Recent research from marketing company Maritz Research paints a poor picture of employee’s attitudes towards their work, organisation and Leaders. Some of the key findings include:
i. Only eleven percent of employees strongly agree that their managers show consistency between their words and actions,
ii. Worst still, only seven percent of employees strongly agree they trust senior leaders to look out for their best interest,
iii. Surprisingly, the same percentage (seven) strongly agree they trust their co-workers to do so,
iv. Twenty percent of those surveyed disagree that their company’s leader is completely honest and ethical,
v. Finally, one-quarter of respondents disagree that they trust management to make the right decisions in times of uncertainty.
While the results are based on a poll of American workplaces, these findings should resonate in every organisation. In times of significant change and uncertainty, it is not surprising that trust is low. The question that is applicable for most Leaders is what to do with these results? I have blogged previously about Leadership in a time of crisis based on a McKinsey survey. The top two organisational qualities needed during a crisis were Leadership and Direction. Too often, organisations spend their time, effort and resources looking externally in a crisis forgetting the importance of spending the same time effort and resources internally engaging with the workforce.
The survey results are the outcome of the failure to look internally. What are you going to do ensure that these are not replicated in your organisation?
The Dynamics of HR 