The neglected element of your company's performance: PEOPLE

A serious gap in workforce productivity is now holding back the growth of the Australian economy.

 

In PwC’s recently published study Key Trends in Human Capital 2012, Australia was ranked second to last for productivity growth.

As we all know, the Australian agribusiness and agricultural production industry has been suffering from a steady decline in the productive capacity of its workforce for some time now.  It is an issue that is hotly discussed around kitchen tables and boardrooms alike every day.

What the PwC report reveals is that overall productivity of the Westernised workforce has fallen dramatically in the last period.  There has been a systemic cutting back on drawing new skills in (recruiting new talent) and the ongoing professional (post graduate) development of the existing workforce.

Sound familiar?  These global trends are consistent with local trends that have emerged in Australia’s agribusiness sector.

So whilst we all may be asking ‘where are all the graduates?’ - as an industry what have we actually been doing to attract (draw in) new skills and effectively increase (up-skill) the output of the existing workforce?

For many businesses the answer is absolutely nothing.  Why?  It is not the conventional way of thinking in our industry.

The implication of doing nothing is to receive a very low return on the most important investment your company will ever make; the investment in your people (workforce – or Human Capital as it is commonly referred to now).  A poor return at a time when many are already struggling to generate external growth.

Imagine the possibilities of increasing the return on the investment in your people.  Having an effective process for monitoring the ongoing performance of people can make a huge difference to their productivity and generate external growth for your business.

One of the key ways that you can achieve this is to develop a suitable performance management system that will ensure the people of your business are consistently delivering value.  

A quick and compact approach to measuring workforce performance is a 360° Feedback Survey.

For the purpose of performance management, the performance of people at work can be divided into two broad components:

-          - Functional Performance

-         -  Behavioural Performance

360° feedback is used for the behavioural aspects and gives people an insight into the way others perceive their performance based on their workplace behaviours.  Research shows that behavioural aspects of performance are as important as the functional aspects of performance.

If you want to increase the return on investment in your people then you should have a performance management system that includes both.

At SOS we specialise in helping small and medium agribusiness located in the regions and now offer a 360° feedback service to start looking into and solving some of the productivity issues owners and operators are encountering.

If anyone would like an information copy of our 360° surveys or the PwC global study into human capital trends please contact us.