-Mark Devlin, Impact PR

New Zealand’s manufacturers have long punched above their weight. Despite our relatively small domestic market and geographic isolation, Kiwi businesses have found ways to innovate, adapt, and produce world-class products. But there’s one area where we continue to fall behind global benchmarks, and that is workforce productivity.

In a sector where efficiency, speed, and output are constantly under pressure, how we support and develop human performance should be central to every productivity conversation.

Yet all too often, manufacturers focus their investment on new machinery, process automation, or software upgrades, while overlooking the untapped potential within their people.

That is why a new system, originally designed to help elite athletes deliver peak performances under pressure, could represent a game-changing opportunity for our industry.

Vantaset, a New Zealand-based performance company, has developed a science-backed workplace platform that helps individuals and teams consistently deliver their best. 

It was created by Craig Steel, a performance expert whose research into the psychological breaking point of athletes led to a repeatable framework now used in both public and private sector organisations.

This is not a motivational workshop or a leadership seminar. It is a codified, platform-based performance system grounded in decades of data and testing.

Developed by a team that includes a former All Blacks manager and two Olympians, the Vantaset framework was originally designed to help elite athletes deliver peak performance on demand.

It has since been refined into a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) model that organisations can implement across their entire workforce.

What makes this particularly relevant for manufacturers is the platform’s focus on helping people function effectively in high-pressure environments. Unlike many workplace performance tools that are reactive-used to manage poor results or resolve personnel issues-Vantaset’s system is designed to proactively lift output and engagement.

This approach is especially powerful for manufacturers, where operational rhythm, human reliability, and sustained mental focus can mean the difference between profit and loss.

The system was developed over seven years at a cost of around $7 million and has already helped over 100 organisations and 30,000 employees improve their performance.

An earlier version of the framework was credited with supporting one of the most successful transformations in the New Zealand public sector, when it was used by the New Zealand Police under former Commissioner Mike Bush.

Bush attributed the system to helping reduce crime rates by over 20 percent, while also improving engagement and trust within the organisation. 

The results were not coincidental-they were the product of a replicable performance process designed to bring out the best in people regardless of the environment.

The reason this system is so relevant to manufacturing today is because our sector is at a crossroads. Global competition is rising. Margins are tightening. Labour shortages are ongoing. And many of our traditional productivity levers have already been pulled.

What remains is the human factor. How well do we engage our teams? How consistently do we enable them to perform at their best? How well do we support their decision-making, mental stamina, and personal accountability on the job?

Steel argues that most organisations default to risk mitigation. In manufacturing, that can mean rigid internal controls designed to reduce mistakes or enforce compliance. But this mentality often stifles initiative and slows down innovation.

By contrast, elite athletes are trained not to avoid failure, but to pursue exceptional outcomes. Their systems are designed to amplify strengths and bring out consistent top-level performance, even under pressure.

The Vantaset model applies that same principle in a business context. It offers leaders a structured way to support individual and team effectiveness by focusing on what drives high performance.

The goal is not just to avoid problems, but to create a culture where excellence becomes the norm.

For manufacturers, this could be the edge we need to compete more effectively on the world stage. By embedding a scalable performance system that strengthens leadership, sharpens focus, and lifts engagement across the factory floor, we can create workplaces where productivity thrives.

In the past, performance management often meant ticking boxes or documenting weaknesses. Now, thanks to this New Zealand innovation, it can mean empowering every worker to achieve their best and contribute to a culture of excellence.

If a system that helped athletes win dozens of world titles can be used to lift the output of global police forces, then surely it is worth exploring what it could do for our production lines, plant teams, and business leaders.

Productivity is no longer just about processes. It is about people. And in that area, we may be sitting on the biggest opportunity of all.