You the director – Entrepreneurs vs advisers: innovation

Companies that don’t encourage innovation risk losing their competitive edge says Creating Wealth, the PricewaterhouseCoopers guide to business success. What do our readers think?

By Real Business

PWCS TIPS TO ENCOURAGE INNOVATION
1 Ensure that innovation is a part of the company culture.
Do not leave it for company away-days. Instead, help people understand that innivation is an on-going process.

2 Get people early – highlight the importance of innovation in employee inductions.
It should be made clear to all employees from the day they join the company that innovation is part of the culture and that all members of staff are encouraged to participate.

3 Get someone on the board to own and promote innovation.
The board has to supply the vision and set the agenda. If the board is not genuinely committed to the idea of innovation any project to encourage it is doomed to failure.

4 Keep an open mind – learn from as many people as you can.
Don’t just look at your traditional market for inspiration: innovative companies that exist in other sectors will often have something to teach you.

5 Create the right working environment.
Try to ensure that there is somewhere in an office building that is conducive to the brainstorming which is an essential part of the innovation process – somewhere people feel relaxed and able to talk through
the ideas they have.

6 Be prepared to invest in innovation.
Innovation costs money, be this the R&D budget, the allocation of time to allow for effective brainstorming and idea development or the write-off costs of projects which do not work out.

7 Find time to implement good ideas.
Having the idea is often the easist part. Far more difficult is to take things forward. Try to build slack into employees’ workloads that will enable them to devote time to building on an initial idea.

8 Do not punish failure.
If people are afraid to fail they will not want to take the risks that are inherent in all innovation processes. There must be freedom to experiment.

9 Make sure you reward good ideas.
People should understand that there are significant advantages to participating in the innovation process. These could include financial rewards, the development of a broader skills set or benefits such as
longer holidays.

10 Finally, measure how well your company innovates.
Learn how long it takes and how much it costs to move from an initial idea to a finished product or process, then set targets for future performance. Constantly evaluate your innovation strategy, if it is not
working do not be afraid to make changes.

THE ENTREPRENEURS SOLUTION
Heather Moore is managing director at Parity Business Solutions, a provider of IT services.

Point three: I wholeheartedly agree. At Parity, we have an elected individual who is responsible for innovation. Sometimes the best innovators are not necessarily the best implementers. Having someone at
board level with the ability to translate an idea into reality is crucial. With a central forum for the collection of thoughts, it is possible to work with the idea owners to develop the best, most innovative concepts
into approved projects.

Point seven: The best way to do this is to form a small, focused team and then set up the project like a revenue-earning proposition. Include targets, goals, budgets and regular reviews for those involved.
Re-evaluations and the redefining of goals and parameters are also crucial as things move forward, just as you would with a commercial scheme.

THE ENTREPRENEURS SOLUTION
Paul Barker is director of mBusiness at CMG, an IT services supplier to the government.

The points PWC makes are very valid. However, there are a couple of others that need to be taken into consideration. Innovation is essentially about changing company culture in line with the ever-changing
market environment. For example, the current economic climate means that employees are consistently working harder and longer. Employers need to find new ways to motivate staff, whilst also allowing them
time away from the office. This may be by implementing technologies that enable remote working. It’s the mind-set of the board that needs to change. They can’t be afraid of losing control just because they
can’t have their workforce under one roof. They need to consider the efficiencies that will be gained. Innovation must be encouraged in order for businesses to move forward.

WHERE NEXT?
PricewaterhouseCoopers. Tel 020 7583 5000. We’ll be tracking this one over the coming months. So we need to know your techniques for generating innovation in your business. E-mail us at
[email protected]

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