People Insight Research Shows Leaders Struggling to Stay in Touch

People Insight, a leading provider of employee engagement and employee survey services, recently researched staff views on the qualities of leaders in their organisations.

One high-level finding, covering all major UK sectors, is that less than half of employees believe their organisations are well-led. In times of change and uncertainty, this is a key issue affecting employee confidence and engagement.

The data reveals that top management are doing some things better than others. For example, whilst 56% of people believe leaders provide a clear vision and do a good job in keeping people informed, only 33% believe that senior managers involve people in important decisions. Furthermore, only 32% believe leaders are in touch with what really goes on; as a result, 25% of employees do not trust what their leaders are thinking and saying.

People Insight believes this indicates that leaders seem to be doing a better job of broadcasting information than acquiring it.

A spokesperson for People Insight commented: “Any viewer of ‘Back to the Floor’ will understand the value of senior leaders spending time at shop floor level to gain a real grounding of what is happening in their organisation, rather than believing everything they are told in their briefing papers.

However, our data re-enforces the view that bad news and good ideas frequently fail to make it up to the boardroom, resulting in missed opportunities, a lack of engagement, and in some cases a failure to identify and address serious corporate malpractice. In order for employees to trust what senior leaders are thinking and saying, they need to be persuaded that, fundamentally, leaders are well informed of the challenges and opportunities that employees themselves see every day.”

For more information on People Insight and their employee surveys, please call 0203 142 6511 or visit http://www.peopleinsight.co.uk.

About People Insight:
People Insight specialise in measuring employee engagement and offering practical advice on all aspects of the survey cycle to provide the insight and support organisations need to transform their performance. UK employers of all sizes spanning the public, private and not for profit sectors choose to work with People Insight as they have a great reputation for delivering a professional, personal and responsive engagement survey service that clients can trust.

Contact:
Tom Debenham
People Insight Ltd
Barley Mow Business Centre
London, UK
Zip: W4 4PH
Tel: 0203 142 6511
Email: tom.debenham@peopleinsight.co.uk