Examines the productivity gap that exists between the UK and other countries and explains why effective people management is essential to productivity and performance. It calls for people management’s Cinderella status in policy debate to be addressed with some urgency.
The paper makes clear that an effective Smart Work strategy needs to be assembled, and it identifies the elements of such a strategy:
- Smart practice – increasing the take-up of productive people management
- Smart hours – encouraging flexible working
- Smart talk – enhancing the employee voice
- Smart treatment – promoting diversity, inclusivity and fairness
- Smart reporting – setting a minimum standard of reporting on people management practice.