How are businesses tackling productivity issues?

It’s necessary for businesses to remain as productive as possible at all times, which requires careful managing of staff, software systems and clients to keep everything in check.

The efforts Australian businesses are going through in order to maintain productivity have been documented in recent research from Bankwest. Companies across the country are dedicating significant portions of their budgets to identifying and resolving these problems.

How much are they spending?

The report focused on medium-sized businesses and found that a fairly high percentage are increasing their expenditure on methods likely to spark productive behaviour in the workplace. According to Bankwest, 45 per cent of the companies it surveyed will increase spending in this area to an average figure of $76,205 over the next year.

As is the case with most business decisions, growth is the defining factor, with 46.8 per cent of respondents stating this a potential benefit of the extra spending.

There are other benefits to businesses that adopt a focus on productivity as well. Up to 44 per cent of those surveyed believed they can reduce their operating costs over time, and another 39.4 per cent state that it leads to increased revenue.

Executive General Manager for Business Banking at Bankwest, Sinead Taylor says that companies in competitive industries should look to see what they can improve internally – within their staff and workplace – before looking outwards.

“Conditions are challenging for businesses and they have to find a competitive edge to ensure the ongoing strength and continual growth of their businesses,” she said.

“I believe more businesses are realising that if they can work smarter and boost their productivity, they will be a step in front – no matter what the economic conditions.”

It’s also important to define how you’re approaching productivity expenditure, with 65.7 per cent of businesses believing it is a case of improving efficiency and a little over half (52.4 per cent) directing toward increased profits.