Ashleigh McCulloch details what the new Productivity Club for Scotland aims to achieve
The Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI) and Scottish Government have developed a partnership to create a Productivity Club for Scotland which invites businesses and organisations to discuss key drivers that could stimulate productivity. The two-year pilot will bring together leaders to design an approach which focuses on the factors which could contribute to increased productivity.
As a nation we have many productive businesses and organisations, however Scotland, and the UK as a whole, is behind other countries in this area. If we can increase our productivity and can produce more, we can add greater value to the well-being of the economy and communities.
There are several examples of businesses and organisations approaching their activities in innovative ways through employee engagement, workplace design, strategic planning, leadership development, recruitment, training and embracing digital technologies which are all impacting on business operations and driving value either in people development, quality, speed or reduced costs.
The industry-led club aims to gain provide valuable insights and knowledge from these best practice examples in a peer to peer environment where leaders can come together and examine other’s approaches to incite ideas which could advance areas of their own company. It will be a forum for diffusion of ideas, collective learning and advancement of relationships.
The pilot period will see events held in Glasgow and in Edinburgh where businesses and organisations of all sizes can assemble and share best practice from across all sectors of the economy. There will also be a range of resources available on the website which can be accessed by anyone joining the club. Membership and all related activities are free of charge.
We hope that this pilot will demonstrate that collaborative discussions around challenges and solutions which can influence operations which lead to increased productivity and, in turn, impact positively on the economy. Small incremental gains in this area will aggregate to create a big difference.
Our website provides information on the full programme of activities and resources including how businesses and organisations can participate in the club’s meetings and events.
Ashleigh McCulloch is productivity club programme manager at the Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI)
