It’s an obsession which inevitably follows us into work, with many boardroom conversations looking at how productive an individual, team or entire workforce is. We’re fascinated by our productivity levels, and it is often used by HR to get buy-in for new initiatives.
But if we’re so consumed by productivity rates, why aren’t we any better at it? The UK’s productivity rate is lower than France, Germany and US – and almost all of this gap is due to a lack of investment in capital and skills, according to the London School of Economics.
Purse strings may be tight in the year ahead, yet HR is perfectly poised to make a transformative difference regardless. Boosting skills, rolling out new tech investments and change management projects are fundamental to improving productivity. Coincidentally, these all fall into HR’s remit.
It’s a fantastic opportunity for the people profession to again showcase to the rest of the organisation just how magical it can be when people are at the centre of your workforce strategy.
And while I’m on the topic of maximising efficiency, it would be remiss of me to not use this space to tell the HR community of my latest news. This will be my last issue editing HR magazine as I look to take on my next challenge.
I’ve had an incredible four years of sailing the ship through the storm of the pandemic and into calmer waters, made much easier thanks to the amazing transformation HR went through. I’ll still be in the sector, just with a different captain’s hat on. I hope to see you around!
This article was first published in the January/February 2024 print issue of HR magazine.
Subscribe today to have all our latest articles delivered right to your desk.
