Middle managers have had a bad rap over the years. Often seen as most resistant to change, pen pushers and bureaucrats who revel in their own fiefdoms, they have been seen as the antithesis of what modern dynamic organisations are hoping to achieve.
Today, though, I would like to put the case for the defence and indeed suggest that businesses large and small are starting to feel the pain of not investing enough in their future middle management layer.
Cutting investment
The problem began in 2008. As a side-effect of the recession most companies understandably decided to cut back on investment in training and reduce the intake of graduate and entry level employees.
Seven years on, we are now in a position where many organisations are struggling to find staff with five to seven years experience, the ideal candidates for early stage management positions. Consequently, companies are on the wrong end of a supply and demand equation with experienced candidates enjoying a bidding war for their services.
There has always been a desire to keep organisations streamlined and fit-for-purpose. That is usually a signal for middle managers to dust off their CVs as they are first in line for such re-organisation.
But it shows a lack of imagination that is having real consequences for the UK, particularly as we consider fundamental questions such as global competitiveness and productivity.
Efficiency and execution
Good middle managers perform a vital function at the heart of any company, ensuring operational efficiency and cohesion between management strategy and actual execution. Effective middle managers are key to organisational performance and productivity.
Why They are the most effective communications channel to the bosses on behalf of employees and able to relate management edicts to the realities of the shop floor.
Surveys regularly show junior staff are more likely to trust their immediate supervisors than their distant senior leadership teams. Consequently, middle managers can act as a vital champion for company strategy and culture.
Organisations that work well have these advocates scattered around their team, but many companies are now facing the consequences of failing to invest in this vital spoke in their operational structures.
Ultimately, the argument that it is safer to cut costs in a recession has backfired, because now it is more expensive for many businesses to find suitable middle management candidates.
Time to invest in staff
Whats the solution Certainly it is not easy to take the brave decision to continue investing in staff, especially when every financial indicator is screaming cost reduction.
There is also the well-worn argument for smaller businesses that the return-on-investment is not high, because a business is simply training staff up to be poached by a competitor.
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Certainly that danger is exists, but compared to the cost of attracting and retaining highly skilled staff it is a small price to pay. Employees, who see you investing in their future, are more highly motivated and often have a greater sense of loyalty and reciprocate investment in your company. It is one of the main reasons we decided to develop an apprentice scheme, initially focused on supporting undergraduates through their higher education course.
We operate in a highly competitive industry, where it is very difficult to compete with the major players in terms of opportunities and rewards. It is critical for us to invest in our staff and build them up from an early stage.
We accept that at some point some will be poached by bigger companies, but there will also be some who go on to become our customers. It is never simple to build a cost-benefit analysis of such a return, but even one six figure contract has the potential to reward our investment in training.
It sometimes feels were in danger of fulfilling the prophecy that were simply a nation of shopkeepers. It does require imagination to get beyond the excuses about the cost of training our future workforce.
The level of investment a company makes can be tailored to resources available and budgets available, but importantly it should not be seen as a one-off exercise. A new joiner should not just be seen as an individual contributor, for example an apprentice wielder.
While this might be a highly valuable contribution to the business it may not be the limit of that individuals potential. Indeed providing such training may actually inspire greater long-term commitment and a future generation of middle managers with the passion for a companys vision. If staff know the Managing Director is prepared to invest on-going in their development as their aspirations evolve, Im sure, it will produce a very positive response.
Loyalty
The value of the loyalty and engagement is hard to quantify in terms an accountant will easily understand, but the benefit to your customers, and ultimately your business, will be immeasurable.
If, as the Government suggests, productivity is the biggest priority for the UK economy in the next five years then every business has to make more of a concerted effort to train the next generation of middle managers.
If we are to compete globally and push productivity we have to have a well trained workforce now and in the future. Especially as the economy is turning we have less and less of an excuse to make this commitment to our employees.
The key is to appreciate that every initial investment made has the potential to develop an employee, not just an individual contributor, but a potential leader whose commitment will a positive example for other employees and valued by customers. With such industry-wide focus we will avoid future shortages in key positions and possibly even learn to look at the importance of middle managers through a different lens.
Roger Thorpe is chairman of CCE.
