Bersin’s TalentWatch for the first quarter of 2011 includes lots of good information and analysis. The big news is that they found that almost half of their survey respondents now see business growth at or above plan. One in four reported annual revenue growth of more than ten percent. Naturally, HR departments are now ramping up hiring, complaining about a lack of “talent” and putting in programs to increase innovation, engagement and performance. Then, the report says this:
“Skills gaps in supervisory-level and midlevel leadership are now becoming a major focus, along with the need to identify and promote emerging talent.”
There are lots of reasons to improve the supervisory skill set of your managers at all levels, but one important one is to stay out of legal trouble. Shortly after the Bersin report hit my hard drive, HR Morning published a piece with the scary headline: “High Court ruling confirms need for manager training.” The article told how
“The court has ruled that a hospital in Peoria, IL, can be liable for the discriminatory motives of supervisors who influenced — but didn’t actually make — the decision to fire an employee.”
This sort of ruling shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Bosses have a powerful impact on just about everything because they make day-to-day decisions that affect quality of work life, productivity, and organizational liability. As the Word on Employment Law blog put it:
“Most employment lawsuits have a supervisor or manager at their center.”
Here’s the bottom line. If you want to get the benefits of good supervision at all levels and avoid lawsuits and other nasty outcomes, you must select supervisors that are likely to succeed in the job, train them with the skills they need, and support their work.
