Getting to the root of Singapore's productivity problem

SINCE the start of the productivity movement in Singapore more than three decades ago (the inauguration of the National Productivity Movement took place in 1981), many efforts to enhance productivity in Singapore and our workforce have been struggling to attain the desired level of productivity.

Why is it that despite all these efforts, organisations still experience lower levels of productivity? Here, I attempt to provide two possible reasons for this and how organisations can do things differently to achieve higher productivity levels.

Reason 1: Organisation views productivity as an end state and fails to align to organisation mission and outcomes