| By :
Martin Hofschroer
Britain's managers must improve their leadership ability in order combat a skills deficit, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). The CIPD reported that Britain's productivity levels are falling behind its major international competitors because many of the nation's managers do not have the appropriate people management skills. Government spending in the future on skills will be wasted because managers are unable to motivate their staff and Britain may experience a reduction in employee engagement and overall worker morale, claims the CIPD. The CIPD advice has come in response to the government's Skills for Sustainable Growth performance improvement consulting report which stated that good management can unlock the potential of wider investment in skills. Stephanie Bird, CIPD director of Public Policy and HR capability, said that the UK needs to invest more in management in order to get the most out of junior employees who are feeling undervalued. Research by the CIPD revealed that 44 per cent of employees claim that their line manager rarely or never coaches them and a third of workers reported that their line manager never or rarely discusses their training needs. Ms Bird said that effective managers are vital to a business because they can manage stress, conflict and absence effectively while providing support to employees who are facing problems. "Last year's government-commissioned review of employee engagement highlighted the link between effective leadership and people management skills, enhanced employee engagement and improved business performance. "Investment is crucial if we are to unlock the wasted skills spending and individual potential that is holding Britain back in the productivity stakes," she added. Efficient management is especially crucial during an economic downturn as a recent survey has revealed that 31 per cent of British workers are concerned about being made redundant. An online survey by The Protection Gap, commissioned by Abbey Legal Protection, found that just 29 per cent of chief executives were worried about redundancies. Richard Candy, underwriting director at Abbey Legal Protection, said: "CEOs themselves may not be worried about their own management positions but they should be aware of the wider sentiment among their workforce. "It would be misleading for managers to give their employees a false sense of security by pretending that the market is 'back to normal' and redundancy is not a workplace possibility." The Protection Gap discovered that 12 per cent of chief executives were most worried about the potential of a tax investigation and nine per cent are fretful about harmless sexual innuendo being taken the wrong way.
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