How to Market A Leadership Development Program?

The Achievers Employee Engagement and Retention report published in Forbes stated that 53% of employees looked for alternate career opportunities in 2021. One essential tool to curb attrition is to equip managers with effective leadership skills. However, implementing a training program isn’t always easy. The management needs to know how to market a leadership development program within the organization to reap its benefits. Here are some ways that can help.

Align with the Organizational Goals

The goals of a leadership development program should align with your organization’s strategic priorities. In other words, the skills you wish to impart through training must focus on taking the overall business forward. It is essential to try and visualize critical outcomes of the program in advance and determine whether it fits within the leadership roadmap of your organization. Further, a clear and distinct program objective will help drive the program from Day 1 and set clear expectations across different levels of the company.

Customize for Learners

Knowing how to market a leadership development program within the company starts by understanding what your learners need. Unfortunately, one size doesn’t fit all. A leadership program should be designed around developmental gaps or specific behaviors you want to instill. Secondly, check whether there is a particular learning format that is best suited to your learners. Some may prefer a physical group setting, while others may prefer to explore the course in a virtual setting on their own. Look into existing training data to finetune a program that will get your learners excited to try!

Communicate with Stakeholders

How to market a leadership development program usually begins with getting critical people in the organization on board with your vision and training plans. This may require several meetings with internal stakeholders to explain the objectives and outcomes of the program. The idea is to get everyone on the same page, clarify their doubts, and address questions before the training begins.

Think Beyond Local Requirements

When designing a company-wide leadership program, it becomes necessary to have consistent design elements which apply on a global scale while keeping the possibility of customization for local preferences. For instance, some factors to consider could be the language of delivery, mode of assessments, nature of freebies to encourage participation, etc. The key lies in adjusting course design and content on a regional level while retaining the fundamentals across the organization. This will help leadership skills grow while keeping learners motivated and willing to participate.

Run A Pilot Program

Identify whether you need to test a leadership development program before implementing it on a large scale. This will involve thinking about your target audience, delivery language, attendance, enrolment, technology, time zones, material deployment, recognition, and evaluation criteria. While these aspects may seem time-consuming and sometimes unnecessary, they can help speed up the process at a later stage. Advance testing on a smaller group can help you finetune the program, so you don’t waste time, effort, and resources on course correction later. It also gives you the opportunity to receive vital feedback from various stakeholders, which can help you identify what needs to be tweaked or replaced.

Communicate with Branding

Companies that know how to market a leadership development program understand the importance of clear branding. A program with a catchy name, specific colors, a memorable logo, and branded freebies can help build a positive experience for learners. However, program names must be relevant to both global and local audiences. Besides branding, care should be taken to deliver clear, concise, and standard communication. Learners should be able to understand the vision and value of the initiative clearly. Further, look for influencers within the company who can help promote your program even through unofficial channels.

Lastly, a leadership development program must have an in-built mechanism to measure progress. Don’t let the program run out of steam towards the end. Accurate measurement data can help identify new opportunities, correct errors, and enhance program impact in the long run. These tips should help you market a program successfully within the company and get learners keen to take their leadership skills to the next level.