An employee’s experience of work is greatly influenced by the culture and standards their line manager creates in their team. By improving your management capabilities, as a line manager, you can achieve better results which will benefit the organisation.

Discover our resources to help you develop your management capabilities.

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Factsheets

Regularly-updated factsheets provide overviews and information on a topic

Two Factsheets about Line manager support
Factsheet
Line managers' role in supporting the people profession
Find out more about the role of line managers and their relationship with people professionals
For Members
Factsheet
Management development
How to identify managers' development needs and techniques to support their development
For Members

Guides

Designed for practitioners, our guides provide recommendations and advice on how to apply good practice in the workplace.

18 Guides about Line manager support
Guide
Dealing with bullying and workplace conflict: Guide for managers
Our guide will help you proactively tackle bullying and workplace disputes
Guide
People manager guide: How to tackle sexual harassment
Practical advice for managers on tackling sexual harassment in the workplace
Guide
People manager guide: Supporting employee resilience
Practical guidance on helping employees adapt and thrive when faced with workplace stress
For Members
Guide
People manager guide: Supporting hybrid working
Advice for line managers on supporting and enabling hybrid working
For Members
Guide
People manager guide: Managing and supporting employees with long-term health conditions
Practical advice and guiding principles for effective support
Guide
People manager guide: Responding to suicide risk in the workplace
Practical guidance to help managers respond to suicide risk and promote good mental health
Guide
People manager guide: Managing a return to work after long-term absence
Practical guidance to effectively manage and support an employee’s return to work after long-term sickness absence
For Members
Guide
People manager guide: Compassionate bereavement support
Practical guidance for managers on supporting grieving employees
For Members
Guide
Menopause at work: Guide for people managers
Guidance for managers on how to support employees through the menopause
Guide
People manager guide: Managing stress at work
Practical guidance for managers on preventing and reducing stress at work
For Members
Guide
Managing holidays: Guidance for managers
Information on how people managers can approach managing holiday in their team
For Members
Guide
People manager guide: Managing short-term absence
How managers can help an employee return to work after short-term absence
Guide
People manager guide: Supporting employees through pregnancy loss
This guide will help managers offer effective management and support
For Members
Guide
Supporting mental health at work: guide for people managers
Information, advice and templates to support those experiencing stress and mental ill health
Guide
Working with long COVID: Guide for managers to support employees with long COVID
Advice for people managers on supporting team members with long COVID
Guide
Anti-racism guide for people managers
Advice for line managers on how they can play their part in tackling racism in their organisation
Guide
People manager guide: Inclusive recruitment
Practical guidance for managers to create an inclusive environment, avoid bias and ensure an inclusive recruitment process.
Guide
Drug and alcohol misuse at work: Guide for people managers
Guidance for managers on providing support and dealing with disclosures
For Members

Reports

Research and analysis by experts from CIPD and partner organisations

Four Reports about Line manager support
Report
Improving UK management capability
CIPD looks at how can government intervention be more effective
Report
The importance of people management: Analysis of its impact on employees
Evidence of the impact of line management quality on performance, health and wellbeing
Report
Developing managers for engagement and wellbeing
Explore our practical resources on developing managers to support employee engagement, health and well-being
Report
Managing for sustainable employee engagement
Guidance setting out a framework of management behaviours and competences to build employee engagement

Tools

Four Tools about Line manager support
Tools
Development exercises for people managers
Use these exercises to develop your management approach
For Members
Tools
How to use the manager support materials
Step by step guidance on how to use the support materials to explore and develop management capability and support wellbeing, health and engagement of teams
Tools
CIPD support for people managers: Introduction for people professionals
How people professionals can help people managers support the health, wellbeing and engagement of their team
Tools
CIPD support for people managers: Introduction for managers
Find out how the suite of support materials can help you support the health, wellbeing and engagement of your team

Thought leadership

Insight and foresight from our experts in people and the world of work

Three Thought leadership about Line manager support
Thought leadership
Managing and supporting employees experiencing domestic abuse
Following on from the latest joint guidance on domestic abuse and workplace support from the CIPD and the EHRC, Claire McCartney discusses the practical steps employers can take to actively support employees experiencing domestic abuse
Thought leadership
A proactive and preventative approach to managing drug and alcohol misuse at work is essential
Jill Miller talks through new CIPD research into drugs and alcohol misuse at work, showing that training for line managers is essential in supporting employees through the pandemic and beyond
Thought leadership
New legislation to improve how variable hours workers are managed
Ben Willmott points to good people management as the key for making flexibility work for both parties

Podcasts

Listen to episodes from our podcast series on a range of topical workplace, HR and L&D issues.

Two Podcasts about Line manager support
Podcast
Are people managers doing too much, or not enough?
Episode 197: Are people managers doing too much, or not enough?
Podcast
Managing alcohol and drug misuse: A wellbeing or discipline issue?
Episode 163: Explore how people professionals and line managers can best support issues of drug and alcohol misuse and what are some of the workplace drivers fuelling dependency.

Webinars

Webinar recordings providing expert guidance

One Webinar about Line manager support
Webinar
How COVID-19 has changed people management
Watch a video and download the slides from our webinar where experts discussed how to support people managers during this crisis, and what it means for the future

Evidence reviews

Evidence reviews enable you to ask the critical questions and use evidence for better decision-making.

One Evidence review about Line manager support
Evidence review
Effective people managers: Evidence review
Research exploring how to develop people managers who drive organisational success
For Members

Bitesize research

Your regular overview of current research, inspiring insights and cutting-edge ideas in bitesize

Four Bitesize research about Line manager support
Bitesize research
Talent identification in practice: Insights from line managers
The role of line managers when identifying talent and promotion opportunities
For Members
Bitesize research
Employee resilience and the manager-employee relationship
Why knowing your people is crucial
For Members
Bitesize research
‘Something has to give’: the line manager’s experience of HRM
Get insights on the pressures of line management
For Members
Bitesize research
HR and line managers – getting the relationship right
This article identifies several ways in which HR can enhance line managers’ ability, motivation and opportunity to implement HR practices effectively
For Members

CIPD Viewpoints

Our collected point of view on the key issues impacting work, from the perspective of employers and policy makers.

One CIPD Viewpoint about Line manager support
CIPD Viewpoint
Productivity and people management
Explore the CIPD’s point of view on productivity and people management, including recommendations for employers and actions for the UK Government

Policy engagements

Our calls for action.

Two Policy engagements about Line manager support
Policy engagement
Calling for an Autumn Statement that drives economic growth and supports better work and working lives in the UK
Read the CIPD’s November 2023 submission to His Majesty’s Treasury
Policy engagement
A revitalised industrial strategy to boost innovation and productivity across all sectors of the UK's economy
We’ve been engaging with key stakeholders and policy makers to make the case for changes to a range of policy areas including skills development and labour market enforcement

Learning

We offer a range of evidence-based courses tailored to suit you and your needs.
Our Essential Insights courses are free as part of the CIPD membership.

Essential People Skills for Line Managers

This course will explore the skills you need to realise your team’s potential to ensure they perform at their best. It’ll address the fundamentals of how to be a good people manager and the rudimentary practical techniques to increase your communication, motivation and delegation skills.

Introduction to Coaching

Discover different coaching strategies and learn how to practically apply them into your working environment.

People Management Accredited Programme

Learn how to effectively manage people to ensure organisational success in line with the principles championed by the CIPD. Develop your confidence as a people manager and to gain the knowledge you require to ensure the success and wellbeing of your team. You will cover all aspects of the employee lifecycle, including defining team skills needs, policies performance and developing people.

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