Lifting the performance of New Zealand’s managers

Now NZTE is teaming up with other organisations to roll out a series of workshops around the country to help Kiwi managers lift their performance.

The report -- ‘Management Matters in New Zealand: How does Manufacturing Measure Up?’ – was released earlier this year.

It shows that effective management practices are closely related to higher productivity and output in New Zealand manufacturing firms.

There is an especially strong correlation between good management and profit per employee, firm sales and number of employees.

Unfortunately, the study also highlights our collective weakness when it comes to managing our businesses.

New Zealand limps in at overall tenth place in a global benchmarking study against 16 other countries.

These include the United States – which topped the charts, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan and emerging economies such as China and India.

Researchers focused on three main areas: operations, performance and people management.

It’s all about people

People management is our weakest area. It is where we trail most behind global best practice.

Our managers are especially bad at both ends of the spectrum here. They’re bad at addressing poor performers, and also weak when it comes to promoting and retaining their high performers.

The report is based on a 2009 survey for the Ministry of Economic Development, Treasury, the Department of Labour, and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.

The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) assessed 152 medium and large-sized New Zealand manufacturing firms. 

Medium firms are defined as employing 100 to 5000 employees, although in parts of the global study, the sample is broadened to include firms employing 50 to 5000 employees. 

Other studies suggest the research findings are also applicable for services sector companies and SMEs.

NZTE Operations Director Craig Armstrong notes this is the first time such research has been done locally.

“It benchmarks where we are. As a first time study we’ve got something really concrete to work from and to measure our progress back to.”

Next steps will include NZTE, Business New Zealand and the Institute of Management sitting down with a representative set of New Zealand businesses to workshop which factors require further focus and what actions to take.

“We’re sharing the findings,” says Armstrong.

“We need to raise awareness then work with firms to try to resolve this together.”

Armstrong says a series of workshops will be held in late July and early August.

These will include two or three sessions in Auckland, and workshops in Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, and ‘wherever else there is a critical mass of demand’.