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Retail bosses labelled bad decision makers
Archived article dated Monday August 6th 2007
New research reveals employee frustration with managers' indecision.
Over a third of employees surveyed working in retail (39%) believe their bosses are poor decision makers, with many blaming incompetence and lack of confidence as contributory factors for their indecision. In contrast, according to new research published today, 85% of bosses surveyed in the sector say that managers in their organisation are in fact good decision makers.
The research, conducted by YouGov for Investors in People - the organisation that works with companies to improve performance - highlights the negative impact of poor decision-making on employees in the retail sector. Of those who say their bosses are poor decision-makers, 54% say it causes them to lose respect for the manager and 52% report that it leaves them frustrated or angry. These employees also believe that poor decision-making is detrimental to the performance of the business - 78% claim it damages morale, 52 % say it reduces productivity and 29% say it allows competitors to get ahead.
When questioned about the reasons behind their managers' indecision, nearly half (47%) of employees in retail who think their managers are indecisive point to lack of confidence and 44% to lack of competence. 23% believe managers haven't had enough training and one in five (20%) say they are not sufficiently empowered by senior management.
Simon Jones, Acting Chief Executive at Investors in People UK, commented “This is worrying problem for the retail sector. Effective decision making is a vital skill for any manager, and critical to the smooth operation of the organisation as a whole. Indecisive managers are a drain on the company and a major frustration for their teams, damaging employee motivation which can in turn undermine productivity and affect the organisation's progress.”
According to the research, when managers do make important decisions, employees feel that their views aren't properly considered. Whilst 51% of senior managers surveyed in retail thought that management sought the views of others in their organisation before making a decision, only 19% of employees believe this is true. In fact, over half (55%) of employees claim that when bosses make a decision they simply inform others afterwards, and 12% say bosses are secretive about the decisions they make. Simon Jones added “There are clearly a number of factors which can lead to bad decision making but it is particularly worrying that managers are failing to involve other people as they put plans in place. Without employee input it is difficult to ensure that the team as a whole buys in to what has been decided and is motivated to play their part. Equally, decisions made in isolation are unlikely to take account of the full picture and may well not be in the best interests of the organisation. A participative, inclusive culture is key and presenting 'fait accompli' decisions is not the way to achieve this.”
Tagged as: you gov | investors in people
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