Stop the churn, fill the sales gap

Sales managers worried about churn may be missing the easiest way to solve the skill shortages - understanding the aspirations of existing employees.

Although almost 75 per cent of firms are worried that they can't predict which skills will be in short supply in a year's time, less than 25 per cent have taken time to research employees' skills and plans over the same period.

This is the conclusion of a survey of 1,500 middle managers by business software supplier Infinium.

The biggest obstacle a business faces when attempting to anticipate the future is the speed of change in the marketplace. While little can be done to change this, firms can do something about the second biggest obstacle in their path - their lack of information about employees.

According to Infinium's research, 65 per cent of employees reported that their ideal job existed within their current company, with 22 per cent aspiring to move up the career ladder. Around nine per cent felt a change of direction within the organisation would be preferable.

"In today's constantly changing business environment, employees can be the biggest and most stable asset a company has," said Terry Joint, vice-president of international operations at Infinium.

"It is unthinkable that so many companies do not take their development into account when planning for the future."

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