Businesses 'are underutilising the skills of their staff'

Companies in the UK could be creating productivity issues for themselves through a failure to manage workers in a way that takes full advantage of their skills.

A report from The Work Foundation has suggested that poor use of talent is as big a problem for UK firms as skills shortages, particularly towards the lower end of the market.

Dr Paul Sissons, author of the organisation's The Skills Dilemma report, suggested that too many workers are being given little autonomy, support or chances of progression, leaving them feeling demotivated and unproductive.

He noted that England lags behind numerous other countries in this respect, including Norway, Finland, New Zealand, Singapore and even Scotland, where a skills utilisation programme is already funding a number of pilot projects.

"Policymakers in England need to design better policies for skills utilisation - and support employers to encourage innovation in business models and job design," added Dr Sissons.

This comes after the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development stated last month that employee engagement should be considered vital for economic recovery in the UK.

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