Communication and 'sustained benefits' identified as training priorities

Developing basic skills like communication is a training priority for a large proportion of bosses, according to a new study.

Around 1,800 executives, line managers and HR leaders polled for the Ken Blanchard Companies corporate issues survey also emphasised the importance of connecting training to business results and sustaining its benefits via follow-up and reinforcement.

"Developing employee communication skills and potential leaders were high priorities," confirmed TrainingZone.

"In a surprise result, economic worries came only second in the list of key organisational challenges, with competitive pressure again taking the number one slot for the sixth year running," continued the publication.

Developing customer care and relationship skills ranked fifth in the performance management priority list, with ten per cent of firms admitting customer loyalty to be their top management challenge for this year.

In a related poll carried out after last month's national Learning at Work day, communication skills ranked alongside IT as top of the training list for British people.

Employees, senior managers and administrators were surveyed and the results analysed by charity Campaign for Learning, which found similar skills gaps across the board.