LONDON. (13th November 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. 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.
According to the latest research, an immediate manager has more influence on their employees beyond their role as delegator, evaluator and motivator. The results suggest that an employee’s view of their immediate manager has a significant impact on their engagement level and overall views of the company.
For those employed in the United Kingdom, good managers positively affect an employee’s job satisfaction. Managers who contribute to job satisfaction do an overall good job of managing people and projects, treat people fairly and provide useful feedback. Managers such as these have a significant, favourable impact on how these workers rate their pride in their organisation, willingness to recommend it as a place to work and their overall satisfaction. Additionally, those employees who rate their manager highly intend to stay with the organisation versus those who are dissatisfied with their manager.
However, not all organisations have a pool of such talented managers. Favourability regarding an employee’s immediate manager varies notably among industries. Employees in the banking and accounting industries are the most favourable, whereas those workers in the light manufacturing and the transportation industries have the least favourable opinions.
Similarly, people in different jobs rate their managers differently. Those in managerial and executive positions, as well as clerical and technical workers have notably more favourable opinions of their immediate managers than do workers who are operators or in the crafts and skilled trades.
Those who are newer to an organisation have significantly more favourable opinions of their immediate manager than do those who have been with the organisation longer. In terms of age, the youngest workers are the most favourable with their immediate manager.
“Effective managers do a better job of retaining talented employees, because they manage the workload, treat employees fairly and provide useful feedback,” said Vernon Bryce, European Operations Director, Kenexa.
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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