The issue of ineffective management is often sidestepped, says XpertHR; so the New Jersey-based company recently published a whitepaper on supervisor training for the benefit of various workforce sectors.

The document covers “training good (and bad) bosses for business success” in a marketplace where individual businesses are often free to make their own decisions about supervision policies. Hence, while medical groups are required to follow best practices, less tightly regulated groups may lack ground rules, opening up questions about ethics and liability.

"Because of the potential for decreased overall productivity, quality of performance and employee retention, the ongoing, effective coaching, training and managing of supervisors should be a part of every organization's performance management program," XpertHR’s legal editor Marta Moakley said.

According to XpertHR, drug-free workplaces and overall safety rank as priorities in any field. For other scenarios, however, drawing the line may not be as readily apparent—for example, company policy on workplace romantic relationships.

A manager may know about such a policy yet fail to implement it; additionally, public companies are subject to different sets of rules than private entities, according to XpertHR.

“For an organization to succeed, it should adequately invest in its supervisors in order to support and advance employees,” the company said.