How a digital publisher lifted manager confidence from 69% to 94%
A UK digital publisher raised average manager confidence from 69% to 94% with World Class Manager®, the CPD-accredited management development programme. The result comes from 309 matched start and end ratings from 41 managers between 2020 and 2025, and 95% of those managers ended their modules more confident than they began.
The challenge: what digital publishing managers said at the start
Managers in digital publishing lead editorial, technical and sales teams through constant product change. When they joined, managers described their three greatest challenges in their own words. The most common were time and prioritisation (28%), motivating and engaging the team (28%) and communication (28%), coded from 25 managers’ answers.
What the organisation did
Between 2020 and 2025, 76 managers took part in World Class Manager®, the CPD-accredited management development programme from the Global Growth Institute. Managers worked through online modules, answered reflection questions in their own words and committed to actions with their own teams. Start and end ratings could be matched for 24 modules.
Manager confidence, start to end of each module
Results: manager confidence rose from 69% to 94%
Average confidence rose by 25 points, from 69% at the start of each module to 94% at the end. Across all World Class Manager® managers the rise is 23 points (71% to 94%). 95% of managers in this organisation ended their modules more confident than they began. The biggest gains came in these modules:
| Module | Start | End | Rise (points) | Matched ratings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inspiring Appraisals | 64% | 93% | +29 | 26 |
| Great Goal Setting | 67% | 94% | +27 | 27 |
| 21st Century Management | 70% | 97% | +27 | 29 |
What digital publishing managers said about the impact
In their own words, from the programme’s reflection and review questions. Verbatim and unedited, original spelling kept, shortened only where marked.
Morale has been boosted, and there’s a feeling of trust that wasn’t present in the past. I’ve also noticed a team member growing her skillset in a positive way…
I feel more focused and less overwhelmed after planning my time regularly, and thinking about tasks within the urgent/important matrix.
I’ve felt more confident in how to give constructive feedback.
Acknowledging and recognising hard work and achievement is done frequently and instantly provides a morale boost
More aware of management skills and creating a positive team culture, giving feedback and delegating task for team development.
How the results were measured
At the start of each module, every manager rated themselves on the module’s core skill. At the end of the module, they rated their confidence again. Both ratings are shown as a percentage of the top of the scale (1 to 5, or 1 to 10), matched for the same manager and module, and averaged across 309 matched pairs from 41 managers. Challenges are coded from managers’ own words. All figures are self-reported: they show how managers rate themselves, not business outcomes. The organisation is anonymised and shown by sector and region only.
Frequently asked questions
Does management training improve manager confidence in digital publishing?
In this digital publishing organisation it did. Average manager confidence rose from 69% at the start of each World Class Manager® module to 94% at the end, across 309 matched ratings from 41 managers (2020 to 2025). 95% of those managers ended their modules more confident than they began.
Which management skills improved most?
The largest rises were in Inspiring Appraisals (64% to 93%); Great Goal Setting (67% to 94%); 21st Century Management (70% to 97%).
What challenges did managers in digital publishing face?
In their own words at the start of the programme, managers most often named time and prioritisation (28%), motivating and engaging the team (28%) and communication (28%) as their greatest challenges.
How is the confidence score measured?
At the start of each module, every manager rates themselves on the module’s core skill. At the end of the module, they rate their confidence again. Both ratings are turned into a percentage of the top of the scale, matched for the same manager and module, and averaged. The score is self-reported: it shows how managers rate themselves, not business outcomes.
Are these results typical?
Yes. Across all 177 organisations in the matched data (28,460 ratings from 3,397 managers), average confidence rose from 71% to 94%. Every one of the 35 organisations with 15 or more managers in the matched data saw a rise, of between 16 and 34 points.
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