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Should the manager attend the team’s AI training?
Short answer
A manager is needed at AI training when the team does not know what result is useful or what may change in its way of working. During first attempts with the tool their presence is often unnecessary. In the review of finished work they settle what the reader needs. At Syntalith team training costs from €1,150 net a day. With 10 people each saving 1 hour a week, it pays back in 0.9 months after licence costs.
- net per day of closed training for the team
- from €1,150
- people in one training group
- up to 15
- after this time, we measure the effect on the same tasks
- 30 days
We belong to the OpenAI and Anthropic partner programmes and learn through their official courses. What this means ↓
Author: Syntalith · 3 min read
Statistics
Managers and AI at work: statistics 2026
0.9 mo.
payback of a €1,150 training at 10 people saving 1 hour a week each: €1,511 of time regained, €178 of licences a month. Scenario.
59%
According to Microsoft's Work Trend Index (2024), 59% of leaders worry about quantifying the productivity gains of AI.
Source: Microsoft and LinkedIn, Work Trend Index 2024 (2024) ↗
52%
According to Microsoft's Work Trend Index (2024), 52% of people who use AI at work are reluctant to admit using it for their most important tasks.
Source: Microsoft and LinkedIn, Work Trend Index 2024 (2024) ↗
40%
According to a study published in Science (2023), ChatGPT cut the time 453 professionals spent on writing tasks by 40%.
Source: Noy and Zhang, Science (2023) ↗
90%
According to the European Commission (2026), 90% of companies using AI say people take the decisions, and 2% of decisions are fully automated.
Source: European Commission, Flash Eurobarometer 578 (2026) ↗
Figures checked: 22 October 2026
A shorter report, and a manager who wants the old format
The team prepares a shorter report with AI, but the manager still expects every detail of the old document. So the employees go back to the old format. In a selected part of the workshop we compare both versions and establish which information the manager uses to make a decision.
The manager reads the result a participant prepared and describes what they still need. The trainer helps separate a comment about the purpose of the document from a preference about wording, and the author fixes their own text. The CIPD, on analysing learning needs, points to the involvement of line managers, experts and employees.
Choosing the task and the goal
before the sessions
a 30-minute conversation
First attempts with the tool
the team with the trainer
without the manager
Reviewing finished work
the manager as the reader
a selected part of the workshop
Rules after the training
the manager sets the time and the contact
after the sessions
- When the team will use the new way of working
- Who to go back to with questions about the rules
- Time to check the result before it is sent
- An attempt of their own, if they prepare analyses themselves
What it costs and when it pays back
- Time saved
- 10 people × 1 h a week × 4.33 = 43.3 h
- Value of that time
- €1,511
- Licences
- $200 (€178)
- Left after licences
- €1,333 a month
Payback of a €1,150 training
0.9 months
The hours saved are the scenario's assumption, which we check by timing the tasks before the training and after 30 days. €34.90 an hour is the EU average hourly labour cost for 2025 according to Eurostat. Claude Team licences at $20 per person a month, at the ECB rate of 1.1205 USD per euro on 22 October 2026.
We measure the hours in the scenario before the training and after 30 days, on the same team tasks. If after a month checking AI texts takes as long as writing from scratch, we change the exercises or the scope of the tool.
According to Microsoft's Work Trend Index (2024), 59% of leaders worry about quantifying the productivity gains of AI. The manager's part in setting the goal also makes the later measurement easier. After the training the manager compares the documents prepared with AI with earlier ones and notes what is missing. Gaps in purpose we discuss with the team, and gaps in form are solved by a shared document template.
The job title does not set the AI level
A manager who uses AI every day may need a harder task, and an experienced specialist a gentle introduction. If the manager prepares analyses personally, they get an attempt of their own that fits that work. In the first attempts people need room for questions and for showing a failed result, and the presence of their boss can hold them back. Materials for board decisions are covered in AI for managers and boards.
The team does not know the purpose of the document
a conversation with the manager before the sessions
part of the preparation
The result depends on what the reader expects
the manager at the review of work
a selected part of the workshop
The manager prepares analyses personally
an attempt of their own in the programme
from €1,150 a day
Where to start
Before you order, we discuss the team's tasks, what the readers expect and the topics that need a company decision. For the call, describe which of the team's decisions need the manager. We run the workshop as part of team training. For the free analysis, a description of one task the team does every week and of the tools it uses is enough. You get the written training programme within 2 working days.
Worked example · Scenario
How we count the payback: the team and the manager
We run the same count for your team in the free analysis.
€1,675
a month for preparing 12 management reports
Payback: 2.1 mo.
4 hours to prepare a management report and checking in 15% of the old time are our assumptions. €34.90 an hour is the EU average hourly labour cost for 2025 according to Eurostat, for companies with 10 or more employees. Model cost: checking the commentary in our reporting system (about €0.0002) plus compiling the data (Claude Sonnet 5.5, about 30,000 + 2,000 tokens), at the ECB rate of 1.1205 USD per euro on 22 October 2026.
See the full calculation →
