Companies struggle to find true leaders

Almost one half of organisations are not effective in finding and developing leaders, which identifies some critical challenges for employers if they are to take advantage of the economic recovery, a recent study has revealed.

The report, Gearing up for Growth, by Drake International, found that 44 per cent of organisations rated themselves not effective in finding and developing leaders. Fur thermore, improving retention of skilled employees was the most important people challenge facing employers in a growing economy. This was mirrored in the report’s findings that 72 per cent of organisations expect to face skills shortages this year at the same time as accelerating staff turnover, with one-quarter of employees expect ing to move employers in 2010.

“With economic recovery now gathering pace, as further evidenced by the IMF fore cast, employers are recognising that they have a critical challenge to remotivate and engage their workforces [and] leadership will be one of the key drivers behind the growth that corporate Australia and businesses will have to focus on.”

Improving the retention of skilled employees was also top of the list of people management priorities for employers (94 per cent).