New research has highlighted London and the South East as two of the UK’s leading ‘local economies’ - demonstrating high levels of productivity and competitiveness. The report, “Ambition 2020: World Class Skills and Jobs for the UK”, shows the important role of local businesses in maintaining the UK’s competitiveness.
London is currently top out of 12 in a productivity league table of the UK while the South East takes the second spot. Overall, the South East ranks first in the Regional UK Competitiveness Index with London coming in second.
The South East also has a higher than average employment rate – 76.7% versus the UK average of 72.7% while London’s is lower than average with 68.6%.
However, “Ambition 2020” also warns that the UK is at risk of sliding down international productivity rankings – threatening the country’s competitiveness - unless its skills and employment systems are fundamentally improved. Investors in People is urging local businesses to continue investing in the skills of their people to help keep their organisations on track and remain competitive in future.
 |
|
John Telfer |
John Telfer, Joint Managing Director of Inspiring Business Performance Ltd (IBP), which is responsible for delivering the Investors in People Standard across London and the South East, said: “In the current economic climate, it’s more important than ever that businesses are able to get the best out of their people. This means challenging and inspiring managers and employees at all levels to achieve their potential: employers have to be ambitious and act now to develop the skills they will need in future. This will improve their productivity and performance, benefiting them, their employees, and the country as a whole.”
 |
|
Trish Fraser |
Trish Fraser, Joint Managing Director of IBP, added her top tips for businesses in London and the South East that want to benefit from improved skills and productivity:
• Take a good, hard look at your business goals. Do you know exactly what you need to do to achieve them? Success will depend on breaking down your business ambitions into small, manageable steps.
• Create a plan for up-skilling the business. It’s all too easy to overlook raw talent that can be developed into the stars of the future. Look beyond employees’ current roles to assess their full potential – and then help them achieve it.
• Businesses which don't train their staff are two and a half times more likely to fail than those that do. Think creatively about how you do this. Formal training is only one method of encouraging skills development – there are many on-the-job techniques that can help employees keep growing. Mentoring, shadowing schemes and more regular feedback can all play a key part in unlocking an employee’s full potential and performance.
• Keep talking. When planning your learning and development strategy, consult your employees on their ambitions, align these with the needs of the business and everyone will be a winner.
• Bring people with you. By engaging your people in the company’s vision of future success, you will reap the rewards in terms of better motivation, productivity and performance.
