The Role of the Private Sector Within The National Productivity Improvement Effort Presented by John Pilgrim Executive Director Barbados National Productivity Council

Broad Mission To Create Conditions That are Conducive to the Development of Improved Competitiveness Through Enhanced Productivity C = P/UC Barbados National Productivity Council 4

NOTABLE QUOTE NEVER! NEVER! NEVER! NEVER! GIVE UP! SIR WINSTON CHURCHHILL Barbados National Productivity Council 1

What’s In It For The Respective Stakeholder 8 Barbados National Productivity Council

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES OF ANY PIP To design, advise on and conduct educational programmes that stimulate public recognition of the necessity to improve national work performance vis a vis international requirements To promote and monitor all aspects of productivity growth at the industry and enterprise level –E.g. I.F.C. Project

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES To highlight success stories of improved labour/management relations and productivity To create and develop methodologies for measuring productivity in the private sector and encourage the same in the public sector –For stratetic purposes, in order to compare the total performance of the company with that of its competitors or related companies

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES –For tactical purposes, to enable management to control the performance of the company via the performance of the individual sectors of the firm either functional or by product, that is knowing the relative importance of individual departments –For planning purposes, to compare the relative benefits accruing from the use of various inputs or varying proportions of the same inputs, and –For internal management purposes, such as collective bargaining with trade unions or relating pay to performance

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES To support the provision of technical advice and assistance towards devising productivity related payment schemes –Lessens the pressure to provide automatic annual increases –Provides for job security in bad times –Assists budgetary formulation and resource allocation –Links individual effort to organisational viability and success

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES –Facilities strategic approach and professionalism –Allows more holistic evaluation of the enterprise –Necessitates greater communication –Motivates employees by giving them “a piece of the pie” –Engenders cooperation and management/labour collaboration –Promotes fundamentally important customer orientation

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES To assist in creating a climate which would maximise the use of productivity gains in collective bargaining e.g. convening a National Tripartite Forum to dialogue on productivity-related issues

GETTING THE PRODUCTIVITY EFFORT GOING. THE TWO PHASES: (A) Introduction Phase The provision of training for the representatives of management, trade unions and workers, as a means of engendering a more participatory environment The utilisation of public relations initiatives, such as essay competitions, media coverage, technical booklets, newspaper articles, etc

THE INTRODUCTION PHASE The development of a process of awarding productive performance in workers, companies and industries The arrangement of seminars and other training interventions that ensure greater worker and trade union involvement within productivity-improvement activities

(B) The Adoption Phase The application of productivity techniques focused on labour The formation of labour/management productivity agreements The provision of productivity-related technical assistance to business managers and workers e.g. productivity based incentive schemes (cash and non-cash)

The Adoption Phase The creation of strategic alliances with other organisations such as University of the West Indies, business institutes and consultancy bodies The fostering of a strategic alliance with the media as a mechanism for promoting productivity consciousness and culture

The Adoption Phase The implementation of training mechanisms that encourage the improvement of public sector productivity

The Union’s role in the productivity movement To ensure that a specific productivity movement does not compromise the interests of workers To increase the productivity consciousness of workers and to educate them in productivity concepts and techniques To see that performance standards and measurements are fair and achievable by workers

The Union’s role in the productivity movement To see that a fair productivity gains-sharing scheme is properly worked out and applied To help build an organisational climate characterised by mutual understanding and co-operation To develop the trade unions’ own expertise in the productivity movement.

A FINAL NOTE The Private Sector, Labour and Government should now seek to establish a Tripartite National Productivity Programme driven by a National Productivity Unit

WORDS OF WISDOM “If We Don’t Swim Together, We’ll Sink Separately.” George De Peana General Secretary, CCL “Pleasant Words Are As An Honeycomb, Sweet To The Soul, And Health To The Bones.” Proverbs 16:24