How to Train First Time Managers Properly

• (Photo : Bigstock) African American female supervisor training work to multiethnic team in call center headquarter office

The difference between good and bad managers is the difference between your business's success and failure. Bad managers can shatter employee morale, whether through micromanagement, an inability or unwillingness to listen, or just flat bullying. Good employees flee for better managed opportunities, leaving only the incompetent and a failing business.

But while everyone knows the importance of good managers, businesses often dump new managers in unfamiliar ground and fail to give them the tools they need to succeed. Businesses do not have to invest into expensive training programs or seminars to turn hard workers into good managers. With the right steps, you can develop competent managers which will help your business grow and thrive.

Constant Mentoring

I once saw a successful small business promote a successful manager into a brand new position and then hired an outsider to fill the vacated position. The former manager did not just give a brief explanation of the position to the outsider before leaving her flailing in the wind. She worked with the new manager day after day, listening to questions and showing her the ins and outs of the position. And in the weeks afterward, the former manager always had her door open to the new manager, willing to help when the new manager forgot this or that step.

The above example shows what great mentoring looks like. As Tasha Bell with Forbes observes, having mentors within an organization instead of relying on outside mentors helps develop leadership, and give new managers an idea of the company culture. Mentoring is not something done in a few days or a week. It is a constant process of teaching and learning.

Businesses should encourage mentorship programs of old employees teaching new ones, and make sure that old employees are constantly showing what to do as opposed to giving a few short lessons. The best way to encourage that is to promote a communicative environment.

Staff Meetings Matter

Some workers and managers may groan about the idea of regularly attending staff meetings when they have actual work to do. But staff meetings are important, especially for new managers. A new manager's first staff meeting lets them see and meet the important people who lead the entire business instead of their own department. New managers can learn where the business is going, and can come up with new ideas by working alongside others. Amy Castro lists other reasons why staff meetings are good for your entire business and not just new managers.

Aim to hold a staff meeting once per month for a few hours, and use the time to introduce the new manager to everyone there. Simple gestures like that help new managers feel appreciated and ease communication between themselves and those they have not met before.

Develop New Skillsets

You may have heard of the Peter Principle, which states that all employees are eventually promoted to a position which they are incompetent at. The key idea behind the principle is that the skillsets needed to be a successful employee or salesperson are different from the skills needed to be a successful manager. Unfortunately, businesses often assume that being good at one means being good at the other, leading to new managers who lack the skillset to succeed.

The Peter Principle does not mean you should avoid promoting your top employees, but it does mean that you should help them develop specific skills like a dentist which they may not have yet learned. Talk to them about what they think they need to learn in order to be a better manager, and find training classes which can help them develop those skills. Make sure that your business has an open communicative culture in the meantime. If employees are afraid to talk about their weaknesses, then they will never fix them.

Know when to fold them

You can offer managers the training tools they need to succeed, but sometimes it does not work out. Maybe the manager is nice and deferential towards you, but a hellhound towards his subordinates. Maybe they freeze or make bad decisions under the pressure of their new responsibilities. 

Whatever the reason, bad managers are toxic to a company's reputation and should be gotten rid of as soon as possible. As Entrepreneur notes, some clues that a manager may not be a good fit can include a rise in complaints to HR as well as the manager excessively complaining about employee quality (a poor workman blames his tools.) If managers lack certain skillsets or knowledge, discuss helping them to build their skills. But if they have a bad personality, that is generally impossible to fix and they should be let go immediately.

New managers can feel intimidated by their new responsibilities, and so a smart business does everything it can to make sure they feel at home and are surrounded by coworkers willing to help them. With smart mentoring and developing the right skills, new managers can become successful, bolstering your business and improving employee morale.