Do your employees know you as a boss?
A study by the software manufacturer Unit4 shows: In many companies, the CEO is too unapproachable. In fact, a quarter of employees don't know their boss.
Things seem to be pretty impersonal in companies in Germany: More than a quarter of all employees in companies in our northern neighbor have never met their CEO in person. This was the result of a recent survey conducted by the software provider Unit4 among German companies with up to 1000 employees. In the survey, 27 percent of the employees questioned said they had never had any kind of contact with their managing director. In addition, less than half of the survey participants, 46 percent, have met their managing director in a one-to-one situation. The most important management personality in the company is thus not tangible for a large proportion of employees.
If the boss communicates only by circular....
The study suggests that the CEO of a company appears to many employees as an aloof and isolated personality. Sometimes employees even perceive him or her only as a shadowy and elusive figure who cannot be associated with any concrete ideas or corporate values. For example, only 34 percent of respondents said they had ever received an e-mail from management - and in these cases, the e-mails were merely impersonal e-mail circulars sent throughout the company. E-mails from their managing director addressed personally to them or to a manageable group were even received by only 28 percent of the participants surveyed.
Faceless boss acts as a deterrent
The results are based on the study "Decision Making for the Future Business Report; Who Calls the Shots in the Business of Tomorrow?" by Unit4 and Opinium. For this survey, employees from around the world were asked about the leadership culture in their company. The survey was conducted in the UK, USA, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Canada and the Netherlands. The figures given here refer to the information provided by survey participants from Germany.
Particularly with regard to the modern working world, the study results cast a rather critical light on many CEOs: For young employees of generations Y and Z, who value flat hierarchies and identification with the company, an inaccessible and faceless CEO often has a deterrent effect.
Rethinking old role models
Today, transparency and a direct line to the employees are much more in demand. The CEO must inspire the workforce, promote team spirit and pursue the company's goals together with colleagues at eye level. Old role models, according to which tasks were rigidly distributed from above, are obsolete. The results of the survey show: It is becoming increasingly important for managing directors to involve employees in decision-making in order to exploit their potential.
Mike Ettling, CEO of Unit4: "The elusive CEO is found in companies all over the world. Hardly anyone has ever seen him, heard of him or had anything to do with him. But when the CEO loses touch with employees, so does their connection to the company. Important goals remain vague due to a lack of communication. This situation should change as soon as possible."
Focus on employees
Mike Ettling continues: "The gap between management and employees also leads to employees displaying lower motivation. Productivity and ultimately business success suffer as a result. A rigid, strictly hierarchical corporate structure is simply no longer in keeping with the times. New approaches are needed for productive cooperation and future innovations." Companies should therefore abandon traditional management methods. Today, the focus should be on the employees and supporting them in their development. This can uncover enormous potential for the business. Technology can play a part in changing the corporate culture so that employees are motivated and confident in taking on responsibility, the CEO of Unit4 continues.
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