News: Performance Management
Training opportunities linked to employee engagement
05 September 2008
Learning and development opportunities boost employees' engagement with their organisation, according to human resources specialists at the Institute for Employment Studies.
Without the availability of regular training opportunities, managers can become overly concerned with targets instead of focussing enough effort on people, claims the body's Dilys Robinson.
Ms Robinson, a research fellow, observes that "pressure to meet targets and things like that" can ultimately have an adverse effect on individuals.
"We have found in our engagement research that there is quite a strong link between people's perception of their development opportunities and their engagement levels with their organisation," she confirms.
Ms Robinson issued her comments in response to this week's 'What workers want' report from the Trades Union Congress, which is based on a YouGov poll of over 2,500 workers in Britain.
It highlights that almost one in three people do not feel engaged by their employer, underlining the need for management training in many enterprises.
A separate study by market research company GfK NOP indicated earlier this year that nearly half of those who claim to work for a disengaged manager would leave their job as soon as the opportunity appeared.
