At a recent World Economic Forum, Bank of Canada’s Mark Carney said, “There is a risk that if we don’t make adequate progress in productivity and that, combined with persistent strength of the currency,” would “clearly” lead to downside risks for Canadian growth and inflation.
Similarly given the competitiveness of businesses at an organizational level there is a risk that if we don’t make adequate progress in productivity there will also be growth downsides, if not more serious implications.
Don’t want your business growth to slowdown? Here are 5 things you can do today to improve employee productivity:
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Hire the Best – the ‘A’ players for key positions
Hire those who can make the most contribution to your bottom line. Identify the positions in your organizations which most impact the bottom line and hire the best people who can achieve results in these positions. This will require that you adopt a recruitment strategy to attract the best. Today this includes employer branding to ensure your company is constantly marketed as a great place to work.
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Retain the Best
Ensure your HR strategies, such as compensation and training programs, support the attraction and retention of the ‘A’ players.
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Lead Effectively
Brush up on your own leadership skills and ensure your senior team does the same. Important leadership skills are basic – honest, competent, motivational (positive), and visionary.
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Engage Employees
An engaged employee is a productive employee. Most people want to work at a job at which they feel they have some control and can make a contribution; at a company where they know what is going on; with inspiring credible leaders; where they receive feedback on what they are doing well and how they can improve; and in an environment of trust.
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Develop and Implement a Human Resources Strategy
An HR Strategy that is in line with your business objectives – a strategy that embraces a goal of productivity improvement. People are the one asset with unlimited potential that leaders can directly influence to impact productivity.
As you have read, these points are straight forward and there isn’t a secret formula. In order to make it work for your organization you need to develop a bullet proof plan, execute flawlessly and commit your organization to the new initiative.
