Is tech the missing piece to solve the UK's productivity puzzle?

Guy Chiswick, UK Managing Director at Speakap, explains how technology could help plug the engagement gap facing UK businesses...

In the UK, we have a problem with productivity. The 0.4% quarter-on-quarter drop reported in the latest figures from the ONS might not represent a dramatic decline, but the fact that productivity remains below the pre-crisis average growth rate of 2% does point to a more deep-seated issue.

Clearly there are a number of influences that conspire to inform the headline figure: employment rates, business confidence levels and even the Beast from the East have all been cited as contributing factors.

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But the CIPD, for one, is clear that a large part of the productivity problem rests with how businesses manage their people. Ian Brinkley, Acting Chief Economist, argues that workplace productivity levels can be boosted if firms can unlock the “marginal gains in capability” that can make all the difference. The question, then, is how?