Career-directed people management training

This study examines an online people management training intervention to address two objectives. First, it examines the effectiveness of a people management training intervention on line managers people management behaviour and employees’ job crafting behaviour, career self-management and employability. Second, it examines what process elements help to understand the outcomes. Eight line managers of professionals followed an online people management training. These line managers and X professionals in their teams completed a pre- and posttest in the form of a survey. And qualitative data was collected in follow-up-conversations with line managers about the process of implementing this intervention (question raised about contextual factors, factors that affected the process of implementation and participant mental models).

Hypothesis 1 (H1): At Time 2, line managers who participate in a people management program will report higher levels of people management behaviour (a), and professionals will report higher levels of people management behaviour as implemented by their line manager (b), compared to Time 1.

Hypothesis 2 (H2): People management behaviour by line managers enhances professionals job crafting behaviour at Time 2, compared to Time 1.

Hypothesis 3 (H3): People management behaviour by line managers enhances professionals career self-management at Time 2, compared to Time 1.

Hypothesis 4 (H4): People management behaviour by line managers increases professionals employability at Time 2, compared to Time 1.

Apart from testing these hypothesis with quantitative data, we also collected qualitative data in this study in follow-up conversations with line managers. This information was used for the second objective of this study, namely to conduct a process evaluation.

Pre- and 12 weeks later a posttest in the form of two surveys

Career-directed people management training. This career-directed people management program consisted of several elements. Physicians were asked to watch a video lesson, provide two cases, follow an online training session, look at a hand-out with suggestions and instructions on how to implement the lessons learned in the training in daily practice, hold conversations on employability and proactive work behaviour with physicians in their team, and participate in an online coaching conversation after the online training session.