The Society for Knowledge Economics (SKE) has released a two year study into leadership and management capability, finding that progressive and innovative leadership and sound management are key to boosting Australia's productivity.

 

The Leadership, Culture and Management Practices of High Performing Workplaces: The High Performing Workplace Index report was published by a team of researchers from University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australian National University, Macquarie University and the Copenhagen Business School, involved collaboration with 78 Australian companies and over 5,600 employees in the services sector.

 

‘‘High performing workplaces are up to 12 per cent more productive, and three times more profitable than their peers. Leaders of high performing workplaces prioritise people management, involve their people in decision making processes, are more responsive to customer and stakeholder needs, enable their staff to fully utilise their skills, and instil a sense of pride and feelings of being valued throughout their workforce,” lead researcher, Dr Christina Boedker from the UNSW.

 

The report found that the workplace is ‘at the heart of the productivity debate’, with sound management and progressive leadership leading to higher performing workplaces which, in turn, are more profitable and productive.

 

“they also perform better in many important ‘intangible attributes’, such as encouraging innovation, leadership of their people, and creating a fair workplace environment”, said Dr Boedker.

 

The report was launched at the Prime Minister’s Future Jobs Forum in Canberra and was welcomed by Minister for Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations Senator Christopher Evans.

 

The full report can be found here