Futures left to fate

By ASHLEY CAMPBELL

Almost half of New Zealand's managers say they have a job but not a career, and almost a third of them have not had a performance review in the past year.

Results from a survey of 1800 managers show New Zealand organisations need to be much smarter about how they attract and keep talented staff, says recruitment company TMP/Hudson Global Resources.

Its twice-yearly Hudson Report shows that while organisations may be competent in assessing and managing employees' technical expertise, many fall short in tending to "softer skills".

The lack of career planning among managers has worrying implications, given the skills shortage and shrinking employment pool, the report says.

"People who do not have a career plan are more likely to feel disempowered in their role and are slower to reach their career potential. They also tend to invest less energy in the workplace."

Managers in the upper North Island are more likely to plan their careers than are those in the rest of the country, and managers in the advertising/marketing/media and transport industries are least likely to plan their careers.

The survey also found that the larger the organisation, the higher the likelihood that managers are planning their careers.

It says too much emphasis is placed on individual rather than organisational responsibility for career development and "there is a need for the pendulum to swing back to a shared model of responsibility for career planning".

In another finding, 40 per cent of managers say communication and influencing skills are the most important learning need for their team or business unit, ahead of technical knowledge, sales and customer service skills, leadership and commercial acumen.

Managers in tourism/hospitality are the only dissenters, rating sales and customer service skills most highly.

The report says this reveals a weakness in selection processes that focus on technical skills while ignoring softer skills and "motivational fit". This is partly because managers cannot agree what these terms actually mean.

"Effective communication and the ability to influence underpin performance management, coaching, career discussions and assist in dealing with difficult interpersonal situations," the report says.

"No matter how effective we are technically, if we cannot work through and with people to achieve outcomes and if we are not easy to interact with, we ... lose our currency and value."

A shortfall in communication skills may also contribute to another survey finding - that almost 30 per cent of managers have not had a performance review in the past year.

Managers working in the South Island, or in the advertising/marketing/media industry are least likely to have had a performance review, while those in the financial services/insurance and government sectors are most likely to have had a performance review.

The result is most pronounced in smaller organisations.

"There is a clear warning sign for SMEs [small businesses] across New Zealand," says the report. "Clarity about performance and feedback has a significant impact on productivity and effectiveness. Ignored, it will not look after itself.

"Hudson's experience suggests that top talent who are not involved in formal performance reviews are more likely to become demotivated in their roles and are much more likely to investigate alternative career options."

This is reinforced by the opinions of those managers who have participated in a performance review in the past year - more than two-thirds of them feel it improved their performance.

"Over 40 per cent of the managers surveyed outlined that the performance review had the combined effect of improving their performance, clarifying their role and reducing stress," the report says.

"Over time, the lack of communication and alignment that can be achieved through performance reviews will block an organisation from reaching its potential and, in the worst-case scenario, present significant risks to smaller enterprises."