Learning new skills does not equate to internal promotion opportunities, a survey of more than 200,000 employees at 236 organisations found.
The findings in Employee Engagement Trends Report 2025 from McLean & Company, a Canadian human resource consultancy, show that while upskilling opportunities have increased across organisations, pathways to promotion have decreased since 2023.
Over 61% of employees said their organisation offers “adequate opportunities” to learn new skills, up from over 59% in 2023. Skill development training has increased to 60.4% from 58.1%, the report said, and more employees (58.9%) feel their company supports them to pursue career advancement opportunities than in 2023 (57.6%).
The upward trajectory in upskilling opportunities has not translated into additional opportunities for internal progression. Fewer employees feel able to advance careers in their current organisation than they did two years ago.
“When employees cannot see a direct link between learning and development opportunities and career advancement, they may seek opportunities elsewhere,” the report said. “In 2025, it will be crucial to focus on establishing and clearly communicating career paths and opportunities.”
Leaders struggle to communicate effectively
Poor communication from leadership is a recurring theme in other areas, according to the report.
More employees report feeling left out of decision-making, a sentiment that been consistent over the past two years, with fewer employees saying they understand the rationale behind leadership decisions last year (53.2%) than in 2022 (54.8%).
Lack of transparency around decision-making could erode trust in leadership this year, the report said.
One reason for the disconnect is a gap in soft skills across leadership levels. The report found that only about 10% of new leaders are highly proficient in “human-centric competencies”. Among executive leaders, just less than half consider themselves proficient in this area.
“Perceptions of how managers handle poor performance on their teams … scored almost 10 points lower than all other statements under manager relationships,” the report said. “Senior leaders must invest the time in building trust, fostering collaboration, acting on employee feedback where possible, and communicating the rationale for the decisions they make in order to drive engagement.”
Priorities differ between managers and employees
Organisations are tested with a complex balancing act to meet the needs of management and employees, who have divergent expectations in the workplace.
For people managers, working environment (81.7%) is a significant retention driver, the report said. Employees also place the most value on working environment (76.1%), but they see work/life balance as a priority for retention more than those in management roles (66.2% vs. 58.5%). Both managers and employees see total compensation as crucial for retention, the report said, but less so than working environment and work/life balance (56.5% vs. 50.4%).
The report encouraged organisations to re-evaluate their compensation and benefits packages, noting that, amidst cost-of-living challenges, compensation and benefits satisfaction has not increased since 2023.
“While a lack of changes can be interpreted positively, these remain among the lowest scoring across all questions measured,” the report said. “To strike the right balance between meeting employee expectations while controlling labour costs, in 2025 organisations must focus on creating a total rewards strategy.”
— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Steph Brown at Stephanie.Brown@aicpa-cima.com.