Bosses spend 14.4% of their time coaching underperforming employees

Managers aren’t keen to fire poorly performing employees.

Bosses spend over half a day weekly, or 14.4% of their time, coaching and supervising poorly performing employees, a study by specialized recruitment agency Robert Half revealed.

Almost all (96%) of Hong Kong business leaders face the challenge of poorly performing employees, which can impact a company’s productivity levels, staff morale and even reputation.

From a financial perspective, the cost of underperformance could include paying a salary that does not reflect expected output, unpaid time for mentoring and supervision, lost revenue from missed business opportunities, costs linked to letting an employee go, and the ultimate costs of rehiring, the report noted.

In order to help poorly performing employees meet expectations, 56% of employers use coaching or mentoring strategies. Close to half (45%) of employers would transfer an underperforming employee to another role and 42% would offer further training, the report found.

Faced with a skills-short market where talented candidates are in high demand, staff retention is a high priority of Hong Kong businesses. This may have influenced business leaders’ unwillingness to fire underperforming employees, with letting an underperforming employee go being the least popular response (25%).

“Whilst the idea of letting an employee go might be what first comes to mind, Hong Kong business leaders understand the high costs of vacant roles and repeating hiring processes. Offering additional support, spending more time on the onboarding process or assigning alternative roles are usually more viable options that are considered first,”said Lam.