Direct managers are one of the most powerful communication channels within an organisation, but many of them feel poorly equipped to do it well.
The IoIC has the experience and insights to develop and run targeted, cost-effective coaching for your organisation, equipping your direct managers with the skills, tools and confidence they need to communicate effectively.
Overview
The direct manager communication training is a highly interactive, one-day workshop which can be delivered in-person or online for your organisation.
The training is for direct managers and aims to:
- build a clear understanding of the communication role for leaders/managers and its importance
- equip leaders/managers with the skills, techniques and approaches to build confidence and ability to communicate effectively
- enable leaders/managers to apply the skills and techniques to day to day work.
The training is run by the IoIC for client organisations, with a maximum of 20 participants to ensure involvement and interaction.
The process includes pre-training consultations to understand the organisational culture and identify key challenges and issues so the training can be tailored according to the needs of participants, and the right language and references are used during the workshop.
Why this training?
- Bespoke training to address your organisation's specific challenges and needs
- Run by experienced specialists in leader/manager communication and development who have a strong track record in coaching line managers across a variety of organisations, sectors and countries
- Practical with a focus on applying what is learned to real life challenges
- Highly interactive with opportunities for discussion, exercises and activities as well as coach input. It focuses on three key areas vital to successful direct manager communication:
- Clarity – being simple, clear and focused
- Connection – making messages relevant and actionable
- Conversation – helping people contribute and be involved in discussions, listen and answer questions.
The Background
What’s the opportunity?
Most of us know from experience that direct managers are a crucial part of how an organisation communicates.
The research backs this up - a study undertaken by the IoIC in 2020 found that 43% of employees said managers were their most trusted source of information.
The recent IC Index (IoIC/Ipsos Karian Box, 2023), which surveyed 3,000 workers, found direct managers are still one of the most trusted sources of information for employees, while 2/5 wanted more from their direct managers.
The Index also found that one in three direct managers don’t feel equipped to lead team conversations, and that they need more support, more information, and for this information to be clearer.
Imagine therefore the impact on understanding, connection, alignment and performance if your organisation was able to equip and activate direct managers as skilled and confident communicators. Well you can!
How can The IoIC help?
The IoIC is Europe’s foremost internal communication professional organisation.
We have the experience to develop and run engaging, interactive and practical in-house workshops, working directly with your direct managers to give them what they need to be better communicators.
The workshops will equip them with common understanding of their role, practical skills and tools and the chance to practise with useful feedback.
Learn more about the IC Index
Who is it for?
This training will benefit all direct managers and team leaders who want to enhance their personal communication skills and confidence, especially:
- newly appointed line and team managers
- groups of managers leading people through an organisation change where consistency of communication approach and messaging are vital
- managers in organisations aiming to use and improve face to face as a core internal communication channel
- leadership teams seeking to be more consistent and engaging in their communication and set an example for their colleagues
- team leaders in organisations who need to build stronger employee listening
- communication teams looking to equip and activate direct managers as communicators
- if your organisation is gearing up for a major change or initiative.
Our approach
How is the training delivered?
We know that workshops must fit the organisation and its culture, be rooted in its issues and address its specific challenges.
Therefore, we talk in advance with the Head of Internal Communication (or most relevant role) and a cross-section of direct managers so we can reflect their challenges and use the ‘right’ language during the workshop.
Also, we know that people often respond better to training when they have been involved in developing content, can see their ‘fingerprints’ on it, and the direct relevance to their situation.
Using the information we gather in advance we then design the workshop/s which have a maximum of 20 participants to ensure everyone has opportunity to discuss and take part.
Usually workshops last a day, but sometimes it works better to run two half day sessions with time in between to practise, apply new skills and reflect. We can then deliver the workshop multiple times where needed to ensure everyone benefits from the programme.
Although the programme is typically delivered in-person, we also have experience delivering online workshops for hybrid or dispersed teams and can be flexible to meet your needs and requirements.
The line manager communication workshops highlighted the value communications bring to leaders of an organisation. The facilitators targeted the workshop to the needs of each group, which instantly helped colleagues see how it could support them in their roles in a tangible way. They also provided practical tips and skills that colleagues are already implementing across the Service. I would highly recommend these workshops to others who want to elevate the value of line manager communications across their organisation.