Workplace Innovation

Workplace innovation or innovation at the workplace can be defined as a social process which is participatory in nature aiming towards shaping the work organization and working life through the combination of human, organizational and technological factors effecting the organization.

Examples of workplace innovation include:

• Participative job design

• Self organized teams

• Continuous improvement

• High involvement innovation

• Employee involvement in corporate decision making, etc.

Workplace innovation can often be used as a generic term which mainly comprises of but is not only limited to the structure of an organization, its functioning, the dynamics of hierarchy in an organization, innovation in the processes in the organization, relationship of the organization with all its stake holders internal and external both, designing the work environment, creating the culture, the values of the organization. Workplace innovation can also be termed as a spontaneous process which also being a continuous process based on a learning environment in the organization, through a proper feedback mechanism for the organization internally aiming at creating a learning environment and promoting improvement through the involvement of the employees and managers at all levels in the organization.

The main goals for workplace innovation would be as:

• Improving the motivation levels of the staff

• Improving the working conditions

• Enhancing the productivity level of the staff

• Improving organizational performance

• Create an atmosphere of learning and development in the organization

• Achieve high levels of business competitiveness

• Aims to engage all stake holders

Techniques aiming at workplace innovation are employed all kinds of industries, be it the private sector or the public sector; human centric organization or technology centric organization; service based organization or manufacturing based organization. To increase the levels of practicality and make these goals achievable and realistic, technology is often clubbed as a part of these controls. Through the involvement of technology in the process of innovation at workplace we aim for:

• Boost the creativity of the employees

• Boost the innovation capacity of the employees

• Solving problems at a faster pace

• Combining problem solving with innovation

Why workplace innovation is a necessary concept in today’s scenario?

• New markets are being explored by all industries; new markets require new methods, new processes and new products

• Expansion of enterprise leads of reshaping of the organization with more stakeholders now being a part of the picture, innovation is required

• Presence of many multinational corporations across the globe in one form or the other leads to complications in the organizational structure and process controls

• Collaboration between different teams separated by geographical boundaries leads to innovation in communication and control

• Level of innovation in an organization is now considered to be function of economic performance and quality of working life

• Presence of diverse ethnicities at the workplace requires the employers to be more flexible and receptive to the workplace

• Companies should start to bank upon the innovative power of its individual worker. Active worker leads to a high performance worker with low levels of work related stress

However, switching towards the path towards workplace innovation is not an easy one for any organization.

A few typical barriers that are faced in the adoption of such processes are:

• Reluctance towards the change in the organizational culture

• Incompatibility with the organizational strategy

• Inaccuracy in measuring impact and value

• Resistance from the managerial level towards delegating power

• Resistance from the employees to take on responsibility

• Lack of enthusiasm

• Time and cost factors

The impact of adoption of innovating techniques on an organization’s performance can be described under the following headers:

• Team-work: Positive response towards team-work as it has a positive impact towards a company’s financial performance & productivity.

• Training: Increased emphasis on the training of an employee to keep the learning atmosphere stimulated and keeps the employee motivated.

• Employee involvement: Employee involvement in strategic decision making process induces accountability in the system thereby enhancing performance and aiding productivity.

• Knowledge sharing: Knowledge sharing like learning is a continuous process. With this each and every employee through the medium of information and knowledge sharing becomes a trainer and ads on to the company’s knowledge bank accessible by all.

• Communication practices: Innovation also affects the communication practices and the growth of knowledge in an organization by explaining the importance of sharing and it is this sharing that adds on to the knowledge within the organization by creating a learning atmosphere.

• Innovation performance: Due to the techniques being adopted for employee involvement, employee motivation, knowledge sharing, etc. this all leads to the improvement in the productivity and performance of an employee and hence the entire organization as a whole performs better.

The factors which the infuses high performance work practices or innovative practices at the workplace have been identified as:

• Employee support mechanisms to enable employees to cope with change and to implement some of the practices;

• Organisational culture, which may be particularly important in ensuring that change is embedded and sustained

• Leadership, which may be critical in championing and sustaining participatory innovations

• The broader organisational approach to change and learning

• Social dialogue and industrial relations systems