Australian productivity must be a Budget-enabled mission says McGrath

BUDGET REACTION – AUSTRALIAN business chief executive and author, Jarrod McGrath is calling on the Federal Government to do something to lift Australia out of its “systemic productivity slump” – no matter which party wins the upcoming election.

Mr McGrath made the suggestion – in response to the Budget – that the Federal Government should actually incentivise all levels of government and enterprises toward genuine long-term productivity increases.

Mr McGrath has spent his career in a range of blue- and white-collar roles and led a number of companies. He called the Budget’s $900 million National Productivity Plan “a start” but argues the government should set benchmarks on how organisations can measure workforce management and look closely at rostering, payment, and compliance systems at the heart of productivity. 

“The government has to start incentivising people-focused initiatives to lift Australia out of its systemic productivity slump,” Mr McGrath said.

“This isn’t easy, but we’re walking a tightrope trying to boost productivity while reigning in expenditure – we need to see an informed and creative approach from the top down that recognises that we don’t currently measure workforce management well, and we can’t hope to improve on productivity until we do,” Mr McGrath said. 

“The Budget’s 10-year $900 million National Productivity Plan, to incentivise states and territories to promote competition, is a signal of the government’s intent, but it needs to go further to also incentivise businesses and local government.

“We need benchmarks set by the government on how organisations can measure their workforce management – real-time visibility over rostering, payment and compliance systems at the heart of how people are paid and for what productive output.

“These systems are the backbone of productivity measurement – and visibility is the first step to identifying where the bang-for-buck can be found,” he said.

“The government should lead here with its own workforce and also start incentivising organisations to bring in the tools and technology that can manage their labour force in real time. Once they have that visibility, more incentives can be provided to improve on productivity initiatives based on what they’re seeing."

www.jarrodmcgrath.com

Jarrod McGrath is the CEO of Smart WFM and author of The Digital Workforce and The Modern CEO.

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