Middle managers let down food industry
Britain’s underperforming middle managers have been identified as one of the main barriers to improved performance in the food and drink sector, according to a new report.
The poor quality of supervisors was cited as a key barrier to productivity improvements by almost a quarter of food and beverage managers surveyed in Proudfoot Consulting’s ‘Global productivity report’. This is said to be the highest reported level of any sector.
While staff shortages were seen to be the main barrier to improved productivity in the food and beverage sector, cited by 28% of managers, 24% said the quality of supervisors was a key barrier. Almost a quarter of managers surveyed (24%) expected staff shortages to get worse in 2009.
On a more positive note, 66% of managers reported their companies were planning to increase capital expenditure on plant and machinery to drive productivity improvements in the coming year.
The UK was one of only two countries to increase its productivity during 2007 according to the report. Down 8.4 percentage points on the previous year, the UK registered just 26% unproductive time (defined as time spent on activities which have no impact on a company’s productivity). The global average, however, increased by 2.2 points, to 34.3% - nearly two days of every working week.
Proudfoot Consulting, which works with blue chip companies such as Müller, interviewed over 1,200 managers from organisations across the globe. And it analysed the 109 on-site business reviews it conducted before all major projects during 2007.
South Africa (41.8%), Germany (40.2%), Brazil (39.8%), France (38.8%) and the US (37.4%) rake up the most unproductive time by country in the report. Mining (43.7%), food and beverage (43.2%), manufacturing (38.2%) and financial services (32.8%) record the most by sector. The retail sector emerged as the most productive, registering only 19.4% unproductive time.
European president for Proudfoot Consulting Jean Baron-Mazloumian said: “The UK is doing some things well but I am not sure that it is enough. The UK is competing in an increasingly global, agile and competitive market and productivity is critical to protecting margins and maintaining its competitive edge.”
He added: “The relatively high cost base in the UK means its productivity needs to be amongst the best in the world and its workers need to be amongst the most skilled in the world if it is to continue to attract business. There is no room for complacency, especially now.”
