As the war on talent wages on, it’s getting harder and harder to retain top talent. Therefore, it is vital to understand what determines whether a high potential employee stays long enough for that potential to be realised or leaves to develop their career elsewhere.
Senior development director Rachel Burlton of leadership development organisation Common Purpose reveals the barriers that limit junior managers from fulfilling their potential as leaders of tomorrow.
Rachel Burlton, senior development director at leadership development organisation Common Purpose:
“Worryingly, research we recently conducted found that over half of junior managers are not fulfilled by their work, and that employers are failing to respond to this unhappiness and frustration – leading to a mass haemorrhaging of junior managers, with over half either actively searching for or thinking about a new job…
Asked what their employers could do to make them stay, there was widespread certainty that continuing professional development could make their roles more fulfilling, but while nearly all had received training, only a third found it rewarding in terms of job fulfillment. The training was perceived to enhance career prospects, but fell short in addressing wider aspirations and life goals.”
So what type of training did they think would help them develop their careers and enable them to feel fulfilled in their job?
“There was a strong belief that peer-to-peer learning and external experiences would help them, with over half of junior managers wanting increased access to diverse experiences and new connections outside their own sector. Common Purpose believes that emerging leaders need to be able to interact with a diverse range of leaders by taking them out into the wider society to grapple with real life problems first-hand.
However, with such a clear understanding of the type of training needed to enrich their jobs, there was a striking lack of awareness of how to access it. While three quarters of junior managers have considered ways to make their jobs more fulfilling, nearly one in three say they don’t know where to go for training and development opportunities.
This is not surprising considering that 84% of respondents say they lack support from their employer in helping them to seek this training. The answer is clear, the most successful and dynamic organisations are those that nurture the people they depend on for future success. It’s easy to talk about encouraging emerging talent to blossom, but employers need to truly commit to making this happen.”