TOOL 2: Create a management summary letter for supervisors

To inform the supervisor or manager of the benefits of what has been learned by the trainee and to encourage them to support implementation.

IMPLEMENTATION

Here are some suggestions for what could be included in the management summary letter:

• Congratulating the supervisor on their decision to provide the trainee with the training
• Benefits to the supervisor of applying what has been learned
• Newly acquired skills and knowledge gained by the employee
• Potential (new) tasks and areas of application
• Recommendations for supporting the application of what has been learned
• Reference to the fact that you, as the trainer, are always available to provide support and answer questions

TIPS

1. Put yourself in the supervisor's shoes
   When writing, commit to adopting the supervisor's perspective: What benefit might they get from their employee's participation in the training and application of what they've learned? What results and goals might the supervisor be hoping to achieve? This is exactly what the management summary letter should be based on!
2. Short and concise
   Keep the management summary letter as short as possible.
3. Results based, not content based
   Don't describe the training content (or keep your description of it deliberately short). What is really of interest to supervisors is not what was learned, but what the trainee is now equipped to do.

VARIATIONS

1. Let the trainee write it
   Have the trainees create parts or all of the management summary letter for their supervisors themselves.
2. Alternative formats
   You could also write the letter as if it were a letter of recommendation, a one-page information leaflet, or a short video.