Managers as workplace learning facilitators

an article by Anoush Margaryan, Colin Milligan and Allison Littlejohn (Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland) published in International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management Volume 13 Number 2/3 (2013)

Abstract

This exploratory, interview-based study (n = 29) elicits activities carried out by managers in support of employees’ learning and surfaces similarities and differences in the ways these activities are perceived by novice, experienced and mid-career workers.

Analysis suggests that managers provide a wide variety of types of learning support, ranging from hands-on support on operational issues, structuring individual development programmes and advice on learning opportunities, to coaching, career advice, counselling and being a role model. The perceptions of novice, experienced and mid-career professionals are compared and contrasted, tentative patterns identified and a typology of managers’ learning facilitation activities proposed.

The results suggest that to enable managers to facilitate workplace learning effectively, a broader range of competences and skills should be considered when training managers.

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