Role of HR in fostering innovation : a survey report

A Survey ReportBy:

SpadeWorx Software Services, Inc

ROLE OF HR IN FOSTERING INNOVATION

6/26/2012

Executive Summary

• Ideacomb conducted an online survey of HR & Talent Management professionals across different Industry verticals• The survey was carried out during the months of April – May 2012 and www.surveymonkey.com was used for the purpose of capturing responses• Over 100+ HR and Talent Management executives within North America participated in the survey• 93% of the respondents believe that HR & Talent Management executives have a role in fostering the culture of innovation.

Here is a detailed report on our findings

Profile of Survey Participants

4%

27%

23%16%

14%

16%

Company size (no. of employees)

1 - 10 11 - 50 51 - 200 201 - 500501 - 1000 1001 - 5000 5000+

Industry Vertical

1% 1%

6%

31%

2%11%9%

14%

1%

1%

25%

Agriculture, Mining

Construction

Finance, Insurance, Real Estate

Government

Health Care

Internet

Manufacturing

Retail, Wholesale

Services

Transportation

Communications, Util-ities

Nonprofit

Who is accountable for Innovation?

Yes33%

No67%

46%

9%9%

27%

6% 4%

CEO

Head of R&D

Marketing

Human Resources

Learning & Development

Chief Innovation Officer

Out of the remaining 67%, 46% believe innovation is the CEO’s responsibility

Only 33% have a department or function accountable for innovation

Do executives believe in employee driven innovation?

11%

68%

21%

How Important is employee-driven in-novation to the success of your organi-

zation?

Least Important Important Very Important

68% Believe in employee-driven innovation

Though…..

Innovation in Performance Review

Yes36%

No64%

Is "Innovation" one of the key perfor-

mance objectives in the performance review process?

30%

62%

8%

Do innovation ob-jectives translate

into "goals" for each employee?

Yes No Not sure

HR executives have an important role to play in driving innovation objectives

OPPORTUNITY

What Motivates employees?

Financial Rewards

Opportunity to contribute in meaningful innovation

Recognition by Management

Customer recognition

Team Progress

0.00% 50.00% 100.00%

46.20%

52.70%

65.60%

21.50%

28.00%

Investment in Tools & Processes for Innovation

30%

29%

41%

Do you plan to invest in tools and pro-cesses to enhance your innovation pipe-

line in 2012?

Yes No Undecided

ConclusionsInnovation is not just a CEO’s job as almost 46% respondents felt. A top down cultural change to drive bottoms up innovation is where the opportunity resides

Transparency in Communication and Collaboration is key to driving such cultural change

68% respondents felt employee-driven innovation is Important, while 70% do not have plans to implement any tools/processes, or are undecided about it

Usage of social collaboration tools and processes can be a significant incentive for promoting the culture of innovation

Conclusions….contd

• Metrics like “Organization Innovation Index” (Innovation goals met Vs Planned) will be of value. A running summary of such metrics incentivizes employees to contribute more. - 82% of survey respondents do not have such metrics

• 99% of respondent believe “capturing & nurturing employee ideas can improve Talent Management Process”

HR & Talent Management executives certainly have a larger role in fostering culture of innovation in an enterprise

-------------there lies an Opportunity!

FOSTERING INNOVATION – KEY INGREDIENTS

Culture• Transparency in operations : Senior leadership adopting social media tools

• Trust in employees, partners : Seek contributions

• Throw challenges. institutionalize risk taking & rewards

Process• Innovation objectives & Goals for the organization

• Capture employee contributions (ideas, achievements) throughout the year

• Embrace Feedback crowdsourcing - feedback from across the organization , not just manager

inputs, in performance reviews.

Tools• Idea capture and crowdsourcing

• Instant feedback & Recognition thru peer-reviews

• Collaboration & Messaging

• Employee blogs, wikis, Find Experts – Proactive insights in your Talent pool

Summary

Innovation

Culture

ProcessTools

• Strategically drive cultural change starting with executive leadership

• Employ process model that encourages Innovation

• Deploy tools to bring in visibility and

Get your Innovation engine humming!

Recommended Read1. HR Policies Can Kill Innovation But HR Can Al

so Be A Great Encourager of Innovation!

2. Social Workplace : A top down cultural change driving bottom up performance

Ideate * Harvest * Emerge

Thank You !Send your Comments/Feedback:shekhar.dhongade@spadeworx.comShekhar DhongadeChief Operating OfficerSpadeWorx Software Services, Inc.