CBI research suggests UK could add £110 billion through better people management

The new "Great job" report by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) makes the case that UK business could add £110 billion in value by adopting better people management practices.

Every company has people management problems of one sort or another, from staff who feel undervalued or misemployed in their current roles to people who aren't getting the skills development they want. Those problems can lead not only to decreased productivity and friction in the workplace but also to higher hiring costs as staff leave for new opportunities.

This problem has a key driver of change in Northern Ireland's tech industry, where the top firms are competing in a self-described "war for graduates" and every firm is looking for the best and brightest in emerging tech fields such as AI, blockchain, IoT, and VR/AR. Employees of NI's top tech firms routinely tell us about how their companies empower them to learn new tech and develop new skills, and that definitely seems to be having a positive effect on the local industry.

The new CBI report highlights that UK businesses actually perform below average on almost 80% of good people practice indicators when compared to international firms in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It estimates that if the UK improved its people management by just 7% across the board, that would yield a net income boost of £110 billion for the UK economy. Firms that improve key people management indicators could see as much as a 19% boost in productivity.

Some practical improvements most firms could make that were indicated in the report include:
 * Moving responsibility for people problems from HR to the board management level
 * Bringing on board external leaders to help your company learn best practices
 * Ensuring performance-related management pay is linked to people management indicators
 * Involving staff in the design and implementation of company values
 * Removing unconscious hiring bias through name-blind CV checks application processes
 * Providing more on-the-job development opportunities to pass on skills from experienced staff
 * Collecting standardised people management metrics and regularly discuss them with staff

Head over to the CBI website for more information or to read the full report.

Source: CBI Website