Dive Brief:
- A new Udemy study of 1,000 full-time U.S. workers found that challenges for employers persist around gender, cultural and leadership issues. Results from the study, "Udemy In Depth: 2018 Employee Experience Report," show that while companies are striving to provide positive employee experiences and focus on talent retention, they're still trying keep up with cultural and technological shifts in the workplace. For example, 45% of women in the study feel unsupported professionally by their bosses, versus 30% of men who feel the same.
- From their first day on the job, most of the respondents (69%) reported feeling pressured to demonstrate their value to their organization within three months on the job. Certain groups felt the pressure more than others, including women (37%), older employees (35%), employees without college degrees (37%) and non-managers (36%).
- Poorly trained managers are threatening employers' retention efforts, according to the respondents. Nearly half said they've quit a job because of a bad manager, 56% think managers are promoted prematurely and 60% think managers need managerial training.
Dive Insight:
Creating a positive employee experience for all workers isn't an easy task, but when one group's experience leaves its members feeling unsupported, mismanaged or more pressured than others to prove their worth, HR must step in with solutions. A lot of the issues described by the Udemy report tie back to cultural initiatives, many of them related to inclusion. Establishing a culture of diversity and inclusion (D&I) is crucial in providing all employees with the same development opportunities and level of support. Top employers provide education on implicit bias, generation diversity, sexual orientation, gender differences and racial/ethnic differences in leadership style and communication, according to Diversity Best Practices.
In the absence of training, managers aren't always able to take on the leadership roles expected of them. The consequence for employers can be higher turnover, which often stems from dissatisfied workers who were driven out by bad management. Managers even admit that they need training to better manage others. Whatever the reason managers may be falling behind, they need the skills and tools to lead others, especially in a changing business environment, and that often requires formal training.
