Amy Conway, people & culture manager of Wilson Sporting Goods Company in Ada, Ohio, was looking for ways to help managers and supervisors improve their abilities.
“We were looking for a program that allowed our team to improve their skills in managing team members all over the floor,” she said. “We wanted it local; we didn’t want to send them away for weeks at a time.”
Conway found the solution at Ohio Northern University’s Center for Corporate Engagement (CCE), the region’s first-of-its kind resource for professional training and leadership growth. The Center, established in September of 2022, is partnering with businesses to offer professional development to their employees through single and multiple-day courses.
Wilson, which employs 165 people in Ada, sent four employees to the Center’s Employee Development Academy in the spring and has four more attending this fall, according to Conway.
“We have conversations every day about the need for employees at all levels in an organization to develop people skills," said Carol Turchick, director of the Center. “Our programs help supervisors and managers develop skills in managing conflict, having critical conversations, coaching employees, learning to delegate, providing feedback, and growing their own leadership abilities.”
Some companies the Center works with prefer to have internal programs designed specifically for them that are in a format and schedule that meets their needs.
“We are proud to have successfully developed and delivered several large customized private leadership, management, and supervisor programs this past spring,” she said.
Other companies prefer the option of the Center’s Employee Development Academy, which provides a participant an opportunity to learn and network with peers from other companies and a mix of industries.
That was the path Conway’s teams at Wilson chose. As a union shop with 110 of the company’s employees in the union, employees told her it was helpful to them to see how managers and supervisors from other companies—union or non union—handled certain situations they faced, she said.
One of the values of the Center is its focus on in-person experiences and interactions, said Turchick. These provide a different perspective than on-line courses.
“Our program participants are looking for in-person programs,” she explained. “Companies find that on-line training is often a good resource for a specific technical skill or very narrow topic,” she said. However, “manager and leadership development topics are very impactful in an in-person format. Participants work together in teams throughout the program while the facilitator guides them through exercises to practice the practical tools we provide.”
Employees who move into supervisor and manager roles need to develop confidence in their abilities, she added. “Many times they are great individual contributors and have strong technical skills. However, when they move into a supervisor or manager roles, they don’t feel as confident with the people leader skills. They can gain this confidence practicing the skills we provide.”
On a listening tour for several months after the Center opened, Turchick found many companies in the area—especially small and mid-sized organizations – were interested in partnering with the University in professional development. “A lot of companies need a resource for developing their people that works for their budget and their culture.”
“Our programs are a good fit for anyone that is already in a management role or looking to move into one,” Turchick said. “I believe that no matter where a person is in their learning journey, they can always take away tools and skills to make them a more impactful and successful people leader.”
Wilson’s Conway said the feedback she received from employees who took part in the academy has been positive. They gained confidence in their coaching and leadership skills, and some said they were already using tools and techniques they learned while taking part in the course.
For example, in preparing for a meeting to give feedback, they can draw on strategies they learned in class and write out what they want to say, she said.
Supervisors learned how to offer constructive feedback as well as the importance of positive feedback for employees going above and beyond expectations—getting out an order of footballs on a tight schedule or doing a great job with the stitching on balls, she added.
“I just think the program has been a great asset for us,” said Conway, “in giving managers and supervisors the proper resources in their toolkit to do their job.”
The Center is ready to partner with even more companies and industries to deliver custom programs and to help them utilize the Employee Development Academy as a resource, said Turchick. “We are very experienced, creative, and flexible in designing an employee development program that works for them.”
For a comprehensive list of programs offered and to register, visit the CCE’s Employee Development Academy page. For more information on programming, contact Turchick at cce@onu.edu or call 419-772-3552.