As we are undergoing not just a turbulent economic time but a general elections campaign, it’s unsurprising that the air is thick with figures and statistics – and the conjecture of people attempting to draw conclusions from them. Here are some headline figures to be going along with from the forthcoming Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s (CIPD) 2010 Learning and Development Survey: only one in 10 employers (11%) expect training spend to increase in the year to come; funds for learning and development are decreasing in over half (52%) of UK organisations.
In an election campaign where all the major parties are campaigning on a platform of planned cuts (despite their terminological and accounting differences), ‘doing more with less’ is becoming a phrase du jour. (Were it more upbeat, I’d be tempted to call it a mantra …) I’m not about to insert any knowingly political comments, although I couldn’t help but notice that the CIPD press release also noted that “learning and training development departments’ headcounts have largely remained the same in the last year”. The responding organisations should be congratulated on the accuracy of their grasp of English grammar: the statement does suggest a potential lack of intention to ‘do more with fewer’ – although suppliers might be interested to note that 31% of respondents indicated that one of their major changes over the last year was “a reduction in external suppliers and a move to in-house provision”.
Back at the general election campaign, the possibility of a hung parliament is one of the major media topics that have emerged. I’m probably not the first to draw a comparison with conventional views on organisational leadership, but the prospect seems to divide commentators between those who are fearful of a world without a clear, single guiding vision (even one with what is, thanks to our electoral system, minority support) and those who are of the opinion that forcing our leaders to work together, overcome their disagreements and ‘lead together’.
Don't Compromise! 