186 | How Integrating Practical HR Training into Manager Development Helped Managers Succeed (with Amy Critchley)

Managers are expected to handle everything from one-to-ones and development conversations to absence, performance issues and disciplinaries. Yet many step into management without having been properly taught how to deal with these responsibilities. For HR and People professionals, finding a way to build managers’ knowledge and confidence without overwhelming them can be a real challenge. In this special bonus episode of HR Coffee Time, Fay Wallis is joined by Amy Critchley, Head of People at Indigo Networks. Amy explains how she created a management development programme from scratch after joining an organisation that had not previously had a dedicated HR or People team. Amy shares practical ideas for combining essential HR knowledge with wider management development, making potentially dry subjects more engaging and helping learning stick. She also explains how the programme strengthened relationships between managers and changed the way they worked with the People team. What You’ll Learn How to decide which topics to prioritise when creating a management development programme Why combining practical HR knowledge with wider management skills can make training more effective Ideas for making subjects such as absence, investigations, disciplinaries and employment law more engaging How to accommodate different learning preferences without relying on lengthy presentations or uncomfortable role play Ways to support learning beyond the workshop through e-learning, workbooks, drop-in clinics and People Partnering sessions How real-life scenarios, discussion and peer learning can build managers’ confidence Signs that manager training is working, including stronger peer relationships and a more positive relationship with the People team Chapters [00:00] Introduction: Why managers matter [01:14] The challenge of developing managers [02:02] The Workforce Success Stories Summit [02:49] Meet Amy Critchley: building a management development programme [04:11] How Amy identified the need for manager training [05:47] Deciding on the training content [08:28] Combining HR knowledge with management development [09:50] Designing engaging, brain-friendly training [13:27] Wraparound support: e-learning and drop-in clinics [15:28] From drop-in clinics to people partnering [17:46] Measuring success: executive buy-in and manager engagement [20:18] Changing the perception of HR [24:16] Making learning stick: worst-case scenarios and one-to-ones [29:06] How the programme changed HR's perception in the business [32:43] Book recommendation and wrap-up Useful Links and Resources Learn more about the Workforce Success Stories Summit Connect with Fay Wallis on LinkedIn Learn about Fay’s Inspiring HR Leadership Programme Treat yourself to a copy of The Essential HR Planner Book Recommended in This Episode The Trainer’s Toolkit: Bringing Brain-Friendly Learning to Life, by Kimberly Herr and Larry Reynolds Amy recommends this practical resource for ideas on keeping training real, recognising the different needs of people in the room, creating multisensory learning and managing the state of the group. Helpful Episodes to Listen to Next Episode 129: Five Essential Techniques to Become a Great Manager, with James Rose Episode 118: 9 Tips to Unlock Training Success When You're a Busy HR Professional Enjoyed This Episode? Don’t Miss the Next One! Sign up for the free weekly HR Coffee Time email for useful HR resources, ideas and new episode updates to support you in your HR career. Exclusive offer from HR Coffee Time’s sponsor, C-me HR Coffee Time listeners can book C-me’s 90-minute High Performing Team Workshop, with five High Performance profiles and a Team Wheel, for £499 (saving more than £2,500). Ideal for a Christmas team day or end-of-year get-together. Places are limited, so find out more and apply at https://colour-profiling.com/hrcoffee