During the course of a 35-year career in the civil service, senior IT delivery manager Nikki Fisher has had extensive experience as a line manager and currently looks after a team of two.
Yet despite this, she was among the first civil servants to do the Line Manager Induction Programme – and saw it as an ideal way of refreshing her skills and learning more about the new Civil Service Line Management Standards.
“I had already looked at the standards, but I thought the induction would provide a more engaging way to apply them in practice,” said Nikki.
“I didn’t approach it as a new manager but as a way to refresh and refine my skills.”
Key takeaways
“It encouraged me to focus more on performance and development conversations with my team, especially now that I manage a smaller team of two. It reminded me of things I already knew but had overlooked, like giving more attention to individual development.
“The course offered practical tips and brought the standards to life in a way that simply reading them didn’t. It was a great reminder that, even as experienced managers, there are always opportunities to tweak our approach.”
Practical insights and flexibility
The two-hour Line manager Induction Programme can be completed in 20 minute chunks and participants can log out and return to complete it later.
“The mix of video content and reading made it easier to stay engaged and I also found that it wasn’t overly prescriptive. It gave me practical pointers that I could apply in my day to day work without feeling like I had to drastically change my management style” she explained.
“For me, the Line manager Induction Programme provided useful, manageable insights into the standards expected of civil service managers. It’s a great tool for both new and experienced managers to revisit and refine their skills. I found it valuable and believe others will too.”
The Line Management Induction Programme is available to do on Civil Service Learning and is part of the Civil Service recommended learning curriculum.
