Boosting productivity without adding resources and cost

A productive business is a highly engaged place to work. In a service-based business, like an accounting and financial advice firm, productivity is the outcome of effective technology, processes and people. Yet, the importance of aligned, motivated people often gets overlooked when building productivity strategies.

The Productivity Commission’s ‘Advancing Prosperity’ report, released on 17 March 2023, shows Australia falling behind globally, with labour productivity growing at its slowest pace in 60 years. This critically important issue has taken a back seat in recent years to more pressing matters like the Covid-19 pandemic and the rising cost of living.

But addressing Australia’s rapidly falling productivity must be elevated on the government’s agenda, given productivity is one of the most powerful tools for driving economic growth and lifting living standards.

For the past 30 years, labour productivity has contributed more than 80 per cent of the growth in Australia’s living standards (measured by real gross national income per person), according to Treasury’s 2021 Intergenerational Report.

There must be sustained productivity growth for the nation’s economic welfare to improve but this mammoth task can’t be left to the government alone.

While changes to the tax system, industrial reform and greater investment in R&D, innovation, and education and training will all help, the corporate sector must step up too.

After all, our people deserve opportunities to develop their careers, build wealth and improve their lives.

There are four relatively straightforward, inexpensive things that advice businesses can do to drive productivity gains.

1) Review roles to ensure the right people are in the right jobs

Productivity can be enhanced through better allocation of resources.

Inside organisations, people with valuable skills are often being underutilised, which means labour is only being partially used. Leadership is about creating the right environment to empower people to do great work, not about power over people. Often well intentioned ‘leadership’ is holding back great productive work.

Sometimes people are in the right roles but they don’t have the tools and support they need to function at the highest level. Focusing effort on ensuring your learning and development efforts nurture individuals through to practical application will ensure time is not wasted.

Having people with the right capabilities, experience and leadership qualities in the right roles can take a business to the next level.

2) Greater transparency and better communication

Establish an operational rhythm that is based on clear, open and regular communications between teams and departments.

A brief daily meeting or huddle helps people feel connected and provides a forum for people to ask questions and raise issues. It gives management an avenue to reinforce key messages, provide direction and understand what’s happening in the business.

This is not another time-sucking meeting. Daily huddles can save time by avoiding misunderstanding, identifying concerns before they become full scale issues and ensuring everyone is focusing on the most important work of the day.

3) Leverage Technology

Technology can drive efficiencies and supercharge productivity.

Inside many businesses there are systems and technology that are not being fully utilised. Often these tools are capturing valuable insights and data points but that data is not being delivered to users in a meaningful way.

Existing technologies commonly don’t talk to each other, leading to duplication. This reduces the quality and speed of day-to-day operations and increases the chances of human error.

Businesses should focus on what’s available in its tech stack to reduce the risk of human error, duplication of effort and leverage data to tell the story of what is working or not working.

4) People and culture initiatives including flexible working arrangements and bonus leave

This could be seen as a cost (contrary to the title of this article) and initiatives like bonus leave and a nine-day fortnight do cost money but they’re not expensive.

Invest Blue adopted a nine-day fortnight pilot, giving full time employees an extra 26 days off a year, in a bid to foster employee wellbeing and achieve productivity gains.

They don’t require any additional spend and can result in more engaged, productive and loyal workplace.

This is especially important given the current war for talent.

As the expression goes, you can’t give from an empty cup, therefore, it is important to invest in employee health and wellbeing. Businesses should also create a culture that prioritises rest and recovery as this adds to people’s capacity to be more productive.

Don’t wait for the Quality of Advice Review

While the looser regulatory framework proposed in the Quality of Advice Review final report promises to boost productivity by simplifying the advice process and encouraging the use of technology, an engaged workplace and strong culture arguably has the greatest impact on performance.

As such, advice businesses must give greater attention to developing their employee value proposition.

Every business can work harder on being an attractive place to work. Efforts to improve productivity rely on a business’ ability to invent and adopt meaningful change.

Businesses generate the most value from their efforts when every team member is on-board. That takes rich engagement. When people feel welcome, valued and empowered to do their job, they are more productive.

The reverse is fatigue, burn-out and disillusionment, which is bad for teams, bad for culture, bad for clients, bad for business and counterproductive.