Roffey Park warns employers not to misuse ‘developmental deal’
Business leaders are “struggling with basic management skills” as budget cuts and efficiencies increase the pressure on organisations, research from Roffey Park has revealed.
The institute’s annual Management Agenda report, which surveyed 1,460 managers, found that the issue was so serious 55 per cent of employers had made ‘leadership development’ a top priority for the year ahead.
Businesses put this training ahead of other strategies for growth such as developing new products and services, bringing in new technology or improving employee engagement.
Further results from the survey explain why manager training has become so important.
Two-fifths of managers said that the under performing staff or teams are not properly dealt with, while 55 per cent said that redundancies are only handled “adequately”.
The survey showed that managers from businesses where redundancies were well managed were five times less likely to report reduced performance and productivity.
Worryingly, almost half of respondents (45 per cent) said they received “low levels of support” from their organisation, yet they faced an increased use of “stretch assignments” and enhanced responsibilities.
Nearly two-thirds of managers (61 per cent) said their employer had given them ‘increased responsibility’ as a developmental incentive, while 41 per cent said they had been given ‘stretch assignments’ and 35 per cent had received coaching.
But in contrast, pay rises and bonuses were bottom of the list of incentives received by managers, at just five per cent and nine per cent respectively.
Roffey Park warned that without proper support, the “developmental deal” for employees who step up risks being a “dumping” rather than “stretching” exercise for the individual.
As business ethics continues to make headlines with culture-based scandals in the banking and health sectors this month alone, the survey also revealed a lack of managerial interest in this area.
Just over half of respondents skipped the question on business ethics, with a further third reporting it was “business as usual” or they already considered their organisation to be ethical in its approach. A small percentage said ethics was simply compliance with regulation.
Michael Jenkins, chief executive of Roffey Park, said: “With the financial crisis and recent corporate scandals around bonuses and tax, it’s leaders at the very top who’ve been in the firing line. Now, as focus must shift from responding to the crisis to steering a more stable course through austerity, we’re seeing managers further down the line struggling to cope with basic issues such as implementing change and dealing with under performing staff.”
The institute’s annual Management Agenda report, which surveyed 1,460 managers, found that the issue was so serious 55 per cent of employers had made ‘leadership development’ a top priority for the year ahead.
Businesses put this training ahead of other strategies for growth such as developing new products and services, bringing in new technology or improving employee engagement.
Further results from the survey explain why manager training has become so important.
Two-fifths of managers said that the under performing staff or teams are not properly dealt with, while 55 per cent said that redundancies are only handled “adequately”.
The survey showed that managers from businesses where redundancies were well managed were five times less likely to report reduced performance and productivity.
Worryingly, almost half of respondents (45 per cent) said they received “low levels of support” from their organisation, yet they faced an increased use of “stretch assignments” and enhanced responsibilities.
Nearly two-thirds of managers (61 per cent) said their employer had given them ‘increased responsibility’ as a developmental incentive, while 41 per cent said they had been given ‘stretch assignments’ and 35 per cent had received coaching.
But in contrast, pay rises and bonuses were bottom of the list of incentives received by managers, at just five per cent and nine per cent respectively.
Roffey Park warned that without proper support, the “developmental deal” for employees who step up risks being a “dumping” rather than “stretching” exercise for the individual.
As business ethics continues to make headlines with culture-based scandals in the banking and health sectors this month alone, the survey also revealed a lack of managerial interest in this area.
Just over half of respondents skipped the question on business ethics, with a further third reporting it was “business as usual” or they already considered their organisation to be ethical in its approach. A small percentage said ethics was simply compliance with regulation.
Michael Jenkins, chief executive of Roffey Park, said: “With the financial crisis and recent corporate scandals around bonuses and tax, it’s leaders at the very top who’ve been in the firing line. Now, as focus must shift from responding to the crisis to steering a more stable course through austerity, we’re seeing managers further down the line struggling to cope with basic issues such as implementing change and dealing with under performing staff.”
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