Productivity in Canadian businesses is not living up to its potential and lags behind other industrialized nations, says an international study that identified a shortage of skilled workers as the biggest roadblock in Canada and around the world.
But the 12-country study also reported good news for Canada: Canadian companies have a greater openness to change, which means they have a good chance of boosting productivity to stay competitive if they can increase targeted skills training, along with improving internal communications and the way they use technology.
Canadian companies have the potential to increase productivity by 13 per cent over the next two years, managers believe.
The challenge is getting there, because these same managers expect only an 8 percent gain. This leaves 42 percent of the potential gain untapped, compared to the global norm of 30 percent, said the annual report by Proudfoot Consulting, based in Atlanta, Georgia.
“This less-than-stellar performance in Canada can be attributed to a number of factors, including the low level of relevant training for both staff and managers, the slower speed of decision making, and problems with internal communications in Canadian organizations,” said Jon Wylie, Proudfoot’s managing director in Canada, in a news release.
The average Canadian worker receives only eight days of training per year, the second lowest level of the countries surveyed, and 25 per cent below the global norm, said the report that was based on interviews with 1,276 mid-level managers, in-depth interviews with senior executives, and other data analysis across eight sectors.
