Your country needs you: have your say at the Great Productivity Debate

British workers are less productive than their counterparts in Italy, Germany, France and the US according to ONS figures. The gap in output per worker between us and the rest of the G7 has hit its biggest margin since 1993.

WM, in partnership with workforce management expert, Kronos unites leading productivity analysts and frontline managers to debate how UK manufacturing can bridge the divide. We’ll examine:

The debate will feature exclusive insight from WM’s People and Productivity research 2013 and an IDC Manufacturing Insights report on Engaging the Modern Manufacturing workforce.

Findings will be reported in the September issue of Works Management magazine.

Sign up now contact Julie Knox on 01322 221144 or email: Julie.knox@findlay.co.uk

When: The Great Productivity Debate will be held on 25 June at a Bentley's, Piccadilly, London.

How much does it cost?: Attendance is free with places allocated on a first come first served basis.

Agenda:

10.30am: Arrival and registration

11.00am-11.15am: WM editor, Max Gosney on what WM’s People and Productivity research tells us about the capability of management teams to create a more productive workforce. How are issues like skills, absenteeism and employment law impacting at site level?

11.15am-11.30am: Gregg Gordon, productivity expert and leading manufacturing author, outlines what it takes to create a world class workforce and the simple steps for eliminating wasted time and expense at your site

11.30am-13.30pm: The debate begins with a case study of leading UK garden equipment manufacturer, Hozelock. The Hozelock team will explain how they’ve enhanced productivity levels at their West Midlands plant. The debate will then open up to the floor

13.30pm: Lunch and networking

15.00pm: Close

Who should attend: Manufacturing, production, operations, HR, training, finance and senior management responsible for productivity, cultural change, training and improvement programmes.

Speakers:

Kronos

Gregg Gordon, Kronos

Gregg Gordon, a mechanical engineer by training, has led a successful career spanning 20 years focused on enhancing operational efficiencies for manufacturers. At present, Gordon leads awareness building efforts for the manufacturing market at Kronos Incorporated, a global provider of workforce management software solutions. Gordon has effectively led strategic workforce management initiatives both in the U.S. and international markets working with multinational IndustryWeek 500 organizations.

Passionate about workforce management and the role of labour in achieving operational efficiencies, Gordon also led the development of Overall Labour Effectiveness (OLE™), a key performance indicator that measures the utilization, performance, and quality of the workforce and its impact on productivity.

Prior to Kronos, Gordon was a director at i2 Technologies where he focused on supplier relationship management. Earlier, he worked in the engineering department at Burndy (now owned by Hubbell Inc), a global electrical and electronics manufacturer, and received two U.S. design patents for products that he developed.

Gordon has a degree in mechanical engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in business administration from Boston University. He’s spoken at events sponsored by India’s National Institute of Personnel Management, American Chamber of Commerce in China, American Payroll Association and The Shingo Prize. Gordon has also been interviewed on television with respect to productivity and the workforce as well as contributed in publications such as IndustryWeek, Bloomberg, The Manufacturer, Manufacturing Today and Automation and Drives.

Hozelock

Simon Noakes, Director of Operations, Hozelock

Research:

Works Management

Works Management Research

WM’s People and Productivity research gives the grassroots factory verdict on the productivity issues impacting on production.

From sourcing the next generation of skilled engineers to developing a strategy for growing talent in house- the research establishes where UK manufacturers stand on skills. We also uncover the latest thinking on flexible working, reward & recognition, absenteeism and employment law as site managers strive to get the most out of that most important of assets: their people.

The survey features the views of over 100 respondents running a range of sites from OEM to SMEs across the spectrum of UK manufacturing.

Kronos Research

A number of key factors are making UK manufacturers reconsider their strategies. While Eurozone uncertainty hangs over us and we face stiff competition from lower-cost economies, the picture is not quite that simple. The rise in labour costs elsewhere in the world, combined with increasing fuel costs, has made domestic manufacturing more viable. But one trend is universal: across the world, manufacturers are being forced to derive greater productivity from their workforce. Find out how: