Ashleigh McCulloch, Productivity Club Programme Manager at the Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI) discusses the new productivity clubs, helping SMEs share knowledge and boost output
SCDI and the Scottish Government have developed a partnership to create a Productivity Club for Scotland which invites businesses to discuss key drivers that could stimulate productivity. The two-year pilot will bring together businesses to design an approach which focuses on the factors which could contribute to increased productivity.
Membership of the Productivity Club and all related activities are free of charge.
As a nation we have many productive businesses, however Scotland, and the UK as a whole, sits firmly behind other developed countries in this area. If we can increase our productivity and can produce more, we can add greater value to the economy. This in turn affects pay or increased profits, without increasing prices.
There several examples of businesses 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 quality, speed or reduced costs.
The industry-led Club aims to gain provide valuable insights and knowledge from these businesses 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 business. 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 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.
We hope that this pilot will demonstrate that collaborate discussions around business challenges and solutions can influence operations which lead to increased productivity and, in turn, impact positively on the economy. Small incremental gains in this area will create a big difference.
The website will provide information on the full programme of activities and resources including how businesses can participate in the Club’s meetings and events. Check the website or follow the Productivity Club on Twitter for further information.