'Productivity puzzle' | The NHS productivity crisis can teach us about fixing what you already have

In a recent BBC article, the various issues holding back the NHS from being more productive were put under the microscope.

Poor spending on buildings, staffing problems, a lack of funding rises, and – of course – the pandemic, were all cited as reasons for the lack of productivity seen in our national health service.

As the article states, the ‘productivity puzzle’ is so complex that it’s impossible to pin the issue of low productivity to one element. Despite the clear differences between the public and private sectors, and the NHS and every other organisation, there can be some learnings from looking at productivity in the institution.

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Primarily, this spotlight being shed illustrates that more monetary investment doesn’t necessarily mean better productivity. When it comes to investing in new staff, this isn’t going to have any considerable return on investment if your existing employees are burnt out – and in the case of the NHS, traumatised by the pandemic.