Line managers need support to develop staff

Survey Shows 80% of HR Managers Believe Better Equipped Line Managers Are Key to Improving HR Effectiveness.

A new survey from Youmanage, the online HR toolkit for line managers has revealed that more than 80% of HR managers believe they would be more effective, if their organisationís line managers were better equipped.

81% of HR managers surveyed thought that by better equipping their people managers HRís effectiveness would increase, as they would be able to spend less time being reactive and focus on more higher value activities. The survey also showed that just over half (52%) of HR managers believe that line managers should take more responsibility for people management issues. Following on from this, 83% of HR managers in organisations with more than 250 employees believed that by equipping people managers better, overall employee productivity would increase. In companies with less than 250 employees, 70% of HR managers believe that equipping line managers more effectively would reduce the risk of employment tribunals and other employee disputes.

Conducted during December 2007, the survey was commissioned by Youmanage, the online HR toolkit for line managers, to assess HR managersí views on the key HR challenges facing line managers and how their effectiveness could be improved.

The area in which HR professionals believed line managers would most benefit from more support or better systems was managing employee development: 77% identified this as a requirement. They also highlighted managing absence and sickness as an area where managers needed better support. This was particularly so in organisations with fewer than 250 employees, where 75% of HR managers said it would have a beneficial effect.



70% of HR managers in smaller organisations also thought that managers would benefit from better systems to support recruitment and interviewing for their line managers. This contrasted with only 55% of respondents in larger companies: suggesting that larger organisations may already have more formal systems in place at the start of an employeeís life-cycle.

HR managers in smaller organisations were also more interested in using a system which would walk line managers through step-by-step processes for common management tasks: 58% of respondents from companies with less than 250 employees thought this would benefit their line managers, compared with only 47% of HR managers in larger organisations. However, half of those surveyed (regardless of the size of the organisation) thought that better on-the-job access to guidance and training information would help their people managers be more effective.

73% of the respondents thought that technology could play a part in improving the support provided to line managers. As a result, around 40% already had plans to use technology more extensively to provide this kind of management support.

Commenting on the results, Phil Brown, Youmanageís Managing Director said: ìThe survey shows that HR professionals want line managers to be more accountable for people management issues and theyíve recognising that better equipped line managers can have a significant impact on their organisationís effectiveness. The results also highlight that many HR professionals want the opportunity to add more value to their organisation, rather than being overwhelmed by routine support and admin tasks.

Itís clear that many HR professionals are looking to technology to help their people managers become more effective. As providers of the online HR toolkit for line managers, Youmanage is ideally placed to help organisations achieve this. The results of the survey reinforce the strong demand weíre already seeing in the market for our service.î