More than half of employers fail to address dead wood in their organisations, according to new research.
The survey of 400 global organisations by consultancy firm Hay Group shows the public sector to be the worst culprit, with 62% of civil servants claiming that their organisation does not deal effectively with underperformers.
In the private sector, IT companies fared worst, with 58% of professionals in the industry saying that their company is failing to address the issue of under-performance.
The healthcare (53%), telecoms (52%) and manufacturing (52%) industries also saw more than half of employees dissatisfied with the way their company deals with dead wood.
Even in the most effective sector in this area, pharmaceuticals, almost half (45%) of employees were critical of their company’s ability to deal with underperformers.
Ben Hubbard, manager at Hay Group, said: “In an increasingly competitive global economy, it is vital that organisations address the issue of dead wood in their workforce. Underperformance hits productivity and profitability.
“Business leaders must act to address performance and ensure a motivated and effective workforce. And the public sector, in particular, must take steps to address dead wood if it is not to be seen as a haven for underperformers.”
The study also reveals that just 42% of employees believe that their company has a fair system for evaluating employees’ performance.
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Again, the public sector fared worst, with 62% of public sector employees believing that their organisation does not have a fair system for evaluating employee performance.
Other poorly rated sectors included financial services and manufacturing, with 58% of employees believing that their company does not have a fair appraisal system.
