Participation in supervisor assessment - Results on factors influencing the return of written surveys

This paper deals with the specific question of participation in written surveys to assess supervisors. First, a review of the different influences on participation in surveys is given. Then, the results of a study based on the data from two companies are presented. Findings and hypotheses on participation, which are founded on measurements of subjective attitudes, are examined in this paper on the basis of return rates, the actual participation, as an indicator for the acceptance of supervisor assessment. In the center of interest are the analyses of the return rate in relation to structural aspects of the leadership situation and in relation to the assessment of leadership behavior, the results of the supervisor assessment itself. The results concerning the structural aspects hierarchy and span of control, to which no specific differences in leadership behavior were found, show the following tendencies: The higher the position, the higher the return rate. The smaller the span of control, the higher the return rate. Regarding the consequences of leadership behavior, the findings show that particular aspects of behavior that indicate active encouragement and support of subordinates in their tasks and in their personal development are related to the return rate. Overall the results confirm the assumption that an open and constructive feedback culture is an important precondition for a high participation in surveys of supervisor assessment.