Employees are loath to admit that they don’t know what they are doing but, according to the latest Best Companies research, even among the most engaged workforces, close to one in five are not completely clear about their role.

Responding to a new test question in this year’s Best Companies survey, 81.9% of employees reported that work expectations were made clear to them, meaning that 18.1% felt they were not.

This lack of clarity extends throughout companies of all sizes and at all levels — even to the very top. While more senior managers know what they are doing, with 85.6% saying they know what is expected of them, by implication about one in seven don’t. And the results for senior managers are not that far ahead of those of team members (82.1%) and managers are the most confused of all, with 20.1% admitting they are not sure what they should be doing.

“When you think about it, an organisation is in trouble when senior managers are not clear about their own role and responsibilities,” says Dr Pete Bradon, head of research for Best Companies Ltd. “If they don’t know what they are doing, it is very unlikely that managers and team members do.”

According to Bradon, a lack of clarity can have a detrimental effect in a number of ways. If they address job clarity, employers can anticipate a dramatic difference in engagement. Statistics show that, where people know what they are doing , 88.4% of staff are engaged. Where they are not crystal clear regarding their roles fewer than half, 49.3%, are engaged, a difference of 39.1%.

Managers quite rightly carry the can for any lack of clarity. Positive scores in the My Manager factor plunge just over 30% from 74.4% to 44.3% when employees who know what they are doing are compared with those who complain that what is wanted of them is unclear.

“This is a huge effect, one of the largest we have seen,” says Bradon. “A manager is responsible for making what is expected clear, so this shows a quite significant failure in the roles of managers.”

The factor score in the Leadership section of our survey falls 24% to 46.6% positive among the confused, and teamwork suffers, too, down more than 20% to 55.8% compared with the more focused colleagues.

Best Companies’ research also shows that a lack of job direction can have serious repercussions on an individual’s wellbeing. “Where there is job clarity, just 21% of employees report stress-related symptoms,” he says. “However, where there is a lack of clarity more than half, 52%, of employees report stress-related issues, which shows that it is clearly a horrible position to be in.”

Perhaps the most startling finding of all is that things do not become clearer over time. Indeed, the reverse is closer to the truth. The proportion of employees who are clear about what is expected stands at 86.4% among new recruits. This falls to 81.4% after two to three years’ employment and never recovers. Even after 15 years’ tenure, only 81.2% of employees know what they are doing.

“It is interesting that the decrease starts within about six months,” Bradon says. “So initially managers are explaining what is expected, however this is clearly not being reinforced.”

Bradon believes that roles need to be constantly communicated. At 93%, Iceland Frozen Foods has the highest percentage of staff employed in big companies reporting that they have job clarity.

Sue Yell, Iceland’s head of human resources, says it is part of the firm’s strategy to ensure that every manager delivers a people plan covering recruitment, training and motivation to ensure outstanding customer service. “Performance management is happening every day, every week and every month within the business,” she says.

Recently appointed store manager Stacy Blackie agrees, stating that the management makes expectations clear, which has a domino effect on how she works, as well as her staff.

“I have a meeting with my supervisors at least once a week and feed back to my staff on a daily basis,” Blackie says. “It’s part of Iceland’s culture. Everyone talks. It’s encouraged and that is cascaded down from the senior management.”

The percentages of employees who are clear about job expectations are high in companies that made our final lists. Our top 10 mid-sized and top two big companies have the highest, with 91% of employees having clarity. Four organisations this year gained a 100% score regarding clarity, 35 firms had more than 95% of staff being clear about job expectations and 165, including Hill McGlynn, pictured above, achieved above 90%.

“Everyone can start the sort of conversation that will lead to 100% clarity,” Bradon says. “This is an area where there is no excuse. It requires very little time and no great expense.”

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