The MDP has always been classroom-based, with six half-day modules, delivered over nine months. However, the company has gone through a significant growth period, with numerous restructures. Many new managers have joined, and many existing staff have become managers. They all need to be trained, but it is no longer feasible to continue with the MDP’s current format as:

·         We only have one internal trainer. One person cannot physically train the number of new managers we have starting based on the programme length

·         There is only one programme launch per year. If a manager joins shortly after the programme has started, they must wait at least a year for the next to begin

·         Three days out of the office is costly both in terms of time for the person delivering the training, and the managers undertaking the programme

·         Now we have moved to hybrid working, it is unlikely managers will always be available to attend six classroom sessions

·         Since the Covid-19 pandemic, staff have started to expect access to content when they need it through digital platforms and have begun recognising its value

Key areas to be addressed are:

·         Managing the main elements of the employee lifecycle, from onboarding to eventual exit

·         How the recruitment process operates at PIC and interview techniques that identify the right people, avoiding any unconscious bias

·         Building self-awareness of their own management style and how this interacts with different personality types

·         Exploring what being a manager is and how to get the best out of the team to achieve goals and business impact 

·         Using feedback and coaching to enhance the team’s performance

Managers of all levels will get something out of this. For experienced managers, this content will be more of a skills refresher, but tailored to the business. In contrast, for new managers, the content will provide a foundation to continue building on throughout their time at PIC and future career. 

1.       Explain your key responsibilities as a people manager at PIC throughout the employee lifecycle

2.       Apply the correct process to recruit a new employee, using appropriate probing techniques to reveal behaviours in candidates during interviews, and scoring candidates objectively and consistently

3.       Discover what your behavioural style is, in terms of how you how you respond to challenges, how you influence and interact with others, your preferred pace, and how you respond to rules and procedures, by participating in a DISC assessment

4.       Examine ways of communicating with your team and motivating them, which achieve collaboration, success, and foster inclusion

5.       Experiment with different communication approaches during practical workplace scenarios

6.       Explore how others have applied their learning so you can plan and continue developing your own management style

The nature of the programme meant that ‘remember’ was not relevant to my outcomes, as it is personal effectiveness based, rather than policy/compliance. It was also not possible to capture ‘create’ outcomes as this will only come with time when managers encounter real-life situations.

Although there were only five areas identified in the learning gap analysis, I chose to add an additional outcome for the fifth area, managing the team’s performance, as a key part of the programme will be peer-to-peer learning. I plan to incorporate a Think Tank where managers will reflect on learning and continue embedding it back into the workplace.

Outcomes are SMART. E.g.:

·         Specific – assessment tool is named, and behavioural style is broken down

·         Measurable – ability to reflect on style

·         Attainable – achievable during the programme

·         Relevant – tool chosen is an established way of measuring personality, and knowledge will help build self-awareness

·         Timely – by the end of the programme

·         Reporting dashboard

·         System notifications

·         Onboarding

·         Induction and probation

·         Development
·         Hybrid working

·         Absences

·         Changes

·         Departures

·         Employee Assistance Programme

·         Mental Health First Aiders

·         Diversity and Inclusion Forum

·         Further resources

·         Key touchpoints

·         The competent interviewer

·         Selection methods

·         Advertising the role

·         Shortlisting candidates

·         The selection process

·         Decision and offer

·         Utilising PIC’s capability framework

·         Avoiding unconscious bias

·         Diversity of thought

·         Responding to feedback

·         Why use the DISC model

·         Completing the assessment

·         Interaction of different profiles

·         Applying knowledge and learning

·         The importance of equality, diversity and inclusion

·         Management styles

·         Managing a diverse team and being adaptive

·         Link to PIC's values

·         Working styles

·         Setting expectations

·         Objectives

·         Delegation

·         Productivity and time management

·         Development plans

·         The art of recognition

·         Appraisals

·         Performance ratings

·         Practical scenario

·         Assertiveness
·         Link to PIC's capability framework

·         Practical scenario

·         Coaching models

·         Identifying and addressing individual learning needs

·         Developing an inclusive coaching approach for a diverse team

·         Practical scenario

The flow is linear, as every module is mandatory and builds on the next, and they must be completed in order. Yet the Think Tank that underlies the programme is optional to avoid it feeling forced, so could be considered a 'spoke' element.

Pappas, C. (2016). 6 eLearning Content Chunking Strategies to Apply In Instructional Design. Retrieved 26 March, 2022, from eLearning Industry Website: 6 eLearning Content Chunking Strategies To Apply In Instructional Design (elearningindustry.com)

Watson, S. (2019). Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) in Education. Retrieved 26 March, 2022, from ThoughtCo. Website: What Are High-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) in Education? (thoughtco.com)