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The majority of HR professionals think their board members are in need of leadership skills training, although they are all confident in their own ability to be strategic business partners, according to two polls released today.
In a survey of 319 people on HR Gateway.com, 85 per cent of respondents believe their board members need leadership training, and only 14 per cent disagree.
Gary Ince, head of the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM), said the results show a severe lack of communication between HR and the top table.
“These are staggering figures,” he said. “I would expect this result from a question asking about boardrooms in general, but not when it is pointed at people’s own boards. Too many firms pay lip service to HR, so the department may be feeling excluded.”
Many firms look at HR in the same way as an insurance policy, Ince added. It needs to be there, but firms don’t like paying for it, he explained.
Ince said that if board members are failing to communicate with HR, then they really do need leadership training.
A separate poll of 273 visitors to HR Gateway.com reveals that HR professionals are confident in their own ability to be a HR strategic business partner. Nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) said they are confident about their current skills levels.
HR Gateway Consulting’s Vanessa Stebbings, said: “With the growing trend of shared services and outsourcing, the opportunities are opening up for HR to become more strategic. However, many of the commercial skills needed for such work are not yet part of training for a career in HR.”
