What Are Corporate Managers Facing in Terms of Challenges?

Management Challenges -- Five Years from Now What are the great challenges ahead for a manager in a business environment over the next five years? This paper addressed those issues, using verifiably legitimate sources. Challenges for management over the next five years The Society for Human Resource Management created a survey that was conducted 2010 and 2012, and it was published in 2013 in Forbes. HR of course is the driver for hiring, training and retaining employees, and the HR department has a huge stake in management, hence, the importance of their research.

The issue that received the most "yes" votes by HR managers was "Retaining and rewarding the best employees," and certainly that would be at the top of any business manager's list. In 2012, 59% of respondents rated this issue the most important issue and in 2010 51% rated it most important (Biro, 2012). The issue of "developing the next generation of corporate leaders" got 52% in 2012 (29% in 2010); and "creating a corporate culture that attracts the best employees…" rated top among 35% of managers in 2012 (44% in 2010) (Biro, p. 3).

Of course these issues that are very critical for HR managers. The rest of this list is continuing to be specific to HR managers (finding skilled employees; creating workable HR processes and policies; and creating a "service-oriented" and "employee-centric" organization), and is also specific to management at any level of a company because without alert, resourceful, knowledgeable employees the company will stagnate.

Meghan Biro has her own list of five "great challenges" for managers; she is a contributor to Forbes and her number one challenge is to "Invest in leadership development." Companies need to keep their best employees, and help them "sustain leadership qualities," and moreover, she is not just talking about having the best employees get some training once in awhile. She is saying, the best employees need to be involved in an "immersive leadership environment" (p. 2).

Her number two -- which I heartily agree with -- is to "create a culture of collaboration"; that is everyone from the senior executives to the person working at the bottom rung must be working in unison, pulling in the same direction, and the challenge for managers is to make sure everyone is on board, everyone understands where the company is going and everyone believes in leadership.

Biro's number three involves "communication skills" (which is so frequently cited by leaders that it is almost a cliche); her number four is about accountability (of course leaders have to be accountable); and number five is the need to "be human and reward emotional intelligence." What will be the greatest challenge? The greatest challenge has two parts: one, to recruit, hire, and properly train employees who have the intelligence and the energy to carry out the mission of the company.

Without brilliant people who are quick learners and are loyal -- and trainable -- any company will suffer. So that's the greatest challenge, but it is followed closely by the need for really good communication. I am not talking the kind of communication in which managers put memos on the bulletin board in the break room; real communication involves honest, face-to-face conversations that leads to understanding, learning, and loyalty.

The top executives must make the rounds of the company and talk to people whether they be a custodian or a foreman. But more than just talking, the kind of communication that is always needed is for management to lay out the company's goals to everyone, and to update the progress towards those goals.