Innovation can be a nebulous goal, yet it is crucial for business success.
“If you’re not innovating, you’re stagnating,” says Ria Glenn DeMay, J.D., labor relations manager for the University of Maine System in Hallowell, Maine.
Unlocking innovation represents a powerful opportunity for HR to contribute to and even drive an organization’s competitiveness, says Bill Thomas, SHRM-SCP, managing principal of Centric Performance LLC, an organizational strategy consultancy in Pittsburgh.
Generating and executing fresh ideas is also a factor affecting an organization’s long-term survival, says Jack Phillips, co-author of The Value of Innovation (Wiley-Scrivener, 2018). He notes that in 1935, the expected life span of a company was 95 years; by 2005, that average had fallen to 15 years. So how do companies that have lasted for more than a century, such as 3M and Johnson & Johnson, continue to thrive? They innovate.
It should come as no surprise, then, that innovation is one of the top issues on senior executives’ minds. “If HR is to align with senior leadership, innovation needs to be one of HR’s concerns,” says Michael Mitchell, senior faculty member at the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, N.C. According to the center’s 2016 study of 500 executives, 95 percent said innovation is important but only 14 percent said their organizations are doing it effectively.
An environment that supports creativity can also raise employee engagement. “If you work for an organization that squashes new ideas and thinking, it isn’t engaging,” Mitchell says.
HR professionals play a critical role in creating a culture of innovation. Here are steps you can take to help your organization ignite ingenuity.
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