Employee relations Employee communications HR practice Leadership

Managers’ poor communication blamed for low staff motivation

by John Eccleston 8 Jun 2011

Lack of communication between senior managers and their wider workforce is leading to low motivation among staff, according to research published today.

The survey, by people development company European Leaders, found that more than two-thirds (68%) of respondents said that they fail to understand their company’s vision, leading to a lack of motivation and reduced productivity. In addition to this, almost two-thirds (64%) of respondents claimed that they could, and would, work much more efficiently with better motivation.

Currently, less than one-fifth (18 %) of respondents view the business they work for as a good organisation and, as a result, only one-third (36%) describe themselves as working to their full potential.

Respondents to the survey cited strong management as being crucial to building motivation among employees.

Further findings included:

15% have skills and knowledge from their personal interests or hobbies which could be put to better use at work;
34% think that a good manager should know when employees have under-used skills or expertise; and
38% think that a good manager should embrace new ideas and input from across the company.

Ashley Ward, director of European Leaders, said, “It’s widely accepted that people performance is the biggest influence in business performance, yet, as a nation, we’re still not doing enough. If you look at the UK’s best companies to work for, their focus on company values and employee engagement is right at the top of their agenda.

“The fact that people want to be more involved in their work and their company shows they think about their employer’s business and care about how they’re managed. They have more to give and opening the minds of management to fresh ideas can release a huge amount of energy and skill from the workforce, benefiting the business bottom line as well as the employees as they become more passionate about the organisation they work in. A seemingly negligible investment can get teams much closer to their full potential performance, resulting in a happier workforce and significant financial benefits.”