Posted: Tue 18 Aug 2009
Less than a quarter of recruitment businesses currently consider leadership skills to be a priority area of training and development. That’s according to a recent survey by recruitment training and performance development specialist, Lander Associates.
Only 21% of the recruiters questioned said that leadership was their main priority in terms of developing skill sets. The majority (61%) said that their main focus was sales, with 15% stating recruitment as their priority. Although only a fifth said that their leaders were their most important training focus, 40% were still investing in some development of their managers.
“It is understandable that in a challenging market, recruitment companies automatically focus on sales,” explains Fiona Lander, Managing Director of Lander Associates. “But it’s vital to look at the bigger picture and invest in developing your leadership teams. Your managers and team leaders are instrumental in improving front line recruitment results and keeping up morale, which in this incessantly demanding market is ever more crucial.”
However, it was positive to see that there were organisations that did recognise the value of training their leadership teams. “Irrespective of whether there’s a recession or not, training your management is important to help your business develop and grow and to give your senior team the skills that enable them to work with consultants more effectively” says Sunil Duggal, Managing Director of Just IT.
“But in these challenging times specifically, if you stop this investment in your leaders, the likelihood of your business weathering the storm is definitely diminished. Consultants are working harder to achieve the same results so support from their superiors is crucial to keep motivation levels up. As the market changes, so do the needs and motivations of our clients and candidates – training and developing your leadership team means that your business is armed with the skills it needs to be flexible and adapt quickly and effectively to the changing market – one in which no-one can afford to make any mistakes.”