Skills development tops corporate ladder climbing

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The survey interviews over 230,000 people from across the globe and reveals not only opinions about the world of work, but also indicates that employees of today value training over promotions when it comes to remaining loyal to their employers.

"According to the KGWI survey, six in 10 of the world's employees view training and skills development as an important short-term career goal, which they believe will lead to future opportunities for advancement. This clearly indicates that a significant shift in thinking is required in current employee-retention strategies. A more elevated job title coupled with a salary increase is no longer enough to ensure top talent remains loyal," said Kelly Group sales executive, Tracey Czakan.

"An interesting observation is that significantly more mature employees are looking to broaden their skills set as the average retirement age continues to be delayed. Even more Silent Generation (72%) and Baby Boomer (69%) employees are interested in acquiring new skills, compared to Generations Y (61%) and X (60%), meaning companies might consider including their more experienced employees in their training plans," added Czakan.

New job opportunities

"Over half, or 61% of the world's employees, are intent on looking for new job opportunities in the coming year. Despite the practice of job-hopping becoming a rising trend, the KGWI survey indicates that offering employees a road map for their future career is an excellent way to safeguard against unwanted letters of resignation.

"With only 35% of employees believing there is room for growth with their current employer and 29% indicating they have a clear career path ahead of them, it would seem that setting clear road maps for members of staff is key to staff retention strategies," advised Czakan.

As a manager, ask yourself if you have implemented career development discussions with your employees within the last year? The KGWI survey indicates that only 38% of the world's employees responded positively, leaving 62% without a clear vision of their direction. Impactful talent management and development solutions begin with ensuring your top talent remain informed about what is being done to develop and grow them. "If your answer to the aforementioned question was not in the affirmative, you may be missing out on a key opportunity to engage meaningfully with your most important employees," said Czakan.

Individual career aspirations

It is also vital for company leaders to be aware of the individual career aspirations of their members of staff and this knowledge should form a key part of forward planning. An interesting fact is that the sectors that are getting this area of engagement right are financial services and insurance (47%); natural resources (45%); life sciences and high tech (46% each).

Some 46% of empowered and autonomous employees build on their strengths via employer-provided training, followed by private means of upskilling at 32% and mentoring at 27%. Furthermore, the KGWI 2014 survey indicates that employers who set clear career paths outlining what training and experience are required to meet these goals, ultimately have the edge when it comes to engaging with and retaining top talent. "The message is clear; educational incentives, grants and in-house training are vital tools in the employee retention and career development tool kit," explained Czakan.

"Career development discussions are a key area of growth for South African employees if we are to meet the national imperative of building an empowered workforce. The KGWI reveals that some 44% of South Africans have been privy to this key employee development and retention practice with employer-provided training. With that said, mentoring remains another key component of a career development plan with 36% of South African employees citing this as a key resource used over the past year to realise their strengths," said Czakan.

"With 73% of South African employees intent on changing jobs within the next year," Kelly Group believes in implementing clear career development paths and instituting in-house training regimes that includes mentoring and, in turn, can serve to strengthen businesses, economy and our country at large," concluded Czakan.