Majority of accounting firm bosses rated ‘good’ or ‘excellent’
A survey of UK bosses found that 61% of those working in professional services including accounting and law firms are positive about their bosses although one in 10 (9%) were slated as ‘poor’ managers, showing that bad management habits still pervade certain firms, although accountants were some of the best performing managers
Nationally, 61% of the professional services workforce was positive about their bosses – and just 9% described them as ‘poor’ – suggesting that, overall, those working in professional services have a high opinion of their managers, according to a survey of 1,024 UK employees conducted by incentive provider, One4all Rewards.
Across the board, covering all sectors, 56% of respondents rated their bosses as good or above. Best performing bosses overall were in the financial services sector with a 62% positive rating against 61% for accounting and law firms.
A third of respondents said that ‘being disorganised’ was the most common weakness in UK bosses, while bosses in Manchester were most likely to be described as excellent or good (63%).
On gender equality nearly half of workers (49%) said that men and women make equally good bosses, although 10% would prefer a male boss, compared with 6% a female boss.
By far the biggest split of opinion comes when looking at the age of bosses, with older people (aged 40-65) being preferred by 50% of the workforce, compared to just 15% of people who think people aged 18-39 make the better bosses.
Male workers are much more likely to put a value on age in their boss (55% compared to 45% of women).
For the most part, British bosses are at least meeting expectations, with most workers describing them as approachable (23%), honest (23%), confident (20%), organised (18%) and effective (15%).
The biggest weaknesses were being:
- disorganised – 33%
- moody – 13%
- controlling – 12%
- unpredictable – 11%
- lazy – 11%
Improving communication skills headed the list of ways for accounting bosses to establish a better relationship with their employees, with 72% highlighting this, while over half (55%) of respondents said they appreciate being thanked for good performance and showing appreciation for their efforts.
Alan Smith, managing director at One4All Rewards, said: ‘It’s interesting to see just how popular professional services business leaders are, but there are a small number who are unfortunately not quite winning the loyalty of their staff – indeed, almost 1 in 10 (9%) go as far as to say their boss is ‘poor’ – so there is some work to be done by those in certain organisations.’
‘Effective and expressive communication is the most crucial distinction workers measure their bosses by. Everyone wants their efforts to be recognised and valued, and to clearly understand what it is their manager expects of them. Communication is absolutely vital for maintaining positive morale in the workforce.’
Source: CCH Daily – Majority of accounting firm bosses rated ‘good’ or ‘excellent’
