Substandard management skills are harming the UK’s productivity levels, according to a survey of 700 managers by Future Foundation.
The survey, published to mark Investors In People (IIP) week, found that bosses said their own companies would become more productive over the next five years, and accused their peers of undermining progress.
Nine in 10 of those questioned said productivity could be boosted if workers were employed more effectively. However, there was no consensus on how this should be achieved.
Ruth Spellman, chief executive of IIP, said: “It seems that senior managers still see productivity as someone else’s problem, which is disturbing and potentially damaging, not just to their organisation, but to Britain as a whole.”
Speaking at last week’s CBI annual conference, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber called for better managers to help improve staff performance and help the UK raise its productivity.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
“Middle management in particular often lacks the key people skills that make workplaces both productive and good places to work,” he said.
