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Should I Stay or Should I Go?
--Kenexa Research Institute Calibrates the Impact of Having an Ineffective Manager with an Employee’s Intent to Leave--

LONDON. (November 1, 2007) – Research conducted by the Kenexa Research Institute (KRI), a division of Kenexa® (NASDAQ: KNXA), a leading provider of recruitment and retention solutions, evaluated workers’ views of their immediate managers and the impact they have on their intent to leave the organisation. The report is based on the analysis of data drawn from a representative sample of workers surveyed in 2007 through WorkTrends™, KRI’s annual survey of worker opinions. The survey included workers from Brazil, China, Germany, India, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The results from the latest cross-culture study indicate that among the six countries surveyed, 12% of workers state their manager is ineffective. Workers in the United Kingdom are more likely to rate their immediate manager unfavorably, while workers in India report the highest levels of satisfaction with their manager.

Employees view their manager as ineffective if they do not practice ethical behaviour, provide useful feedback, treat people fairly and effectively manage the workload. For all workers studied, poor managers have a significant, unfavourable impact on how these workers rate their pride in their organisation, willingness to recommend it as a place to work and their overall job satisfaction. Additionally, those employees who are dissatisfied with their manager state a much higher intention to leave the organisation versus those who are satisfied.

Results among the six countries surveyed dramatically indicate an employee is three times more likely to state an intention to leave the organisation if they have a manager who is doing a poor job in leading their team or organisation. In India and China, the impact is even higher.

“Given the high cost of employee turnover, it is clear that poor managers within an organisation dramatically increase the cost of operations. Managers who demonstrate ethical conduct, show consideration and respect, and have an open, proactive relationship with their employees can create high performing units and also do a better job of retaining talented employees,” said Jack Wiley, executive director, Kenexa Research Institute.

About Kenexa
Kenexa ® Corporation provides outsourcing, employee research and software to help organisations more effectively recruit and retain a productive workforce. Kenexa solutions include applicant tracking, employment process outsourcing, onboarding, skills and behavioural assessments, structured interviews, performance management, multi-rater feedback surveys, employee engagement surveys, and HR Analytics. Headquartered in Wayne, Pa. (outside Philadelphia), Kenexa employs more than 1,300 people worldwide. More information about Kenexa and its global locations can be accessed at www.kenexa.com.

About WorkTrends™
The Kenexa WorkTrends database is a comprehensive normative database of employee opinions on topics including leadership, employee engagement and customer orientation. Comparisons are available for workers from Brazil, China, Germany, India, the United Kingdom and the United States.

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Note to Editors: Kenexa is a registered trademark of Kenexa Corporation. Other product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.

Members of the press can request a copy of the research results from the media contacts listed below:

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Michael Gegg
Kenexa
+44 (0)20 8585 2345
michael.gegg@kenexa.com
 
Rebecca Williams
CHA PR
+44 (0)20 7622 8252
rebecca.williams@chapr.co.uk