Productivity can be thought of as how effective your organisation and employees produce value both individually and collectively.

Explore our resources to strengthen your understanding of what makes some organisations more productive than others. Download our reports to find out the factors required to influence and motivate organisations to increase their productivity.

 

Reports

Research and analysis by experts from CIPD and partner organisations

Eight Reports about Productivity
Report
People-powered innovation
The CIPD examines the state of innovation in the UK and its connection with productivity to inform policy-making and investment
Report
People management and productivity
Insights into productivity and people management practices
Report
An industrial strategy for the everyday economy
We explore the changes needed to develop a more progressive policy on the UK’s productivity, growth and industrial strategy
Report
An update on flexible and hybrid working practices
Our report and accompanying case studies consider the implications, challenges and benefits of hybrid and flexible working for organisations and their employees
Report
Unlocking business improvement
Policy recommendations to ensure long-term workplace productivity growth
Report
Productivity and place: The role of LEPs
Investigates the extent to which Local Enterprise Partnerships understand and are putting in place policies and programmes to address skills demand and use
Report
Building HR capability in small UK firms
An evaluation of the People Skills HR business support pilots programme
Report
Employment regulation and the labour market
A comparison of the UK's employment rights framework with that of other OECD countries

Case studies

Learn from real world examples of how other people professionals and organisations work with the CIPD to approach key challenges and objectives.

One Case study about Productivity
Case study
Solving business problems with people analytics: Financial Times
Understanding engagement to improve productivity

Thought leadership

Insight and foresight from our experts in people and the world of work

16 Thought leadership about Productivity
Thought leadership
Takeaways from the UK Autumn Statement 2023
Iain Wright, Chair of CIPD Policy Forum, dissects what the UK Autumn Statement really means for the world of work, skills and the economy
Thought leadership
Public sector morale is in decline
Mark Beatson looks at the latest data on staff morale in the public sector and finds that it’s declining, driven by excessive workloads and staff shortages
Thought leadership
Unlocking economic growth in upcoming UK Autumn Statement
Ben Willmott outlines the CIPD’s calls to the UK Government for long term investment in people management, skills and technology
Thought leadership
Engaging with the UK’s main political parties
Carl Quilliam recounts the CIPD’s activities at the UK’s three main political party conferences in 2023
Thought leadership
UK needs long-term workforce plan to drive sustainable growth
Head of Public Policy Ben Willmott highlights the key messages and recommendations from the CIPD's Manifesto for Good Work, calling for the adoption of a long-term workforce plan to boost efforts on sustainable growth
Thought leadership
Is the UK Government’s ‘mini-MBA’ scheme heading for a pass or a fail?
Mark Beatson explains what the UK Government’s Help to Grow: management scheme is and assesses whether it is working
Thought leadership
Economic strategy needed to boost UK productivity and growth
CIPD’s Head of Public Policy, Ben Willmott, highlights key insights and conclusions from the recent CIPD policy report
Thought leadership
Is Scotland moving to a four-day working week?
Can employees have a four-day working week in Scotland? Marek Zemanik delves into this current debate by analysing the CIPD’s recent report on the subject
Thought leadership
Employers’ perspectives on the four-day working week
Ben Willmott, CIPD’s Head of Public Policy, considers key findings from the CIPD’s new report on the four-day working week
Thought leadership
What the UK needs for Christmas is a coherent productivity strategy
Head of Public Policy, Ben Willmott discusses the upcoming levelling-up white paper and the on-going productivity challenge in the UK
Thought leadership
Achieving goals: Why a different approach could bring greater success
Wishful thinking doesn’t get you very far – bring WOOP into the workplace to empower yourself and your employees
Thought leadership
Can the four-day week solve work-life balance?
This thought piece explores why a four-day working week won’t create better work-life balance
Thought leadership
Why boosting HR support for SMEs could be key piece in UK’s productivity puzzle
Ben Willmott discusses findings from CIPD research about the role HR can play in improving productivity in SMEs
Thought leadership
The experts strike back
Mark Beatson outlines the recent downgrade in productivity forecasts and what this means for the UK
Thought leadership
Low productivity is behind the budget mess
Mark Beatson gives his take on the Chancellor’s swift U-turn on plans to increase National Insurance Contributions (NICs) on the self-employed
Thought leadership
Developing an inclusive industrial strategy
Ben Willmott argues that the Government's proposed industrial strategy should focus on investment that improves leadership and management capability in UK businesses, particularly amongst SMEs

Podcasts

Listen to episodes from our podcast series on a range of topical workplace, HR and L&D issues.

Two Podcasts about Productivity
Podcast
Driving performance with L&D
Episode 140: How can learning and development professionals drive performance and productivity in their organisations?
Podcast
The Engagement Myth
Episode 135: Is there a connection between productivity and engagement? We hear from three HR experts on this highly debated question.

Webinars

Webinar recordings providing expert guidance

One Webinar about Productivity
Webinar
Remote working: maintaining productivity
Watch a video and download slides from our webinar discussing how employers and people professionals can keep remote workers motivated and engaged

Evidence reviews

Evidence reviews enable you to ask the critical questions and use evidence for better decision-making.

Five Evidence reviews about Productivity
Evidence review
High-performing teams: An evidence review
Explore the latest research on how to create a positive environment to build and nurture effective teams
Evidence review
Productive meetings: An evidence review
This evidence review summarises the latest research on the effective management of meetings and offers recommendations to get the most out of them
For Members
Evidence review
Knowledge work performance: An evidence review
Our research explores the definition of knowledge work and the key factors that support knowledge worker performance
For Members
Evidence review
Performance feedback: An evidence review
Our research explores the factors that make feedback effective in improving performance and how this can be put into practice by people professionals
For Members
Evidence review
People performance: an evidence review
Our research explores individual and team performance, how it can be measured, and which models can be used to evaluate it
For Members

Bitesize research

Your regular overview of current research, inspiring insights and cutting-edge ideas in bitesize

Eight Bitesize research about Productivity
Bitesize research
Is office space essential for productive work?
Evaluating the pros and cons of working in shared office spaces, and how they impact on productivity
For Members
Bitesize research
What does 50 years of research reveal about the 4-day work week?
A four-day working week is not a one-size-fits-all intervention and can vary in impact depending on context and the model adopted
For Members
Bitesize research
Why employees with more flexible working options work harder
Research suggests that increasing flexible working options for employees in routine jobs boosts productivity
For Members
Bitesize research
Going for growth
Explore how business growth has evolved
For Members
Bitesize research
Exploring the link between UK productivity and wage growth
Why has productivity and wage growth decoupled?
For Members
Bitesize research
Working effectively across boundaries
Read more about enabling cross-boundary teamwork
For Members
Bitesize research
Crafting your own job
Explore the impact of job crafting
For Members
Bitesize research
Reinvigorating the productivity cycle: the people factor
Find out how to unlock productivity
For Members

CIPD Viewpoints

Our collected point of view on the key issues impacting work, from the perspective of employers and policy makers.

One CIPD Viewpoint about Productivity
CIPD Viewpoint
Productivity and people management
Explore the CIPD’s point of view on productivity and people management, including recommendations for employers and actions for the UK Government

Policy engagements

Our calls for action.

Two Policy engagements about Productivity
Policy engagement
Calling for a comprehensive economic strategy to help the UK out of recession
Read our submission to the UK’s Chancellor, ahead of the March 2024 budget statement
Policy engagement
A revitalised industrial strategy to boost innovation and productivity across all sectors of the UK's economy
We’ve been engaging with key stakeholders and policy makers to make the case for changes to a range of policy areas including skills development and labour market enforcement

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