A majority of large Australian organisations are still not reaping productivity rewards according to research launched today by telco giant Telstra (ASX: TLS).

The Telstra Productivity Indicator 2011 continues to show a ‘Productivity Improvement Deficit’ among half of the nation’s largest industry and Government organisations representing a decline of only 7 per cent since Telstra began the annual productivity report in 2009.

Telstra Enterprise and Government Group Managing Director, Paul Geason, said a major disparity continues to exist between management expectations and real improvements in productivity.

“Three quarters of organisations say improving productivity is a key priority, yet only one quarter are achieving and tracking significant productivity gains,” Mr Geason said.

“The research indicates organisations are not ‘walking the talk’ with only a fraction actually setting targets, measuring and actually achieving productivity improvements.

“The Productivity Improvement Deficit is higher among Government organisations with only 14 per cent measuring productivity and achieving improvements compared to 25 per cent in the private sector,” Mr Geason said.

According to this year’s report, productivity is a top business priority for 76 per cent of Australia’s private sector and Government organisations but there is a 52 per cent productivity improvement deficit which is a decrease of only seven percent from three years ago.

Further, the report revealed only 25 per cent of private sector organisations actually measure productivity, set targets and state they have achieved significant productivity improvement in the last 12 months; and while 72 per cent of Government organisations rate productivity as a top priority, 58 per cent of respondents believe that their organisations are experiencing a productivity improvement deficit.