A Few Facts & Figures

The Northern Ireland Economy
SME Growth – Barriers & Solutions
The Employee Perspective of Local Managers
Investors in People
The Message is Getting Through……M&L Development Works
SME Barriers to Management and Leadership Development
North – South Opportunities
Non-Executive Directors in NI
Business Leaders First Leadership Experiences
Talent Management

The Northern Ireland Economy

The Northern Ireland economy has been the fastest growing of the UK regions over the last 15 years
NI is the first European region to boost 100% broadband coverage
Yet NI’s economy is still characterised by low levels of entrepreneurial activity measured in terms of
VAT registrations and the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. It remains ninth out of the 12 UK regions in terms of entrepreneurial activity Ulster Business (April 2006) Opportunity Knocks, and Where do we go from here
Local business managers ranked Staff Training & Skills as the second most important issue in delivering business improvement next year
N.I business managers suggest the following to be the more favourable areas where the government can intervene in order to improve business conditions,
              • Funding & Grants
              • More help to small businesses
              • Assist with business training
When asked about the adequacy of skills in certain areas Northern Ireland managerial skills were rated as 64% adequate, 25% inadequate and 11% are unsure.
Many N.I managers agree that the difficulty in recruiting people with the correct skills is one of the main issues affecting the N.I economy.
(The Northern Ireland Business Monitor 06/07)

SME Growth – Barriers & Solutions

Employment Regulations – Govt look at ways of reducing bureaucratic regulations
Taxation – Some form of relief for start ups
National Insurance Contributions – Some form of relief for start ups
Increasing Energy & Oil Prices – Energy provides consider more attractive tariffs for SME
Water & other rates – Politicians empower themselves to challenge
Slow payment by larger customers – Govt encourage PLC’s & corporate’s to pay on time
Poor selling skills – INI or DEL to assist SME’s develop their export selling skills
Ulster Business (April 2006) Are we Paying Enough Attention to our SME’s
Businesses in Northern Ireland report their greatest difficulties are in accessing staff with Managerial Skills (63%), communication skills (59%), customer services skills (53%) and basic IT skills (49%)
Federation of Small Businesses (Nov 2006) Lifting the Barriers to Growth

Three times as many entrepreneurs seek advice from friends and family before starting up a business than obtaining advice from support agencies.

Nearly a third of entrepreneurs plunged ahead seeking no advice when starting uo or taking over a business.
Some sought advice from several places; 20 per cent went to an accountant, 17 per cent went to a solicitor and 14 percent to a bank.
24 percent of those questioned said they went out on their own for the independence of being their own boss.
14 percent said they made the decison for financial reasons or to make money.
11 percent said they wanted to develop a hobbie or skill.
7 percent said they did their own thing to continue a family tradition.
(Ulster Bank research, Newletter August 07)

The Employee Perspective of Local Managers

¼ of Northern Ireland workers actively doubt senior managements leadership abilities and sense of strategic direction
17% of public sector workers agree with the statement “Senior management have a clear vision of where this organisation is going” – the figure for private sector employees is 44%
Just over half of all workers (54%) agree that “my line managers inspires me to do a better job”
Business First (Volume 2 Issue 4) Are You a Failing Leader?

Investors in People

94% of employers recognise the value of the standard as a business improvement tool and will continue to work with it
Organisational changes made by recognised IiP companies are twice as profitable as changes made by others, accounting for a profit gap of £353 per employee per year
Ulster Business (April 2006) Investors in People Impact Study

The Message is Getting Through……M&L Development Works

Asked the extent to which they agreed that MLD developed managers to meet business needs, a high rating of 7 out of 10 was given. Managers also suggested that when MLD is linked to specific skills that address business needs, organisational productivity levels climb.
In 2004, 51 per cent of CEOs or Boards were directly responsible for initiating MLD policy, compared to 43 per cent in 1996. Senior involvement in implementation remains high at 24 per cent, an increase from 15 per cent in 1996.
The belief that "leaders are born, not made" is being eclipsed. Managers are now expressing the view that on-the-job experience is more valuable than natural ability. The report also reveals that line managers are now focusing on job-related development, such as in-house MLD and job-specific qualifications. This highlights the need for both HR managers and providers to make sure learning opportunities are connected to relevant workplace experiences.
UK organisations have also recognised the need for sustained development programmes. Almost half (45 per cent) allocate a specific budget for management training and 49 per cent of managers claim their employer now has a written policy on management development, compared to 37 per cent in 2000.
Almost 90 per cent of organisations claim to have regular appraisals to establish training requirements and more than half (57 per cent) admit to ‘talent management’ by selecting high potential managers for intensive development. The report also shows that the skills most sought after are managing people, leadership and meeting customer needs. Looking forward managers are looking to develop skills including the management of change and risk and the ability to facilitate organisational learning.
Dr Chris Mabey (2005) Management & Leadership Development Works…The Evidence

SME Barriers to Management and Leadership Development

Small businesses have to focus on the short term and survival, so undermining an appreciation of longer term benefits from training. Past research has shown training to be reactive, targeted at specific problems, crisis-driven or fire-fighting in nature
Small businesed find it difficult to spare time for managers or key workers to engage in training. In a recent survey 85% of small business mangers agreed that time was the biggest constraint on their personal development activities.
Cost is also a major constraint. Average costs for small businesses are about double those for the largest businesses.
Further constraints are the perceptions of training needs, the capabilities and attitudes of owner-managers, and the quality and relevance of the training offered.
SFEDI: Small Business Skills Assessment 2002 - The problems for SMEs

According to UK-wide research, the key barriers to SME’s providing training include:

Financial cost – almost 50% of employers are put off training because of fears of costs;
Fear of higher wage demands – 1/3 think training could mean staff ask for higher salaries;
Work disruption – more than half of employers believe that training would provide disruption to work.

Moreover, 11 per cent of small businesses, in comparison to just 3 per cent of larger businesses, see no benefits to training staff at all.

North – South Opportunities

NI is the only UK region with a land frontier with the fastest growing economy in Western Europe. More than 20 of the Fortune 100 and 50 of the Fortune 500 have their European operations centred in RoI
Ulster Business (April 2006) Looking South for Inspiration

Non-Executive Directors in NI

Majority on NI Non-Executive Directors still secure their boardroom place through business associates and personal contacts
Traits of a good NED include the courage to ask difficult questions, to probe and to stimulate debate and change and a desire to continually improve selection and succession processes
Research shows that some local owner/managers would resist appointing a non-executive director as it might in some way expose a weakness
Business First (Volume 2 Issue 4) NI Needs More Quality Non-Execs

Business Leaders First Experience of Leadership

•       21 per cent of today’s NI leaders* were school prefects
•       14 per cent of today’s NI leaders were head boy or head girl
•       14 per cent of today’s NI leaders were captain of a school team
•       67 per cent of today’s NI leaders played sport for a school team
•       12 per cent of today’s NI leaders were in the school choir
•       9 per cent of today’s NI leaders were in the school orchestra
•       37 per cent of today’s NIleaders believe that academic qualifications are the most overrated indicator of a good leader
•       Only 30 per cent of today’s NI leaders left education with a degree or equivalent qualification
•       2 per cent of today’s leaders NI left school under the age of 16
•       2 per cent of today’s leaders NI left school with no academic qualifications
* Business owners, managing directors, directors and senior managers in businesses with 50+ employees. Iinstitute of Leadership & Management - March 2007

Talent Management

A June 2007 RCI report published by Cranfield School of Management in June found less than half of UK businesses (49%) implement talent development programmes. While 60 per cent of the businesses surveyed said talent management – the strategies and practices needed to define, identify, develop, attract and retain those deemed to have skills valuable to an organisation – is essential to a business’s bottom line, only 41 per cent of organisations strategically manage their star talent.

Lack of financial investment and insufficient senior management support holding back talent

Less than half (47 per cent) of organisations have published their talent management strategy internally, one in five does not link the strategy to their business plan, and just 15 per cent measure return on investment. Innovation is also in short supply, with the likes of sabbaticals and overseas assignments taking a back seat to conventional courses and on-the-job training as methods for developing future leaders.
Recruitment Confidence Index, Cranfield School of Management - June 2007