Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

HR practiceLeadership

UK workers ‘lack trust in senior management’

by Jo Faragher 11 Sep 2012
by Jo Faragher 11 Sep 2012

British workers are losing confidence in senior management, according to research from professional services company Towers Watson. The second part of its Global Workforce Study found that only just over half of workers trust the information they receive from their senior team and only 44% believe that their leaders can improve business performance.

Towers Watson’s study followed research released earlier this week by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, which concluded that HR needed to evolve leadership development to breed a new generation of more self-aware and ethical leaders. In fact, one respondent in three to the survey said that they believed their company was doing a poor job of developing future leaders.

Arvinder Dhesi, head of talent management at Towers Watson, attributed the loss of faith in managers to the ongoing pressures that staff face because of the tough economic situation. He said: “Five years after the start of the financial crisis, this recession has lasted longer than many expected and the ongoing pressure of squeezed budgets creating more work for less money can be demotivating. It is essential that leaders are clearly and transparently communicating the business strategy and employee’s role within it, so they feel empowered to make a bigger and more positive contribution to the organisation.”

He added that workers feel pressured to work harder than ever with fewer resources, highlighting the fact that more than half (58%) of staff reported that they were working harder than normal and only 45% said that they feel their leaders are doing a good job of managing costs. One-third of employees said that they would leave their organisation due to lack of trust in their senior leaders.

Business leaders need to tackle this “climate of discontent”, urges Towers Watson, and they can do this by ensuring that recognition and reward are part of everyday working life, and by sharing success stories of individuals who have gone the extra mile. Managers are also advised to encourage employees to suggest new ideas and reward them accordingly, keep open and honest channels of communication, make sure that the senior team is approachable and ensure that everyone in the company is informed of how it is performing. Investing in social media tools, such as instant messaging or social networks as well as leadership blogs, could be another way to improve overall communication, the report found.

Dhesi added: “It can be easy for senior managers to lose touch with their staff when pressured by targets and budgets, but the long-term damage this can do to the company could prove to be much bigger and more expensive. It is particularly worrying to see how many workers are losing faith in the system of communication, which could make it difficult to attract and retain key talent in the future. It is vital that UK businesses take note of this growing trend and act to tackle it right now to avoid an era of ‘lost leaders’.”

Personnel Today’s Buyers’ Guides offer further information on management and leadership training.

Jo Faragher
Jo Faragher

Jo Faragher has been an employment and business journalist for 20 years. She regularly contributes to Personnel Today and writes features for a number of national business and membership magazines. She won the Willis Towers Watson HR journalist of the year award in 2015 and has been highly commended twice.

previous post
HR must help build new generation of ethical leaders, says CIPD
next post
PILON: When can payments in lieu of notice be paid tax free?

You may also like

Hot summers, hot desks – employment law advice...

12 Aug 2022

How introverts can become brilliant leaders

5 Aug 2022

Frasers Group scraps Friday working from home policy

15 Jul 2022

Wimbledon 2022: what can leaders learn from the...

11 Jul 2022

Founder disputes: the significance of fair play

8 Jul 2022

PM’s resignation sheds light on leadership psychology and...

7 Jul 2022

Netherlands on track to approve working from home...

7 Jul 2022

Employment law changes for 2022 and beyond: update...

1 Jul 2022

Chief financial officers now more involved in HR

1 Jul 2022

Retaining talent during the great resignation (webinar)

29 Jun 2022
  • 6 reasons why work-based learning is better than traditional training PROMOTED | A recent Fortune/Deloitte survey found that 71% of CEOs are anticipating that this year’s biggest business disrupter...Read more
  • Strengthening Scotland’s public services through virtual recruiting PROMOTED | This website is Scotland's go-to place for job seekers looking to apply for roles in public services...Read more
  • What’s next for L&D? Enter Alchemist… PROMOTED | It’s time to turn off the tedious and get ready for interactive and immersive learning experiences...Read more
  • Simple mistakes are blighting the onboarding experience PROMOTED | The onboarding of new hires is a company’s best chance...Read more
  • Preventing Burnout: How can HR help key workers get the right help? PROMOTED | Workplace wellbeing may seem a distant memory...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+