Pity the poor small-business employee.
A new study says they feel "unfulfilled" at work, thanks at least in part to a lack of communication and feedback on the part of their company and its managers.
The study, from business-to-business ratings and reviews site Clutch, found that 42 percent of small-business employees say neither their companies nor managers provide feedback — despite the fact that human resources experts say that consistent performance evaluation is one of the most important qualities of a manager.
And as a result, the enthusiasm those employees have for their jobs is waning.
Among employees who say their managers provide "accurate and consistent performance evaluation," 68 percent say their jobs are fulfilling. But among those who say their managers do not provide such feedback, 50 percent say their jobs are unfulfilling, and another 30 percent say they are "neither fulfilling nor unfulfilling."
The survey found that enterprise companies, those with 5,000-plus employees, seem to be more consistent and accurate than small businesses — those with 1-50 employees — when it comes to providing feedback to their employees. Only 15 percent of enterprise employees say they receive no feedback.
The survey also found that verbal, rather than more formalized, feedback, is the most commonly provided type among both enterprises (57 percent) and small businesses (35 percent). While many experts consider formalized or scheduled feedback outdated just 37 percent of enterprises and 16 percent of small businesses currently provide the more "trendy" informal and/or ad-hoc feedback. On average, just 25 percent of companies, according to the survey, provide the "informal, real-time feedback that many employees are craving.
Small-business managers also lag in providing high-quality performance evaluations. Half of small-business employees rate their managers' ability to accurately and consistently evaluate their performance with a neutral or a negative rating. Among enterprise employees, 35 percent rate their managers' evaluation skills as neutral or negative.
That could be bad news for small businesses, particularly since job-hopping millennials are increasingly looking to small businesses and startups to provide opportunities for a more personalized work experience. If they don't get it, they'll look elsewhere.
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