New Zealand's healthcare providers are in the middle of a shake-up. In the latest BNZ Healthcare Sector Insights Report, almost half of the businesses we surveyed (47%) said they were reshaping how they operate through process improvements, and 25% said they were going further still, making fundamental changes to their business model.

Healthcare is a sector that has been forced to tackle productivity. Highly skilled clinicians are in short supply, and as New Zealand’s aging population grows and demand increases, the pressure to build businesses that can scale and sustain themselves has become urgent. Technology is playing a key role in the transition, and so are new business models. 

Other sectors may think there’s more time to make the kinds of productivity changes that will ‘future-proof’ or expand operations, but that’s not necessarily the case. Every business, whatever the sector, is facing some combination of the same pressures: tight labour markets, rising costs, and a need to do more with the people and capital they've got. It’s fair to say the same opportunities are also present, with technology - and AI in particular - making short work of almost every kind of workflow.

Five things every business can do now for productive outcomes

1. Free up your best people from work that doesn't need them
In pharmacy, robots are increasingly used to handle the manual work of pill packing, freeing highly trained pharmacists to spend their time on advice and patient care instead. In hospitals and clinics, AI is being used to handle administrative note-taking, giving clinicians more time in front of patients. The principle holds everywhere: look at where your most skilled people are spending time on tasks that technology could do better, and free them up for the work only they can do.

2. Give yourself a real planning horizon
A lot of New Zealand businesses are operating in survival mode, planning twelve months at a time because that's what feels manageable. Whilst there are many projects that can be completed within a year, step changes that actually move the needle, whether that's an energy transition or a shift to automation, can take two to five years to plan and execute properly. If you're only ever looking at the year ahead, you could miss the chance to set the business up for the long term and grow. 

3. Treat technology as an investment in your people, not a threat to them
Automating a manual process, whether it's in a healthcare setting, a manufacturing facility, or a horticulture pack house, doesn't have to mean fewer jobs. Done well, it means fewer errors, lower labour costs, and the chance to upskill your existing team into higher-value roles. Scalable digital platforms can do more than alleviate administrative pressure - they can open the door to new revenue streams when staff are freed up to focus on different tasks.

4. Plan for the transition, not just the destination
Implementing change, whether that's new technology or a different way of working, takes time, and your business still has to keep operating while you do it. It’s important to stage the rollout, with well-understood execution milestones, so today's revenue keeps coming in while the bigger shift gets underway, rather than treating it as an all-or-nothing leap. This plan is exactly the kind of detail we look for as a bank when we talk to businesses about accessing finance to support a transition.

5. Don't go it alone
The best productivity thinking often comes from people who aren't inside your business day-to-day. Professional advisers, industry specialists, and technology partners often have experience of solving the same problem you’re confronted with. The same is true beyond your own sector and country. Businesses overseas can be further down the road on problems you're just starting to tackle, and adapting what already works can save you significant time and money. 

Taking action 

So many businesses I talk to across a wide range of industries are grappling with the same fundamental question: how do you keep the lights on today while investing in the changes that will keep you competitive in five years? The short answer to that question is: we can help. We have specialist knowledge and a wide network of connections when it comes to supporting businesses through a productivity transition, whatever that looks like for you.

If you're thinking through what productivity looks like for your business, I warmly invite you to get in touch with me or any member of the BNZ team.