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Manager Method

Equipping people leaders to engage, act early, and deliver lasting impact

Manager Method

Equipping people leaders to engage, act early, and deliver lasting impact

About Friesen Group

Friesen Group builds and manages a portfolio of healthcare businesses across Northern California. The company provides centralized support services including HR, IT, accounting, marketing, and business consulting to its owned brands, which include Owens, Lifemed, Wellscript, and J3.

A certified Great Place to Work, Friesen Group is known for its strong community roots, employee-first culture, and commitment to creating a lasting positive impact.

About Friesen Group

Friesen Group builds and manages a portfolio of healthcare businesses across Northern California. The company provides centralized support services including HR, IT, accounting, marketing, and business consulting to its owned brands, which include Owens, Lifemed, Wellscript, and J3.

A certified Great Place to Work, Friesen Group is known for its strong community roots, employee-first culture, and commitment to creating a lasting positive impact.

The Challenge

As Friesen Group expanded, HR Director Crystal Mapes noticed a pattern: managers cared deeply about their teams yet sometimes lacked the practical skills to hold others accountable, resolve issues early, and build meaningful relationships with staff. 

With a lean HR team of three supporting more than 140 employees across multiple operating companies, Crystal needed a solution that could enhance manager effectiveness without creating more overhead.
There was also a strategic opportunity. The company had just completed its annual employee engagement survey. If leadership development was done right, she believed, it could directly move engagement scores and support stronger business performance.

“Our managers wanted support. Our employees were asking for it. And I knew if we did it right, we could reduce turnover, improve engagement, and drive stronger results across the board.”

The Solution

Crystal partnered with Manager Method and launched the first cohort of managers using Manager 101 and the accompanying HR toolkit.

She appreciated the combination of credibility and relatability that Ashley brought to the content, especially around topics like difficult conversations, accountability, and one-on-ones. Even more importantly, the format worked. Short videos, self-paced content, and downloadable resources made it easy to stay on track without sacrificing time away from the business.

“We were able to get this up and running without adding work to my team’s plate. The toolkit made everything turnkey, and the managers actually looked forward to the content.”

— Crystal Mapes
Human Resources Director

The Solution

Crystal partnered with Manager Method and launched the first cohort of managers using Manager 101 and the accompanying HR toolkit.

She appreciated the combination of credibility and relatability that Ashley brought to the content, especially around topics like difficult conversations, accountability, and one-on-ones. Even more importantly, the format worked. Short videos, self-paced content, and downloadable resources made it easy to stay on track without sacrificing time away from the business.

“We were able to get this up and running without adding work to my team’s plate. The toolkit made everything turnkey, and the managers actually looked forward to the content.”

— Crystal Mapes
Human Resources Director

The Results

Within months, Crystal and her team were seeing measurable change across multiple dimensions:

  • Engagement scores increased in categories tied to management effectiveness, following a pulse survey conducted after the training
  • Voluntary turnover declined, reversing trends from prior years
  • Proactive behavior among managers surged, with earlier HR escalations, faster problem resolution, and fewer lingering people issues

“Our managers are acting faster and owning more. We’re solving issues before they snowball, and it’s created a noticeable shift in trust and responsiveness across teams.”

From Crystal’s perspective, the training also delivered something harder to quantify: confidence. Leaders began engaging more directly, leaning into conversations they used to avoid, and modeling the kind of behavior Friesen Group wants to grow.

What’s next

Crystal is already planning additional cohorts and exploring Manager Method’s broader leadership platform, including Employee Success, which she sees as a potential backbone for high-potential programs and career pathing.

“I’d love to have leaders nominate people from each operating company to go through Employee Success. It would be a powerful way to grow from within and recognize emerging talent.”

She’s also considering Manager 201 for longer-tenured leaders who want the next level of development and has begun reusing course segments to create internal refreshers.

What’s next

Crystal is already planning additional cohorts and exploring Manager Method’s broader leadership platform, including Employee Success, which she sees as a potential backbone for high-potential programs and career pathing.

“I’d love to have leaders nominate people from each operating company to go through Employee Success. It would be a powerful way to grow from within and recognize emerging talent.”

She’s also considering Manager 201 for longer-tenured leaders who want the next level of development and has begun reusing course segments to create internal refreshers.

Her advice to other HR leaders?

“Just do it. If you’re trying to improve engagement, reduce turnover, or create consistency across your managers, this is a no-brainer.”

— Crystal Mapes
Human Resources Director

Photography by Katya Vilchyk and Lola Scott
Website Design by Dianne Empeynado