We are thrilled to announce the release of our 2022 benchmark report on the impact of our management training program for non-profit managers.
Why is this Report Important?
Consider the twin challenges facing non-profits today: 1) a limited talent pool and 2) limited budgets
First, it is hard to hire. We’re in a period right now where the demand for qualified employees is high and the available talent pool is limited. This is making it extremely challenging – and costly – to find the right staff.
Given the context, organizations have more incentive than ever to invest in building their own talent pool by offering professional development to their own current and future leaders.
However, this leads to the second significant challenge: budgets are limited. Operating on a shoestring isn’t new to anyone in the non-profit sector, but that doesn’t make it any less difficult. Limited budgets mean that every spending decision counts, and so it’s essential to minimize risk and only invest in the areas that you feel confident will be impactful.
A solution: strengthen your existing team’s management capacity
As has been well-documented by extensive workplace and management research, “managers are your front line against high employee turnover — and employee turnover costs.” Developing your managers will create cascading benefits throughout your organization.
We have found that the right management training is an efficient, low-risk, high-reward solution. It helps non-profit organizations address these challenges by enabling them to develop their own in-house talent pool and avoid the high costs of staff turnover: recruitment, onboarding, and loss of momentum.
Testing the hypothesis
Our years of experience training managers have given us ample anecdotal evidence to support this idea, but we were interested in collecting quantifiable data to test our belief.
For this reason, we began sending benchmark surveys to participants before and after they participated in our Management Training Program. We sought to test the following hypothesis: Effective management training gives managers the tools and builds the skills they need to succeed in their role and to become better managers.
Was our hypothesis correct? Yes!
After completing our Management Training Program:
- 98% of managers agreed or strongly agreed that they have received the training they need to be successful in their supervisory role, compared to only 27% before training
- 100% of leaders (CEOs or EDs) agreed or strongly agreed that their management team had received the training they need to be successful in their supervisory role, compared to 0% before training
“I believe that we have experienced transformational change within the organization as a result of the training.
We have been able to implement the tools and strategies that we have learned.
Equally important we have been able to take the time to explore our values, have authentic conversations and refocus our attention. Relationships have been strengthened, more trust has been developed and we have stretched ourselves individually and collectively.
We have seen the many benefits of effective management development training and has helped us to “re-form” our solid organizational foundations. Our vision forward is much more clear and that is exciting!
Thank you for this opportunity. We will be forever grateful.”
– Nancy Johnston, Executive Director, Cornerstone Family Violence Prevention Centre
If you’re interested in learning more about how our Management Training Program could help you and your organization, get in touch and we can set up an initial discovery call.
One Part of a Bigger Picture
This evidence of the success of our training is only a small slice of the data we collected and analyzed in the process of developing our 2022 Benchmark Report.
The report is based on benchmarking surveys conducted before and after managers participated in the program, over the period from October 2020 to March 2022. It includes the responses of over 125 managers and leaders from over 30 different organizations in the non-profit sector.
It answers questions such as:
- Do leaders and managers believe that there is an acute need for management training?
- What skills do leaders wish their managers were better at?
- In what areas do managers feel most confident? Least confident?
- Most importantly: is our Management Training Program a cost-effective way for organizations to build their own talent pool?
You can download the report here, or keep reading to learn about:
- Pre-Training Takeaways: Training Priorities and Skill Level Assessments
- Post-Training Takeaways: Demonstrated Impacts
- Next steps for you and your organization
Pre-Training Benchmark Survey Takeaways: Training Priorities and Skill Level Assessments
What did the pre-training benchmark surveys tell us about the training priorities and confidence of leaders and managers?
The perceived need for management training is acute
Only 25% of leaders and 31% of managers agree or strongly agree that their management team has received the training they need to be successful in their supervisory role.
The top priority for leaders is to develop their managers’ communication skills
When asked to rank the skills they wanted their managers to develop over the course of their training, their top choice was “Improved communication skills.” Notably, this was closely followed by “Motivating others” and “Improved delegation and expectation-setting skills”, both of which require skilled communication techniques.
Leaders are lacking confidence in some of their management teams’ communication skills
This was matched by a corresponding lack of confidence in their managers’ communication skills, as only 14% of leaders rated their confidence in their management team’s skill at effective internal communications at 4 out of 5 or higher.
Managers are least confident in their skills at building and developing their team
Only 40% of managers rated their confidence in developing their staff as 4 out of 5 or higher.
Only 41% of managers rated their confidence in understanding how to build an effective team as 4 out of 5 or higher.
Post-Training Benchmark Survey Takeaways: Demonstrated Impacts
What did the post-training benchmark surveys tell us about the impact of the training? Was the program able to address the priorities and gaps that were identified in the pre-training surveys?
The training led to a large skill boost in the leaders’ top priority: internal communications
After the training, 100% of leaders and 94% of managers rated their confidence in their management team’s understanding of their role in effective communications as 4 out of 5 or higher (compared to 33% and 73% before training).
The training also led to a large boost in the managers’ top priority: building and developing their team
After the training, 90% of managers rated their confidence in developing their staff as 4 out of 5 or higher, compared to only 31% before training, a growth of 188%.
After the training, 85% of managers rated their confidence in building an effective team as 4 out of 5 or higher, compared to only 38% before training, a growth of 120%.
Overall, did leaders and managers feel like the training was effective? Yes.
98% of managers and 100% of leaders agreed or strongly agreed that they have received the training they need to be successful in their supervisory role (compared to 27% and 0% before training).
88% of managers and 100% of leaders agreed or strongly agreed that they have experienced meaningful growth and development in their management skills (compared to 49% and 67% before training).
“The greatest benefit to the training was inspiration and motivation. While it developed my leadership skills it also inspired me and motivated me to keep striving to be a better leader and to keep learning and digging within myself to find those skills.”
Would managers recommend the training to others? Yes.
When we asked managers who had completed the management training program, “On a scale of 1-10, how likely is it that you would recommend the Management Training Program to a friend or colleague?”, 95% responded with a 7/10 or higher.
“It was wonderful to have the space to discuss these topics and to be encouraged to reflect on our practices. I felt like this was a space where I could explore new ideas, try them out and then reflect on their effectiveness.”
“Learning theoretically about a topic, and then using small groups to practice material was really beneficial. I learned not only about myself within a management role, but also how to actually “do” management in different (better) ways.”
Conclusions: What did we learn?
The benchmarking surveys confirmed our main hypothesis: Effective management training gives managers the skills they need to succeed in their role and to be better managers.
Leaders and managers identified an acute need for management training, and those who have taken our Management Training Program were satisfied that they had received the training they needed and would happily recommend it to others.
In particular, Laridae’s Management Training Program was able to respond to the top priorities of leaders and managers:
- Developing managers’ skills in internal communications
- Developing managers’ skills in building and developing their teams.
Notably, if managers are better at building and developing their teams, this helps boost the retention of front-line staff as well. Developing your managers creates cascading benefits throughout your organization.
Next Steps
Download the full report
If you are interested in the full results, you can download a PDF of our 2022 Benchmark Report on the Outcomes of Management Training for Non-Profit Organizations.
Get in touch
If you are a leader interested in training for your organization’s management team, or a manager who is looking for training for yourself, get in touch via the form below.