Productivity remains a growing concern among business leaders, politicians and economists, as does the quandary of how to solve the issue, says Hays CEO Alistair Cox. The answer, he says, could lie in creating a symbiotic relationship between employees and the tools and technology provided to them.
Productivity growth slowed across most developed countries during the economic downturn, leading many executives to ask what is creating the stagnation and how can the issue be tackled? In his latest
LinkedIn Influencer blog, Alistair suggests the following approach to solving the productivity puzzle:
- Put the right people in place: According to Alistair, organisations must ensure they have the right people in place and that they have a clear understanding of the company’s goals. If a workforce shares the same vision as their company it goes a long way to making them feel part of the business and ensuring they perform to their best abilities.
- Technology and training: Technology and training enables employees to work smarter, rather than harder. Alistair said, “Here in my own company at Hays, we’ve invested in state-of-the-art front office and back-end technology, but we’ve also implemented new productivity-focused training programmes designed to equip managers and consultants with the skills and understanding to help them assess teams, harness data and better plan their time.”
Providing a motivated workforce with the tools to succeed and work effectively and efficiently is key to tackling the issue, according to Alistair. “The focus and drive must come from the very top of the business straight through the entire organisation, ensuring the whole workforce is clear on what the company wants to achieve and inspiring them to perform to their best.
Alistair added, “In my own experience, the trick to boosting productivity lies in creating a symbiotic relationship between your people and the tools and technology you provide them with to best do their jobs. Providing talent with the right tools, in particular giving them the right technology and training to be even more effective at their jobs, is critical if you want to win in the productivity game”.
Alistair said on increasing productivity at Hays, “None of this would have been achieved without the power of our people behind it. After all, implementing all the latest technology and putting in all the training in the world will do nothing to boost productivity without inspired and driven employees.”
A compelling reason to ensure a company’s staff are inspired and behind their vision is that while competitors are able to replicate technology and training, they will be unable to do so with its employees - making them the key differentiator. Alistair said, “Never ever lose sight of that. I believe that inspired, focused and talented employees who harness the power of technology, are the solution to the productivity puzzle.
Alistair closes by saying “Put the same amount of investment into your people as you do into your technology and you will reap the rewards. After all, you can’t have one without the other.”
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About Hays
Hays plc (the "Group") is a leading global professional recruiting group. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Asia Pacific and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe and Latin America. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 30 June 2015 the Group employed 9,023 staff operating from 240 offices in 33 countries across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2015:
– the Group reported net fees of £764.2 million and operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £164.1 million;
– the Group placed around 63,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 200,000 people into temporary assignments;
– 23% of Group net fees were generated in Asia Pacific, 41% in Continental Europe & RoW (CERoW) and 36% in the United Kingdom & Ireland;
– the temporary placement business represented 58% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 42% of net fees;
– Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA