Mark Carney, Bank of England governor, yesterday announced that productivity is 16 percent below its pre-crisis trend demonstrating a large shortfall. 

This reinforces that the UK is often known to be less productive than other similar developed countries. This ‘productivity gap’ poses a significant challenge to UK organisations as they face the threat of increased global competition. However, a recent report that surveyed businesses with an existing workforce management strategy, demonstrates that UK organisations are increasingly embracing technology that helps unburden employees in order to better manage productivity.

The ‘Productivity: Managing and Measuring a Workforce’ report found that nearly three-quarters (72 percent) utilise automated absence/leave management solutions and 71 percent have already automated labour forecasting However, only 64 percent of UK businesses have automated the time and attendance functions of their workforce. Crucially, those businesses that have integrated their workforce management solutions report an increase in productivity ranging from 5 percent to 20 percent.

Although the survey has highlighted how businesses have already started to benefit from automating core workforce management processes, yesterday’s announcement shows there are further improvements that need to be made. Businesses of all sizes need to use technology across all areas of the business in order to create a more engaging, motivating work environment and in turn deliver increased productivity.