The Chartered Institute of Management has just released figures stating that 70% of the 500 managers they surveyed admitted morale in their companies had dipped in the last 6 months.

No surprise that motivation levels fall in tough times, but what are businesses doing about it? The CMI is very clear that it is down to the managers to address morale issues, but that part of the problem is that companies are not training managers to be confident in this area. Currently 20% of managers get training and the CMI think it should be at least 50%... so we have some way to go.

The danger, of course, is that in a challenging market companies cut back on training instead of investing in their managers and UK businesses may now be paying the price. The quality of a manager has such a direct impact on a team’s performance that it really isn’t worth leaving it to chance. The effect of poor management can ripple through an organisation and have far reaching effects; lack of morale leading to high staff turnover, high rates of absence and low productivity, which can all ultimately cost a lot more than training the managers in the first place!

And management development doesn’t have to be expensive; there are many ways to help your managers build key skills...

• Coaching – ongoing support can be given to managers through regular coaching and the beauty of this is that it doesn’t have to be done by an external company. Using your managers to coach other managers can be a very effective way to build skills for all concerned
• Mentoring – helping and encouraging managers to find a mentor also doesn’t cost anything and can be particularly helpful in the sharing of knowledge and expertise and in helping managers through times of change. Setting up a formal mentoring scheme can support every level in an organisation, if you have the resources to do it. Even encouraging informal mentoring will bring results
• Courses and development programmes can particularly benefit new managers. This more structured approach will provide them with the core skills needed to be effective and will  build confidence in taking on their new role
• Regular feedback – ensuring your mangers get regular feedback on how they are doing can bring very immediate results. Giving balanced feedback will ensure they know what they are doing well, but are equally aware of what they are not doing so well and help them to address these areas
• Encouraging learning through sharing experiences – shadowing, job rotation, creation of project teams to tackle organisational issues – all these will give managers the opportunity to learn from each other.

So how does your management team measure up? Are they confident in motivating their teams, especially when times are tough?

Does your company fall into the 20% who do train their managers or the 80% who cross their fingers and hope it will all be OK?

Despite the market place remaining a challenging one, we know that many forward thinking companies out there are still keen to invest in developing their people …but of course are looking for cost effective ways to do so.

So why would we be advocating less training? Well one way to get very tangible and very immediate results is to use more one to one coaching. Good coaching can make a world of difference to upping your team’s skills and raising motivation levels at the same time.

And it doesn’t have to be done by an external training company. Using the expertise you have within your organisation in the form of line managers can have a great impact on performance. The key is making sure those managers are equipped to coach effectively.

We see many situations where line managers intend to offer support to their teams, but end up “telling” them what to do. There are times when a directive style is the right approach, but for the most part a more questioning, coaching style will get people thinking for themselves and develop their skills more effectively. You get greater buy- in too… people tend to kick against being told exactly what do (think of your own reaction to a very instructive style of management!) 

So here are 5 top tips for Line Managers wanting to do more effective coaching…..

1. Remember 90% of learning happens on the job so there are opportunities for coaching all around us in the workplace.. we just need to look out for them.

2. Coaching is about asking questions. It develops problem solving skills and builds a more capable, self reliant team. The next time you are tempted to tell one of your team members exactly what to do next, just check yourself and try turning the statement into a question…”what steps would you take?” “What do you want to do next?”
3. Good coaching doesn’t have to be a planned sit down 30 minute session. Great coaching can also happen in a spontaneous 5 minute conversation when you have observed a team member dealing with a customer.
4. Listen carefully – there is no point in asking good thought provoking questions if you don’t give your team member a chance to think and answer. Be comfortable with pauses.
5. Coaching should not be a one off event but an ongoing way of developing your people. Start to make it a management style rather than something you just do to address a specific skill and you will begin to reap the benefits.

A recent survey has found that where employees are engaged and enabled companies can increase their turnover by five times… Isn’t that a compelling case to invest in some coaching capability??