Companies are struggling to fill skills shortages at all levels and develop potential leaders in 2006, research shows.

25 April 2006

AMSTERDAM - Companies are struggling to fill skills shortages at all levels and develop potential leaders in 2006, research shows.

As companies recognise the importance this year over prior years of driving innovation, skills shortages become HR's number one headache reveals a survey by training and development provider The Ken Blanchard Companies.

The survey, which covers a wide range of companies and industries in Europe and North America, shows that, for the fourth year running, competitive pressure is the number one business challenge. The need for growth and expansion is also a major concern for organisations, followed by skills shortages.

Top management challenges, according to the 800 training and development professionals who took part in the survey, centre around developing potential leaders, selecting and retaining key talent, and creating an engaged workforce.

Developing interpersonal skills jumped into second place as the second most important employee challenge in 2006, increasing 11 percent over last year. The development of managerial/ supervisory skills remained the top issue relating to developing employees.

Respondents said their organisations continue to struggle with the economy, funding and budgets, although cost reductions don't seem to weigh as heavily as in past years.

When asked where they expect to focus their time, energy, and budgets in regard to employee development, HR listed the top five priorities in order of importance as: leadership development, managerial and supervisory development, coaching skills for leaders, and communications skills.

The results show that concerns about leadership skills gaps left by the retirement of baby boomers, and the need to compete for talent in the face of an increasing pace of change, weigh heavily on organisations around the globe.

[Copyring Expatica 2006]