Line Managers Are Key to Improving HR Effectiveness

The majority of HR managers say they would be more effective if line managers were better equipped - according to Youmanage, the online HR toolkit for line managers.

The survey was conducted in December 2007 to assess HR managers’ views on the key HR challenges facing line managers and how their effectiveness could be improved.

It revealed 80% of HR managers surveyed thought that by better equipping their people managers HR’s effectiveness would increase, as they would be able to spend less time being reactive and focus on more higher value activities.

The survey also showed that just over half (52%) of HR managers believe that line managers should take more responsibility for people management issues. Following on from this, 83% of HR managers in organisations with more than 250 employees believed that by equipping people managers better, overall employee productivity would increase.

In companies with less than 250 employees, 70% of HR managers believe that equipping line managers more effectively would reduce the risk of employment tribunals and other employee disputes.

The area in which HR professionals believed line managers would most benefit from more support or better systems was managing employee development: 77% identified this as a requirement. They also highlighted managing absence and sickness as an area where managers needed better support. This was particularly so in organisations with fewer than 250 employees, where 75% of HR managers said it would have a beneficial effect.

70% of HR managers in smaller organisations also thought that managers would benefit from better systems to support recruitment and interviewing for their line managers. This contrasted with only 55% of respondents in larger companies: suggesting that larger organisations may already have more formal systems in place at the start of an employee’s life-cycle.

(VB)