Only 11% of UK companies regularly weed out so-called ‘dead weight’, or staff with continually low engagement, say senior executives.

This is in spite of the fact that the vast majority of UK business leaders (82%) cite disengaged workers as one of the top three greatest threats facing their business. And senior leaders say long-serving and experienced staff are the most resistant to efforts to motivate them.

These trends were revealed in new research by global management consultancy Hay Group and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The study was based on research among 300 C-level executives in large firms across Europe.