cost-effective learning and management training.

How are Management Development Programs Delivered?

A program that is to be effective will have five key features:

Customised Training. Management training will have the subjects customised to the training needs of your business. You will have the ability to choose which soft skills you wish to develop and which you don’t. It will be flexible and easy to customise to deliver a bespoke management training program for your company.
Bespoke Development. More than a customised training program at company level, your management training should be designed to be bespoke to each manager. This can be done by beginning with a learning needs analysis of your team. This will highlight the differences across your team allowing you to adapt the blended learning to suit. Maybe not every manager needs to attend every training session. Maybe some managers would benefit from more coaching than others. Maybe other managers learn best through self-paced learning via books or e-learning. The more you tailor your managers’ learning, the more effective it is for them and cost-effective for you.
Branded Training Materials. How do you improve buy-in from managers for your training program? Being able to demonstrate that their time is valuable, that they are worth investing in and that their learning is unique is important. Part of this can be solved by branding their learning as a company solution. Branded training materials demonstrate that the program is important and has sponsorship from the leadership team. A training provider will be able to help you develop your branded training program in partnership with you.
Excellent Facilitation. Delivery of your classroom training is critically important to the success of your management development program. Consider investing in a trained and experienced management trainer to improve the engagement of your managers during your training days. Managers cite the quality of the classroom training delivery as the key metric when assessing the success of blended learning programs.
Management Training. Having designed your development program, branded your materials and hired an external trainer your in a good place. Now you can turn to delivering your training program across the soft skills you’ve identified. Popular subjects are time management, communication skills, effective feedback, how to delegate and managing conflict.

How much do Management Development Programs cost?

The cost of management training often depends upon the number of days of in house training purchased. Let’s face it, the cost of branding materials is low following the popularity of digital printing. The technology required to conduct large-scale learning needs analysis is minimal. The greatest proportion of cost will be the delivery of face-to-face, inhouse training days.

This cost will depend on which training provider you choose. Train in a Day can deliver in house training from £998 per day with no additional cost for developing the branded training program.

How often should Management Development Programs be delivered?

A typical management program can last between 6 months and two years. The principal consideration is the frequency of the inhouse training days you deliver. One classroom day per month could mean that your management training program is completed within one year.
Alternatively, you may choose to deliver half-days and complete your training program across a two-year period.

Who should enrol on a Management Development Program?

Line managers, particularly junior and middle-management, benefit from the soft skills training delivered in a management development program.

Development programs are designed and delivered to meet the needs of your management team. The first step is to understand their learning needs and identify the skills required and the learning styles of your team. Should you require the help of an external training provider, Train in a Day can help. Simply prove your details with a training enquiry here.