To increase productivity means to produce more with less. High productivity is about operating the most efficient and effective organisation possible, with the least cost and zero waste. The organisation has to make smart use of their resources, technology, equipment and knowledge and skills of their staff. It’s about running an intelligent business. Every person in the organisation from top management right down to the bottom should be aware of the organisation’s capabilities and should ensure that they are used appropriately and that they are constantly improved upon.

How does one go about raising productivity? The first step is to do a thorough assessment to understand the capabilities of the company and/or division within the company and to track its progress against benchmarks. An assessment will give clear indication of how well the company or division is achieving its current objectives and its goals for future growth and competitiveness. An assessment will identify important gaps within the organisation’s core capabilities and in its competitive environment.

New company policies and objectives should be created and implemented to ensure streamlining and increased productivity on completion of the assessment. The educational needs of the organisation should be addressed and the focus should turn on the creation of a new leadership core, trained and coached to develop leaders at every level of the organisation who not only understand, but who think and display high productivity behaviours.

Having said all that, we need to understand the constraints of productivity:

High performance behaviours can be developed throughout an organisation. Careful selection combined with proper training, clear and concise key result areas and good leadership will result in higher productivity, higher profits and staff loyalty.

By Elsabé Manning