About the Survey.

In June 2004, as part of its participation in the 2004 Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) Conference in New Orleans, Vital Learning surveyed senior HR managers. Our goal was to find out if today's leaders are being prepared to face today's leadership challenges.

Why survey HR managers?

HR managers are responsible for organizational development programs so they are aware of performance gaps that come about when available training does not match evolving skill requirements. They often select and schedule training programs and events, and manage training budgets. As a result they have a clear view into what training is, and is not, being offered in their organizations.

HR managers are also often responsible for creating and managing their organization's performance appraisal process, This gives them a bird's eye view of what skills are in need of further development through training.

Survey Questions and Results

Question 1

Please rate the importance, for managers and supervisors in your organization, of the following management activities. Please enter a number next to each activity below.

1 /Extremely Important, 2 /Very Important, 3 / Important, 4 /Somewhat Important, 5 /Not Very Important.

Question 1 - Results

Effective Team Communication: 76% ranked it Extremely Important, 23% Very Important, 1% Important, 0% Somewhat Important, and 0% Not Important.

Developing Performance Goals and Standards: 56% ranked it Extremely Important, 34% Very Important, 8% Important, 1% Somewhat Important, and 1% Not Important.

Providing Performance Feedback: 60% ranked it Extremely Important, 36% Very Important, 3% Important, 1% Somewhat Important, and 0% Not Important.

Maintaining An Ethical Environment: 80% ranked it Extremely Important, 14% Very Important, 5% Important, 0% Somewhat Important, and 1% Not Important.

Managing Complaints: 49% ranked it Extremely Important, 38% Very Important, 9% Important, 1% Somewhat Important, and 3% Not Important.

Improving Work Habits: 53% ranked it Extremely Important, 27% Very Important, 16% Important, 1% Somewhat Important, and 3% Not Important.

Resolving Conflicts: 59% ranked it Extremely Important, 29% Very Important, 11% Important, 0% Somewhat Important, and 1% Not Important.

Coaching Job Skills: 51% ranked it Extremely Important, 33% Very Important, 12% Important, 1% Somewhat Important, and 3% Not Important.

Delegating: 45% ranked it Extremely Important, 32% Very Important, 19% Important, 1% Somewhat Important, and 3% Not Important.

Question 1 – A Few Observations

Effective Team Communication (with 99% of participants ranking it AT LEAST Very Important) is far and away the most important skill set. Other Vital Leaning research confirms the importance of these skills. We know communication skills are essential and absolutely required to build high performance teams and organizations.

Maintaining An Ethical Environment at 94% ranking this skill at least Very Important says a lot about today's business environment. The widely publicized ethical abuses of the past few years and this data demonstrates that the issue of ethics training in business probably has the same “visibility” and impact as diversity training and sexual harassment training have had in years past.

Other skill areas that ranked strongly in the top two rankings were Providing Performance Feedback (96% top two rankings), and Developing Performance Goals and Standards (90%). Clearly these are two areas that directly impact productivity and are critical to performance. Unfortunately, these are also areas that many managers find difficult to address without focused training, such as Vital's Providing Performance Feedback and Developing Performance Goals and Standards modules.

Curiously two of the lowest ranked skills were Delegating, receiving just 77% top two rankings, and Coaching Job Skills, receiving 84% in the top two rankings.

We would note that the feedback that we receive from many of the organizations that we work with goes something like… “When my manager or supervisor gives me an assignment, frankly its very confusing as to what exactly I am to do, by when, and what perimeters I am to work within.” That tells us Delegating could be an important addition to many training curriculums. Vital Learning's Delegating module in our Supervision Series provides leaders a clear, powerful model for how to effectively delegate.

Also we would note that a 1999 Gallop poll points out that the single most often used type of training that most employees actually receive (56%) is On the Job Training (OJT) from their Supervisor or Manager. We suspect that given business conditions since 1999 that number has most likely grown. That suggests to us that helping Supervisors and Managers effectively coach job skills OJT would have major impact on the performance of many employees. Vital Learning's Coaching Job Skills module in our Supervision Series is designed to help leaders effectively provide OJT training when needed.

Question 2

New managers and/or supervisors in my organization are well trained in the skills they will need to succeed in their new roles.

____Yes ____No

Question 2 - Results

Yes – 33%

No - 60%

(7% wrote in notes indicating that some were and some were not well trained in the required skills)

Question 2 – An Observation

The 60% “no” response begs the following question. “If the majority of managers and supervisors are not well trained in the skills they will need, how can they succeed and perhaps even more important how can their direct reports be expected to succeed in their roles?” Vital Learning Supervision Series consisting of twelve modules available in Classroom, Online and Blended delivery formats can help organizations address this issue.

Question 3

In which of the following subjects does your company train employees that become managers or supervisors? Please check all that apply.

Question 3 - Results

Question 3 – A Few Observations

Levels of Project Management training do not match the need for those skills. In a survey of its members, the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) found that the skills most in demand were project management skills. Leading Successful Projects, a new Vital Learning offering, is a great first step for any manager that needs to get up to speed on what really matters in managing projects.

Hiring and Retention training are clearly out-of-balance . Of course it makes sense to train managers to “hire right.” But hiring and retention training need to thought of and implemented as part of the same continuum. Otherwise you end up like a gardener who plants a lot but then doesn't follow through with watering, fertilizing, weeding, etc., after the plants are in the ground.

New Managers and Supervisors are almost on their own when it comes to communicating upwards with senior managers. Yet it's critical that the process and skills for passing key business information up the chain of command get the same focus as team communication. Vital Learning's “Communicating Up” training solution is a proven way to enable managers and supervisors to bridge that gap.

Question 4

As the economy gets better I believe employee retention issues in my organization will: (Please check all that apply)

____Increase significantly

____Increase somewhat

____Stay about the same as today

____Decline somewhat

____Decline rapidly

Question 4 - Results

•  28% said they saw it increasing significantly,

•  27% said they saw it increasing somewhat,

•  1% said they saw it decreasing rapidly,

•  11% said they saw it decreasing somewhat,

•  33% said they saw it staying the same,

Question 4 – An Observation

As the economy continues to grow it is generally conceded that retention issues will rise as 55% of our respondents pointed out. Research has consistently shown that poor direct supervision or management is the single biggest reason most employees leave organizations. Most often its not about the organization, rather it's the local leader that drives turnover, or conversely can keep turnover low. So it's critical that fundamental leadership skills training, as well as specific retention skills and strategies become part of any curriculum that aims to address employee turnover. Please note that in Q4 Vital Learning will add two new modules to its Supervision Series… Successful Hiring, and Effective Retention.

Question 5

We know that management/supervisory training in my organization produces results because: (Please check all that apply)

____We measure the financial impact of that training

____We hear about the impact of the training on individual performance

____We know that trainees learn the skills they are taught

____Attendees tell us they enjoyed the training

Question 5 - Results

•  31% said they measured the financial impact (which means that 69% did not measure the financial impact.)

•  53% said they hear about the impact of training on individual performance (word of mouth.)

•  23% said they know that trainees learn the skills they are taught (which suggests cognitive testing at end of courses.)

•  31% said that attendees tell them they enjoyed the training (which suggests "smile sheets".)

•  5% indicated that they did not know at all.

Question 5 - Observations

It's clear that most organizations do not measure the direct or indirect financial benefits (ROI) of most training including management and/or supervisor training. So how do they know if the training is delivering top or bottom line value to the organization?

Observation of skills use and word-of-mouth communication of that use are good “soft” measures but they don't really demonstrate training value. And while ROI studies can be expensive, time consuming, and difficult to design and control, every organization should strive to measure the ROI of its learning initiatives. ROI data that demonstrates positive financial impact provides Senior Management with the motivation to do more training.

Overall Observations

Competitive advantage is to be gained by organizations that match the training they offer to the skills considered most important for today's supervisors and managers. Offering the training is, of course, not enough.