Wales has a population of 3 million, concentrated in the areas of Swansea, Cardiff and Newport, the South Wales Valleys and the north-east corner. Wales has a strong industrial heritage, centred on coal, heavy manufacturing and industry with a shift towards service sectors, tourism and technology. Wales’ output per hour is 17.2% below the UK average and it has three of the 10 least productive parts of the UK, and none in the top 10.
Mae gan Gymru boblogaeth o 3 miliwn o bobl, sydd wedi’i chrynhoi yn Abertawe, Caerdydd, Casnewydd, cymoedd de Cymru a’r gogledd-ddwyrain. Mae gan Gymru hanes diwydiannol cryf sy’n canolbwyntio ar lo, diwydiant trwm a gwaith diwydiannol. Erbyn hyn, mae’n canolbwyntio’n fwy ar wasanaethau, twristiaeth a thechnoleg. Mae allbwn Cymru fesul awr 17.2% yn is na chyfartaledd y DU. Yng Nghymru y mae tair o’r deg ardal leiaf cynhyrchiol yn y DU, ac nid yw unrhyw ardal yng Nghymru ymhlith y deg ardal fwyaf cynhyrchiol.
The Wales Productivity Forum is led by the University of Cardiff. It is involved in the implementation of research insights, the design of practical business and policy interventions, and in providing input to the development of the Institute’s future research agenda.
Mae Fforwm Cynhyrchiant Cymru’n cael ei arwain gan Brifysgol Caerdydd. Mae’n troi canfyddiadau ymchwil yn gamau gweithredu, yn cynllunio ymyriadau busnes a pholisi ymarferol ac yn cyfrannu at y gwaith o ddatblygu agenda ymchwil y sefydliad ar gyfer y dyfodol.
Members include stakeholders from policy, community and business leaders from local, national and multinational enterprises.
Mae’r aelodau’n cynnwys rhanddeiliaid o wahanol sectorau – llunwyr polisïau, arweinwyr cymunedol a chynrychiolwyr busnes o fentrau lleol, cenedlaethol a rhyngwladol.
Former MD, Sony Innovation Centre | cyn-Reolwr Gyfarwyddwr Canolfan Dechnoleg Sony yn y DU
ARUP
Admiral Group | Grŵp Admiral
Capital Law
Former MD, Cardiff City Transport Services | cyn-Reolwr Gyfarwyddwr Gwasanaethau Trafnidiaeth Dinas Caerdydd
Van Helsing Limited
JW Morris
Barcud Shared Services Ltd
Hywel Dda NHS Univ Health Board | Bwrdd Iechyd Prifysgol Hywel Dda
Development Bank of Wales | Banc Datblygu Cymru
Welsh Government | Llywodraeth Cymru
University College London | Coleg Prifysgol Llundain
Cardiff University | Prifysgol Caerdydd
Cardiff University | Prifysgol Caerdydd
Cardiff University | Prifysgol Caerdydd
Wales Centre for Public Policy | Canolfan Polisi Cyhoeddus Cymru
Swansea University | Prifysgol Abertawe
Cardiff University | Prifysgol Caerdydd
Cardiff University | Prifysgol Caerdydd
Aberystwyth University | Prifysgol Aberystwyth
Federation of Small Businesses Wales | Ffederasiwn Busnesau Bach Cymru
Cardiff Capital Region | Prifddinas-Ranbarth Caerdydd
The Welsh economy has a sizeable productivity gap with the UK, and, although the gap has not widened further over the past decade, the long-term slowdown of productivity over the longer term is a major factor of concern. Wales has experienced serious deindustrialisation over the past 50 years from a former legacy of coalmining and metals production, particularly in the south Wales valleys. But today, Wales still benefits from relatively good productivity performance in manufacturing, but weak productivity performance in other sectors, notably services.
Mae gan economi Cymru fwlch cynhyrchiant sylweddol o’i chymharu â gweddill y DU. Er nad yw’r bwlch wedi ehangu ymhellach dros y degawd diwethaf, mae’r ffaith bod cynhyrchiant wedi arafu dros gyfnod hir yn bryder mawr. Mae Cymru wedi bod yn destun dad-ddiwydiannu difrifol dros y 50 mlynedd diwethaf, yn dilyn hanes hir o godi glo a chynhyrchu metel, yn enwedig yng nghymoedd de Cymru. Heddiw, mae cynhyrchiant Cymru’n dal i fod yn weddol dda ym maes gweithgynhyrchu, ond mae’n wan mewn sectorau eraill, yn enwedig y sector gwasanaethau.
Productivity is about creating more value from your existing resources. These resources may include buildings, land, labour, machinery and equipment. Productivity growth can be achieved through increasing the volume of sales of existing goods or services, but also through producing higher value products.
Regardless of business size or sector, productivity growth is key to generating profit. By creating more from the same resources, productivity growth provides the opportunity to reduce prices and gain market share, invest in the future, increase employee wages, as well as retain greater profit. In short, whatever the specific aim of your business, productivity growth is a key to achieving it.
At a national level, if labour productivity in Wales was as high as the UK average, residents would be able to achieve the results nearly one day faster. Isn’t freeing up resources something worth exploring in your business? Through this simple guide, the Wales Productivity Forum aims to support your journey to improved business productivity. We encourage you to measure productivity, develop a plan for productivity growth and identify the external help you need.
Measure your labour productivity using just three numbers. The annual value of turnover (sales), purchases of inputs (the cost of inputs that are used up in the production process, excluding labour) and the number of people employed.
Business productivity is calculated as:
Enter your figures to calculate
your productivity
See how you compare by using the Office for National Statistics interactive tool to benchmark your productivity against businesses within your industry. Understanding where you are in the distribution can help you identify opportunities for productivity growth. How far is your business from the most productive firms in the industry?
Importantly you can also track and monitor your business productivity over time to assess the impact of the changes you make.
Figure 1: Most workers are in firms around the median productivity, however there are many workers in a long tail of highly productive businesses.
Workforce by aGVA per worker of the workers’ business in 2019, 2019 constant prices, UK.
Source: Office for National Statistics – Annual Business Inquiry and Annual Business Survey. Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency – Northern Ireland Annual Business Inquiry.
Within a business, productivity depends on the skills, wellbeing and management of the workforce and the effective use of equipment including machines and technology. However, every business is unique, and the most effective changes are likely to be best developed within and by the business. By regularly taking just a small amount of time to think about productivity, research shows that you can make the changes required for sustainable growth in the future.
Take a quick productivity health check by asking yourself:
Take a quick productivity health check by evaluating the following statements on a 10-point scale (where 10 indicates the strongest level of agreement).
You should reflect on the opportunities you have identified and make proactive steps to capitalise on these. Start to address any barriers to productivity growth you identify. Most importantly, maintain your focus on productivity by setting some regular time aside each month to revisit our health check and concentrate on productivity growth within your business.
Learn the basics of business productivity in just two minutes with a short explainer video from the productivity institute:
Productivity growth requires you to work smarter not necessarily harder. In our case study, Tom Wilkinson, Group Operations Director at Barcud Shared Services, shares how a shift to a four-day workweek helped the business unlock new levels of efficiency.
By streamlining processes and encouraging more focused work, the organisation achieved a 15% increase in productivity. The change not only improved time management but also supported employee well-being-contributing to a more engaged and effective team.
The Barcud experience shows that well-designed changes in working patterns can deliver meaningful business gains without sacrificing quality or output.
In our second case study, Jane Wallace-Jones from Something Different Wholesale reveals her plans to reconfigure her warehouse layout and let out excess warehouse space to enhance productivity and profit within her business.
The company intends to streamline workflows and achieve significant productivity gains by adding pallet racking, moving to narrower aisles, and relocating stock closer to picking zones. By leasing underutilised space, Jane also plans to develop a new revenue stream and reduce property costs.
This more efficient use of physical space aims to deliver powerful productivity gains and financial benefits.
We understand that business leaders need support to maximise their productivity potential. Fortunately, there are lots of sources of advice and guidance. From finance to training, these expert organisations are ready to help:
The Wales Productivity Forum aims to enhance productivity in Wales and is keen to hear what needs to change to make Wales a more productive environment for business. We would welcome your comments at
If you want to receive more information about the productivity institute sign up to our newsletter at The Productivity Institute
We are always looking for business pioneers in Wales to share their good practice. Interested?
Then please get in touch at
Walesproductivityforum@cardiff.ac.uk
Since the establishment of Senedd Cymru (formerly the National Assembly for Wales) in 1999, Wales has experienced devolved powers regarding health, education, transport, economic development and business support, agriculture and environment, and some limited fiscal powers. Find insights into Welsh productivity below.
Ers sefydlu Senedd Cymru (Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru gynt) ym 1999, mae Cymru wedi sicrhau pwerau datganoledig ym meysydd iechyd, addysg, trafnidiaeth, datblygu economaidd, busnes, amaethyddiaeth a’r amgylchedd, gan gynnwys rhai pwerau cyllidol. Mae rhagor o wybodaeth am gynhyrchiant Cymru ar gael isod.
