The part I'm skeptical about is, "Adequate performance gets a generous severance packet."
Can't say I've ever heard of an organization where that's true. Typically, adequate performance means no promo, and being first in line for dismissal if the order comes down to cut staff.
Firing someone who is trying and doing sort of OK-ish but not actually well sounds hard. I would expect all but the hardest of hearts to be reluctant to dismiss a lowish performer, preferring to hope that experience and mentoring will yield a turnaround. People have empathy, after all. (Well, except for the sociopaths...)
In fact, to actually get managers to get rid of the merely adequate, you'd probably have to institute something like an up-or-out system, so managers could blame the system rather than themselves or the workers when the merely adequate got shoved out the door.
Can't say I've ever heard of an organization where that's true. Typically, adequate performance means no promo, and being first in line for dismissal if the order comes down to cut staff.
Firing someone who is trying and doing sort of OK-ish but not actually well sounds hard. I would expect all but the hardest of hearts to be reluctant to dismiss a lowish performer, preferring to hope that experience and mentoring will yield a turnaround. People have empathy, after all. (Well, except for the sociopaths...)
In fact, to actually get managers to get rid of the merely adequate, you'd probably have to institute something like an up-or-out system, so managers could blame the system rather than themselves or the workers when the merely adequate got shoved out the door.