Lessons from "Solving the Productivity Puzzle" - Tim Ringo

Over the last century or so, it's become clear that when human productivity - the output of goods and services from labor - increases each year, both people and the global economy end up better off. However, human productivity hasn't been increasing in line with the development of information communications technology. Yes, there have been some peaks, especially in the 1990s, but since 2004, economists have measured a declining - or at least flattening - rate of human productivity growth. There are many reasons and also solutions for this circumstance, let's dive into it.

The right job for the right person at the right time isn't science fiction.

The ancient Persian poet and philosopher Rumi postulated that everyone is born to do some specific kind of work, and that, as he put it, "the desire for that work has been put in every heart." It's a beautiful idea. But if Rumi was right, surely the job market would look different from the way it does today. So what would it look like ideally?

Imagine a marketplace that matches your skills and motivations with the right job for you at just the right time and also balances resource supply and demand. The author calls that PEIP - that is, People Engagement, Innovation, and Performance. And the benefits that PEIP stands to bring not only to you but also to society, are enormous.

Now add in AI and machine learning to make this marketplace even more efficient - putting the right people in jobs they love, and then working with technology to make those people more productive than ever before. Science fiction? Well, technology exists to make it happen today.

Organizations face many challenges today - and will face more in the future.

The first challenge to consider is technology, which is changing so quickly that staff structures and capabilities can't keep up. The second one is that the working-age population - ages 15 to 70 - is shrinking. Employee stress is also a concern since a staggering 70% of US employees felt that they were asked to do an unrealistic amount of work; as a result, 40% felt stressed (according to Everest College survey). Finally, machines are taking over many mundane tasks carried out by humans. This doesn't necessarily mean fewer jobs, but it might result in a refocusing of the workforce on the customer experience.

Productivity consists of 3 components: value, engagement, and innovation.

The author defines productivity as "getting stuff done that measurably improves the economic and human interests of organizations and society at large." From that, he breaks down productivity into 3 separated aspects. The first is value - specifically, the value of productive people. Real productivity and growth come from institutions simply employing people, knowledge, and technology better.

The second part is engagement - employees thrive in a purpose-driven workplace. To engage our employees, we need to understand what motivates them and provide them with autonomy (letting them organize how and when they do their work), mastery (providing them with the opportunity to learn and master new skills), and purpose (giving them a strong sense of what they stand for and why they are there).

Finally, there's innovation. Organizations don't automatically innovate simply because they're made up of people. Engaged people create innovation - and subsequently, innovative work and environments create engagement.

To get results, work smarter and implement PEIP.

To get productivity back on track, there are 3 areas we can look at. First, work smarter, not harder - because working less actually produces more since our brain can fully concentrate for, at most, 4 hours per day.

Second, take it up a notch and work uber-smart by implementing an integrated human capital lifecycle, which gives our employees a seamless experience and sets them up to succeed. Getting the right people in the right jobs rather than just deploying available staff will not only improve the execution of our plants but also help engage, retain, and attract top talent.

Third, implement PEIP. Determine who the right people are ultimately depending on our organization and the types of people we want to work for it. Finding the right skills is crucial. To predict who we'll need and to deploy them at the right time and place, we need to understand our current workforce, our future needs, and any gap between the two.

Finally, the keystone is motivation. Employers and employees need to work together to match desire and motivation such that work gets everyone "jumping out of bed in the morning", eager for the tasks ahead.