Links to helpful advice for managers can be found at the end of the article.
A survey by The Marker magazine and Afeka - the Academic College of Engineering in Tel Aviv
The Marker magazine published the results of a survey it conducted in cooperation with Afeka -the Academic College of Engineering, a few weeks ago.
The survey, conducted the second time during the Swords of Iron war, examined an index of employees’ essential qualities. The annual index aimed at identifying the “soft” qualities Israeli employers seek to find in potential employees, in light of the constant changes inside and outside the Israeli market.
This article presents some of the most important insights emerging from the survey and thoughts of three leading HR and recruitment managers. The article also discusses the differences I found between what managers think they require and their actions.
The statistics of this survey are very important. They reveal that what managers say is important, is not reflected in their actions and in fact, their behavior contradicts what they had declared was important to them.
For example, “Ability to work independently” was one of the qualities managers rated at most high value. However, many managers I have met (and I have met many) would not allow their subordinates to act independently. This tendency is common to both genders, of all ages and in all types of businesses. One exception is the Hi-Tech industry where employees work from home and therefore are independent. The article was published in The Marker by Yarden Ben Gal Hirschorn.
How was the survey conducted?
13 prominent “soft” essential qualities, which were formulated on the basis of similar global surveys conducted on the subject, were presented to the participants to rate. Two sample groups were composed: One group consisted of 150 Hi-Tech managers supervising five employees or more. The other group included 150 managers employed in various general industries of at least 25 employees, who were supervising at least five employees. Managers in both samples were involved in recruiting new employees for their teams. (The Hi-Tech companies were recruiting technological employees). Data was collected between 3rd to 22nd of March 2022.
Let’s dive into the survey.
We start with the Hi-Tech industry and then move to the general industries. We will examine how Morton Mendel selected managers. A second part to this article which will examine what managers say about themselves and AI, will be published later.
Yarden Gal Hirschorn wrote that the ability to work independently and the ability to trouble shoot complex problems were the Hi-Tech managers’ most highly rated qualities. About 80% of Israeli Hi-Tech companies allow their staff to work from home. It is therefore clear, especially during war times, that the need to preserve the ability to work on one’s own is significant. Ability to work independently had leaped from the fourth-place last year to the first place this year. Other qualities presenting significant leaps from last year’s index were quality # 4, Ability to work with multidisciplinary teams and quality # 9, Critical thinking, which were not included in the 10 most important qualities last year (replaced the quality of “leadership”).
There is no doubt that the qualities: “independent learning”,” Ability to work independently” and “ability to solve complex problem” are highly required when working from home, even if work from home is only part of the workweek.
How important are managers’ human skills and what about interpersonal chemistry?
The qualities above were rated from a list of qualities presented in advance.
Let’s examine cases in which qualities were selected by the managers. Shani Shlomo, had been an HR CEO at the Hi-Tech and communications industries. For the last nine years Shani has been acting as a Headhunter, recruiting senior managers.
Shani emphasizes the importance of the interpersonal skills.
“I recruit managers”, says Shani, “that manage people. I look for those that have the highest human skills”
“A person chooses to work in an organization because for the manager he is going to work for, and a person leaves a job because of the manager he works for. “That is why the interpersonal qualities are the most important qualities “, says Shani.
“A manager” she continues, “with less experience, but with high motivation an ability to learn, can quickly close any experience gaps”.
Shani Shlomo brings to attention one of the core issues: Interpersonal chemistry. We must always remember that even the best managerial qualities will not help if there is no good chemistry between managers and employees and amongst the managers.
Reut Levi, an HR manager, and recruiter for industrial and Hi-Tech firms for the last twenty years, says that managers and employees in the Hi-Tech industry are chosen for their technological strengths, their ability to explore and widen their professional expertise, and for their ability to understand and implement fast changes and technological advancements, such as Artificial Intelligence, new developments and methods of research. They are required to prove abilities of innovation, fast adjustment to changes, open mind, and ability to function well under high workloads and time pressure while exercising ongoing learning processes".
It is nearly impossible to run a survey without giving the participants a list of essential qualities. However, it limits the results of the survey. Those limitations emphasize the importance of the qualities Shani and Reut bring up.
Gal Ben Harush writes that it’s the second consecutive year that “motivation” is the most highly rated quality amongst managers of the general industries category. This finding matches the biggest challenge of these companies: recruiting employees.
The rating of the five most important qualities has not changed dramatically over the last year but two qualities have risen from last year’s bottom of the list to high rating this year: “Ability to troubleshoot complex issues” and “Mental strength”, which did not appear in last year’s list and replaced last year’s “Leadership” quality. The current rating reflects, most probably, the challenges managers and employees face because of the war situation and its effect on their operational abilities”.
The difference between what managers say they require and their actual choices
As mentioned above, there is a big difference between what managers think they look for in potential employees and their actions. Though they highly rate “Ability to work independently”, most of the managers I meet, and I meet many managers, say that over 70% and sometimes even over 95% of their time is dedicated to the operational aspects of the business as it appears in the managerial matrix. They prefer to give answers instead of asking questions, to be the ones who “know” and are the experts. They hardly let their employees make decisions. Nor do they allow them freedom of initiation or authority over their subordinates.
Let’s look at some examples:
Quite recently, I was told by a CEO that sadly, he was experiencing no control over his country project managers. I found that instead of letting them operate as they saw fit and asses the end results of their performance, he demanded to be informed of every action they had been engaged in.
Another CEO told me he was constantly giving operational manufacturing orders to his managers and employees on the shop floor and that he tolerated no deviations from his orders. I challenged him by asking why he thought that he knew better than his experienced team members how to operate the machines and how to solve ongoing problems with raw material and equipment.
A third CEO hired a production manager whom he knew well from a previous job they had done together. The production manager performed well and exhibited excellent results. All the same, the CEO kept interfering with the production manager’s managerial decisions and even issued contradicting instructions to employees on the shop floor.
On another occasion I heard a maintenance manager telling his direct employees to keep quiet and not suggest improvements or ways to solve problems. “I” he said to his team “was brought in to think, you are here to do”. I would not have believed it had I not heard it with my own ears.
Only once I met a CEO whom, a short while after starting to work with me, passed on his responsibilities to his managers and gave them authority to run their departments. The CEO’s wife was about to deliver twin girls. He knew, that if he did not trust his employees, he would not be able to dedicate himself to his family.
The further down the line of managerial hierarchy, the more difficult it is to allow the employees freedom of authority and creativity. Furthermore, managers are very often reluctant to allow their employees to participate in improvement, or brainstorming teams.
Changes are implemented slowly.
The few examples I presented above reflect the general situation in most of the traditional industries. An exception is the Hi-Tech industry, where managers understand that they cannot give specific instructions to people who write codes and keys. Hi-Tech managers understand that creativity requires freedom of thought and initiation. Unfortunately, this understanding does not exist in the traditional industries.
The most important qualities female, industrial managers, look for in potential employees
Dafna Shulaman, HR manager for the last thirty years of which the last ten years were at Shlag Shamir says:
“We strongly emphasize the value of soft qualities such as motivation, mental strength, ability to operate in a team, ability to work independently, flexibility, ability to cope with changes and job stability – all the rest can be learnt”.
“The biggest challenge in the north of Israel these days is recruiting employees”, adds Shulman, there are simply not enough people and all of us in the industry understand that the government has simply forgotten about this most beautiful part of the country. As the war carries on, employees seek alternative employment elsewhere ang opt to build a new life is the center of Israel.”
Reut Levi also mentions “job stability” as a quality to be added to the list of qualities required in the industry. She talks about “The ability to focus on one or two projects or technologies for many years, and to do the same job day after day”. Job mobility is an asset for the Hi-Tech industry. Job stability is essential for the traditional industries.
How did Morton Mandel select employees for his firm?
Though the business environment has changed since Morton Mandel published his book- “It's All About Who You Hire, How They Lead...and Other Essential Advice from a Self-Made Leader”, his way of selecting employees is timeless. Mendel listed five central elements by which he chose his people:
- Intellectual fire power
- Values
- Passion
- Work ethics
- Experience
In an interview to The Marker magazine in June 2016, named “What is more important to a manager, Brains or values?” Morton says to Avriel Barda that three years previously, when he wrote the book, he was convinced that “brains” was the most important quality for businesses and public leaders. However, at the time of the interview, he changed his mind and thought that the first quality that should be considered was “Values” and not what he called “Intellectual fire power”.
“The power of the brains is indeed necessary for a leader” said Morton in the The Marker interview, ”but it is not enough. There is no doubt that the world would be a better place if people had values”
Summary and recommendations
The Survey of The Marker’s and Afeka’s - the Academic College of Engineering in Tel Aviv, which was published recently, presents ratings of the 10 most important essential qualities that managers in the Hi-Tech and the general industries rated.
Ten qualities were given to the participants to rate. The qualities were selected from a list of “soft” qualities appearing in similar global surveys on the subject.
It appears that it is nearly impossible to run a survey without giving the participants a prepared list of qualities in advance. However, it channels the ratings towards a certain direction which, in my opinion, is not applicable to the traditional industries.
For example - The qualities: “Ability to work independently”, “Creative thinking” and “Ability to troubleshoot complex issues’’ are rarely practiced in general industries. Nearly all general industries managers I met exercised production aspects of the managerial chain. They were constantly involved in the production process, did the work of their sub managers, gave direct instructions to employees, and did not delegate authority.
The article also presents opinions of three leading HR managers who recruit employees for managerial positions.
A second article in the series will discuss what managers say about themselves and how they regard Artificial Intelligence.
Links to helpful advice for managers
- The best way to manage employees during wartime
- How do we build employee motivation?
- Why Everybody Wants to Be Appreciated but Are Slow to Appreciate
- On the power of fairness in generating employee motivation
- Should You Recruit Star Employees, and How and When to Recruit "Hungry" Young People?
- How Do You Maintain the Human Machine?
- How to Promote Engagement and Get Employees Invested in Company Goals
- Why Some Managers Don’t Delegate, and How to Create Change?
My First Book: Manage! Best Value Practices for Effective Management