THE quality of management has failed to improve over the past decade and is one of the reasons for the UK's productivity weakness, a report has warned.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) said deep-rooted problems over the standard of coaching and career development advice are to blame.

Its report claimed only a third of 2,600 workers surveyed said they trusted senior managers, with one in five having never had a formal meeting to discuss work-related issues.

It added management practices lagged behind other countries, such as the US and Germany.

Mark Beatson, CIPD chief economist, said: "Over the years we've seen successive governments put a lot of effort into changing the regulations that help to determine how organisations work.

"However, they've typically shied away from getting involved in how well businesses are managed, filing the issue in the too difficult drawer.

"With UK productivity falling even further behind our competitors since 2008, it's essential we move the debate on from talking about low pay and low-quality jobs and look at the root problem of poor productivity.

"Government needs to get behind innovation in workplace practices with as much vigour as it quite rightly does for technological innovation."