According to the Chartered Management Institute (CMI)The top New Year's resolution for managers next year is to put their team's development first, ahead of traditional priorities such as networking or spending more time with customers and clients.
Just under half (45%),have pledged to support the development of their team's skills and 22% also intend to provide ‘more prompt' support to boost performance. More than a third (34%) believe organisations will be more employee-centric.
As well as focusing on staff through skills development, the survey of 1,337 managers found more than a quarter (27%) have resolved to acknowledge the efforts of their staff and say ‘thank you' more often. And just under a fifth (18%) also said they will spend more time with their teams.
But the report also shows there are three key barriers which will make it hard for managers to keep their resolutions for the New Year; lack of time (75%), reduced budgets (42%) and a reduced workforce (33%).
Ruth Spellman (pictured), CMI chief executive, said: "The recent financial crisis has shaken UK organisations to the core. We now know that a combination of reckless capitalism combined with a disregard for the potential consequences of greed - as demonstrated by outlandish bonuses and unrestrained borrowing - helped to fuel the meltdown. It is very encouraging, therefore, to hear that UK managers are enthusiastic about learning lessons from what has passed and putting the development and needs of their employees over and above other considerations.
"Although we are on the verge of economic recovery 2010 is likely to be a tough year for managers who face the challenge of leading their organisations under some difficult conditions. Improved levels of employee engagement will be vital to their success. By putting staff back at the heart of business, for 2010 and beyond, employers stand a much better chance of reducing the amount of time it takes their organisations to get back on track."
