5 February 2008
Roffey Park report: organizations look better from the top
Do your board members wear rose-tinted spectacles?
Just published, research and training organization Roffey Park’s The Management Agenda 2008 says those closest to the organization’s summit are more positive about its management and organizational life. The closer you are to the top, the more highly you rate your organization it seems.
Of the 500 people questioned for the survey, most board directors (82%) think their organization’s leadership is effective compared to 62% of other directors and senior managers – and just 52% of middle managers.
Stress seems to be more prevalent in not-for-profits – up dramatically to 80% in 2008 versus 65% in 2007.
Leaders are the future
But organizations still rate leadership development as the most common strategy to embrace the future.
This is higher than more business-related activities such as outsourcing, e-business, globalization or mergers and acquisitions.
Jo Hennessy, Roffey Park’s director of research, says: “We can conclude that there's still room for leaders to improve especially as there appear to be business benefits. Organizations that outperform financial expectations generally have a better quality of leadership than underperforming organizations and are more likely to be actively developing leadership at all levels.”
Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
CSR is personally important to them, say 88% of respondents. Given this strength of feeling – and today’s skills shortages – companies ignoring their social and environmental impact in favor of purely economic goals may find it harder to recruit talent.
Hennessy says that most CSR activities that organizations perform – recycling, community help and fundraising, for example – are peripheral to the core business. “There appears to be room for globally responsible leaders at board level to make CSR a greater strategic priority,” she says.
Happiness despite stress
Workers have a generally positive attitude despite little change in stress levels or work-life balance.
- Genuinely interested in their work (96%)
- Like their colleagues (94%)
- Committed to the organization (87%)
- Work contributes to general happiness (81%)
However, 67% say they experience stress at work, with 53% attributing it to organizational politics.
Companies ignoring their social and environmental impact in favor of purely economic goals may find it harder to recruit talent.
Stress seems to be more prevalent in not-for-profits – up dramatically to 80% in 2008 versus 65% in 2007.
Work-life balance
Organizations still benefit from people working longer than their contracted hours (78%). Perhaps this links with financial performance?
The survey results show 90% of managers in organizations outperforming financial expectations work longer hours compared with 67% in under-performing organizations.
Hennessy says: “Those organizations outperforming financially, might need to monitor the sustainability of this performance given how hard their staff need to work to deliver this for them”.
The most common reason for working extra hours, as in 2007, is increasing workload (60%), but just over half work the extra hours because they enjoy their work.
Have your say
It seems unsurprising that the most senior people should view their organizations more positively. Is that because they feel more in control and know what’s going on? Do you find the same in your organization?
Ever find yourself tempering senior leaders' overly optimistic views about how things are, particularly during a major change initiative?
Is it always inevitable that senior leaders know more about their organization than employees – and to what extent? How do you keep people involved? Who finds quarterly reports dull?
How many people work long hours? For fun, or because it’s expected?
Discuss these issues with other comms practitioners by joining the Internal Comms Hub members' group on the Communicators' Network.
Got a news story? Contact the newsdesk