A LACK OF individual support from HR departments along with under-spending on the formal development of employees are the biggest problems when it comes to developing individual careers for professionals in Australian organisations
A LACK OF individual support from HR departments along with under-spending on the formal development of employees are the biggest problems when it comes to developing individual careers for professionals in Australian organisations.
As a result, organisations that fail to develop and maintain a high-performance culture are at risk of higher staff turnover as employees seek more progressive and dynamic companies to learn and grow.
These are the findings from a recent Australian Institute of Management (AIM) survey of nearly 2,000 professionals, which revealed a startling disparity between the attitudes of staff who operate in a high-performance culture, and those that do not.
Professionals who work in high-performance cultures are more positive about their workplace and are more likely to remain loyal to their employers, according to AIM CEO Jennifer Alexander.
“On the flip side, those professionals who believe they do no operate in a high-performance organisation are unhappy with where they work and are already thinking about moving on from their position,” she said.
While respondents were split on whether they believed their organisation encouraged a high performance culture, 40 per cent wouldn’t hesitate in accepting an offer of employment from a competing firm due to lack of progress or opportunity to develop with their current employer.
“This result is a sharp reminder to CEOs and managers that commercially savvy organisations which encourage innovation are more likely to retain the best and brightest employees,” said Alexander.
While 73 per cent received ongoing education and training from their workplace to develop their skills, the survey found that 60 per cent of professionals believe their organisation is not doing enough to develop individual careers or potential.
However 66 per cent thought their managers did a good job of encouraging individuals to be innovative in seeking new ways to improve their performance.
“Overall, achieving characteristics that define a high-performance culture is something that even the smallest company can achieve, but managers must be prepared to invest time and effort before they can be rewarded with committed, high-performing staff,” said Alexander.
The survey found there were a number of characteristics in common with high-performance cultures, including: an environment that encourages open discussion; a positive can-do attitude towards getting the task done; rewarding employees for good work; a solid definable goal that can be achieved and staff that work well independently.
Additionally, 47 per cent of professionals work in organisations with processes in place to build stronger staff loyalty and commitment, while the remainder are currently working on addressing these issues.
Seventy per cent of survey respondents were employed as professionals, while 10 per cent were in practice support roles and 20 percent did not define their role.
