2011 begins my 40th year as a management consultant. (I began my career when I was very young so that has allowed me time to learn about management and consulting.) One of the consulting services I have provided hundreds of clients in various industries has been our Employee Opinion Survey. Through the survey process I have developed a better understanding of the attitudes of over a million employees and supervisors. This is the first of a series of articles that share a few of my thoughts.
Richard Reinhardt, Vice President
Whether you are in upper management or an hourly employee, the leadership ability of the person to whom you directly report is a major contributor to your job satisfaction. If your supervisor cares about you, listens, provides positive and negative feedback in a proper way, supports you when you need help, etc., then the Company is a good place to work. Conversely, if you work for someone who treats you with disrespect, then regardless of the pay, benefits and working conditions your attitude toward your work and Company will be negative.
Therefore, top management needs to focus more attention on improving the performance and attitudes of all managers, especially front-line supervisors. One way is to make sure they are well informed and too often they are not. For instance, we ask supervisors “Do you usually receive information about Company plans and changes before your employees?” The percentage that respond to this question favorably is:
a. 67%
b. 73%
c. 79%
d. 86%
Choose one on the poll to the right and click the link below to check your answer.