World Monitor Magazine #1 WM march 2018 (1) | Page 53

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innovation – could also apply to running
companies. And by strengthening social
capital, driving innovation and the economy
as a result.
Beyond open innovation
The concept of organisational openness
builds on the idea of open innovation,
which proposes that the free exchange
of information and knowledge promotes
the development of new ideas. In an
organisational
setting,
this
means
overcoming the barriers to knowledge
exchange between layers of hierarchy,
between business functions and between
geographic divisions.
A growing appetite for innovation and agility
is one driver of organisational openness,
but it can also be seen as a response to
globalisation and the emergence of truly
global organisations. And there is little
doubt that it has been catalysed by digital
technologies that eradicate the physical
barriers to communication.
According to a survey of European business
executives, conducted by The Economist
Intelligence Unit and sponsored by
Android, the biggest benefit of pursuing
organisational openness is improved
engagement among employees.
The survey draws on the views of 450
executives, representing both digital start-
ups and more conventional businesses,
across nine countries (the UK, Germany,
Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands,
Poland, Spain and Sweden). More than 90%
of respondents say their organisation’s
culture and business practices encourage
“open
internal
collaboration
and
communication” to some extent, with 57%
reporting this occurs to a “great extent.”
Swedish respondents are the most likely
to say their organisation encourages open
internal communication to such a degree.
Companies adopt a range of techniques
to promote organisational openness too.
Many respondents report using digital media
for internal communications (59%) and
digital collaboration platforms (57%). These
approaches are especially common among
Dutch companies: 69% of respondents from
the Netherlands report using each of them.
Q&As with senior executives (58%) and
cross-functional project teams (57%) also
feature highly across European firms.
German companies are especially open, the
survey reveals: respondents from Germany
say their employers adopt all these tools
and approaches more than the European
average. By contrast, adoption among Italian
respondents is equal to or below average in
all cases.
For many respondents, this openness
succeeds in promoting the organisational
adaptability that is required to carry Europe’s
digital transformation. When asked what
benefits they have found as a result of
greater internal openness, 49% say they
have enjoyed improved innovation, and 46%
have seen accelerated transformation. It has
also been a boon to management: just over
half (51%) have benefited from improved
management effectiveness, and 53% say
that openness has improved employees’
awareness of the company strategy.
Employee engagement topped the list, with
54% of respondents seeing improvements.
This has been the ambition of Diageo,
a
London-headquartered
drinks
manufacturer, which has made an explicit
effort to develop an open culture, in order
to promote employee engagement. “In
an organisation of our size, we’re very
conscious that we will only get the best out
of our people if they feel they can influence
the direction of our business and feel able
to share their talent and skills,” says Andrew
Porter, head of talent engagement. “It’s
only by creating this open culture that
we’ll effectively boost our productivity and
output in the long term.”
The company has therefore invested
significantly in technology that allows
its employees to share knowledge and
communicate, such as collaboration
platforms and internal social networks.
Specifics include Diageo TV, an internal social
video platform, Academy TV, which enables
employees to access training modules, and
an app for staff to share content they like.
“Creating an open culture at work is an
ongoing process,” explains Ben Sutherland,
Diageo’s chief digital officer. “We’re
continually reviewing our approach to
ensure we’re removing as many barriers as
possible to enable our employees to express
themselves easily and effectively.”
There are signs that the strategy has been
effective: Diageo is a high performer in
several influential ‘best places to work’
rankings, based on employee surveys that
rank engagement and wellbeing. 2,3
Although digital technology can promote
internal communication and collaboration,
and European companies are aware of the
benefits, it should be used strategically. First,
some boundaries to internal communication
are advised. Employees are struggling with
an ‘always-on’ work culture aggravated
by permanent attachment to internet-
connected devices. German automaker
Daimler has auto-delete functions on emails
received by staff when they are on holiday, 4
and France has even passed a ‘right to
disconnect’ law, permitting workers to ignore
work emails on their smartphones out of
hours. 5
Second, no technology can make a more
open, collaborative organisation if the
dominant culture excludes particular
people, groups or ideas. “If a firm has a
culture of ‘cutting down’ people who offer
supported by EUROBAK
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