Almost half of staff actively distrust their line managers' decision-making instincts in relation to both their own and colleagues’ futures, while three quarters of managers admit that they would change their verdicts if given their time again.
These are the findings of a survey undertaken among 553 UK line managers and 1,002 workers by occupational psychologists OPP. Robert McHenry, the firm’s chief executive, said the study should make "chastening reading" for any management team.
The research found that nearly four in 10 line managers rely mainly on gut feel when making personnel-related decisions, but a major factor in their making the wrong one was the mistaken belief that they really knew their staff. A huge 97% of respondents claimed that they knew their people fairly well or better, while only 74% of personnel felt the same.
Moreover, while nearly half of managers attested that they knew either a great deal or everything there was to know about their workers, less than a quarter of staff agreed.
Typical mistakes ranged from overestimating a staff member’s potential to placing the wrong people in the wrong job. But a worrying 25% of managers admitted that their actions were greatly influenced by whether or not they liked someone.
"Organisations have to ask themselves why they demand objectivity and transparency in every other decision about resources, particularly in these difficult times when all investments are under scrutiny, but when it comes to people allow themselves to 'fly blind'," said McHenry.
The economic cost of poor personnel decisions was well-documented and putting the wrong people in the wrong job had a direct impact on productivity and efficiency, while also being expensive to rectify, he added.
As a result, McHenry recommended that managers use both feedback from colleagues combined with staff psychometric testing as more objective decision-making tools.
