I just read an article about an Accenture survey that shows a significant drop in middle managers' satisfaction with their employers - in the last year.

What does this have to do with e-Learning?  I've read articles in the past that made the claim that any corporate offered training, including e-Learning, improves employee satisfaction.  The premise is based on employees feeling wanted and needed by their employer.  And they felt like the employer was providing benefits that improve the employees' market value.

Common sense tells me that premise is probably true.  However, I would also content that the mere offer of learning opportunities would suggest to an employee that they are considered a valuable player - worthy of investment. 

So, are middle managers not getting training?  Thirty-seven percent said their company was good at training and development.  It seems logical to me that they are crying out for training.  And if good e-Learning could teach them the skills they want (feel they need), then there is a clear way for corporations to improve middle managers' satisfaction.

"The survey of 225 U.S. middle managers found that respondents' satisfaction with their current organizations has declined significantly since 2004, when Accenture conducted a similar survey. While two-thirds (67 percent) of middle managers in last year's survey reported that they were extremely or very satisfied with their organizations, fewer than half (48 percent) of respondents in this year's survey were as positive about their organizations, with one-third (33 percent) of respondents describing their organizations as "mismanaged."

When asked to describe their companies' performance in a number of areas, few respondents were positive. Only 28 percent rated the way their organizations manage prospects for advancement as good or excellent, and only 31 percent said their companies were good or excellent at helping them communicate bad news. In fact, only about one-third of respondents reported that their companies were good or excellent at managing: compensation, flexible work arrangements, communications between supervisors and subordinates, and training and development (33 percent, 34 percent, 37 percent and 37 percent, respectively).

"The decline of employee loyalty, particularly at the critical middle manager level, should be a growing source of concern for senior management, and the fact that middle managers think their companies are mismanaged is particularly alarming," said Ed Jensen, a senior executive in Accenture's Human Performance practice. "These managers are frustrated about a broad set of concerns and see only a limited future at their current organizations. When the negatives about a company trump the positives, the balance between deciding to stay or leave will tip in the wrong direction."

The full article can be found here: http://www.clomedia.com/common/newscenter/newsdisplay.cfm?id=4527.