Ernst and Young is putting its managers under the microscope with a confidential employee poll. The professional services firm is hoping to cull candid information from its workers to help its managers become more effective and help curb turnover. "People leave managers. They don't leave organisations," says Keith Bowman, the company's director of human resources. "For the last five years, people have had an incredible number of work opportunities. They are more likely to look for other jobs and leave. The role of the manager is absolutely fundamental to keeping people from leaving." Starting next month, Ernst and Young employees will be asked about their managers: "How well does the individual foster a positive work environment and help our people grow?" Staff can respond electronically to one of several pre-selected ratings, from not well to extremely well. All responses are anonymous. This approach comes at a time when the working world is under siege by an employee retention crisis - one that observers say will only get more severe in the years to come as an impending labour shortage of almost one million workers is expected across all industries in Canada. As a result, organisations are desperate to understand how to keep top talent from job-hunting. Their desperation is well-founded; given that one in three workers will resign from their job in the next two years, according to a new survey by the Hay Group. Ineffective managers are a major factor in the increasing rates of departure, says the research company, which interviewed more than one million employees in 330 organisations around the world. "Poor managers have a huge impact on employee turnover. Management's inability to adapt to the times will continue to contribute dramatically to sustaining high levels of turnover," says Ron Grey, managing director of The Hay Group, Canada. "We have seen significant problems with senior managers who have not recognised the changing relationship with workers and continue to operate using historical methods," he says. "As the workplace becomes more team-based and virtual, the role of managers must also change," Mr. Bowman says. "If you have the right people, you do not need to manage them. More work is team-based. More work is done from home. Managers should look for results and output, not whether their people are in the office at 9:00 a.m. The Hay Group survey found the main reason workers left was that they felt their skills weren't being used. The second-most cited reason was the inability of top managers to be effective leaders. For instance, only 30-40 per cent of workers surveyed said they felt their bosses were eager to help advance their careers. "Managers were also criticised for tolerating workers who underperform - creating a key source of dissatisfaction among their peers," Mr. Grey says. More than half of the employees surveyed said their employers routinely accept poor performers who shirk responsibility. Many top workers respond by leaving. "To add insult to injury," Mr. Grey says, "managers often don't understand why so many people are eager to leave and change jobs." "Managers have a degree of blind loyalty that makes it difficult for them to understand the views of other employees," Mr. Grey says. Workplace consultants urge managers to become better communicators, to treat employees as individuals and help foster career development. KPMG's chief human resources officer, Lauren Burns, says many of the firm's employees leave because they are "cherry-picked" by their clients, not because of bad management. The company has started re-recruiting former employees who may want to return. "Still," Mr. Burns says, "old-style management techniques that rely on close supervision, hierarchy and paternalistic methods are the most common reasons organisations are given for high turnover. People feel trapped. They are unhappy with the working relationship they have with their managers and want to get out." Source: Southworth (2001) Case Study Questions: 1. In your opinion, what makes employees at Ernst and Young perceive managers as ineffective? Elaborate and give incidences of some of the managerial behaviours that drive employees out of Ernst and Young. (15 marks) 2. What managers can do to ensure that employees will remain with the organisation? (10 marksErnst and Young is putting its managers under the microscope with a confidential employee poll. The professional services firm is hoping to cull candid information from its workers to help its managers become more effective and help curb turnover. "People leave managers. They don't leave organisations," says Keith Bowman, the company's director of human resources. "For the last five years, people have had an incredible number of work opportunities. They are more likely to look for other jobs and leave. The role of the manager is absolutely fundamental to keeping people from leaving." Starting next month, Ernst and Young employees will be asked about their managers: "How well does the individual foster a positive work environment and help our people grow?" Staff can respond electronically to one of several pre-selected ratings, from not well to extremely well. All responses are anonymous. This approach comes at a time when the working world is under siege by an employee retention crisis - one that observers say will only get more severe in the years to come as an impending labour shortage of almost one million workers is expected across all industries in Canada. As a result, organisations are desperate to understand how to keep top talent from job-hunting. Their desperation is well-founded; given that one in three workers will resign from their job in the next two years, according to a new survey by the Hay Group. Ineffective managers are a major factor in the increasing rates of departure, says the research company, which interviewed more than one million employees in 330 organisations around the world. "Poor managers have a huge impact on employee turnover. Management's inability to adapt to the times will continue to contribute dramatically to sustaining high levels of turnover," says Ron Grey, managing director of The Hay Group, Canada. "We have seen significant problems with senior managers who have not recognised the changing relationship with workers and continue to operate using historical methods," he says. "As the workplace becomes more team-based and virtual, the role of managers must also change," Mr. Bowman says. "If you have the right people, you do not need to manage them. More work is team-based. More work is done from home. Managers should look for results and output, not whether their people are in the office at 9:00 a.m. The Hay Group survey found the main reason workers left was that they felt their skills weren't being used. The second-most cited reason was the inability of top managers to be effective leaders. For instance, only 30-40 per cent of workers surveyed said they felt their bosses were eager to help advance their careers. "Managers were also criticised for tolerating workers who underperform - creating a key source of dissatisfaction among their peers," Mr. Grey says. More than half of the employees surveyed said their employers routinely accept poor performers who shirk responsibility. Many top workers respond by leaving. "To add insult to injury," Mr. Grey says, "managers often don't understand why so many people are eager to leave and change jobs." "Managers have a degree of blind loyalty that makes it difficult for them to understand the views of other employees," Mr. Grey says. Workplace consultants urge managers to become better communicators, to treat employees as individuals and help foster career development. KPMG's chief human resources officer, Lauren Burns, says many of the firm's employees leave because they are "cherry-picked" by their clients, not because of bad management. The company has started re-recruiting former employees who may want to return. "Still," Mr. Burns says, "old-style management techniques that rely on close supervision, hierarchy and paternalistic methods are the most common reasons organisations are given for high turnover. People feel trapped. They are unhappy with the working relationship they have with their managers and want to get out." Source: Southworth (2001) Case Study Questions:

1. In your opinion, what makes employees at Ernst and Young perceive managers as ineffective? Elaborate and give incidences of some of the managerial behaviours that drive employees out of Ernst and Young. (15 marks)

2. What managers can do to ensure that employees will remain with the organisation? (10 marks