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Senior Executives and Managers By Chuck Martin Senior executives and managers look at and live in a somewhat different business world. Over the course of more than a year of research, we have noticed a difference in the viewpoints of senior executives and managers on a host of workplace and business issues. The differences are not necessarily negative, but they do reflect a somewhat differing view of parts of the business world and how each other functions on a day-to-day basis. For example, 38 percent of senior
executives (CEO, chairman, president, senior vice president, general manager,
etc.) say their workload has increased significantly compared to two years ago. "As a phase-in to retirement, I have reduced my workload, at the same time reducing my salary,” said a senior executive who responded to the survey. “The problem is, I still enjoy too much doing my work. But workload and salary are gradually getting back into the proper balance, and the retirement light at the end of the tunnel appears brighter!" When it comes to managers
(assistant vice president, director, manager, supervisor, etc.), 53 percent say
their workload has increased significantly. So more managers feel they have
taken on more of the burden. "It has become an all too familiar trend: take on more work, have your pay cut by a percentage in order to keep the company in business and have a job,” said one manager. “A large number of people in the workforce are rapidly reaching burnout." "Things could not be more intense. It's impossible to keep track of all the work and it's growing exponentially," said another manager. When it comes to the toughest
decisions, the number one tough call for the majority of senior executives
involves hiring and firing. Said a senior executive: "People represent the only sustainable competitive advantage we have, so decisions involving them are always the most difficult." For managers, the toughest
decisions for the majority of them involve changing jobs. Customer expectations: while 30
percent of senior executives say that their customers’ expectations compared
to two years ago are extremely higher, 15 percent of managers say so. Meeting customer expectations:
42 percent of senior executives say they do, and 31 percent of managers say they
do. Commuting time: senior
executives spend less time commuting to and from work. While 22 percent of
senior executives spend one hour or more commuting, 47 percent of managers do.
Both spend most of that time listening to the radio. Challenge: While 61 percent of
senior executives say they are very challenged, 43 percent of managers are.
However, when asked if the people who report to them are very challenged, 60
percent of senior executives said yes, compared to 35 percent of managers. Compensation: With 14 percent of
senior executives’ total compensation increasing significantly, 7 percent of
managers did the same. However, 23 percent of senior executives’ total
compensation decreased, compared to 9 percent of managers. While 76 percent of senior
executives work more than 50 hours a week, 52 percent of managers are putting in
that much time. Many of these differences, such
as how you look at customer expectations and toughest decisions made, cannot
readily be changed. However, when making internal
business decisions, it is important to see the context of the other side.
Chuck Martin is a syndicated columnist and best-selling business book author, his latest being "Managing for the Short Term" (Doubleday). He lectures around the world and can be reached at chuck@nfiresearch.com.
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