2 Easy Steps to Create a Culture of Innovation

Organizations with a strong culture of innovation that is aligned with their innovation strategy have 30% higher enterprise value growth and 17% higher profit growth than companies that have a lower alignment between the two. So how can you create a culture of innovation?

1. Talk about it! The first thing you need to do, if you haven’t already, is to make innovation a part everyday discussion…not just a part of recruitment and on-boarding. Most of the inventors we survey say that their organizations rarely, if ever talk about the innovation process with them. If you want a strong innovative culture, innovation has to be part of everyday discussions. If you want to attract the best talent your culture of innovation needs to be a priority in the organization.
   
   Next, have a way to collect employee’s ideas. And don’t think of the old suggestion box. There are plenty of new digital methods to collect employee feedback and ideas quicker and easier. Then, identify your creative individuals and support them. These individuals may not be doers so don’t expect them to develop and launch their own ideas. Have processes in place to collect the good ideas and move forward with them.
   
   Last of all, show the outcome of an employee’s great idea. Don’t just collect their ideas and let them wonder what ever came of it. Give updates on how your putting ideas into action, showcase examples of great ideas that resulted in profitable products or services. Employees will easily become discouraged if their ideas disappear after submitting them.
   
2. Reward good ideas and new innovation. There are many ways to do this, and we always suggest first and foremost, survey your inventors and employees to see what they would like most. (We can help with those surveys also!) Bonuses and monetary gifts are nice, but money only goes so far with showing your employees appreciation for their hard work and achievements. A tangible award such as a commemorative plaque or frame inspires and motivates them for their next idea, the next innovative breakthrough.
   
   Consider gamifying the creative process. This is a growing trend in many companies today. A younger generation is now the leading workforce and different motivators are needed. Gamifying innovation and patents mean making it into a competition where employees can win recognition for great ideas. We suggest implementing annual milestones to recognize inventors and how many patents they get.