Progrex is warning that businesses are not investing enough in systems, which is an issue that is contributing the UK productivity crisis. The average British worker produces more than 16 per cent less than most of the G7, the group of seven leading economies and experts believe some of this weak productivity can be put down to poor workflow and inefficient systems.
“The reasons for poor productivity in the UK are complex, from a shortage of skilled workers, to firms not exporting enough,” Sharon Xuereb, business development manager from Progrex said. “However poor management and poor workflow processes play their part. It’s estimated that having poor workflow in the business can cost up to 30 per cent of turnover a year, and has a significant impact on the productivity and growth of companies.
“In the UK in particular we’ve seen companies under investing in their own workflow systems, often relying on excel spreadsheets and email-based systems, that have organically grown with the business. As companies scale up however these systems just aren’t fit for purpose and have a major impact on the bottom line.”
According to Xuereb, as the UK gears up for Brexit, this issue of productivity and having systems to cope with potential increased regulation and increasing challenges, will become even more important. “Brexit is going to create added financial and time pressures for businesses, and it will be vital that they have robust systems in place to help absorb some of this pressure,” she said. “Firms really need to look at how they manage workflow and assign budgets to improve their systems, both to boost productivity and in preparation for a more challenging environment following Brexit.”
