Benefits January 4, 2007

Employee Attitude About Management Worsens in 06

January 4, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - After employee ratings of senior management had risen considerably from 2002 to 2004, the ratings dropped slightly in 2006, according to a survey by Watson Wyatt Worldwide.
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In a press release, Watson Wyatt said its WorkUSA 2006/2007 survey found only about half (49%) of employees said they have trust and confidence in the job senior managers are doing, down from 51% in 2004. Fifty-three percent said senior management makes the changes necessary for the company to stay competitive, compared to 57% who said so in 2004.

Ilene Gochman, national practice director for organization effectiveness at Watson Wyatt, said in the release the drop was alarming because employee attitude about senior management is a key factor for employee engagement.

Watson also found a drop in the ratings of communications received by employees from senior management, as 43% of employees reported their firm’s senior management takes an active, visible role in communicating to employees, down from 45% in 2004.

Highly engaged employees reported receiving communication from senior managers more frequently than less engaged employees. More than half (56%) of highly engaged employees said they receive communication from senior management at least monthly, while 42% of low engaged employees said they receive communication from management annually or not at all.

Other findings of the study, according to the release, included:

  • 66% of employees said they have confidence in the company’s long-term success, down from 69% in 2004.
  • 55% of employees said senior management takes steps to control company costs, down from 59% in 2004.
  • 55% of employees said senior management behaves consistently with the company’s core values, down from 57%in 2004.

Survey results are based on a poll of 12,205 full-time US workers across all job levels and major industries.

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