How many senior leaders walk the talk in organisations today?

Senior leaders in the UK need to step out of the boardroom and onto the office floor in a bid to get to know their employees. This is a result of the latest research by RightCoutts, one of the UK’s leading HR consultancies.

The findings reveal that a staggering 49 per cent of UK employees have never even had a conversation with their employer. Nearly one quarter (23 per cent) of employees don’t even know the name of their Managing Director (MD) or Chief Executive Officer (CEO) - even though most respondents work for small to medium companies. While 50 per cent claim their company director doesn’t know who they are either.

Across the UK, employees in Scotland were the least likely to know the name on the boss’s door, with almost 30 per cent not knowing the name of their MD or CEO. This vastly contrasts with employees based in London, of which 81 per cent know their leader’s name.

Erling Nottaasen, principal consultant at RightCoutts, comments: Our research shows a surprising lack of contact in the workplace between leaders and their staff. This apparent anonymity could be hindering business growth and damaging staff motivation.

Some of the most admired and successful leaders display a gritty determination not to loose touch with their staff, regardless of how large the organisation is. We come across many senior people who believe that ’shop floor’ contact is critical to their success as a leader and has a positive impact on the company’s performance.

Further results reveal that 41 per cent of workers think the reason for employee disengagement is because their MD or CEO is too focused on senior managers. Over a quarter (28 per cent) think their leader is not hands on or interested in all areas of the company.

Erling Nottaasen comments: CEOs/MDs need to demonstrate their leadership through empowering local leaders (or senior managers) to meet specific customer needs and to mobilise the workforce to achieve strategic objectives - however this does not mean the CEO should become visibly removed from their staff.

The RightCoutts research also reveals that tackling these issues and having an approachable leader, who is visible and interacts with staff, would have a positive impact on productivity and staff retention. Over half (58 per cent) believe their motivation would increase, 60 per cent say their loyalty to the company would grow and 46 per cent reveal their job satisfaction would rise if they had a better relationship with their leader.

Erling Nottaasen cautions: While visibility is important for leaders, it’s vital they strike the right balance between their strategic responsibilities and their involvement at a micro level.

We work with many senior leaders to ensure that unique leadership strategies instil trust among their employees, mobilise and engage their workforce and drive the journey from strategy development to implementation. ’Back to the floor’ assignments are one of many approaches that create a learning experience for leaders, engaging them at an emotional level and encouraging experiential learning, he concludes.