The wasted billions

UK businesses are losing billions of pounds because they fail to train managers in planning skills.

So claims Hampshire management consultancy Square International, which polled managers on their planning skills. According to the survey, poor planning skills meant that meetings were unproductive and wasted time.

It said this costs managers about one-quarter of their working time which, in turn, costs UK business more than 11,000 per manager – based on an average salary of £46,054 as calculated in the 2006 Chartered Management Institute’s National Management Salary Survey.

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The research found that, on average, managers write 12.3 plans per year, while nearly one-third of respondents said writing plans took up more than half of their time at work.

The findings were based on answers in 108 completed questionnaires sent back in December from a sample of 1,500 managers and directors.