Partners discuss ways to boost productivity |06 February 2014

The 5th annual productivity awareness week was officially launched on Tuesday with a conference under the theme ‘Determination for greater productivity’.

Aimed at raising awareness of the concept of productivity, the workshop was organised by the Ministry of Labour and Human Resource Development in collaboration with social partners.

The workshop, which took place at the Seychelles Trading Conference room, allowed organisations to share group practices and exchange ideas on to how give appropriate training and help ensure an increase in productivity.

Productivity is the effective and efficient use of all resources – time, people, knowledge, information, finance, equipment, space, energy, materials.  Mathematically productivity is the ratio of output to inputs in production.

In her speech to officially launch the workshop, the Minister for Labour and Human Resource Development, Idith Alexander, said that this is the time for Seychelles as a small island developing state to create a stronger voice and to ensure we keep protecting our worth and values for future generations.

Ms Alexander also spoke of sensitisation programmes to promote good productivity practices, a change in mindset, attitude and work which is essential for improvement in productivity.

The minister also urged employers to solicit and consider the concerns, aspirations and suggestions of the employees, since their input may make positive differences in the organisation.

The secretary general of the Seychelles Federation of Workers Union, Antoine Robinson, described the event as an important milestone, being both critical and timely.

“We are constantly finding ways to enhance productivity as well as motivate our work force to work harder,” he said.

The chairman of the Association of Seychelles Employers, Herman Maria, pointed out that productivity still remains an issue for private organisations, government agencies and other sectors in the economy today.

“Boosting productivity is not about making sure things get done but it requires a team work effort between the workers and employers to achieve the goals and targets of the organisations,” he said.
He added that employers need to find ways to groom while appraising our workers to prove that the end result is mutually beneficial.

Mr Maria believes that productivity is a result of commitment to excellence and intelligent planning.

Prior to the official opening, general information regarding the subject was given by the principal management analyst of the Department of Public Administration, Gerard Albert.

Covering what it is, why we need it, as well as the common misconceptions about productivity, Mr Albert also explained that higher productivity and higher investments lead to higher quality of domestic products, which in turn brings higher standards of living.