Better equipped line managers are the key to improving HR effectiveness.

This is according to a new survey by online HR toolkit for line managers Youmanage, whose findings reveal that as many as 81 per cent of HR managers believe this is the key to improved HR activity.

In addition, 83 per cent of HR working in larger organisations (250 plus) believe that by equipping managers better, overall employee productivity would increase, particularly by managing employee development (77 per cent) whilst just over half believe that line managers should take more responsibility generally for people management issues.

In companies with less than 250 employees, 70 per cent of HR believe that equipping line managers more effectively would reduce the risk of employment tribunals and other employee disputes and improve the management of absence, while 75 per cent of HR managers said it would have a beneficial effect.

For those HR managers in smaller organisations, 70 per cent also thought that managers would benefit from better systems to support recruitment and interviewing for their line managers, a figure that compares to just 55 per cent of respondents in larger companies.

HR managers in smaller organisations (58 per cent) were also more interested in using a system which would walk line managers through step-by-step processes for common management tasks. Half of those surveyed (regardless of the size of the organisation) thought that better on-the-job access to guidance and training information would help their people managers be more effective.

Phil Brown, Youmanage's managing director, said that the survey shows that HR professionals want line managers to be more accountable for people management issues: "They’ve recognised that better equipped line managers can have a significant impact on their organisation’s effectiveness. The results also highlight that many HR professionals want the opportunity to add more value to their organisation, rather than being overwhelmed by routine support and admin tasks."