F
FRONT OF HOUSE
Innovation
within
innovation
Sam Knight, CEO of Pollen8
WHAT DO BIG COMPANIES TYPICALLY GET
WRONG WHEN IT COMES TO INNOVATION?
Many employees feel in the dark about what innovation
is or how they can get involved. Bringing in external
agencies or launching labs can result in people feeling
more excluded. But innovation can only succeed if it
engages staff right across the organisation. It tends
to be employees closest to everyday problems who
are the richest source of untapped potential. The best
ideas and talent already exist inside your business, the
key is accessing them.
IS THE ANSWER JUST ‘OPEN INNOVATION’?
It’s not just about asking employees for more ideas.
Most companies already have more ideas than they
know what to do with. It’s about organising, refining
and tracking ideas in a transparent portfolio. This allows
leaders to manage projects like a venture capitalist
would; for example, with clear governance, learnings
and no duplication of effort.
HOW DO YOU ENGAGE EMPLOYEES AROUND
INNOVATION?
Venture capitalists don’t just look for great ideas, they
look for great people. That’s true internally too. It’s not
just about the idea, it’s about finding the employee
who believes in it enough and has the ingenuity and
determination to make it happen. And staff must
feel they have ‘skin in the game’ - if they introduce
a new venture that gets backed, they should get to
help lead and run it. That’s a world apart from classic
open innovation which is often little more than a big
suggestion box.
HOW CAN HR LEADERS SUPPORT INNOVATION?
Businesses need the right culture and the right system.
Culturally, it’s important employees learn to think and
act like entrepreneurs (being problem-centric, thinking
big and starting small, celebrating learning). Businesses
have systems for all other key functions (such as IT and
finance) but not for innovation; that makes no sense.
There’s a myth that innovation must be chaotic and
messy but it can and should be elegant, systematic and
orderly. It’s not about random sparks of genius, it’s about
building an organisational capability. HR can play a key
role in ensuring innovation happens from the bottom up.
16 //
Future Talent
Top trends for 2019:
the magnificent seven
If your in-box is stuffed full of predictions, fear not. We’ve
trawled the best to identify the ones you need to know
about. Just don’t ask us to make any forecasts about Brexit.
The continued
growth of the
deconstructed
organisation.
Self-employed
workers make
up 15% of the
UK workforce
and, by 2020 in the
US, the majority will be
temporary or contractors.
Meanwhile, 37% of CHROs
expect a rise in freelance
or gig workers, and
51% of staff want more
flexible work, as do 84%
of parents. The challenge
will be managing and
communicating with
fragmented teams and
individuals who want to
work on their own terms.
The mental health
conversation will shift from
individuals to cultures. With
one in four UK employees
experience mental health problems
at work. Employers will shift from
just offering support to individuals
to focusing on how the culture
needs to change to provide greater
‘psychological safety’.
The rise of digital
collaboration platforms
will prompt debate
over productivity.
More than two-thirds
(70%) of CHROs
believe workers will
spend more time on digital collaboration
platforms in future. But will enhanced
connectivity bring a corresponding rise
in productivity?
Artificial intelligence (AI) will continue to change
recruitment. In the US, 69% of recruiters have used
AI to source candidates. Chatbots can interact with
and screen candidates, answer FAQs and score video
interviews. But great care must be taken not to alienate
candidates or allow bias into the algorithms.
Diversity and inclusion (D&I)
will step up a gear. It’s time
for action. Organisations will
take a more holistic view
of diversity, broadening the focus to
include a range of disadvantaged and
‘neuro-diverse’ groups, taking into account
how customers judge businesses in
the D&I space.
Workforce analytics will
come under increasing
scrutiny. More than 70%
of CHROs are integrating
people analytics projects.
These tools undoubtedly grant great
power, but with that, comes great
responsibility; organisations will face
a backlash if they get it wrong.
To d a y ’ s
trend for
innovation
labs will
slowly
decline .
Top-secret
re s e a rc h
labs, incubators or
agencies will fail to
produce new ventures
reliably and sustainably
enough. Innovation
will turn inwards,
looking to harness the
brainpower of existing
staff. Innovation and HR
directors may clash – or
become best friends.