This presentation is about the importance of training supervisors to business success. It provides five examples of companies who had varied degrees of success with training depending on how they structured their objectives and C-suite support.

1. Teaching old dogs new tricks:
Supervisory Leadership
Transformation
Case Studies
Marie Gervais, PhD., CEO Shift Management
Wednesday, September 21, 2016 11:30-12:30
Sheraton Toronto Airport, Muskoka III

2. Marie Gervais is…
• Deeply interested in how and why people
do the things they do at work
• Helps employers see talent and build
workforce leadership capacity
• Promotes intercultural and cross-systems
communications
Welcome!

3. Shift Management does:
• Workforce & management systems analysis
• Intercultural leadership training,
Supervisory leadership training, Team
performance coaching
• Intercultural communication and conflict
management
Welcome!

4. 1. The saga of the untrained supervisor
2. A better story: Effects of training on
productivity and profit
3. Overview of supervisory leadership training
themes
4. 5 companies who trained supervisors ,
outcomes and learning
5. Training processes required for success
What we will cover today

5. 1. The untrained supervisor saga

6. 1.b. Untrained supervisor continued…

7. a. Productivity: the worse the supervisor the
lower the productivity
b. Cost of labour: more time covering your
back, less time doing the work
c. Low morale and increased cynicism:
accountability, responsibility and authority
do not match up
1.c. Outcomes for the employer

8. d. Loss of talent: The good people leave, you
keep the bad ones
e. Accidents: Poor planning, high stress,
apathy, poor work ethic = more accidents
You get the picture.
1.d. Outcomes for the employer

9. 2. A better way

10. 2.b. A better way

11. 2.c. A better way

12. 2.d. Comparison table

14. • Learner characteristics: high motivation and
engagement, strong future orientation best
predictors of workplace change of
behaviour
• Workplace factors: train everyone together
as company initiative, and train people with
more than two years company history for
higher success
3. Factors for training success research

15. • Subgroups: no difference, no curricular
changes required. Success based on
individual characteristics, not cultural ones.
• Decision-maker engagement: highest gains
when engaged in entire process
• Employee self-reports: reading employee
reports showed high influence on perceived
training success by decision-makers
3.b. Factors for training success research

16. Typically focus on:
1. People management
2. Administrative skills
3. Technical skills
4. Supervisor leadership training themes

17. Our training themes are:
1. Supervisory basics (people/admin/tech)
2. Management and leadership
3. Team building and workplace
communication
4. Multicultural management
5. Conflict prevention and resolution
4.b. Supervisor leadership training themes

18. Changes over past four years:
Shift in client interest from
supervisory basics and
general management themes
to leadership, team building,
communication and
multicultural management
themes.
4.c. Supervisory leadership training themes

19. 1. Decision-maker meeting(s) to determine
desired outcomes
2. Research on company specifics, interviews
3. Chosen participants complete inventories
4. Four training sessions & three group
coaching sessions
5. Goal setting requirement for all themes
6. Report to decision-makers in person/web
4.c. Our usual client process

20. Let’s see the case studies!

21. A. Super Construction Industries – mixed lead
hand and supervisor group (not unionized)
B. Danolux Dairies – lead hands (unionized)
C. Energy Kings – mixed leadership and front
line supervisory group (unionized)
D. Maximillian and Sons – supervisor and
superintendent group (unionized)
E. Power Plus – lead hands (unionized)
5. Case studies (names changed)

22. Mixed lead hand and supervisor group
• Two groups mixed lead hands & supervisors
large age difference (40)
• Second level training on business tools and
systems thinking (30)
• Three day retreat for all management team
(38)
• HR manager participated in all training
A. Super Construction Industries

23. Outcomes: (95% completion)
• Resistance from supervisors to participate
with lead hands in mixed group
• Company issues arising out of training dealt
with by decision-makers, and ongoing HR
communication
• Measured results on one client; improved
communications showed savings of 40%,
on-time and on-budget delivery
A. Super Construction Industries

24. Learning:
• Involve decision-makers throughout for
responsive changes, strong HR helpful
• Don’t mix supervisory levels in training
• Older supervisors who are on board serve
as motivators for younger ones
• Monitoring of project immediately after
training useful for ROI
A. Super Construction Industries

26. Lead hands (12)
• Initiative by HR manager and Plant manager
• Added safety specifics and more
multicultural management tools to
curriculum
• HR manager participated in all training
sessions
• Age and experience range very broad
B. Danolux Dairies

27. Outcomes: (100% completion)
• Immediate changes to performance
observable by decision makers after second
training session
• Greatly improved overall safety modeling
and practices
• Increased self-confidence and initiative
• One retired after training, one dismissed, all
completed training requirements
B. Danolux Dairies

28. Learning:
• Company needs assistance with choosing
potential candidates for training
• When upper level decision makers are fully
engaged, training results seen quickly on
the floor
• Coaching sessions were very practice
oriented and helped improve confidence to
change practice
B. Danolux Dairies

30. Mixed leadership and front line supervisory
group (25)
• Chose five interactive workshops on
unrelated themes rather than a training
program
• Company leadership did not participate in
training
• Random topics, random participants
C. Energy Kings

31. Outcomes: (65% completion)
• First topic on intercultural communication
and workplace communication more
successful in terms of participant reported
outcomes
• Participants felt they were targeted for
“improvement” and did not want to engage
• Lack of upper level leadership participation
further undermined results
C. Energy Kings

32. Learning:
• Client education necessary to avoid poor
outcomes
• Random, short-term workshops have little
measurable outcomes
• A group that stays together throughout a
program has more sustainable outcomes in
terms of change of practice
C. Energy Kings

34. Supervisor and superintendent group (85
supervisors and superintendents)
• Two years of continuous training until all
groups had gone through the complete
process
• Parallel to training undertook employee
satisfaction survey and made improvements
that improved employee confidence in
management
D. Maximillian and Sons

35. Outcomes: (85% completion)
• Significant changes to supervisor behaviour,
noticed by union stewards who requested
similar training for lead hands
• Drop in harassment complaints to HR that
stayed low after six months
• Increased customer business as a result of
“happy, productive employees”
D. Maximillian and Sons

36. Learning:
• Comprehensive training, company survey
and strong engagement by Plant Manager =
increased employee satisfaction, better
workplace climate, improved leadership
skills and attracted more business
• Plant manager’s continuous learning and
intercultural communication served as
models
D. Maximillian and Sons

38. Lead hands (50)
• Company chose not to include coaching
component and did not debrief supervisors
about lead hand training program
• Lead hands randomly chosen for training by
supervisors who did not understand the
program
• Lead hands resentful and felt obligated to
participate in training
E. Power Plus

39. Outcomes: (85% completion)
• Inconsistent results and poor monitoring
• Company decided to use curriculum to train
natural leaders among the lead hands to
serve as trainers
• Began to reconsider lead hand selection
process that was producing a very
homogenous group
E. Power Plus

40. Learning:
• Direct supervisors must understand process
for program to be successful
• Coaching cannot be excluded from the
program if change to workplace behaviour
is desired outcome
• Trainees need to have some control over
what training they participate in and know
why they are doing it
E. Power Plus

42. So what makes the training successful?

43. • Training should be planned, strategic, meet
business goals and involve decision makers
• A consistent decision maker should
participate in training to show company
support, but not be present in group
coaching sessions
• Companies who are responsive to issues,
during the training experience the best
performance improvements
5. Successful training components

44. • Leadership inventories and assessments
help individuals be objective about their
strengths and challenges. Inventories
decrease resistance to change
• Goal setting, based on content and
determined by trainees has higher success
than imposed goals
5. Successful training components

45. • Engaging participants in recognizing
individual and team strengths is an
important learning process
• Senior participants can provide significant
modeling and encouragement
• Change to workplace behaviour is directly
connected to coaching process
5. Successful training components

46. • Blends of content learning, social
interaction and online tools show
sustainable results
• Learning that is random, correctional, not
supported by immediate supervisors or has
no participant choice has poor outcomes
• Company changes as a result of response to
training sustain ongoing learning
5. Successful training components

47. Recap of the “better way” story…

49. Marie Gervais, PhD., CEO Shift Management
marie@shiftworkplace.com
http://shiftworkplace.com
780 993 1062 cell
780 454 5661 office
@shiftworkplace
@workandculture
Contact information (and 3 happy trainees)