How can companies transform their business by becoming more productive? What are the things stopping us doing this? What simple practical techniques are there to restore and increase productivity? In short, what is practical productivity?

We’ve often said it before - productivity is not the thing that keeps most business leaders awake at night. Productivity is not usually part of a company’s KPIs, and while many in our audience don’t need convincing on why productivity matters overall, we don’t necessarily always have clear ideas of what the key levers are at the firm level. So, let’s get practical about productivity.

Host Bart van Ark is joined by:

• Mark Logan, Professor in Practice, School of Computing Science & former COO of Skyscanner;
• Mark Hart, Professor of Economics, Finance and Entrepreneurship at Aston Business School & Deputy Director, Enterprise Research Centre (ERC)
• Paul Abraham, Managing Director & Client Partner at Capita Local Public Service

Productivity Puzzles is sponsored by Capita and brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research body involving nine academic institutions across the UK, eight Regional Productivity Forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government. 

The Productivity Institute is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. To find out more, visit: https://esrc.ukri.org/about-us/strategy-and-priorities/productivity/

Find out more about at www.productivity.ac.uk

The one big question anyone working on productivity issues gets most is: how do you actually measure it? How do we count what we make? And can we capture everything needed to produce products and services? And can economists and statisticians keep up with the rapid changes in today’s modern economy? 

To answer these questions, host Bart van Ark is joined by Josh Martin, Head of Productivity at the Office for National Statistics, Rebecca Riley, director of the Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence and Professor of Practice at King’s Business School and Jonathan Haskel, Professor of Economics at Imperial College Business School. Together they discuss productivity measurement from the widget counting days of economist founding father Adam Smith to today’s methods that include the service economy, new technologies, worker well-being and the environment.

Productivity Puzzles is sponsored by Capita and brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research body involving nine academic institutions across the UK, eight Regional Productivity Forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government. 

The Productivity Institute is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. To find out more, visit: https://esrc.ukri.org/about-us/strategy-and-priorities/productivity/

Find out more about at www.productivity.ac.uk

This year marks the centenary of Northern Ireland’s creation. What has it done for the economy? And in particular for the productivity of its people and businesses? Has greater economic stability in the 23 years since the Good Friday agreement helped to advance productivity? And what will Brexit and the Northern Ireland protocol mean for productivity going forward? Host Bart van Ark talks to three experts - Dame Rotha Johnston, Professor John Turner and Dr. Esmond Birnie about the productivity pearls and perils in Northern Ireland. 

Productivity Puzzles is sponsored by Capita and brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research body involving nine academic institutions across the UK, eight Regional Productivity Forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government. 

The Productivity Institute is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. To find out more, visit: https://esrc.ukri.org/about-us/strategy-and-priorities/productivity/

Find out more about at www.productivity.ac.uk

Are hybrid working models good for productivity? Do employers and employees think differently about the pros and cons? And how does flexible working affect our mental health and well-being? Is there a trade off with productivity that we need to think about? Let’s find out.

In this episode, host Bart van Ark talks to Andy Start, CEO Government Services (Capita) & Professor Diane Coyle of the University of Cambridge about how the pandemic has dramatically changed the way many of us work and the positive and negative effects its had on personal and organisational productivity.

Productivity Puzzles is sponsored by Capita and brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research body involving nine academic institutions across the UK, eight Regional Productivity Forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government. 

The Productivity Institute is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. To find out more, visit: https://esrc.ukri.org/about-us/strategy-and-priorities/productivity/

Find out more about at www.productivity.ac.uk

In this episode Bart talks to Lord Jim O’Neill, Dame Nancy Rothwell & Professor Philip McCann about raising productivity in the Northern Powerhouse, a powerful concept introduced more than five years ago with the aim to rebuild a competitive economy in northern England. Our guests have been there from the start and discuss what it’s delivered so far, its challenges, future directions and how it contributes to the government’s levelling-up agenda. 

Productivity Puzzles is sponsored by Capita and brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research body involving nine academic institutions across the UK, eight Regional Productivity Forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government. 

The Productivity Institute is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. To find out more, visit: https://esrc.ukri.org/about-us/strategy-and-priorities/productivity/

Find out more about at www.productivity.ac.uk

In this episode Bart talks to Prof. Diane Coyle, Dr. Jennifer Dixon & Kaya M. Dreesbeimdiek on productivity in UK health care during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

They discuss how we measure health productivity. What has happened to health productivity during the COVID-19 pandemic? How do we rebuild a resilient health care sector to enable higher productivity in an uncertain environment?

Productivity Puzzles is sponsored by Capita and brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research body involving nine academic institutions across the UK, eight Regional Productivity Forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government. 

The Productivity Institute is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. To find out more, visit:

https://esrc.ukri.org/about-us/strategy-and-priorities/productivity/

Find out more about at www.productivity.ac.uk

Could COVID 19 be the game changer for the economy and create a true productivity miracle in the coming years? In this episode Bart talks to McKinsey’s Jan Mischke and Tera Allas about a recent report by the McKinsey Global Institute: “Will productivity and growth return after the COVID-19 crisis?” 

They discuss why businesses should focus on operational efficiency to improve productivity, how the boldest firms have emerged the strongest from the crisis and how rapid digitisation is transforming the retail and healthcare sectors.

Productivity Puzzles is sponsored by Capita and brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research body involving nine academic institutions across the UK, eight Regional Productivity Forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government. 

The Productivity Institute is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. To find out more, visit:

https://esrc.ukri.org/about-us/strategy-and-priorities/productivity/

Find out more about at www.productivity.ac.uk

In this episode Bart talks to three esteemed economists - Andy Haldane, Dame Kate Barker and Professor Nick Crafts - who explain what productivity actually is and why it matters to everyone. 

They discuss why UK productivity has slowed down since the 2008 financial crisis, creating a rising gap between the UK and other advanced economies in Europe. They also explain why increased productivity is important for raising living standards - drawing on lessons from the industrial revolution, how it has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and what critical things can be done to manage the post-crisis challenges.

Productivity Puzzles is sponsored by Capita and brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research body involving nine academic institutions across the UK, eight Regional Productivity Forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government. 

The Productivity Institute is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. To find out more, visit:

https://esrc.ukri.org/about-us/strategy-and-priorities/productivity/

Find out more about at www.productivity.ac.uk

Why does productivity matter? How can it drive business success, economic recovery, but also prosperity, wellbeing and inclusive sustainable growth? 

Join Bart van Ark, Professor of Productivity Studies at the University of Manchester, and the managing director of The Productivity Institute as he bring you discussions with leading minds from the UK and abroad about how to improve productivity for almost everything: from health care to car manufacturing, at national and regional levels, for business and for your own personal productivity.

We’ll investigate why UK productivity is lower than in many other countries and why are there such large differences in productivity across and within the regions and devolved nations. We’ll also get the best insights from research on smart policies and effective business practices to increase productivity and find out how this will drive prosperity, wellbeing and inclusive sustainable growth.

Productivity Puzzles sponsored by Capita and brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research project involving nine academic institutions across the UK, eight regional productivity forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government. 

Find out more about at www.productivity.ac.uk

The Productivity Institute is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. To find out more, visit:

https://esrc.ukri.org/about-us/strategy-and-priorities/productivity/