Research from digital learning provider Skillsoft reveals a misalignment between organisations' strategic priorities for the coming year and their employees’ preparedness to achieve them.
Based on a survey of more than 2,100 full-time employees in the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany, the findings reveal that fewer than half (48%) of respondents have been informed of their organisations’ strategic goals and priorities for the coming year. Of those that have been informed, only 40% say they are extremely clear about their role in achieving these goals, and just a third believe their skills strongly align with them.
Respondents said improving operational efficiency (48%), increasing revenue and profitability (46%), and enhancing the customer experience (39%) are their organisation’s top priorities for 2025. The lowest priorities are strengthening data privacy and security practices (17%), closing skill gaps (19%), and improving leadership and management (19%).
With this in mind, the top three challenges respondents expect their organisation to face next year are talent acquisition and retention (31%), meeting customer expectations and satisfaction (28%), and effective leadership and management (27%). Nearly a quarter (23%) also anticipate skill and competency gaps.
“Boosting operational efficiency, revenue, and customer satisfaction should undoubtedly be business priorities,” said Ciara Harrington, Skillsoft’s Chief People Officer. “However, it is nearly impossible to deliver on these goals without first breaking them down into measurable actions, clearly communicating these actions to their entire workforce early and often, and providing an environment where employees can develop new skills in service of this strategy.”
The survey also revealed that only a quarter (25%) of respondents are extremely satisfied with their current roles, with those most dissatisfied pointing to feeling unprepared for future challenges (86%) and a lack of visibility into organisational goals (43%). Just 21% of respondents are extremely satisfied with the overall culture of their organisation.
Burnout and exhaustion (39%), decreased motivation/engagement (35%), and overwhelming workload and responsibilities (35%) were respondents' top work-related challenges over the past year.
Overall, only 23% of respondents said they feel extremely prepared to handle future work-related challenges. Contributing to this uncertainty, a fifth of respondents identified the lack of training and skill development opportunities as their primary work-related challenge in the past year. And fewer than a third (31%) said they had received new training and upskilling opportunities or access to new technologies (notably AI tools) to achieve their professional goals.
"Access to training and new technologies nurtures continuous learning and adaptability, empowering employees to tackle future challenges,” Harrington continued. “An investment in talent is an investment in the future of your company and its competitive edge."