Alice Hortop

Never underestimate the power & importance of good mid-level managers. New research in a @HarvardHBS working paper: the attitude & support of mid-level managers can make or break the impact of training programmes for frontline employees. Organisations invest huge sums in employee training programmes to improve productivity, which often fail to deliver. Variation in training participation/engagement among employees is closely tied to differences in the behaviour & practices of their line managers. Managers who support & encourage training create the conditions for better employee performance & less absenteeism. Frontline teams with "high training" managers get more training during times of high pressure &/or organisational change & get better results, despite having to deal with increased demand. Implications: 1) For policymakers/senior leaders: understand that top-down skill mandates are likely to be ineffective without local buy-in. 2) Include middle managers in the design & implementation of organisation-wide training initiatives. 3) Incorporate managerial incentives & practices into the design of training programmes. 3) View the process of training intervention in the wider context of the leadership support that employees are likely to get or not get. hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.a….