Recently, CLO Magazine has started a discussion thread regarding the retention issue for managers sponsored in Executive MBA programs. I contributed to that thread and I thought I'd copy that contribution here as an update as this is a topic about which I am frequently asked.
Whether as a professor, a Program Director, or as an administrator, I've had the chance to be associated with Executive MBA programs and students for almost 20 years. Over this period I have seen some clear patterns emerge with respect to sponsorship in Executive MBA programs and retention of managers. In a nutshell, too many companies create the retention problem by treating sponsorship in an EMBA program like a perquisite or employee benefit rather than as an investment.
A manager who wants to join an EMBA program wants to make an important investment in his or her career. This investment has two components: money (the cost of the program) and time (the effort to successfully complete the program). The ROI for that manager is career advancement. An employer considering sponsoring a manager in an EMBA program has to similarly consider the ROI for this investment. The worst case scenario is that the employer has no plan at all about how the manager, with his or her new skills acquired through the EMBA experience, will be assigned to new challenges and given new responsibilities.
No organization should be reluctant to sponsor an up-and-coming manager in an EMBA program if this is part of a plan to groom and develop that manager and leverage his or her new skills. On the other hand, no organization should sponsor managers in EMBA program if they expect that manager to keep doing the same job after they finish. Recently, I read the following:
Question: "What happens if we sponsor managers in an EMBA and then they leave?"
Response: "What happens if we don't and they stay?"
Relentlessly upgrading your team is a great way for an organization to succeed. The benefits a thoughtful EMBA sponsorship program will generate will far exceed the lost opportunity when a sponsored manager leaves. The best way to retain strong managers is not to keep them locked away or deny them development support, but to grow them, train them, develop them non-stop.
Whether as a professor, a Program Director, or as an administrator, I've had the chance to be associated with Executive MBA programs and students for almost 20 years. Over this period I have seen some clear patterns emerge with respect to sponsorship in Executive MBA programs and retention of managers. In a nutshell, too many companies create the retention problem by treating sponsorship in an EMBA program like a perquisite or employee benefit rather than as an investment.
A manager who wants to join an EMBA program wants to make an important investment in his or her career. This investment has two components: money (the cost of the program) and time (the effort to successfully complete the program). The ROI for that manager is career advancement. An employer considering sponsoring a manager in an EMBA program has to similarly consider the ROI for this investment. The worst case scenario is that the employer has no plan at all about how the manager, with his or her new skills acquired through the EMBA experience, will be assigned to new challenges and given new responsibilities.
No organization should be reluctant to sponsor an up-and-coming manager in an EMBA program if this is part of a plan to groom and develop that manager and leverage his or her new skills. On the other hand, no organization should sponsor managers in EMBA program if they expect that manager to keep doing the same job after they finish. Recently, I read the following:
Question: "What happens if we sponsor managers in an EMBA and then they leave?"
Response: "What happens if we don't and they stay?"
Relentlessly upgrading your team is a great way for an organization to succeed. The benefits a thoughtful EMBA sponsorship program will generate will far exceed the lost opportunity when a sponsored manager leaves. The best way to retain strong managers is not to keep them locked away or deny them development support, but to grow them, train them, develop them non-stop.
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