Connecting the Dots to Singapore's Productivity Challenge
Now that the dust has settled on the Economic Strategies Committee (ESC) recommendations and the Budget 2010 debates, perhaps it’s opportune to reflect deeply on Singapore’s productivity challenge and make an attempt to connect the dots?
Connecting the dots to Singapore’s productivity challenge is not easy. It involves the newly created Productivity & CET Council, and many government agencies, industry sectors, companies, leaders, managers, workers and unions spread across Singapore. There are myriad things to be done, all of which necessitate judgment, before being decided upon and carried out.
This essay suggests 3 simple steps for connecting the dots, to assure Singapore’s success in addressing our productivity challenge in this new decade such that our end goal of Inclusive Growth for All is kept strongly on our radar and ultimately attained.
The 3 steps are:
Demystifying Singapore’s Productivity Challenge
Distinguishing Inputs, Outputs and Outcomes
Directing Dynamically the Singapore Narrative
Demystifying Singapore’s Productivity Challenge
To strategically, intentionally and proactively tackle our productivity challenge and ace it, Singapore needs first-of-all to demystify it. We need to unmistakably understand what we are going for.
Let’s take the statement “we need to achieve an SIP (Skills, Innovation & Productivity) economy to ensure inclusive growth for all”. What does this statement really mean? Will the diverse stakeholder groups of government agencies, industry sectors, companies, leaders, managers, workers and unions view and understand this statement in an aligned fashion, with similar semantics? If not, how then can we be guided by it to work towards similar objectives?
In our productivity journey, stakeholder groups are likely to start from different positions and vantage points. More complication and complexity await. Other than winning over the various stakeholder groups and bringing them on board, leaders and managers of the industry sectors and companies also need to know what to do. They will need to systematically assess, design, and implement relevant policy, process, people and technology related enhancements to drive productivity growth across the board, and for their sectors and companies.
Acing Singapore’s productivity challenge will require all stakeholder groups to row in the same direction, regardless the industry sector and company they belong. How can we help Singapore along such that all stakeholder groups row forward in an efficient effective arrowhead configuration? One way is to distinguish clearly Inputs, Outputs and Outcomes.
Distinguishing Inputs, Outputs & Outcomes
Let’s take another look at the statement “we’ll need to achieve an SIP economy such that there is inclusive growth for all”.
Skill is an Input. Innovation and Productivity are Outputs. Inclusive Growth for All is an Outcome. Distinguishing clearly which are Inputs, Outputs and Outcomes and then connecting the dots between them to assure a direct line-of-sight between Inputs to Outputs to Outcomes is an important first step to Singapore rising above and nailing our productivity challenge.
If all we have in our toolkit is a hammer, all our problems will soon begin to look like nails. If only our productivity challenge was so straightforward!
With this line of reasoning, while Training is often seen as the most common and direct lever for increasing Skill across sectors, companies, job types and career levels in Singapore; which explains why Training and its variations of Up-Skilling, Cross-Skilling, Re-Skilling are ubiquitous in Singapore and often accorded “honorary” and primary status in our pursuit of increased Skill (Input) for improved Innovation and Productivity (Outputs), the questions we’ll need to seriously ask and answer are:
Other than Skill, what other Inputs do we need to achieve the Outputs we want?
Other than Innovation and Productivity, what other Outputs do we need to derive the Outcomes we want?
What are the Outcomes we want for Singapore?
Directing Dynamically Singapore’s Narrative
If as citizens we are provided an opportunity to dynamically direct Singapore’s narrative in the years to come, how would we want our country to evolve?
Obviously if we are clear about the Outcomes we want, the Outputs we need to drive the Outcomes and the Inputs to drive the Outputs; if we are certain on how to connect the dots and draw that vital line-of-sight between Inputs, Outputs and Outcomes, the surer our hand and the more assured our destination in our dynamic direction of the Singapore narrative.
Each of us will have different perspectives on which Inputs and Outputs are necessary and what Outcomes we want, based in part on the different visualizations we have of Singapore as Home, Nation, Economy and Society; and in part on the lenses which filter our thoughts and actions and from which we view the world. As author of this essay, let me conclude by suggesting 3 items each for Inputs, Outputs and Outcomes.
On Inputs, other than Skill, I think Singapore needs more Authentic & Inspiring Leaders and more Engaged Workplaces & Motivated Workforces. Only then can we achieve Outputs like Innovation and Productivity on a expected exponential basis. On Outputs, other than Innovation and Productivity, the 3rd Output item I’ll love to see Singapore exhibit more of is Increased Psychological & Social Capital across our companies, communities & citizens.
Singapore is a nation-in-progress. Likewise, the Outcomes I wish for our nation. They are works-in-progress --- articulated by our leaders before, which we are still working on, there is still much room for improvement, as they are yet to be fully fulfilled. The Outcomes I wish for Singapore are Global City of Distinction, Best Home for All, and Inclusive Growth for All.
