Productivity opportunities go untapped
New report says staff shortages and communications problems are biggest barriers.
By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 10/23/2008
Executives of North American companies in a variety of industries are the least optimistic about their chances to increase efficiency in the near term, according to a report from Proudfoot Consulting. The firm’s 2008 Global Productivity Report says these companies will leave 43% of potential improvements untapped.
The firm’s survey, based on 1,272 computer-assisted interviews conducted between May 20 and June 30, 2008, asked managers in Automotive, Communications, Energy, Financial Services, Food & Beverage, Manufacturing & Engineering, Mining and Retail firms worldwide about the level of productivity gains they expect to realize over the next two years. On average, managers around the world believe they have the potential to improve their productivity by 13.8%, yet when questioned, admitted that in reality they believe they will only achieve a 9.7% gain. The difference between the potential and expected gains over the next two years defines the unrealized opportunity.
Staff shortages and internal communications problems are the main barriers to productivity around the globe, with staff shortages being cited as the main barrier in the United States, the report’s authors found.
As for the most promising methods of productivity improvement cited, 81% of managers worldwide indicated their companies are planning to invest in workforce training in the coming year, with 78% reporting a similar investment in management training. These training investments were mentioned significantly more often than all other productivity enhancing activities, making them primary, or Tier 1, solutions.
Tier 2 productivity enhancements focus on a broad range of planned solutions, ranging from capital expenditure on technology and updating the physical layout of existing operations to focusing on staff morale and improving staff performance through implementation of a culture-change initiative.
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