Our Expertise > Helping Employers > Increase Productivity
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Helping Employers Increase Productivity
Phil Pollett, CEO/Owner - Goodtime Foods Limited What is workplace productivity?
Productive workplaces are built on teamwork and a shared vision of where a business is heading. There's a willingness at all levels to keep learning and investing in skills.
In a productive workplace everyone's role is valued and all staff are encouraged to contribute ideas. Why is workplace productivity important?Economic growth is important for social and economic prosperity. New Zealand now has more people working but we work longer hours than most other OECD countries. At this stage more hours has been the most important source of increased output and economic growth, not working in smarter ways.Recently we've grown the economy by employing more people, but now we've got lots of people working, lifting workplace productivity is the best way to keep our economy growing. All countries that have higher workplace productivity than New Zealand also have higher GDP per person. That means more money for every person and higher living standards. Every worker, every boss, every workplace can benefit. Lifting workplace productivity helps everyone! How do you improve workplace productivity?No matter what your business does, or how big or small it is, there are a range of ways you can improve its productivity.Business New Zealand, unions and Government are working together to help lift workplace productivity in New Zealand, and have identified a number of productivity drivers that can help firms improve their productivity. Where to start with workplace productivity?Workplace Productivity Snapshot OverviewThis workplace productivity tool is designed for the owners/managers of small to medium businesses. It will not provide a 'scientific' analysis of your business's performance but it will show where you can make improvements in your business practices. Improving workplace productivity involves exploring all the ways that a workplace can do things better and smarter. Each workplace will have its own way to achieve this. How to use this tool Local and international research has identified seven 'drivers' that can improve the productivity of your business. Each of these drivers have a separate section in the questionnaire which you can access from the links below or as a whole with a diagram at the end representing your results. They are: • Building Leadership and Management • Creating Productive Workplace Cultures • Encouraging Innovation and the Use of Technology • Investing in People and Skills • Organising Work • Networking and Collaboration • Measuring What Matters Complete full questionnaire online Download the snapshot tool [pdf 24 pages, 620 KB] With this simple tool you can assess how your organisation is performing against these seven drivers. Please note that the information entered by you will not be stored by the Department of Labour. How to get real leverage from workplace productivity?Workplace Productivity Analysis Overview The Employment Relations Centre specialises in workplace productivity and business development. We provide a 'scientific' analysis of your business performance that will show where you can make the best improvements in your business practice. The tools At the core of the services provided by the Employment Relations Centre are a number of proven problem solving and management/decision-making tools(1). These tools , called the Theory of Constraints Thinking Process (TOCTP) provide systematic (learnable and repeatable) ways of simultaneously addressing employees interests and the interests of the business as a whole. Once learned and applied, they form the foundation of an employment relationship based on “You and me against the problem” rather than “You and me against each other because of the problem.” The tools are applied logically and systematically to answer three questions that are essential if you are to successfully implement ongoing improvement in your business and in particular if you are trying to influence behavioural change in your employees: The three questions we need to ask ourselves are: • "What do we need to change? • "What do we need to change to?" • "How will we make the change happen?" Specific uses of these tools have also been applied to significantly enhance vital management outcomes, such as: • Win-win conflict resolution • Effective communication • Team building • Delegation • Empowerment View the video below of Goodtime Foods Limited to discover how they used TOC and workplace productivity initiatives to improve production. Only invest in where you get the greatest return!It is always critical to acknowledge that there will be a great deal of infrastructure in place that is highly effective for the specific nature of your organisation. Our premise is that the proper focus of any initiative to increase productivity should not be on what works but should be on the issues that are least desirable and accordingly have the greatest impact on the organisation as a whole when overcome. From this foundation we assert that in order to get the greatest leverage on any initiative for change it is necessary to answer the questions previously identified.
Business Productivity Through PeopleBecause the rules, policies and behaviours that occur within employment relationships and that ultimately cause productivity (or a lack of it) are inherently interrelated and complex, any methodology used to identify improvement or necessary change must have a robust and almost scientific format. More often than not it is the unwritten rules and policies that are the most difficult to identify. The methodology we use at the Employment Relations Centre has been well tested and scrutinised internationally(2). We carefully and systematically assist our clients to answer each of the necessary questions above to ensure the fastest possible return on their investment. To those who have embarked on change before it will be obvious to you that as your organisation migrates and grows you may face specific employment related problems and may need to develop 'human resource' infrastructure to secure the change. With over 10 years working in employment law and human resources we can provide you with appropriate support. Find out more >> Click here Footnotes
(2)"TOC is a multifaceted management philosophy ... a systematic reexamination of some of the most fundamental beliefs in today‘s management, culminating in a new approach to address problems facing us today." "TOC is also known by various other names, including Constraint(s) Management, Synchronous Flow Manufacturing (SFM), Synchronous Production (SP), and OPT. These terms are sometimes used synonymously with TOC, but are more often (and more correctly) used to describe the earlier components of TOC rather than the more recent parts, such as the Thinking Processes." |
