This week, the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) have published a report on the Leadership and Talent Pipeline which, for any business leader, should make for interesting (and perhaps concerning) reading.
One of the report headlines suggests that "93% of respondents expressed concern that low levels of
management skills are having a direct impact on their business achieving its
goals".
The report which is based upon research findings from 750 UK based organisations looks at how the skills required to operate at middle and senior levels in companies should "filter up through a business via training and investment from first line management onwards" which should then "give employers confidence in the talent coming through the ranks and enable them to make the majority of managerial appointments internally".
Given this, it is quite staggering that "only 18% of employers expect candidates to have received
management training prior to being appointed to a management position. This
means the vast majority of first line managers are expected to learn on the job
with no support, creating a ‘sink or swim’ scenario".
The report also looks at the shift of skills that takes place from junior to senior positions with strategic and financial
acumen becoming increasingly important as functional technical skills diminish. However, "with no focus on recruiting or developing these skills at
more junior levels, employees are finding themselves insufficiently equipped to
take on senior management roles".
The report highlights that many employers are turning to external recruitment to overcome this with. "Almost half (47%) of employers cite the lack of internal staff
capability as the single biggest barrier to ensuring an effective pipeline of
leaders and managers. Without the necessary skills and capabilities being
developed internally, the cycle of external recruitment, with its additional
costs and risks, can impact on the ability of UK businesses to build their
future operations".
So what should employers be doing? Well the simple answer is that they should be looking to develop the talent within their organisations and this is where Brass Tacks comes in.
Brass
Tacks is a unique approach to Management Training, providing basic training
across a broad range of management, supervisory and general business
skills. Brass Tacks uses a blended
learning approach, combining highly interactive training workshops, candidate
self study & reflective learning and assessment and resulting in an ILM Endorsed Award. Brass Tacks has partnered with the Marshall
Gurney Institute to provide the candidates with an extensive source of web
based training and support materials to assist their learning.
Brass
Tacks courses are aimed at new managers and/or supervisors or to personnel
aspiring to these positions, working in anything from SME’s to Corporate
Organisations and everything in between.
The training demystifies the complexities of business and management and
provides candidates with the necessary skills to develop into their job roles.
The major benefits associated with Brass Tacks events are:
- Brass Tacks offer a wide range of skills development programmes that can be tuned to the particular needs of the candidate and/or their organisation. This can be used to ensure that the right blend of learning is achieved to ensure that employees are ready for advancement within their company or business.
- Brass Tacks is focused upon learning rather than training to ensure that the skills are embedded and utilised leading to ongoing and sustainable business improvement rather than simply sitting in a training manual on the shelf. This is achieved through ongoing post learning support and development following attendance at a Brass Tacks event.
The
Brass Tacks Trainers are all highly experienced business leaders and managers
within their fields.
They offer an engaging and “no nonsense” approach to the training,
making business and management “simple to understand, easy to implement”.
<Read the full ILM Report here.>
Further information on Brass Tacks events can be obtained from:
steve@beaufortperformancemanagement.co.uk
The CIPD's "People Management" online magazine reports on these figures but also raises questions on the ongoing applicability of A Levels providing the basic requirements for employability.
