LEAD Awards 2018: Interview with Melissa A. Thompson, Mood Media

Providing Managers and Supervisors a Great Platform for Growth

 
  Category: Best First Time Manager
  LEAD AWARD RANK: 10
 
  Organization: Mood Media
  Program: Mood: LEAD - Learn.Evolve.Advance.Develop.
  Program Administrator: Melissa A. Thompson, Human Resources Manager

  Visit: https://us.moodmedia.com
 
 

 
Our editorial team interviewed Melissa A. Thompson from Mood Media at the LEAD2018 Awards this past February. Here are some excerpts from the exclusive interview.
 
What is the overall objective of your program?
Mood: LEAD aims to provide Managers and Supervisors with the fundamentals and best practices of their roles. Whether they are new to management or they have been in their position for a while, the courses are a good refresher or a great platform for growth. We take editable content we purchased through an outside vendor to help shape the outline of classes and then add in Mood specifics regarding culture and process. We’ve organized the curriculum into four series, with each series made up of 6-8 classes which are held weekly. Classes are facilitated by HR Staff and cover content such as Payroll Practices, Onboarding, Coaching Conversations, Managing Up and Leadership 101.
 

Who do you impact with your program?
This program is focused on first time Managers and Supervisors; however we have students who have been in their management roles for a while who are looking to refresh their understanding or gain insight that they may not have previously received in formalized training. We’ve had Senior Directors participating in classes with first- time supervisors which brings another level of learning to the program as they can collaborate together and build relationships that go beyond the classroom.
 
What are the lessons you’ve learned this year from facilitating your program?
With Mood: LEAD we discovered that our staff is eager to learn and grow within their management roles and they are looking for new and better ways of leading.  As facilitators, the HR Team has been able to learn more about the subjects we teach and are able to pull knowledge from previous experiences to bring real-life examples to students. This has strengthened the bridge between HR and students. Managers and Supervisors are building on the knowledge in class and then partnering with HR to handle situations they may need insight on or may not be sure how to navigate.
 
How do you measure the return on investment and success of the program?
As we do with other programs, we survey students after every class. This helps us know what content may need to be re-evaluated and adjusted, what subject matter they are looking for more information on or what hurdles they may be facing in their day-to-day that we can provide a course on in the future. We are proud to provide promotion from within as Supervisors grow into Manager roles and beyond.
 
What lies ahead for the program and how will it continue to succeed?
For 2018, we are continuing to build the toolbox of knowledge for students who have participated in other series offerings and will be circling back to encourage participation in the program for those Managers and Supervisors who may have recently promoted or who weren’t able to attend previously. We are also exploring inviting management facilitators from other areas of the Mood business to lead classes bring their wealth of knowledge and help grow those peer relationships. Through our Learning Management System we plan to incorporate ongoing professional development opportunities that students can engage in outside the classroom to continue their growth as leaders.
 

 

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