Very true. This can play itself out different in different organizations.
At a large consumer products company I worked at, the solution was trying to fit square pegs in round holes. People could only "perform" their way into new good positions.
At a consulting firm with an up-or-out policy, we had rigorous micromanagement of poor performers. Surprisingly it actually worked half the time, though it took a lot of managerial attention.
At a software firm that I worked at, the boss fired people as soon as there was a hint of misperformance. "People just don't turn around, and you waste a lot of time of managers."
Unfortunately after the first two experiences, I began to have sympathy with #3. It would be great to find an environment where everyone is allowed to find their niche to shine. Office politics make this difficult. The reality is MOST people can thrive somewhere, but there is still a small subset that is in the wrong place and spot. It is important to note where the hiring mistakes happened too.
"the boss fired people as soon as there was a hint of misperformance"
Not everyone is good at everything and if you put someone in a role where they aren't likely to perform and fire them immediately then that you are missing the opportunity of employing them to do the things they are good at.
For example, I can remember a developer who used to report to me years ago who was an absolute genius at fixing complex bugs and adding new features to an existing code-base - I remember "rewarding" him by getting him to do the design and implementation of a new module in the product.
He failed - he literally couldn't do it and he was utterly miserable during that time.
So I let him go back to what he was good at he went on to work with us for years and probably be one of our valuable employees.
Mayharm - He was quick to pull the trigger on most anything. I can't get into too many more specifics without identifying people, other than to say he gave people good cause to get lawyers.
At a large consumer products company I worked at, the solution was trying to fit square pegs in round holes. People could only "perform" their way into new good positions.
At a consulting firm with an up-or-out policy, we had rigorous micromanagement of poor performers. Surprisingly it actually worked half the time, though it took a lot of managerial attention.
At a software firm that I worked at, the boss fired people as soon as there was a hint of misperformance. "People just don't turn around, and you waste a lot of time of managers."
Unfortunately after the first two experiences, I began to have sympathy with #3. It would be great to find an environment where everyone is allowed to find their niche to shine. Office politics make this difficult. The reality is MOST people can thrive somewhere, but there is still a small subset that is in the wrong place and spot. It is important to note where the hiring mistakes happened too.