Business NZ has launched a set of proposals for tackling New Zealand's big challenge - productivity.
Business New Zealand chief executive Phil O'Reilly says there is strong support for the Prime Minister's recent announcement of policy reform to grow New Zealand's rate of productivity growth.
"There is growing realisation that the big wealth gap between New Zealand and Australia can be directly sheeted home to this," he said.
"Australia's productivity growth is around 2% a year, while New Zealand's is less than 1%. We need a strategy to close the gap."
Business NZ's "Setting NZ Apart" plan lists 50 actions that could significantly contribute to a productivity strategy.
If New Zealand as a nation did all 50, the country's wealth prospects would be massively improved, Mr O'Reilly said.
As the Government's productivity taskforce got under way, there needed to be a national conversation about how the country could perform better.
Business NZ's plan was a contribution to that conversation, he said.
The wage gap between Australia and New Zealand could be closed but it would take "political courage of the highest order" Don Brash, the chairman of a taskforce which has to find ways to do it, said on Thursday.
The former National Party leader and former Reserve Bank governor is heading the 2025 Taskforce - named for the target date for New Zealand to match Australia's wage rates and standard of living.
He said that for almost a century before the 1970s living standards in the two countries were about the same, and sometimes they were better in New Zealand.
But Australian incomes were now a third higher, and the gap could increase to 40% if Australia came out of the recession faster than New Zealand.
"It will not be sufficient to lift our growth rate to the average of other developed countries, or to Australia's growth rate," Dr Brash said in a speech at the Auckland University of Technology.
"We will have to grow consistently faster than Australia for many years, and that means we will need to have better policies than Australia and better institutions across a broad range of policy areas."
Dr Brash said the challenge was arguably the biggest New Zealand had faced since the World War 2.
"Small policy changes here and there won't cut the mustard.
"Substantial changes will be needed in government spending, in the regulatory framework, in investment, and in tax structures," he said.
Finance, banking and technology recruitment specialist Robert Half this week issued three online documents designed to help employers retain key staff and maximise employee productivity.
The firm recommended employers use open and honest communication to motivate and inspire their teams.
"It's important that you stand behind your support of `transparency' by maintaining an open, communicative environment among your employees.
When you start hearing about a lack of transparency, you can be sure that a drop in productivity is in the offing," he said.
Employers should:
• Publicise company goals, keeping employees up to date on the company's short and long-term goals.
• Encourage employees to openly express their concerns, observations and suggestions.
• Be honest, as no-one liked to work in an atmosphere where there were lots of closed door meetings. That was how rumours and distrust started.
Employers needed to choose their words carefully in dealing with employees, finding the right mix of straight talk, criticism and praise to boost the team's productivity and the employer's reputation as a capable manager.
"Never criticise an employee in front of the team," Mr Half said.
However, employers needed to show who was the boss.
"Remember, if you don't give directions, how can your team be expected to produce the results you want? One of the most common reasons why jobs are not performed properly is that employees are not given the steer they need."
When a project was started, as many details as possible should be spelled out.
Many employees would not ask for more detail in fear of appearing incompetent, Mr Half said.
Once a task was delegated, a boss should not interfere - but every project should have a reasonable deadline to let the team know what they were working towards.
Teams would perform better when its members felt they were being rewarded for their efforts.
But rewards did not necessarily have to be financial.
The motivational power of training courses, for example, should not be underestimated. Promoting staff from within could help build morale and show employees they had a future in the organisation as well.
Rewards could be relatively cost free.
Extra days off and praise in the internal newsletter were two ways to show staff they were valued, he said.
