Tuesday, November 8, 2011

The ROI on Employee Innovation

By Angela Gymmy


What is the return on investment on employee innovation? According to several recent studies, there is a measurable return on investment for employees who have larger integrated work networks. The idea is simple: the more people are in a linked network, the more an idea can be refined or improved. Employees who are more "connected" tend to produce better ideas by virtue of having a larger pool of potential critics/collaborators.

For example, Henry Ford is not credited with inventing the car nor did he invent the assembly line. His innovation was to change the way cars were built by applying a moving assembly line (already in use in a different industry) to the automobile manufacturing process. Thus, Ford's innovation was the combination of an existing product (cars) with an existing procedure (the assembly line).

When we check most new businesses, they are me-too's, and most so-called entrepreneurs are people who have bought themselves a job. They don't create, innovate or add wealth. They shift what exists to a different person. Entrepreneurship then is the process of exploring how to add value to others in a new or different way. Entrepreneurs capture that value in the form of wealth, and then that wealth with others: clients, users, employees, suppliers, community, governments, etc. To understand that being creative and being innovative is not enough and to be aware that there is a maximized value waiting to be discovered or created, is what entrepreneurs do best when they plan, then they take action, and finally, they evolve.

The value of any idea can be measured against the number of people who participated in its formation. An idea that originates from a lone individual without any kind of input from others tends to be less valuable than an idea that has been exposed to multiple people. This is especially true in a company environment, where ideas need to represent not just the goals of the individual, but also the larger goals of the company itself.

Innovation software helps harness employee innovation by creating a place where employees can bring up their ideas and then develop them into actionable strategies or products. Much like a virtual drawing board where ideas can be constructively discussed and improved, innovation software allows people from all departments of a company to connect and share their thoughts.

The unusual sparks that may fly between any two members of a company who previously had nothing is common is one of the unexpected perks of innovation software. An employee from the HR department may be able to share a thought that inspires an employee from the R&D department, leading to a cost savings in energy use or overall better deployment of resources.

To get started, spend some time brainstorming about ways to innovate your business' products or procedures. Is there a particular unmet need in your own market that your company can fill? Are there procedures in other industries that can be adapted to your business to improve operations? After you identify several potential solutions, record your answers for future reference.




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