PRODUCTIVITY RETAIL SECTOR
Singapore - Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Education has urged the local retail sector to buck up after research found that Singapore was tailing behind Hong Kong and New York in terms of productivity levels.
At the 2010 Singapore Retail Industry Conference-CEO Forum held this morning, Minister S. Iswaran said the productivity of each worker in the retail sector is equivalent to S$37,000, which is only 40% of that of the economy. According to Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) figures, the retail productivity is 66% of Hong Kong's and 44% of New York's. "We need to improve our productivity rates, as well as enhance our products and services, so as to stay ahead of the competition," said S.Iswaran.
Insufficient training may be the reason why local retail companies are lagging behind in productivity levels. MOM's Employer-Supported Training Report 2008 has shown only 41% of retail enterprises providing formal training to employees as opposed to the 65% average across all industries. "This is insufficient if we are to create and sustain a skilled workforce for the retail industry," said S.Iswaran.
Hence, S.Iswaran said an eight-day training programme has been designed for the retail sector. The joint collaboration by Singapore Retailers Assocation and Singapore Productivity Association is implemented for top performing executives in their companies. They will then rectify the problems that hinder their companies' productivity levels and come up with solutions to address those issues. The objective of the programme is to equip these top performers with the necessary tools that will help their companies develop a more productive team.
Additionally, SPRING Singapore has found in a study upgrading technology to increase the speed of processes can help in enhancing productivity. Some companies have found success in implementing systems to cut down on paperwork and human error, said S.Iswaran.
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