Frank Dadah, Senior Vice President of Consulting Services
Summer has a reputation as the season to slow down. For HR and business leaders, though, it’s actually the smartest time to start a different kind of work: planning. Not launching manager training in July, but having the conversations now that lead to a real plan; one you can put into motion in late summer or early fall, before performance reviews, budget planning, and year-end goals all land on your desk at once.
That distinction matters. By the time August and September arrive, most organizations are already in motion; reviews are getting scheduled, budgets are getting built, and the year-end push has started. There’s no good window left to sit down and think clearly about what your managers need. Summer is that window. Start the conversation now, and by the time you’re ready to launch, you’re not scrambling; you’re executing a plan you already have in hand.
The case for getting ahead of it
Manager quality is one of the biggest levers an organization has over retention, and the research backs that up clearly. Gallup has found that 71% of voluntary turnover traces back to poor management, while great managers cut the odds of an employee leaving by 40%. Replacing a manager, meanwhile, costs roughly 200% of their salary once you account for recruiting, onboarding, and the productivity that’s lost in between.
The gap between where managers are and where they need to be is wide. Deloitte found that only 26% of organizations rate their managers as very or extremely effective at enabling team performance. Less than half of U.S. employees ~46% say they can clearly state what’s expected of them at work. And on the flip side, employees who feel they get valuable feedback are five times more likely to be engaged.
Put together, the data tells a simple story: most managers aren’t getting the support they need to do this well, and that gap is costing organizations real people and real money.
The fix isn’t complicated, but it does take lead time which is exactly what summer gives you.
What strong manager training builds
Whether someone is managing for the first time or has been doing it for a decade, the job keeps shifting under them. The right training gives managers a concrete, practical edge in a few specific areas:
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Navigating difficult conversations with confidence
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Running one-on-ones that build trust and clarity
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Catching performance issues early, before they grow into bigger problems
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Building real accountability across their teams
These aren’t abstract leadership ideals. They’re the everyday moments that determine whether someone’s team trusts them, performs for them, and stays.
It doesn’t stop with the manager
The case for manager training is really a case for the employee experience. People who report to capable managers get clearer direction, more useful feedback, and real support for their growth and that adds up. Teams become more engaged, more productive, and more likely to stay, in every season, not just the ones with performance reviews attached. The quality of someone’s workday is shaped largely by the person they report to. Strengthening that relationship pays off across the whole organization, not just on a manager’s scorecard.
The takeaway
The best time to prepare managers isn’t the moment they need the skills it’s well before that moment arrives. Starting the conversation this summer means that when fall’s demands hit, your managers aren’t improvising.
If you’re ready to start that conversation, reach out to Frank Dadah at Frank.Dadah@mcgpartners.com to talk through what manager training planning could look like for your team.
FAQ: Manager training with MCG Partners
What is manager training, and why does it matter? Manager training is structured development that builds skills like feedback, coaching, communication, and accountability. Organizations with aligned culture and strategy see 50% less turnover, which makes manager development a direct lever for retention.
When should organizations start planning manager training? Summer is the ideal time to start the conversation and build a plan not necessarily to launch training itself. Planning now means you can move into execution in late summer or early fall with a clear plan already in place, instead of scrambling once performance reviews and budget season take over.
How does MCG Partners support manager training? MCG Partners offers leadership effectiveness programs, executive coaching, and talent optimization tools like the Predictive Index to help managers lead with confidence. Contact Frank Dadah at Frank.Dadah@mcgpartners.com to learn more.
