MENLO PARK, Calif., and CHICAGO, February 15, 2007 -- On Presidents Day, Americans honor past U.S. leaders, but what about those who occupy the top spots in companies across the country? According to a recent study, managers deserve some recognition, too. More than half (52 percent) of employees polled said they are satisfied with the performance of their bosses, while 28 percent are unhappy with their supervisors. Similarly, 60 percent of workers said they can trust their managers, compared to 21 percent who believe their supervisors aren't trustworthy. Less than one-quarter (24 percent) of workers feel they could do a better job than their bosses if put in charge.
The survey was developed by Robert Half International, the world's first and largest specialized staffing firm, and CareerBuilder.com, the United States' largest online job site. It was conducted via a web panel and includes responses from more than 3,000 U.S. workers.
Problem-Solving Prowess
Managers draw the highest marks when it comes to addressing day-to-day problems, with 58 percent of employees saying their bosses make time to review their job concerns; only 22 percent disagreed. Workers were somewhat less enthusiastic about their supervisors' willingness to help them advance professionally. Forty-five percent of respondents said their managers help them develop new skills, compared with 26 percent who disagreed. [A full breakdown of all survey results can be found at www.roberthalf.com/PressRoom.]
"Helping employees acquire new skills and assume greater responsibility is one of the most effective ways managers can promote loyalty, increase employee performance and build future leaders," said Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half International and author of Human Resources Kit For Dummies® (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.), now in its second edition. "Unfortunately, this type of training takes time, and many managers are too consumed with trouble-shooting to offer their staff members guidance or professional development."
Managers More Favored Than Company Executives
While most employees approve of their supervisors' performance, workers aren't quite as complimentary about top executives. Forty-four percent of workers said they are satisfied with their corporate leaders' performance -- eight percentage points lower than those who said the same about their bosses. Likewise, while six out of 10 workers believe their bosses can be trusted, approximately four out of 10 said the same about their corporate leaders. In addition, 36 percent of employees said those at the top lead by example, and 34 percent believe their corporate leaders are effective at motivating staff.
"The higher up the ranks an executive goes, the more challenging it becomes to communicate with staff," said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder.com. "Line managers have the benefit of being able to build rapport through daily interactions, whereas corporate executives typically must rely on more formal communication channels, which may not always be as effective."
Survey Methodology
The methodology used to collect survey responses from more than 3,000 workers involved selecting a random sample of comScore Networks panel members. These web panel members were approached via an e-mail invitation, which asked them to participate in a short online survey. The results of this survey are statistically accurate to within +/- 1.78 percentage points (19 times out of 20).
About Robert Half International
Founded in 1948, Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI) is the world's first and largest specialized staffing firm with more than 350 offices worldwide. The company's professional staffing divisions include Accountemps®, Robert Half® Finance & Accounting, and Robert Half® Management Resources, for temporary, full-time and senior-level project professionals, respectively, in the fields of accounting and finance; OfficeTeam®, for highly skilled temporary office support; Robert Half® Technology, for information technology professionals; Robert Half® Legal, for project and full-time staffing of attorneys, paralegals and legal support personnel; and The Creative Group®, for creative, advertising, marketing and web design professionals. For more information about the specialized staffing and recruitment divisions of Robert Half, visit www.rhi.com.
About CareerBuilder.com
CareerBuilder.com is the nation's largest online job site with more than 23 million unique visitors and over 1.5 million jobs. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB), and The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI), the company offers a vast online and print network to help job seekers connect with employers. CareerBuilder.com powers the career centers for more than 1,000 partners that reach national, local, industry and niche audiences. These include more than 150 newspapers and leading portals such as America Online and MSN. More than 250,000 employers take advantage of CareerBuilder.com's easy job postings, 19 million-plus resumes, Diversity Channel and more. Millions of job seekers visit the site every month to search for opportunities by industry, location, company and job type, sign up for automatic email job alerts, and get advice on job hunting and career management. For more information about CareerBuilder.com products and services, visit http://www.careerbuilder.com.
Robert Half International Media Contact:
Julie Ann Sims
(P) 650-234-6104
(E) julie.sims@rhi.com
CareerBuilder Media Contact
For all media inquiries and interview requests, contact:
Jennifer Grasz
(P) 773-527-1164
(E) jennifer.grasz@careerbuilder.com