Britain may be one of Europe’s innovation hotspots. But its businesses are still paying lip-service to innovation as an organisational strategy, according to Adobe’s “Unleashing Innovation” survey.
The vast majority of employers and employees it surveyed acknowledge innovation’s importance to their business, but only 16 per cent have dedicated resources to develop ideas. Formal feedback systems are also lacking, as are rewards systems or recognition for innovation — and “Ipods for ideas” and other token gestures don’t cut it.
The research has also identified a bad case of “innovation vanity” among respondents, who invariably say they are more innovative than others — a sign that bodes ill for collaborative problem-solving.
“Performance management isn’t geared to innovation. There’s a need to align HR, reward and remuneration strategies around it,” says Professor Fiona Patterson, an organisational psychologist at City University. Politicking and board-level resistance are other common obstacles.
Where and how people meet, as well as their job structure, should be considered — is there any “slack” during the day to diverge from set roles? Are technological tools and work spaces conducive to knowledge-sharing?
Positive managers will also have a strong bearing on innovation generation: people will quickly become demotivated if their manager keeps stealing their ideas.
Likewise, expectations of managers should be realistic: some managers may be better at organising ideas than generating them. Find Tom Kelley’s “Collaborator” to gather ideas for exploitation.
Want to create your own innovative Hot Spot? Lynda Gratton offers a guide.
