manager barometer 2012 eng

February, 2012

Manager Barometer 2012

A survey to gauge the mood

among Austria’s managers

2 © Stanton Chase International 2 © Stanton Chase International

Managers in Times of Uncertainty

Stanton Chase

Manager Barometer 2012

Survey of 1,500 decision-makers:

Uncertainty over future economic development shapes

outlook for 2012

Managers seek work-life balance at home and in the family

Increasing number of managers want to change jobs despite the

economic crisis

Managers in large corporations particularly receptive to a change

3 © Stanton Chase International

Contents

I. Executive Summary

II. General Situation: Uncertainty Takes the Upper Hand

III. On the Move: Willingness to Move at Record High

IV. Career: Networking More Important Than Learning

V. Stanton Chase International


I. Executive Summary

The annual Stanton Chase Manager Barometer

provides clients with an overview of the mood

among top executives and managers in a wide

range of companies across Austria. For this year’s

barometer, over 1,500 managers were surveyed

about the key issues in the current economic

climate. Along with their feelings on the state of the

economy, they were asked about their levels of

satisfaction with their current jobs, the outlook for

their particular sectors, as well as their own

aspirations and career development prospects.

Brief Summary of Key Points

The level of dissatisfaction among managers –

87.8 percent would like to change jobs – should

set alarm bells ringing in boardrooms across

Austria. The desire to change employer is growing

rapidly and is a wish that is now expressed by the

vast majority of managers in Austria. A total of 87.8

percent of Austria’s managers would be willing to

change employer if they received the right offer.

This figure represents a rise of six percent over the

previous year. Over two thirds of managers would

be prepared to relocate to another country for a

new job.

Managers in large corporations are especially

receptive to the possibility of a change. This

applies in particular to those working in large

corporations and in so-called matrix organizations

(i.e. with several managers of their own) with fairly

anonymous communication structures. In this

group, the percentage interested in changing jobs

is even higher in this group (93.3 percent). “These

figures clearly indicate a dissatisfaction with the

current work situation,” says Franz Rois, Partner at

Stanton Chase in Vienna. “The increase in job

frustration seems to be particularly prevalent in

large corporations. These companies would be

well advised to take this situation seriously and

make structural changes to counteract this trend.”

Uncertainty is on the rise. News of the climatic

financial crisis and a threat of stagnation in the

world’s industrial nations have significantly

dampened the mood among Austria’s managers.

While expectations in the previous year had been

predominantly positive, the outlook for 2012 has

now turned negative. Only just under 20 percent of

managers describe their expectations for 2012 as

“positive”, while only 0.2 percent believe

developments will be “very positive”.

Individual situations are better than the overall

state of affairs. In general, the negative

expectations would seem to be more a reflection of

the negative reporting in the media than of actual

experience. Managers assess the situation in their

own company and industry far more positively than

the situation in the economy as a whole.


The mood has shifted. Times are becoming

uncertain, and a new – potentially longer – crisis

looms on the horizon. Reduced to a common

denominator, this basically sums up what Austria’s

managers expect of the future. While expectations

for 2011 were essentially still positive, managers

now clearly have strong doubts. In response to the

question “How do you think the Austrian economy

will develop in the next 12 months?”, only 0.2

percent choose the option “very good”. More than

half the survey participants give “neutral” as their

response. Around 25 percent view the outlook as

“negative”. In contrast, last year 83.1 percent of

managers had still felt the outlook was “optimistic”.

Over half the managers surveyed this year also

feel the negative or uncertain trend will continue

for a longer period.

Managers now only retain a positive outlook for

“industries of the future” (e.g. technology). This is

also linked to assumptions regarding the need for

innovation and creativity in times of crisis. The

outlook for career opportunities is still fairly

positive in the technology sector (73.8 percent),

followed by life sciences/healthcare (51.5 percent)

and industry (51.1 percent). The public sector –

the primary target of the Austrian government’s

budget cutbacks – trails far behind in last place:

only 6.6 percent of the managers surveyed

foresee a positive future for this sector.

Outlook More Positive in Home

Sector

Low expectations do not necessarily mean that

the effects of the crisis are already being felt. It is

not without reason that the managers surveyed

assess the general economic situation to be far

worse than the situation in their own industry.

Over 80 percent of the 1,500 executives surveyed

are “optimistic” to “very optimistic” about the mood

in their own companies, while only 18 percent are

“pessimistic” about their own situation.

Nonetheless, only one third feel that the mood has

improved in their own company.

II. General State of the Economy:

Uncertainty Takes the Upper Hand

Current mood in home company/sector

somewhat optimistic

50.5%

pessimistic

18.1%

optimistic

27.9%

very optimistic

3.4%

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Technology

Life Sciences/Healthcare

Industry

Professional Services

Consumer Goods

Financial Services

Public Sector/Education/Non Profit

Career opportunities for top managers

neutral

55%

negative

24.7%

very positive

0.2% positive

20.1%

Economic development in Austria


Despite the increasingly bad news presented in the

media, Austria’s managers do not appear to be at all

nervous. Only 8.7 percent of the managers surveyed

indicated that their stress levels were currently “too

high” and “not tolerable in the long term”. 49.5 percent

assessed their stress levels to be “high, but tolerable”.

Incidentally, the vast majority (78 percent) of

managers look to balance stress at work through their

family lives. 71 percent use exercise to achieve this

work-life-balance. 47 percent relax in the company of

friends. Interestingly, women prefer to relax in the

company of friends rather than with their family – a

possible indication of the double load faced by

women in managing career and family commitments.

0% 25% 50% 75%

High, but tolerable

Normal, healthy level

Too high, not tolerable in the long run

No stress - "I am quite happy"

Not enough stress - "I don't have enough to do"

Current stress levels


One surprising trend is that despite the fact that

the general situation is clearly less secure, the

willingness to change jobs has evidently risen

further. Almost 90 percent of managers would be

willing to change employer (87.8 percent). This

figure is up six percent even compared to the

previous year. 38.3 percent of this group describe

themselves as “very interested” in a new career

opportunity. Only 12.3 percent are not interested in

a change in job. Given the current situation and

the negative expectations for the economy

described above, this willingness to change can be

seen as a sign of great dissatisfaction among

managers. Evidently, the greater share of

companies offer their managers too few

opportunities to progress and climb the career

ladder, prompting in turn the interest in a move to

another company or indeed to the competition.

Frustration among Managers:

Alarm Bell for Employers

Lack of prospects in the current workplace is one

further explanation why “to progress and realize

my own interests” is the undisputed top reason

(69.1 percent) for interest in a new job. Money

alone does not suffice to motivate Austria’s

managers to such a move. Only 30 percent give

the possibility of a salary rise as a potential motive

for a change in job. This clearly contradicts the

popular opinion that managers are driven by greed

and are only interested in their bonuses.

Large Corporations Encourage

Frustration Among Managers

Since the willingness to change jobs had already

been unexpectedly high in the previous year,

Stanton Chase sought to get to the bottom of this

trend in the current survey. Our goal was to find

out which organizational forms were particularly

strong catalysts for “frustrated managers”. The

result: managers who work in large corporations in

so-called matrix organizations (i.e. with several

managers of their own) with fairly anonymous

communication structures, frequent overlaps in

competences and limited individual freedom to

make decisions are particularly “receptive to the

notion of change”. 50 percent of managers in such

organizations are “very interested” in a change in

job. This figure is significantly lower for managers

who only report to one person (38.5 percent). Only

5.3 percent of top managers in companies with a

matrix organizational form indicate that they are

“not interested” in changing jobs.

III. On the Move:

Willingness to Move at Record High

interested

49.5%

very interested

38.3%

not interested

12.3%

Interest in a new career opportunity

interested

44.7%

not interested

5.3%

very interested

50%

Willingness to change in matrix

organizations


Relocating Abroad Not a

Drawback

Austria’s managers are also quite willing to

relocate to improve their career prospects. 66.9

percent would be willing to relocate to another

location in Austria or to a neighboring country. As

many as 47 percent would also be willing to

relocate to the Middle East, Asia or the USA. In

comparison to the 2011 survey, the ascent of the

emerging economies is now also a clear factor of

influence. Asia – including China and India – has

overtaken the USA as the preferred “long-

distance” destination for a career move. Only 21

percent of managers indicate a willingness to

relocate to a CIS destination. A notable 47 percent

would be prepared to take up employment with a

company in Eastern Europe.

From a gender perspective, it is interesting to note

that while 69 percent of male managers are willing

to relocate abroad, this figure drops to only 58

percent among their female counterparts.

Position/Responsibility Count –

Money a Secondary Issue

The fact that career opportunities number among

the main criteria to be met by a potential new

employer fits well with the overall sense of

dissatisfaction. Only 30 percent of the managers

surveyed view a salary rise as a “very important”

criterion for a change in job and employer. They

place far more importance on aspects like “more

responsibility” (49.5 percent) or a “more important

position in the company” (53.5 percent). This result

also contradicts the popular preconception that

managers are no more than greedy con artists.

Fit for a Move

Are there any differences between managers who

are willing to change and those who are not

looking for new jobs? Yes, there are, but in

aspects of behavior not normally associated with

job seeking. Managers who are willing to change

are far more physically active than their

counterparts with no real interest in a move. The

latter usually do far less sport than managers “on

the move”. A second difference is that managers

with a strong interest in a change in job have a far

more pessimistic view of their current employer’s

situation (25 percent think their company is going

downhill) than those with little to no interest in a

change (8 percent). It is also striking that

managers who want to change are more willing to

take on more stress at work. They do not view

“stress” to be as decisive a factor in job

satisfaction (59.5 percent) as managers who are

not looking to change (75.5 percent).

Preferred regions

Factors in decision for a new job/employer

0% 20% 40% 60%

Asia

Eastern Europe

Latin America

Gulf Region

CIS

Africa

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

more mportant role in the company

more responsibility

improvement in market value

better salary and remuneration package

international relocation

change of industry

working with former colleagues


IV. Career Matters: The “Socializing

Manager”

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

expanding your network

marketing yourself

developing your professional skills

obtaining international experience

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

change management

flexibility/adaptability

productivity management

clear values

creativity management

mobility

multicultural experience

Achieving career goals through

What companies want of their managers

The manner in which managers achieve their

career goals also says a lot about a country‘s

corporate and business culture. As far as

Austrian business relationships are concerned,

it is often said that who you know is actually far

more important than what you know and what

you can do. This opinion is obviously shared by

the country’s managers. When it comes to

climbing the career ladder, they assign a lesser

role to professional training and development

and far more importance to expanding their own

networks and marketing themselves. Of the

criteria choices listed “obtaining international

experience” is accorded the least relevance

when it comes to achieving career goals.

There are however also some very clear gender

specific differences here: women attach a far

less important role to networking than men. 72.6

percent of men, but only 54.8 percent of women

feel they should expand their networks to

improve their career opportunities. Women

consider improving their professional and

personal skills to be the most important career

development factor.

Work Seen to be More a Matter of

Business than Creativity

How then do Austria’s managers see their

employers? Which characteristics do they think

the economy expects its managers to have?

Essentially, managers take a dry and pragmatic

view of their role: they see themselves as

problem solvers, not an ethical or creative elite.

77 percent of those surveyed consider change

management skills to be very important, 66.7

percent assign great importance to flexibility and

adaptability. In contrast, a great deal less

importance (42.9 percent) is attached to the

“clear values” regularly demanded in the public

debates. The importance attached to “creativity”

(35.3 percent) and “multicultural” experience”

(22.8 percent) is also surprisingly low.


V. Stanton Chase International

Stanton Chase International was established in

1990 and is now one of the world‘s largest executive

search firms with over 70 offices in 42 countries.

Stanton Chase International enjoys an extraordinary

standing in the “emerging markets” sector and is one

of the leading companies in its field in Austria and in

Central and Southeast Europe.

Since it was founded, the Stanton Chase office in

Vienna has served as the link between the markets in

Western, Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe.

Together, the five partners in the Vienna team have

over 50 years of executive search experience.

Each of our partners has a clearly defined practice

group focus and extensive local and international

know-how and expertise. They provide an equally

successful service to both international clients and

local and regional players alike.

In 2010 and 2011, the Stanton Chase office in Vienna

was recognized for its achievements with the

company’s “Office Of The Year” award.

Services:

Executive Search

Board Services

Executive Assessment Services

Management Appraisals

International Practice Group Specializations:

Consumer Products and Services

Financial Services

Industrial

Life Sciences and Healthcare

Logistics and Transportation

Professional Services

Technology

Further Specializations:

Natural Resources and Energy

Family-Owned Businesses