An overwhelming number of U.S. managers want better management training in a range of areas.
A new survey from workplace learning firm Grovo found that not only did 98 percent of managers surveyed feel managerial staff need more training to deal with important issues such as professional development, conflict resolution, employee turnover, time management and project management, but midlevel managers say more than 2 out of 5 of their company's managers, on average, are unprepared for management when they assumed their role, and that less than half of managers are highly effective.
On the heels of these discouraging determinations came the even more discouraging opinion of 76 percent of respondents who say ineffective managers are frequently rewarded or promoted.
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In addition, according to 84 percent of managers themselves, companies need a better way to evaluate manager ability. The great majority of middle managers — 87 percent — say they wish they'd gotten more managerial training when they first became managers.
What has to be discouraging for employers as well as the employees who work under certain managers was the finding that training doesn't always have lasting effects. In fact, 80 percent of managers who do change their behavior after training maintain those changes for just six months or less before going back to their old ways.
Respondents found existing training to be boring — 92 percent say they'd be more likely to use new managerial skills if the training were more engaging — and overwhelming; 74 percent say most training sessions present such a volume of information that it's tough to retain it, let alone apply it.
They also say that follow-up doesn't happen often enough; 36 percent say that follow-up sessions to reinforce training were infrequent. And goals need to be set, as well; 28 percent say they infrequently have specific measurable goals set for them after management training.
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