Nearly one in four employers do not provide any learning and development (L&D) for new leaders – and for those that do, training is often inadequate.
According to research by law firm Winckworth Sherwood, employers are not adequately equipping new and existing leaders with the key skills their organisations need.
Just 25% were refreshing their leaders’ skills or providing development in key areas – such as leading change and digital skills – at least once a year while only 34% offer leaders training in equality, diversity and inclusion – a major part of any HR strategy.
In the organisations where L&D for new leaders is provided, 69% of HR professionals feel it is inadequate.
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The survey of 1,008 employees and 500 HR leaders found that organisations were not properly supporting people to move into senior roles, with 72% of respondents stating their employer could do more to support progression into leadership roles.
This is especially the case for employees under 35 years old, of whom 83% believed their employer could be doing more.
Areas for improvement included having access to transparent career progression frameworks, receiving honest feedback on performance and having the ability to future-proof their role and develop new skills.
The development of leaders’ soft skills was a major concern, with employees stating their leaders were better equipped to lead their organisation in their business skills than in their interpersonal skills.
The law firm’s leadership development report also found that:
- 84% of employers reported barriers to developing leaders. The top barriers were finding the time for leaders to develop their skills, financial constraints and lack of internal resource
- The most common leadership development topics were developing authority/presence/impact/influence; leading change; digital skills; and attracting, retaining and developing talent
- 31% refreshed leaders’ skills every two to five years, while 25% updated them at least one a year
- 8% said they had never refreshed leaders’ skills and leadership training.
Louise Lawrence, partner in the employment team at Winckworth Sherwood, said: “In the current employment landscape, where recruitment and retention are some of the top issues for employers and employees alike, the topic of L&D is increasingly front of mind. However, it continues to face a number of challenges within organisations.
“For leaders to truly develop, there needs to be a culture of continuous learning throughout the organisation. Rather than learning being purely event-based, it needs to be part of a bigger development experience such as learning through the flow of work. We would encourage employers to take a close look at their existing L&D offering and how it can be improved to have meaningful leadership development.”
Senior associate Will Clift said: “The ability to lead does not come naturally to everyone and, in many cases, takes time and practice.
“Even if an individual has previous leadership experience or a personal interest in developing such skills, it is essential that the correct support is put in place so that they understand what is required of them to effectively lead in their particular organisation.
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“From better business performance to improving organisational culture and employees’ wellbeing, there are a multitude of benefits to implementing L&D programmes. We hope the findings from this report provide valuable insights which will help organisations deliver more effective L&D for leaders, and better development opportunities for more junior staff.”
