6 July 2015 | Herpreet Grewal
The Chancellor's Budget must not neglect investment in vocational and further education and workforce skills, warns a new report by the CIPD - the professional body for HR and people development.
The report, Productivity: Getting The Best Out Of People, explores the factors that help to explain why some businesses have higher productivity than others and finds that there are clear links between productivity and how people are managed at work.
It highlights how a clear focus on improving performance can help businesses get the best out of their people.
Performance tends to be higher in businesses where there is a focus on higher-quality products or services rather than only on low cost and where workplace culture is clearly aligned with the future direction of the business, says the report.
Investment in workforce training and an intelligent approach to the implementation of 'smart' or agile working practices also has a positive impact.
To support this, the CIPD is calling on the government to demonstrate its commitment to raising productivity by prioritising investment in vocational and further education and skills funding, and by taking a leading role in the drive to improve workplace management.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer will give his Summer Budget to Parliament on Wednesday 8 July 2015.
Mark Beatson, CIPD chief economist and author of the report, said: "Productivity in the UK is noticeably low, especially when compared to other developed economies. The reasons behind the UK's poor performance are deep-rooted and complex. Government investment is vital to increasing productivity, but it needs to be broad-based."