- Written by John Campbell
- BBC News NI Economics and Business Editor
image source, Getty Images
Productivity measures the economic output produced by each worker.
Northern Ireland suffers from chronically low economic productivity.
What is productivity?
It measures how much economic output is produced by each job or each hour of work.
In the long run, improved living standards require increased productivity.
Where do administrators get involved in this issue?
The main factors that increase productivity are the skills of workers, investment in tools needed for the job, such as IT systems and factory machinery, and the introduction of modern technology.
The manager’s role is to organize these things in the most effective way, including recruiting and motivating the right people, providing them with the right tools, and introducing innovative technologies and processes. .
What did the study include?
The focus of the research was a survey of over 270 companies broadly representative of the Northern Ireland economy.
The survey builds on previous research by the Office for National Statistics, which asked businesses about their management practices, covering areas such as employment practices, performance management, training and the use of key performance indicators.
We used these responses to calculate an overall management score for each company.
It also examined the company’s published financial performance, as well as asked questions about its use of digital technology and the extent of its transactions outside Northern Ireland.
What did we find?
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this suggests that proper management is important.
Companies with high management scores are more likely to perform well, be exporters, and implement digital technology in their business.
image source, Getty Images
QUB researchers want to better understand why NI lags behind in terms of productivity.
Larger companies and those competing in markets outside Northern Ireland have better management practices, but poor management practices are typically found in companies facing a lack of competition and in second-generation family businesses. You can
The study also found that it’s worth investing in manager training. The presence of highly qualified managers with leadership training explains much of the variation in performance across firms.
What’s the point?
The researchers suggest that companies and governments should focus on improving the skills of managers by providing them with appropriate leadership training.
This suggests that smaller, second-generation, family-run businesses with less qualified managers and companies that sell primarily to domestic markets may reap the most benefits.
This could have an impact on Invest NI, which is currently reviewing its strategy to focus on improving Northern Ireland’s productivity.