WeeklySA_AdminINFLUENCE: Top bosses’ job security could hinge on keeping workers positively engaged and appreciative of leadership, according a research study…
By WSAM Correspondent
New research from the University of Washington finds that Employee approval greatly influences whether a board of directors will retain or dismiss a chief executive officer.
This is according to a new research from the University of Washington, whose findings suggest that a CEO’s job security could hinge on keeping workers positively engaged and appreciative of leadership.
Financial performance, analyst recommendations and the level of CEO power within the organisation are among the most well-known predictive factors. But the study, recently published in Strategic Management Journal, shows that employee approval also has an impact on this consequential decision made by boards of directors. Employees can offer an inside perspective on CEO performance, which was the premise behind the research. This was important because the workers were primarily responsible for implementing the organisation’s strategies.
“The bottom line is, employees matter – both to CEO success and organisations,” said Bruce Avolio, co-author and professor of management in the UW Foster School of Business. “That’s a group of stakeholders that’s been underrepresented in strategic leadership research. Employee approval does have a significant impact on the most consequential decision a board can make — the involuntary turnover and dismissal of the CEO. Based on our findings, you can predict, with some degree of accuracy, the risk of a CEO being dismissed. “
The authors gathered data from Glassdoor.com, an online platform where current and former employees can share information anonymously about their leaders and organisations. Their analysis revealed that employee approval or disapproval was predictive of a board’s dismissal decision. This was particularly true when the CEO had less power than the board, because powerful CEOs had more influence over decisions and become further entrenched in their position. Employee opinion also carried more weight when a firm was performing well financially and had positive recommendations from security analysts.
“If a firm is performing poorly, then you know there is a problem,” Avolio said. “But if they’re doing well, and your employees don’t value your leadership, something is going on that may not seem as obvious. There’s also been a lot of attention in the news recently about the importance of employee sentiment and their well-being. Employee morale has also been rising to the top in terms of the factors that can impact an organization’s success. Employee sentiment, just like consumers, is going to matter more and more. Leadership is going to have to pay attention.”
Researchers used data from 338 firms and 1 252 firm-year observations between 2010 and 2018. To make sure reviews reflected an organisation’s current situation, the researchers analysed data only from current employees. And they used only the years — where Glassdoor.com had data — that had input from at least 60 employees. The researchers also dropped all years in which CEO succession occurred.
Separately, via one-on-one interviews, researchers found that board members were paying attention to employees’ opinions.
“I interviewed about 20 members of major boards,” Avolio said. “Almost all were certainly aware of social media. Many were aware of Glassdoor, and a proportion of them said that they regularly get briefings on that kind of data.”
When approval of a CEO was high, Avolio said it showed that employees were confident in their leadership and were supportive of their strategies. If a board removed that CEO, it could upset employees and potentially hurt future organisational success. Conversely, low approval ratings signalled employees weren’t confident in a CEO and were less likely to implement their strategies. In this case, replacing a CEO could help a firm regain employee confidence.
“Employee satisfaction covers so many things, including the quality of management,” Avolio said. ““The most common source of stress for employees, which is bad for you physically and mentally, is a bad supervisor. All of us have worked for people who kind of suck the energy out of units and organisations. I think there’s a real thing growing around the importance of health and well-being of employees tied to effective leadership and organizational performance.”
