Driving InsightsSuccess always demands a greater effort.REDISCOVERINGOUR HUNGER.Working harderand smarter to raiseNordic Productivity.Productivity figures for all Nordic countries are consistentlybelow OECD average. Business leaders know this must change,says Hans Lindeman, Head of <strong>Celerant</strong> <strong>Consulting</strong> Nordic andwith the right leadership and the right vision it can.hat did we learn from our NordicWProductivity Survey detailed onthe two previous pages? Whenasked the question: Do you thinkproductivity levels in the country where youwork are comparable to other countries? only39% of respondents agreed and even theywere wrong. Nordic productivity generally lagsbehind many 1st world countries.* In addition,the Nordic workforce generally works less thanmany other developed countries, productivityis rising more slowly and the gap to countriesthat we typically compete with is growing.Business leaders know this must change and51% have a target of improving productivity by5-10% in their business unit or department thisyear. They also believe that change will taketime and this is underlined by the fact that forsome, ‘The Nordic Model’ is seen as a block ora challenge to improving productivity.The bottom line is that all Nordic countries aregoing to have to work harder, smarter and addmore value to everything they do in order to staycompetitive on the global stage. The positiveresults of the survey however, suggest that our32CLOSEWORK® GLOBAL REVIEW 2012
Nordic Productivity Surveyrespondents believe that we have many of thetraits that are necessary to improve such ashigh education, political stability, creativityand global experience.Increasing Value Added workSo how do you create a performance basedbusiness culture? One that is continuallychallenging people to learn, to grow, toimprove productivity, freeing up information,democratising problem solving and givingpeople the autonomy to be successful? A criticallever is to work smarter. And the quickest wayto work smarter to improve productivity is toget everyone in the organisation to increasetheir Value Added work - and stop doing thingsthat don’t Add Value.The <strong>Celerant</strong> <strong>Consulting</strong> Workforce ImpactabilityStudy 2011 demonstrated the dramatic impactthis can have. It tracked the daily activities of200 middle managers from 6 different industriesin the US and after assessing more than 11,000work hours, demonstrated that operators generatea stunning 50% more value than supervisors.It also showed that 43.5% of a supervisor’sdaily work load can be effectively impacted,so to really drive productivity companies mustreview supervisor activities in detail anddetermine which portions of their day can bealtered to improve the value add they generate.This also means examining specific roles toensure that the right employees are performingthe right tasks. Loosely defined roles andineffective practices create a frustrating dailywork experience, with a great deal of lost time.Implementing a simple architecture with clearroles and responsibilities is the first step inbreaking this cycle and improving productivity.<strong>Celerant</strong> <strong>Consulting</strong>’s Operational TransformationService Line has a track record of improvingproductivity by changing behaviours - and whatchanges behaviours is simultaneously addressingmanagement systems, processes, people andskills. Our robust MCRS ® Management Systemcreates alignment from the boardroom all the waydown to the lowest person on the floor and backagain. This enables an organisation to createaccountability at the lowest possible level.Creating this holistic perspective and processallows Managers to make the right decisions,improve communication and reduce the negativeeffects of errors from one department or functionto the next. In addition, a team that understandsits contributions and feels connected to theentire programme is more motivated toimprove performance.Doing more with lessAll Nordic countries are well placed to improve.They have high levels of education, stablepolitical models and their citizens are not yetexposed to the type of extreme short-termmeasures that the Greeks are. Over the lastdecade Sweden has demonstrated its abilityto change and improve its competitivenessand financial strength, and along with Finlandis reasonably placed in terms of productivityand hours worked compared to the rest of theworld’s high-productivity countries. Howeverboth countries must continue their focus onimproving productivity growth and building onpast strengths, especially Finland which is facingincreased national fiscal challenges in 2012.Norway is in a special category due to its relianceand income from fossil fuels. However, consideringthat its workforce work fewer hours than anyother country in Europe, it should invest and focuson productivity to provide a back-up plan to itsreliance on oil and gas and take a leadershipposition in sustainable development. Clearly atthe back of the pack is Denmark, which is facinga very bleak future if it does not do somethingdrastic soon. It has very low levels of productivitygrowth coupled with a workforce that workscomparatively few hours. In addition, it carriesthe burdens of a very cost intensive welfaresystem and a growing budget deficit. Faced withincreasing corporate taxes a growing numberof corporations are considering moving theworkforce out of Denmark. If this imbalance isnot changed very quickly, the long term effectscould be devastating. It is a negative spiral thatcould take many years to get out of.Back to the futureDeveloping a culture of working harder andsmarter is the biggest challenge facing Nordicbusiness leaders today and our survey shows thatthey believe that the Top 6 drivers to achievingthis are management, better processes andsystems, better communication and training,an engaged and motivated workforce andinvestment and the overall economy.At <strong>Celerant</strong> <strong>Consulting</strong>, we believe that moremanagement won’t help, but better managementwill – and when it’s combined with bettersystems and processes it will actually have aprofound effect. There is also no doubt thatin the medium to long term, communicationand education will have a very positive andlasting effect.Many people in the Nordic region appear tohave become complacent about competition,believing that somehow because our companiesand corporations have been world leaders ininnovative practices, technological advances andvalue creation we’re immune to the challenges ofglobal competition. Such complacency has been seenbefore. Take for example, the Japanese economy.From the 60s to the 80s the Japanese led theworld in innovation, technology and improvingproductivity. Today, that advantage has all butdisappeared as the country has stagnated.The Nordic region is definitely not immune toglobal competition and we’re going to have torediscover our ambition and drive. We’re going tohave to work much harder and much smarter tokeep all the benefits that we enjoy in our societies.Involving, motivating, leading and above allrekindling the hunger in our employees hasnever been more important.‘ Hard work and ingenuitycreated our present. Nowthey must protect our future.’* AVERAGE LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY 2009 INDEX: 2005 = 10. SOURCE OECDCLOSEWORK® GLOBAL REVIEW 2012 33
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