The Value of Middle Management

Overview:

MRINetwork™, one of the world’s largest search and recruitment organizations, commissioned a study with Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) to explore the career paths of today’s professional workforce. The study is based on 200 telephone interviews with Human Resource directors or senior executives in the United States and 200 interviews with Human Resource directors or senior executives in the United Kingdom.

The MRINetwork Study supports the concept that middle managers are highly valued, as 79 percent of U.S. respondents and 64 percent of U.K. respondents considered middle managers critical to the success of a company. However it also revealed the differences between how middle managers and senior managers provide value to an organization. Middle managers are valued most highly for contributions to company morale and customer satisfaction, while senior management is more valued for contributions to financial performance and implementation of the CEO’s vision. When a void in the middle management layer occurs, the impact can be more damaging to the company and employee performance.

The survey found that in the U.S. and U.K. a void in middle management can only exist for less than three months before it begins to negatively impact morale and employees’ ability to perform their daily jobs. The middle management layer serves as the bridge that links senior management with junior team members, and when that link is interrupted, the repercussions are sudden and far-reaching. Therefore it is critical that hiring managers take immediate steps to fulfill vacancies in this layer before it impacts the rest of the company.

The survey evaluated where middle managers provide the most value to an organization. In the U.S., respondents cited customer satisfaction (74 percent), company morale (73 percent), hiring and team building (66 percent) and implementation of a CEO’s vision (66 percent) as the most critical job functions. Comparatively, respondents in the U.K. named company morale (73 percent) as the most important function, with customer satisfaction (68 percent), hiring and team building (63 percent) and sales and productivity (58 percent) following close behind. In both countries, innovation trailed behind with only 42 percent and 38 percent in the U.S. and U.K. respectively naming it as a critical job function.

Based on the study’s findings, MRINetwork concludes that for a business to attain success in today’s market, companies must be prepared to make a strong investment in hiring and supporting critical impact players in the mid-management layer of their organizations.

Following are some of the study’s highlights:

How Long Before a Void in Middle Management Impacts Morale?

middle management morale

How Long Before a Void in Senior Management Impacts Morale?

senior management morale
  • Middle managers in both the U.S. and the U.K. are more likely to be valued for their ability to increase morale, improve customer satisfaction, implement the CEO’s vision, and team building.
  • Meanwhile, senior managers in each region are valued for financial performance, implementation of CEO’s vision, innovation and customer satisfaction.

The Value of Middle Management

middle management value


The Value of Senior Management

senior management value

Methodology:

The survey is based on telephone interviews with 200 Human Resources Directors or Senior Executives in the U.S. and 200 in the U.K.; each with a substantial role in hiring decisions. The interviews were conducted July 14, 2005 – August 5, 2005 in the U.S. and July 14, 2005 – August 12, 2005 in the U.K. The margin of error for each sample of 200 is plus or minus seven percentage points (at 95% confidence level).

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