Senior Leaders Drive Employee Engagement

CU360
June 16, 2010 | COMMENTS

If a company executive makes a careless decision, just how far down the pipeline do the consequences travel? Probably farther than he or she would like to admit. Employees' opinions of their jobs and their companies are clearly linked to the actions of their senior leaders, according to an annual survey of more than 20,000 employees conducted by Kenexa Research Institute (KRI).

The findings, reported in the American Society for Training & Development's T&D magazine, show that the current rating of U.S. senior leadership effectiveness stands at 54%, indicating confidence among slightly more than half of employees.

“With confidence in leadership so inextricably tied to an employee's engagement at work, this result is a likely leading indicator of turnover rates once the economy improves, unless leaders take action to re-establish employee trust,” says Brenda Kowske, a research manager at KRI.

Employee evaluations were based on:

• The extent to which senior leaders maintain employee confidence through their decisions, actions, and communications;
• How well employees are informed about company direction; and
• Whether senior leaders possess the capability to deal with the organization's challenges.

The survey showed that a strong organizational leadership team had a definite effect on the engagement levels of workers. In addition, employees who held a positive opinion of their leadership had a firmer intention to stay with their organizations compared with those who did not. They also had more confidence in the organization's future as well as their own future with the company.

“If leaders don't have a firm grasp on how employees will enable success, then employees not only lose confidence in their leaders, but also start to question whether they should continue to invest their energy into the company,” says Kowske.

One of the most significant findings in the study was that employees' ratings of their higher-ups were driven by elements of communication rather than leaders' raw skills.

“It's not enough to make good decisions. Employees need consistent reassurance and enough information to judge the wisdom of the leaders' course of action for themselves,” Kowske notes.

Looking toward rebuilding after the economy picks up, leaders need to make the adjustment from “survival mode to a model of growth,” says Kowske. They also need to translate to employees what that change means for their careers at the company, she adds.

This article was orginally published online by CU360, an online portal for benchmarking tools, market insights, industry data, and analytical information at cu360.cuna.org. Reprinted with permission.