The 2010 results of The Ken Blanchard Companies annual Corporate Issues Survey find that corporate leaders plan to either maintain or increase spending on training and development, despite skepticism about the near economic future.
After the 2009 survey showed a sense of cautious optimism, where 75% of respondents felt the economy would improve somewhat in 2009, 30% of respondents in the latest poll felt very optimistic or fairly optimistic about an economic recovery for 2010, while 68% were mildly optimistic or cautious.
These latest results represent feedback from more than 1,800 executives, line managers, and training and human resource leaders from a range of companies, industries, and countries.
Survey participants were asked to describe their organization’s overall outlook regarding the economy, training expenditures, expected cuts, and coping strategies. In addition, the survey touched on corporate issues relating to organizational, HR, and management challenges. With an increase in the amount of global participants, Blanchard was able to categorize some of their findings by region, including Asia/Pacific, EMEA (Europe/Middle East/Africa), Canada, and Latin America, along with the United States.
Some of the 2010 survey’s top responses include:
Top Organizational Challenges
–Competitive pressure
–Economic challenges
–Growth and expansion
Top Management Challenges
–Creating an engaged workforce
–Performance management
–Selecting and retaining key talent
Top Leadership Skills Gap
–Developing leaders who excel at both strategic and tactical roles
–Developing leaders who communicate effectively
–Developing leaders who inspire passion in others
Top Employee Development Challenges
–Managerial/supervisor skills
–Productivity improvement
–Team-building skills
Although previous surveys have shown a flattened interest in environmental and green challenges, the 2010 survey had more than twice as many leaders respond that they are taking the issue seriously, from about 10% in 2009 to 23% this year. Statistics also reveal that EMEA nations are more focused on environmental issues than elsewhere globally. The number of participants listing ethics and social responsibility as a challenge has also risen, up by 7 percentage points since 2009.
To view the entire 2010 survey, visit www.kenblanchard.com/img/pub/Blanchard-2010-Corporate-Issues-Survey.pdf.