Supervisor Training
At ERC, we give supervisors and managers the skills to effectively supervise people, manage projects, and keep work on track.
Our supervisor training is live, practical, and delivered in the way that works best for your team: virtually or in person, anywhere in the country. We handle the content and facilitation, and our experienced trainers deliver engaging sessions that drive lasting behavior change.
Supervisor & Manager Training Curriculum
Twelve modules cover the fundamentals your supervisors and frontline managers use every day. Choose the modules your supervisors need most, or run the full series for new and experienced supervisors together. We customize each module to your workplace before delivery.
- Understand what changes when you go from doing the work to leading the people who do it
- Spot the most common new-supervisor challenges and get ahead of them
- Set clear expectations your team can act on
- Build trust through regular one-on-one time and consistent follow-through
- Communicate openly and honestly, including when the news is unwelcome
- Listen actively so employees feel heard and problems come up early
- Use Wiley DiSC®, a short assessment of communication style, to understand how you and your team prefer to communicate, and adjust your approach
- Strengthen working relationships with your team, your peers, and your own manager
- Recognize the most common causes of conflict before they turn into complaints
- Use the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI), a short assessment of how you handle conflict, to choose how to respond
- Work through disagreements between team members and help them reach a resolution
- Handle difficult people and tense situations with confidence
- Treat performance as an ongoing partnership between supervisor and employee
- Use a simple, repeatable process for performance reviews
- Document feedback with a standard model, so the record holds up if a problem escalates
- Hold timely conversations with direct reports while issues are still small
- Understand the supervisor’s part in following employment laws
- Recognize when a situation may involve an employment law issue, and when to bring in HR
- Keep clear, accurate documentation
- Prevent discrimination, harassment, bullying, and other unprofessional behavior
- Learn what motivates each direct report and where their strengths lie
- Listen with purpose in one-on-one conversations
- Understand why good employees stay and why they leave
- Use practical tools to keep your team engaged and hold on to good people
- Clarify who owns what on your team
- Set priorities and manage your time when everything feels urgent
- Run short, focused team meetings
- Sort requests by urgency and importance, and delegate work others can own
- Recognize the habits of high-performing teams
- Build a cohesive team and model the behaviors you expect
- Involve your team in decisions and build consensus
- Assess your team’s stage of development and adjust how you lead
- Understand the supervisor’s role when change comes from above
- Focus on what you can control and influence
- Guide yourself and your team through a change from start to finish
- Recognize different reactions to change and respond to each one
- Define what ownership of the work looks like on your team
- Identify the barriers that keep people from following through
- Hold people accountable consistently and fairly
- Recognize and reward the accountability you want to see
- Compare common approaches to solving problems and where each one falls short
- Make clearer decisions under time pressure
- Use a standard model to work through problems step by step
- Create an action plan and check the results
- Set clear expectations for professional behavior on your team
- Model respectful communication, including under pressure
- Understand how your own conduct affects your team’s behavior
- Apply professionalism standards to everyday workplace situations
Flexible Supervisor Training That Fits Your Team
Choose a full supervisory series or select individual topics, and we can structure the training in 45-, 60-, or 90-minute sessions, half-day workshops, full-day sessions, or a custom format that fits your team’s schedule and goals.
Choose the program structure
Custom program built around your priorities
Individual course(s) on specific topics
Choose the length and cadence
Half-day or full-day sessions or 45, 60, or 90-minute training bursts
Weekly, monthly, multi-day, or custom schedule
Choose the delivery format
Virtual
In-Person at your location
In-Person at ERC
Blended approach
Loop Learning™ Model
Our Loop Learning™ Model makes training stick by helping participants understand themselves, learn practical skills, practice in realistic situations, and then apply it on the job. Our approach leads to real behavior change, not just a good training session.
1
Assess: Participants learn their unique style, strengths, and areas for improvement.
2
Learn: Participants gain behaviors, skills, and tools that can be applied in real workplace situations.
3
Practice: Participants apply new skills through realistic scenarios, role-playing, and peer discussions.
4
Apply: Participants apply what they’ve learned on the job.
Leadership Application Lab
The Leadership Application Lab is an optional addition to training that helps participants practice and retain the skills they’re building during training. Participants meet with their ERC trainer and bring the situations they’re facing right now. Every session works on their live problems, so the skills from training get used while they’re still fresh.
Why Leadership Application Lab?
Most participants can’t retain everything they’ve learned during training. Without reinforcement, skill retention can drift during or after a session.
Research suggests that about 70% of development happens on the job, 20% from coaching and mentoring, and 10% from structured training.
The Application Lab is designed for the way that people actually learn. Spaced check-ins reinforce the skills right when your people are putting it to work, so more of it sticks.
Led by Experienced Trainers
Your supervisors learn from trainers who’ve been there managing people, projects, and the day-to-day challenges that come with the role. Drawing on decades of real-world experience, they use relatable stories, practical examples, and a collaborative style to connect with participants and make every lesson immediately applicable.
Tom Ault
Chris Powers
Nada Djordevich
Damon Lindor
Supervisory Training Pricing
We price every supervisor training program based on the exact program you need. Here are the factors that help determine the cost:
Session length
Sessions run from 45 minutes to a full day.
Topics and sessions
From a single course on one topic to a full supervisory training series.
Delivery
Virtual, onsite at your location, or at our Northeast Ohio location.
Add-ons
The Leadership Application Lab and assessments can be added.
Who Should Attend ERC’s Supervisor Training?
First-time supervisors
Help newly promoted supervisors make the jump from friend to boss, and from doing the work to leading the people who do it.
Supervisors who have been in their role but never received formal training
Many employees in this position have been “getting by,” but can become more effective supervisors by developing the right skills to apply on the job.
Supervisors who want to develop better management skills
Average supervisors can help you maintain the status quo, but effective supervisors contribute to a positive company culture and help reduce turnover.
Supervisor training by industry: We build programs around the work in your industry, with versions for manufacturers, health care organizations, nonprofits, and government and public sector employers.
Common Supervisor Challenges We Train For
Supervisors in every industry run into the same handful of problems. If any of these sound like your team, we’ll build the training around them.
You promoted people for their skills, but they haven’t supervised anyone before. Running a team takes different skills than doing the work, and no one has taught them yet.
Your new supervisor is now managing former coworkers. The team still sees them as a peer, so they stay too friendly to correct anyone, or overcorrect and lose the team.
Long-tenured employees aren’t taking direction from the new supervisor. The supervisor keeps putting off the hard conversation with an employee who has been there 20 years.
Every people problem still ends up on your desk. Supervisors pass along issues they could handle, because nobody showed them what to document or when to bring you in.
Expectations are fuzzy, and no one is held accountable. Supervisors let missed standards slide, and they don’t always follow through on their own commitments either.
When employees clash, the supervisor doesn’t know how to step in. The conflict drags on for weeks, the rest of the team picks sides, and the work suffers for everyone.
Preview Our Supervisor and Manager Training
See an ERC trainer in action
Watch a video of a real trainer instructing a training course.
Download a sample workbook
Preview a participant workbook and see examples of lessons and activities.
Access training program outline
See full training program details and share with your team.
Free Course Preview
See a real ERC trainer in action, download a sample workbook, and access the full training program outline.
Testimonial
“Truly the outcome far exceeded the expectations… the participants were blown away at how practical and immediately applicable the training was.”
– Jerry Gilin, DRB
Frequently Asked Questions
We price each supervisor training program around what your organization needs, so the cost depends on how you build it. Four factors shape the quote:
- Session length. Sessions run from 45 minutes to a full day.
- Topics and sessions. You might need a single course on one topic, or a full supervisory training series.
- Delivery. Virtual, onsite at your location, or at our Northeast Ohio training center.
- Add-ons. The Leadership Application Lab and assessments can be added to any program.
Tell us how many supervisors you’re training and what you want them to walk away with, and we’ll put together a quote.
Both. Every program is led live by an ERC trainer, and you choose how it’s delivered:
- Online: live virtual sessions, a good fit when your supervisors work across several locations or shifts.
- Onsite: we come to your workplace, anywhere in the country.
- At our training center: in Northeast Ohio.
- Blended: some sessions in person, others virtual.
The content, customization, and session lengths (45 minutes to a full day) stay the same in every format.
Our supervisor training covers the people skills supervisors use every day: setting clear expectations, giving feedback, handling conflict, holding people accountable, documenting performance problems, and knowing when to bring in HR.
The program has 12 modules. Choose the ones your supervisors need most, or run the full series:
- Role of the Supervisor
- Communication Skills with DiSC®
- Conflict Management
- Managing Employee Performance
- Employment Law for Supervisors
- Engaging and Retaining Your Talent
- Planning and Managing the Work
- Leading and Working with Teams
- Leading and Managing Change
- Increasing Workplace Accountability
- Problem Solving and Decision Making
- Professionalism and Respect in the Workplace.
Every program includes materials customized to your organization, workbooks participants keep, and a participant evaluation.
That depends on how you build the program. A single topic can run as one 45-, 60-, or 90-minute session. A half-day or full-day workshop covers one or more topics in depth. A full supervisory series spreads the modules over several weeks, so supervisors can use each skill on the job between sessions.
- ERC can evaluate training participants at all four of the Kirkpatrick levels of evaluation. Level I evaluation is included in the standard pricing.
- Pre-and post-tests can also be provided to help an organization measure knowledge and assess improvement of the participants after completing supervisor training.
Yes, we can tailor both the content and delivery to fit your organization’s needs.
Together, we’ll choose the right topics and modules for your supervisors, and then decide how you want the training delivered—live at our training center in Northeast Ohio, at your location, or virtually.
We can also build a schedule that works for you, whether that’s full days, half days, shorter sessions, or training spaced out over time.
Get Pricing or More Information
Get pricing for ERC’s Supervisory Training. Have questions? Speak with a training expert to learn more.
