Productivity Club Scotland (PCS) has received £200,000 of Scottish Government funding.
The money should enable PCS to expand its network and to deliver a calendar of free peer-to-peer learning events across Scotland.
Now in its fourth year, the scheme run by the Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI), is recognised by the government as being a partner in achieving its economic ambitions.
It was developed in response to SCDI’s earlier policy work which highlighted the need to improve Scotland’s productivity levels. PCS helps small to medium-sized businesses improve their productivity through learning from others.
In 2022, PCS was expanded to support the delivery of Scotland's National Strategy for Economic Transformation to help up-skill business, third and public sector leaders in the practical actions they can take to boost their organisation’s productivity.
A National Productivity Programme is also one of the key proposals of the Scottish Government’s recently published Innovation Strategy, which highlights the role that the established PCS network can play to support peer-to-peer learning around productivity.
A recent evaluation of PCS highlighted the impact of its clubs and where they are meeting need - 52% of attendees hadn’t been anywhere else for support and 52% also indicated they took action to implement something they had learned at a club.
This includes Women’s Enterprise Scotland, which estimated that by implementing improvements learned from attending the clubs, it has helped achieve an uplift in turnover of £600,000 for the businesses they support.
Carolyn Currie, chief executive of Women’s Enterprise Scotland, highlighted: “Many small and medium-sized businesses lack the finances to pay for expert consultancy over a period of days or weeks and do not qualify for enterprise agency growth support.
“The Productivity Club provides support and harnesses the huge value in peer support on the practical application of investment and what works.
“As a result of attending the events we supported other businesses to engage with employees to support their wellbeing and involve them in the decision-making processes.”
Eleonora Vanello, programme manager at PCS, said: “Increasing productivity and innovation in Scotland is crucial to transforming the economy.
“As demonstrated in our evaluation, there has been a tangible impact on those businesses who attend the clubs and we are happy to play our part in increasing Scotland’s productivity and achieving a more inclusive, wellbeing economy.”
Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade Richard Lochhead added: “Our National Innovation Strategy sets out the ambition to develop a National Productivity Programme which will support companies in all parts of Scotland become more efficient by adopting new technologies, processes and leadership methods.
“Established and impactful initiatives, like Productivity Club Scotland will play a critical role in delivering this ambition, which is why I am pleased to be extending our partnership with the SCDI, enabling it to continue supporting smaller businesses and third sector organisations across the country.”
Don't miss the latest headlines with our twice-daily newsletter - sign up here for free.
