Setting up an innovation team might seem a daunting task. Innovation is a diffuse subject, as all creative tasks. Indeed, setting up such a department is complex. Yet, some guidelines might make it easier.
Innovation rarely happens by itself. It may happen in a genuine way, from time to time. Yet, to truly change business it needs to be a continuous process. To foster such, some experts defend that all workers should innovate. In a certain way, the statement is true. Nevertheless, continuous processes can only be sustained by specific teams. Thus, creating innovation teams might pay off for some startups.
Setting up an innovation team can be challenging. It is important that its staff is selected with care, and strategic thinking. Also, leadership is key to kick-off innovative transformations. If an innovation team doesn’t have a CEO’s support, then most changes won’t be implemented. Below, we’ll give some tips on managing an innovation group.
The first regards the creation of an innovation strategy. Your team shouldn’t just try to “do things differently”. In their beginning, they need to learn about your business. This includes its flaws, business field and competitors. Only after such can they define where, and how innovation is needed. Innovation means different things, for different companies. Only after defining your enterprise’s type, can you implement it.
The second is providing a framework for innovation. Your team should choose the right tool, to start innovation processes. Examples include creating hackathons, information sharing applications, or workshops. Also, it can do company check-ups to search for aspects in need of innovation.
Measuring innovation is the third. As with all business aspects, innovation departments also need KPIs. True, coming up with these for creative work (like innovation) is hard. Yet, they are needed. This allows innovation teams to reflect upon their work, and measure their added value.
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