CEOs admit they could be more productive

By Stephen Lunn

More than a quarter of Australian chief executives and board directors admit they are underperforming at work.

This is despite the massive pay packets they take home.

Asked in an Australian Institute of Management survey whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement: “I could be putting more effort and input into my current role”, 26 per cent of CEOs and board directors said they agreed or strongly agreed.

The survey of 3368 businesspeople showed all levels of management had a substantial proportion of members who admitted underperforming in their roles, including 33 per cent of middle-management and 36 per cent of professionals.

“All of Australia should be looking at these results,” AIM Victoria and Tasmania CEO Susan Heron said.

“It’s symptomatic of a ‘she’ll be right, mate’ approach to business in Australia, and there’s a real flow-on negative effect across the business community.

“We enjoy the benefits of being in such a resource-rich country . . . but it has subsidised inconsistent standards of leadership and management.”

AIM’s Survey of Employment Engagement, to be released today, also shows 33 per cent of those surveyed are considering leaving their job, and of those 50 per cent plan to do so within the next year.

Forty per cent of respondents said they didn’t feel appreciated by their employer, despite nearly a quarter saying an employee should stay with the one organisation for their entire career.

“The most important resource any organisation has is its people and skills, and what our survey shows is that there is too high a level of disengagement with and under-utilisation of workers. Set against the skills shortage and the ageing population, our long-term prosperity is being put at risk,” Ms Heron said.

The survey also examined what benefits workers were looking for in order to feel appreciated by their organisations.

“Pay is ranked 10th on the list of factors keeping participants at their current jobs,” Ms Heron said.

“Even for those people looking to leave their employer, pay is not the most important motivating factor. In the survey, pay is ranked behind ‘no career advancement’ as the key reason people are considering a move.”

Article from www.news.com.au