Productivity, experience should be promotion determiners – NPC DG

What is the relevance of productivity to the development of the country? Productivity is seen from many angles; from the economic point of view, from the social point of view and from the technical point of view. Basically, productivity is seen as the issue of output over input. In essence it means what goes in […]

What is the relevance of productivity to the development of the country?

Productivity is seen from many angles; from the economic point of view, from the social point of view and from the technical point of view. Basically, productivity is seen as the issue of output over input. In essence it means what goes in to bring out results.

So, if you are able to find the ratio you will now know whether you are effectively utilizing and maximally utilizing the resources at your disposal.  Again, productivity is seen as the attitude of the mind that seeks to continually improve on whatever exists.  No matter how good it may look, you must have that attitude that you may improve on it.

It is a mentality of progress and constant adaptation to change.

Your Centre, is one of the arms of the Federal Ministry of Labour, how have you been able to boost productivity in the various ministries and agencies of government?

The NPC was established by Act CAP70 of 2004 as a multi-disciplinary, tripartite, research-orientated parastatal, supervised by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity with the mandate ‘To articulate sustainable and result-oriented policies that will stimulate and promote the productivity of all sectors of the Nigerian economy’. So the centre was set up by government to institutionalize the promotion of productivity in Nigeria and   we have fashioned out many programmes to reach out to critical sectors of the economy, particularly the public sector. 

One of the ways we engage the various stakeholders to improve their productivity is through constant sensitization because it has to do with attitude. We are always sensitizing the people and the strategy we have developed is what we call the ‘MDAs lecture series’ whereby we go to MDAs – that is ministries, departments and agencies. They are provided free productivity lectures. We teach them productivity techniques and ways of enhancing productivity, even productivity tools because we have experts here that are internationally trained. 

The Head of Service had even brought out a circular whereby ministries are requested to create opportunities for us to come and teach them what productivity is all about and how they can improve on their productivity. This is one of the ways we are intervening in the public sector. 

Then secondly, we have what we call productivity measurement. You know it is when you measure what you are doing that you know where you are and create room for improvement. So we have been able to even come up with the labour productivity data of Nigeria from 2010 to 2016. So we now have productivity index data bank whereby for the productivity of the federal sector, we try to go into the field to articulate them in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics. So it is a way of providing information to properly guide investors and to equally guide government in national planning.

Then again we have the normal capacity building which we do not localise to MDAs in general. We take up contemporary issues and look at the productivity issues inherent in those areas so we organize national capacity building training for all sectors. 

Most organisations tend to focus on the performances of  their workforce as a determinant of their promotion. How can you professionally assist them in measuring their workforce’s performance?    

One of the things we are advocating is that there should be a review of APA forms – that is annual performance assessment report which is being used in the public service. For us in the productivity centre it is subjective. The rating is subjective so we are coming up with a template whereby every MDA should set out its KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) so there must be KPI for every agency, department and unit. Then how are they able to meet up because we have a check list or target? We are advocating that if that is done, you should be able to scientifically and objectively rate the officials. Yes, you are expected to attend to so and so at this particular point in time because productivity has to do with timing too. You can achieve result but over a long period of time, no, for productivity time is of essence. Now we have given you this assignment to do before the end of today, were you able to measure up?  If you were not able to meet up what are your predicaments or hindrances? Are the hindrances of your own making or are they external? So all  these indexes are factored together to be able to objectively rate an official.

Suffice it to say experience should not be placed above productivity index, considering that the public sector relies more on years on the job to determine an official’s level of promotion. It should be a mixture of both, in the sense that experience makes perfect. The job you are doing year in year out, there is tendency of you being an expert in that field. But then being on a particular job year in year out may not lead to creativity or innovation. So how have you been able to add value to what you are doing to come out with the best?  This is important. 

So there must be a mixture of both – experience and your productivity. So that is what should be used in determining or rating officials for promotion and that is why the National Productivity Centre  is even coming out to advise government on what we call ‘Productivity link way system’. We have carried out a survey on the desirability of the productivity link way system in Nigeria and the consensus is that – yes it is very important. Productivity link way system is a system whereby wages are determined by the productivity of a worker or an enterprise. So the productivity of the workers should be the basis to even determine their wages.  

In a country like Malaysia, they have advanced so well in that system that industries there have a software which they use to measure the productivity of their workers.   

Are you suggesting that we should adopt the same system, considering our multi-ethnic and sectoral settings? 

Yes, we should give it a try. And again I agree that for the interest of nation building,  some  of these western theories  cannot be  brought into play here, but then you can domesticate them  and that is the research we are doing now, we are looking at the Nigerian setting and  how we can domesticate them.