Nine out of 10 UK firms believe a lack of leadership and management skills is adversely affecting their business, new research reveals.
A survey carried out by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) found 93% of businesses are concerned that low levels of management skills are having a negative impact on their business. In addition, 43% do not have a talent plan in place to protect the future supply of leaders and managers and less than one in five employers expect managers to have received training prior to promotion.
The ILM survey quizzed 750 UK managers and found 47% of employers had identified a lack of internal staff capability as the biggest hurdle in ensuring an effective supply of leaders and managers into the organisation. It also revealed only 55% of managerial vacancies are being filled internally.
At senior level, just half (50%) of companies recruit from their internal talent pool, with critical leadership skills like strategy and financial acumen undervalued and underdeveloped at lower management levels. Almost half (49%) of those surveyed said it was hard to find first line managers who were entrepreneurial and 39% admitted it was hard to find ‘emotionally intelligent’ managers at this level.
Charles Elvin, Chief Executive of the ILM, said: “The clear link between management and leadership capability and productivity means that organisations should be fully focused on developing managers not just for their current role, but for the future goal of their organisation. The UK needs to address the current shortage of management and leadership skills revealed in this survey in order to compete on the international stage”.
Commenting on the research, Charlotte Gallagher, Managing Director of P3 People Management, Manchester’s leading property and construction sector HR consultancy, said: “Investing in management training is a difficult decision for businesses, especially during times of economic uncertainty and shrinking budgets but strong-performing managers are vital to bringing businesses out of the doom and gloom. It is essential you have the right people in place who are as motivated at making the business a success as the owner.
“Staff development should never be abandoned, even when the budget is tight or non-existent. New managers should receive the help and training they need to become strong leaders and inspire the existing workforce to achieving more”.
