Let employees innovate on their terms

Studies show that innovation is cited as a key strength of a company, by 81% of digitally mature companies, compared to just 36% of other businesses. For innovation to become a core feature, though, you must allow all workers to innovate. More importantly, it must be convenient for them.

Innovative ideas may surface at any moment. You cannot simply say “we’re going to focus on innovation between 2 pm and 3 pm on a Wednesday”. This is why a year-round innovation program is critical, as it allows for continuous idea generation and fosters an open culture where workers feel free to innovate when the time is right for them. Tools like KICKBOX can help facilitate this process by providing a platform for workers to submit and develop their ideas in real-time. This can result in a more productive and dynamic work environment, where employees are encouraged to think outside the box and bring their unique perspectives to the table.

Encourage innovation at all levels

As well as taking a flexible approach to innovation, it should also become a central feature of your company culture that extends to every member of the team. Junior members are often reluctant to offer up their ideas because they know that they’ll have to jump through several hoops just to get heard. 

Working with the KICKBOX program ensures that all employees have the tools to work on innovations and have their ideas heard and seen. Given that 79% of employees quit due to a lack of appreciation, it isn’t only a key step for streamlining the innovation process. It also aids staff retention rates.

Use the right tech tools

Business landscapes have evolved at a rapid rate, not least thanks to tech. Its role within the innovation protocol cannot be emphasized enough. At least 30% of companies now actively want to embrace technology to improve innovation strategy, as well as product development speeds and cost-efficiency.

KICKBOX has helped companies like Implenia embrace intrapreneurship across the entire company while simultaneously ensuring that all ideas can be analyzed fairly to streamline which concepts are worth pursuing. It also facilitates remote and out-of-hours innovation.

Stop dwelling on failed ideas

If you want to truly accept innovation as a part of your company's DNA, you have to accept failure. It is suggested that 95% of product innovations fail while gaming company Rovio released 51 failed games before Angry Birds. Sadly, dwelling on failures could prevent you from identifying the potential success story.

Psychological safety should be on the agenda. KICKBOX promotes internal communication, autonomous working, and “thinking out loud” without ridicule. It streamlines the process of separating successes and failures. It also encourages employees to keep presenting ideas.

Create a clear company ethos

It is far easier for innovation to take place when every member of the team both understands and expresses the company culture through the way they work. This enables them to think about new ideas within the context of the firm’s existing frameworks and ongoing objectives. However, a survey of executives found that nearly 60% of them were unsure if they had the right people on their team to drive innovation. This uncertainty can have a negative impact on even the most talented innovators, as it creates ambiguity and makes it difficult for them to understand how their ideas fit into the overall framework of the company. To ensure that innovation thrives, it is important to foster a clear and inclusive company culture that encourages creativity and innovation from all employees.

KICKBOX can help promote innovation that’s linked to the mission statement. For example, Wohntraum’s vision was to end social inequality in home ownership, which linked to Baloise’s theme of ‘home’. In this instance, KICKBOX provided a framework for the company to achieve its vision of ending social inequality in home ownership by providing support and resources to help the company reach its goal. This is just one example of how KICKBOX can help organizations make a positive impact in the world.