Over half of UK firms say developing their leaders is top priority
17 July 2014
Leadership development is the top priority for HR professionals and senior leaders in the UK, according to research conducted by Right Management.
Thu, 17 Jul 2014Leadership development is the top priority for HR professionals and senior leaders in the UK, according to research conducted by Right Management.
Around one in 10 (14%) have confidence in the strength of their leadership pipelines to fill critical openings and, as a result, nearly half (45%) expect 2014 will be a year of growth marked by increased spending on talent management initiatives to help develop leaders and build talent pipelines.
Right Management, part of the ManpowerGroup, said that organisations in the UK are beginning to listen to HR professionals and talent managers and understand that key talent is the primary way of improving business performance.
“While today’s optimism for growth is a positive outlook, it is limited by lack of organisational agility and employers are seeing the impact of the financial cuts and cost reductions that placed talent development on the back burner,“ said Ian Symes, general manager, Right Management UK & Ireland.
“As a result, too many companies are facing talent shortages, skills mismatches and weak leadership pipelines that threaten business growth. Rather than focusing on further cutbacks and restructurings, our research indicates that organisations will be concentrating on investing in talent. Future success is dependent on a sustained strategic commitment to assessing, developing and activating talent.”
More than 2,200 HR professionals and senior leaders globally took part in the survey (including 150 in the UK), 46% of which identified leadership development as the top priority for 2014, rising to 54% in the UK.
Around one in 10 (14%) have confidence in the strength of their leadership pipelines to fill critical openings and, as a result, nearly half (45%) expect 2014 will be a year of growth marked by increased spending on talent management initiatives to help develop leaders and build talent pipelines.
Right Management, part of the ManpowerGroup, said that organisations in the UK are beginning to listen to HR professionals and talent managers and understand that key talent is the primary way of improving business performance.
“While today’s optimism for growth is a positive outlook, it is limited by lack of organisational agility and employers are seeing the impact of the financial cuts and cost reductions that placed talent development on the back burner,“ said Ian Symes, general manager, Right Management UK & Ireland.
“As a result, too many companies are facing talent shortages, skills mismatches and weak leadership pipelines that threaten business growth. Rather than focusing on further cutbacks and restructurings, our research indicates that organisations will be concentrating on investing in talent. Future success is dependent on a sustained strategic commitment to assessing, developing and activating talent.”
More than 2,200 HR professionals and senior leaders globally took part in the survey (including 150 in the UK), 46% of which identified leadership development as the top priority for 2014, rising to 54% in the UK.
