Managers uncomfortable speaking to HR about personal development

More than six in 10 mid-level and senior managers feel uncomfortable speaking to HR about personal and professional development, according to new research.

A recent survey of 1,000 management employees carried out by digital coaching platform CoachHub, reports that 15% would not reach out to the human resources team for fear of being seen as unqualified or ineffective leaders.

Almost half of respondents said their HR department did not prioritise personalised professional development beyond their initial onboarding, while nearly a quarter received no support when transitioning into a leadership role.

Juliane Sterzl, VP of UK & Ireland at CoachHub, said: “These results highlight an urgent need for change in HR processes – if senior members of staff don’t trust HR departments enough to talk honestly, why would other employees?”

As part of the research, respondents were asked about the professional development processes provided by their employers. Seminars and workshops came out as the top answers (39%), while less than a third of respondents said their organisation offered any form of online courses.

Despite the fact that a majority of managers would prefer personalised digital coaching over the option of remote working as a work perk, only 14% said that it was provided for employees as part of their business’s professional development programme.