Undercover Boss: Paying lip service to the skills gap

In the final episode of Channel 4’s Undercover Boss, Steven Martin, CEO of construction giant Clugston goes incognito to find out how his employees really feel about their jobs – and the firm. Penny de Valk shares her views. "Every boss needs to do something like this. Thing is I'm not convinced they want to hear everything. I've learnt more in two weeks than I would in four years in an office. In the end it's all down to the people". These were the final comments from this week's Undercover Boss, Steven Martin CEO of Clugston one of the UK's largest construction companies. The sad thing is that he's probably right. This is the second and last programme in the series, which forces the question were most of the companies approached too concerned about their reputation to take part? Conspiracy theories aside, The Undercover Boss is one of those rare reality tv shows which succeeds in presenting reality (or at least a version) that people can relate to. It demonstrated in a very clear and sometimes unflattering light that management distance from front line staff, and a lack of focus on training and communication will lead to serious problems within a company's workforce. Steven aged 42, relatively young for a CEO, has worked at Clugston for only two years. A major part of his role in his two years has been to make the tough decisions to cut costs and jobs in the face of the recession.