Canada’s Urgent Productivity Wake-Up Call
April 3, 2024Productivity in Canada is in an emergency state. Coming out of the pandemic, many people might think it’s just about getting back up to speed. Globally, however, that does not seem to be the case. Looking at the global landscape, Canada falls well behind our international contemporaries when it comes to productivity. While the US, most of Europe, Australia, and many other countries have shown consistent growth month over month, Canada’s productivity rating is falling. Consider this Canada’s urgent productivity wake-up call.
In a recent statement the Senior Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada, Carolyn Rogers, stated that Canada is facing a productivity emergency. Our productivity ratings have been relatively stagnant for several decades. In the past five years, however, we’ve started to see overall declines. Productivity rates in Canada have fallen in six consecutive quarters and currently show no signs of improving. Quoting directly from the speech, “You’ve seen those signs that say, ‘In emergency, break glass.’ Well, it’s time to break the glass.”
So, what are the contributing factors? Experts agree that a key factor is a lack of investment in capital stock. Employees lack the technology or physical tools to do their jobs effectively. One expert shared the analogy that Canadian workers are currently using a shovel to do the same job that their international counterparts are doing with a backhoe. On the technology front, we estimate that Canada is ten years behind the US and potentially twice that behind Europe. Inadequate ongoing training and ineffective labour use also raise concerns.
After looking at the information the question is, how can we reverse this trend and improve productivity? The short answer, it’s not about working harder; it’s about working smarter. With the right resources, your team can more efficiently tackle their work and get more done without feeling overworked. Read on to learn how you can increase productivity within your organization.
Leveraging Technology to Enhance Workplace Productivity
When looking for immediate productivity gains, technology investment should be your first stop. If your team doesn’t have the right tools for the job, then it will be difficult, if not impossible, to improve efficiency. A quick review of most procedures tends to quickly identify paper-based processes as a major bottleneck in most workplaces. Searching through filing cabinets and storage boxes takes time. Similarly, waiting for approvals to circulate through the office or manually correlating purchase orders, invoices, and packing slips also slows down paper-based processes.
With a document management system, your business documents are digitally filed and instantly available with only a few keystrokes. You can automate approval processes to include backup approvers when someone is out of the office. This provides visibility at each step and ensures there are no unexpected delays. Furthermore, It’s possible to match and verify all accounts paperwork automatically. Before sending them to your accounting software, you can pre-code the ledger details. This helps to eliminate common keying errors and subsequent corrections.
Beyond document management, you’ll want to ensure that your technology hardware is up to date. Ensuring that your team is working with modern computer hardware and tools improves processing speed and reduces downtime. A regular review of your printing needs is also recommended as the mutli-function print device you were using before the pandemic, may no longer be the most cost effective or appropriate solution today. People also regularly neglect the office router. Wireless technology has significantly advanced in the past few years. If you haven’t updated recently, upgrading is likely to result in significant improvements in network speed. While opinions vary on the hardware side, experts generally recommend reviewing and upgrading every 3-5 years to ensure optimal performance.
Personal Development and Continuous Learning
In response to Canada’s urgent productivity wake-up call, ensuring your team has access to continuous learning opportunities is crucial. Staying current with the latest industry advancements and improving both hard and soft skills are critical for any business’s success. Providing access to online platforms, in-person training sessions and conferences can keep your team ahead of the curve and performing optimally.
On the development side, ensure that there are opportunities for advancement and that you set out clear pathways and expectations for promotion. The knowledge that commitment, loyalty and productivity will lead to new opportunities is critical to performance. Constantly seeking new leadership and advanced roles outside your organization can lead to a decrease in your team’s motivation. They may be less inclined to seek new efficiencies and improve existing processes within their roles.
Remote Work and Flexibility
As the world adapts to the rise of remote and hybrid work arrangements, ensuring that team members are well-equipped to work both in the office and elsewhere becomes essential. When looking at remote work, the keys to success are adequate technology, engagement and access to information. We’ve talked about technology and systems above, so let’s look at engagement.
When working with remote workforces it’s important that they feel connected and part of the team. It’s difficult to stay productive when you don’t always know the value of your contributions and how they impact your team. Scheduling regular virtual meetings, both one-on-one and with the team, is an effective way to stay connected. Team building is also important and even in a remote environment, is something that can be facilitated with a little creativity. Things like leading a cooking class over Zoom, paint nights, and trivia events using online platforms are all great ways to develop connections with your team.
Promoting a Culture of Productivity
All of the topics above boil down to once simple thing, a culture of productivity. Ultimately, what this means is ensuring that whether in the office or remote, your team has the resources to perform optimally. They need the tools, structure and guidance to manage their work and time effectively. Effective communication and collaboration are essential. Managing workflow efficiently in the office and recognizing and rewarding top performers will drive an organization’s success.
The importance of effective communication cannot be understated. Ensure that access to management and co-workers is simple and efficient. When meetings are required, keep them short and to the point and always ask, “Is this necessary?” We often find ourselves scheduling a meeting with the best of intentions, but are you unnecessarily taking your team away from more important things? Recent studies have shown that in the US alone, there are approximately 11 million meetings per day. This translates to well over 1 billon meetings annually. In a survey by the Harvard Business Review, a staggering 71% of respondents felt that meetings were unproductive and inefficient. This isn’t to say that meetings have no value but if overused, can contribute to productivity loss.
Conclusion
As we confront the stark reality of Canada’s productivity emergency, underscored by consistent declines and a lag behind global counterparts, it’s clear that this is Canada’s urgent productivity wake-up call. The path forward is simple, we need to invest in both technology and human capital. Canadian businesses have been working with outdated tools, placing them a significant step behind their international peers. This gap, characterized by the analogy of workers using shovels against those wielding backhoes elsewhere, is not just a metaphor but a tangible barrier to efficiency. However, the solution lies not in working harder but smarter, by leveraging technology advancements to streamline processes and enhance the workforce’s capabilities. Adopting document management systems and focusing on digital transformation initiatives allows companies to eliminate cumbersome paper-based processes. When implemented correctly, you’ll reduce downtime and ensure that your team operates at peak efficiency.
Equally critical to technological investment is the commitment to fostering a culture of continuous learning and personal development within the workforce. As work shifts towards remote and hybrid models, it’s essential to keep employees engaged, well-equipped, and current with the latest industry trends. This is crucial for maintaining a competitive edge. This means not only providing the right tools for success, but also fostering an environment that encourages innovation and rewards productivity. Focusing on these priorities will allow your business to cultivate a productivity culture. This culture motivates employees to seek efficiencies and contribute to the organization’s overall success. By addressing these challenges, we tackle the immediate productivity emergency. We also lay the foundation for a resilient, dynamic, and forward-thinking Canadian economy.