Management and leadership skills in the British workplace are lagging behind those of the rest of the leading developed countries, according to a new study.

A series of ‘ineffectual and uncoordinated’ government policy reviews over the past two decades have done little to improve matters, says the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

The CIPD suggests that the government speeds up changes to skills in the workplace as part of the forthcoming growth review.

Key recommendations in the report Good Management – A New (Old) Driver for Growth include:

• Improving voluntary human capital reporting

• Promoting tools and support already available and identify best practice

• Cross-departmental collaboration and longer-term political commitment, including a new focus on management and leadership skills in in line with business requirements

• Sector Skills Councils and Local Enterprise Partnerships should promote leadership and management as ‘skills for growth’ essentials
• Clarity on the management and leadership skills required and the training and qualifications available

• Integration of more people management elements in existing training

• A review of public sector management and leadership capability and development to let the government lead by example

Katerina Rüdiger, the CIPD’s skills policy advisor and author of the report, said: “Headline grabbing proposals which call for making it easier to ‘sack the slackers’ are at risk of masking the real question of why are so many UK workers still underperforming?

“The reason is not stringent employment legislation as the UK has one of the most deregulated labour markets across OECD countries, but a crisis of management and leadership skills.

“Firing underperforming workers does not address the root cause of this problem; the government should instead focus on supporting employers to improve management capability.

“One third of the UK’s workforce has managerial responsibilities so it’s not difficult to see the potential for improved management and leadership capabilities to unlock productivity and address the problem of workplace performance in a way that works for everyone: employers, individuals and the UK economy.”