MERGE POSSIBLE
Chairman of the Productivity Council, Dr. Akhentoolove Corbin, has hinted of a possible merge between the National Initiative for Service Excellence (NISE) and the Productivity Council.
Speaking yesterday during a workshop for the Multi-Factor Productivity Indicators Project for Barbados which is funded by the European Union, at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Dr. Corbin, stated that discussions had started towards achieving that objective.
“There are current ongoing discussions between the Council and NISE with a view to merging these two important national institutions, with the Vision of reinventing and creating a new entity that adds even more value to the competitiveness landscape of Barbados,” it was explained.
He further elaborated that the, “Strategic national relevance, operational efficiency, strategic leadership and innovative culture are guiding principals of our discussions. As you are aware, the Productivity Council is a statutory organisation established in 1993 as part of the recommendations of the First Prices and Incomes Protocol of the Tri-partite Social Partnership of Barbados. In the twenty-five (25) years since its establishment, the landscape of work and the work environment has change dramatically. At the outset, the Council was mandated to develop performance indicators, compensation plans and to increase the level of productivity in the Barbados’ Public Sector. Since then the organisation has expanded its work programme to address the evolving low productivity challenge faced in Barbados and to enhance competitiveness.”
Dr. Corbin added, “The work at the Productivity Council has been influenced by issues such as the productivity of workers, pay based on performance, decent work conditions, standards of excellence, and the achievement of competitiveness based on international benchmarks. However, our approach has been to respond to those challenges, through the conduct of productivity analyses, to develop operational frameworks and advocate solutions for public and private enterprises to cope and prosper successfully. Productivity has been our hallmark for pursuing growth, building success and enterprise sustainability. The Council finds itself at the centre of macroeconomic challenges which have been defined and being redefined by global developments. Several policymakers and influencers of policy have acknowledged that a key solution to the prevailing challenges is an increase in labour productivity; improve efficiency of output and quality of service.”
He contended, “Recognising that productivity matters, is not sufficient, we must seek to prepare ourselves to be the reservoir of information, through the conduct of comprehensive analyses and to be a knowledge base institution for understanding productivity determinants, and to make that difference between stagnation and progress.” (NB)