Women, people of colour and Millennials are more likely to leave their organisation if they don’t receive professional development. Additionally, they believe they have fewer opportunities to access professional development, which is key to retaining them, confirmed a new study.
As talent shortages persist, professional development opportunities are a key tool for retaining employees, revealed a new survey carried out by the Conference Board. In fact, 58% say they are likely to leave their company without professional development; or continue education and career training to help develop new skills, stay up to date on current trends, and drive career advancement. This is particularly the case for women, people of colour and Millennials.
For people of colour, however, there may be a gap in access to these opportunities. The study revealed that more people of colour report a lack of opportunities and resources for professional development than their White counterparts.
KEY TO RETENTION
Key findings from the study found that development opportunities are key to retaining employees, especially women, people of colour and Millennials. The study found that:
- Women, people of colour, and Millennials are more likely to leave their organisation if they don’t receive development opportunities.
- Gender:
- Women: 61% would leave
- Men: 55%
- Race:
- Black: 68%
- Hispanic and Latino: 70%
- Asian: 80%
- White: 53%
- Generation:
- Millennials: 66%
- Gen X: 63%
- Baby Boomers: 47%
- Gender:
- The disparities are even more striking among women of colour:
- Black women: 71%
- Hispanic women: 70%
- Asian women: 70%
- White women: 56%
- Overall, 58% of workers are likely to leave their company if they don’t receive professional development opportunities.
“These survey results reveal that, in the midst of a talent shortage, providing and promoting opportunities for career and skills development can be a critical way to attract candidates,” commented Rebecca Ray, Executive Vice President of Human Capital of The Conference Board. “In order to retain and grow the diversity of thought and experience within your organisation, it is critical to ensure that all employees have access to rich professional development opportunities.”
DEVELOPING WORK-RELATED SKILLS
The survey also highlighted that most employees highly value the opportunity to develop work-related skills. In fact, 96% of respondents said it is important or very important for them to continuously develop their work-related skills. Key findings showed that:
- More people of colour continuously say developing skills is very important:
- Black: 87%
- Hispanic and Latino: 86%
- Asian: 78%
- White: 73%
- More women say it is very important than men:
- Women: 80%
- Men: 70%
LACK OF ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITIES
Despite the high value placed on professional development opportunities, more people of colour report a lack of access to these opportunities and resources, compared to their White colleagues.
- Lack of resources:
- Black: 38%
- Hispanic and Latino: 35%
- Asian: 40%
- White: 28%
- Lack of opportunities:
- Black: 37%
- Hispanic and Latino: 37%
- Asian: 36%
- White: 27%
BARRIERS TO DEVELOPMENT
The biggest barrier to developing skills is a lack of time, with nearly 80% saying that prevents them from doing so. Around 31% said a lack of resources and 29% said a lack of opportunities were their greatest barriers. Time off for training and development (54%) and improved access to career development opportunities (54%) were the top two ways that employees feel their employers can support their development. Additionally, less than a quarter (22%) thought that an internal career centre/job board for job openings and opportunities would be helpful.
Interestingly, only 10% of CEOs and the C-suite consider a lack of opportunities a barrier, compared to 40% of individual contributors. In fact, one in ten worry their skills won’t keep up. The survey revealed that:
- More than one in ten (13%) are not confident they have the skills to continue to perform well in their current role for the next 1-2 years.
- 97% of survey respondents are confident that they have the skills needed to perform well in their current jobs, but fewer (87%) are confident they have the skills to perform well in the next 1-2 years.
- Baby Boomers are more confident in their skills than younger generations:
- Millennials: 72% are very/quite confident they have the needed skills
- Gen X: 76%
- Baby Boomers: 85%
PERSONAL GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT
The survey also found that personal growth is the top driver of developing work-related skills. The majority of workers (70%) want to develop their work-related skills to expand their personal growth and development, and to perform at a higher level in their current role (60%). Only 31% wanted to do so, to get a promotion.
On a positive note, many employees take their learning and development into their own hands. Although managers still play a key role in development for employees (58% share their development needs with their manager), around 57% of employees are designing their own learning and development plans.
KEY DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES
Employees are also learning from free online resources. The most effective include:
- Free external resources (TED Talks, YouTube, LinkedIn Learning) are used most often (65%), but only 44% of respondents find them effective.
- 58% use employer provided training resources (courses, simulations, materials), but only 46% find them effective.
- Less than a quarter (23%) use employer-provided experiential development (gigs, projects, rotations), but only 35% find them effective.
Senior-level staff are less likely to use employer-provided resources, and less likely to find them effective. Interestingly, the higher a professional is in an organisation, the less likely they are to use employer-provided resources (30% CEOs, compared to 66% of other staff).
TOP SKILLS FOR FUTURE
Finally, employees believe leadership, critical thinking, and adaptability will be the most important skills for the future.
- Top three skills (overall):
- Leadership: 40%
- Critical thinking: 36%
- Adaptability and agility: 35%
- Bottom three skills (overall):
- Empathy: 11%
- Resilience: 12%
- Global and cultural awareness: 15%
- Women think adaptability and agility will be more important (39%) than do men (30%).
“Employees have made clear their desire to keep learning and growing both within and beyond their current roles,” commented Jennifer Burnett, Principal of Human Capital at The Conference Board. “It is in the best interest of employers to provide all employees across their business with learning and development opportunities related to business priorities and overall personal growth, whether it’s ensuring there are appropriate resources for front-line workers or highlighting the importance of empathy for managers in a hybrid world of work. Creating a culture of learning will not only help your employees flourish but will help your company stay ahead of the rapidly changing business environment.”
Women of colour face inequalities at all stages of their life, which is damaging their pay and progression at work, and holding them back from attaining senior and leadership positions, confirmed another recent study. Click here to read more.
Sign up for our newsletter
