UK EMPOYEES SAY MANAGERS NEED TRAINING TO DEVELOP LEADERSHIP & COMMUNICATION SKILLS

A recent online survey in the UK concludes that there is serious doubt amongst employees about the capabilities of managers. Over half of the 1318 individuals polled believe that their managers need training to cultivate better leadership skills, and only 1% of employees think their managers have the skills to function as an efficient manager.

The study was conducted through a survey on findcourses.co.uk, the UK’s leading site for finding Professional Development Training, and established that of the 1318 users polled, 52% feel as though their managers would benefit from training to increase their leadership skills; and 46% claim that their managers need training to improve their communication skills. Only 1% of employees surveyed felt as though their managers were well equipped with all the necessary skills for functioning as an efficient manager.

The same study was conducted in Finland, Denmark, Germany and Sweden and yielded over 7,200 responses. An overwhelming majority of Swedish (97%), Finnish (92%), and Danish (86%) participants stated that their managers should participate in training to increase their communication skills. In Germany the most-widely held belief by participants (96%) was that managers would benefit most from training to increase their leadership skills. Denmark had the highest number of respondents claim that their manager was well equipped with the all the necessary skills to be a good manager with 2%, while less than 1% of users  in the other countries came to the same conclusion.

Experts at the Charted Management Institute (CMI) found that poor leadership and bad management were responsible for more than £19 billion in lost working hours every year. The findcourses.co.uk survey reinforces these statistics and highlights management training needs from the subordinate’s perspective. The CMI’s report also found that the worst management practices included unclear communication, lack of support, micro-management and lack of direction, views that are shared with findcourses.co.uk users. The belief that UK Managers require training to develop skills in key areas such as leadership and communication are widely held amongst employees.

“The findcourses.co.uk survey, coupled with the clear financial losses of inefficient management, highlights the evident need for properly trained and qualified managers in order for UK businesses to thrive under challenging economic climates. If businesses are not investing in their management team, it is not surprising that less than 1% of our respondents felt that their managers were not properly equipped with the skills to be an effective manager,” said Kate Butterworth Site Manager at findcourses.co.uk.