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• Manager-Employee Relationship
• Organization Design and Performance of the Global Pension Fund Industry - November, 1997
• Financial Performance and Employee Satisfaction in a Financial Services Business - 1992 to 1997 Organization Design Improvement - 1995 to 1997

Our Research Shows that Better Organization Design Is Related to Better Organization Performance

Our research includes information on organization layering, delegation, compensation, employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction and financial performance. It builds upon over fifty years of field research conducted by Dr. Elliott Jaques. Our research includes information on over 26,500 positions in 52 organizations. It shows that:

• Nearly 1/2 of manager-employee relationships are designed sub-optimally.
• Delegation is unclear in about 1/3 of the relationships.
• Compensation is inappropriate for over 1/3 of employees.

A key to successful organization design is the manager-employee relationship. Issues can include compression: managers being too close to employees and micromanaging; or gaps: managers being too distant from employees and not providing sufficient direction. Our research shows the following:

50%                         38%                           12%

Poor alignment (gaps and compression) is a significant barrier to optimal performance. The alignment of manager-employee relationships is the spine of the organization, upon which other factors are overlaid. If it is not properly aligned, other factors will be sub-optimal. Many organizations unintentionally create obstacles to employees doing their work.

However, it is possible to improve organization design. Better organization design is related to better organization performance. The following are three examples from our research.

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