Join the Clubs!

Edinburgh businesses urged to help each other improve productivity

The Scottish Government and one of Scotland’s leading independent economic development networks have urged Edinburgh SMEs to register for new resources and events to help them drive innovation, productivity, sustainable development and economic growth.

 The Productivity Club Scotland pilot for Edinburgh was launched in the city yesterday by SCDI and the Scottish Government and is designed to help businesses in the capital improve their productivity through the sharing of advice, experiences and knowledge.  Businesses can sign up for free to the to the Productivity Clubs, at www.productivity.scot.  Attendance at events is also free of charge.

The Scottish Government and SCDI believe the Clubs can identify and support the implementation of small changes that can lead to impacts on growth and productivity for individual businesses and the economy as a whole.

Although the initial pilots of the Productivity Clubs will take place in Edinburgh and Glasgow, there will also be extensive information available online for anyone who has signed up as a member.

The latest figures available show that Scotland has maintained its current position of 16 in the OECD rankings which, although figures have increased by 3.8% in 2018, sees the country behind competitors such as Ireland, Sweden, Finland and Iceland, as well as the UK as a whole.

SCDI Director of Policy, Matt Lancashire said: “The Productivity Clubs will, first and foremost be business led and engage businesses across Scotland to learn how they can improve their own productivity. We would urge as many businesses as possible to sign-up for free at www.productivity.scot.”

 “Productivity is crucial to growth and there is a long-term need to improve Scotland and the UK’s performance in this area.  What we know from speaking to our members is that they are most likely to take action on business productivity when the benefits are clearly demonstrated and explained by one of their peers or someone else in business they respect.

“That is the challenge which Productivity Clubs seek to meet.  There are a lot of networking events out there but these events and activities will, first, be focussed purely on improving productivity and, second, be aimed at learning rather than sales or direct business partnership.”

Investment Minister Ivan McKee said: “I am pleased to launch the Productivity Club Pilot in Edinburgh which will help businesses who want to improve their performance. Designed by business for business, these pilots will offer peer-to-peer learning advice and experience to help increase productivity performance and help Scotland reach international productivity benchmarks. 

“Since 2007, productivity in Scotland has grown at a faster rate than the rest of the UK. To build on this success, we are taking steps now to ensure we improve our national performance. We are supporting business, employment and wage growth through our Economic Action Plan, which is working to deliver higher productivity, improve fair work and encourage inclusive growth.”