New research from PageUp shows organisations are talking innovation, but many are lacking the processes and support to achieve sustainable innovation
Australian businesses may be talking innovation, but most don’t have the processes and support to be able to achieve sustainable innovation within their organisations, new research claims.
According to the new report from HR and recruitment technology vendor, PageUp, nearly two-thirds of global organisations surveyed see innovation as a key priority and corporate value in the next 12 months. Yet fewer than half believe their organisation promotes risk taking and entrepreneurial behaviour, key cultural attributes seen as vital to achieving innovation.
In addition, 43 per cent of those surveyed for the Driving a Culture of Innovation report did not feel their company created an environment of trust in which they could challenge existing assumptions, try new ideas and fail without suffering significant consequences.
And while 54 per cent of respondents said they had a process in place for submitting new ideas and incorporating feedback to improve outcomes, less than four in 10 had established processes in place for prioritising these ideas.
On a more positive note, 65 per cent agreed their corporate culture promoted diversity of thought, and 63 per cent agreed their culture develops leaders to promote idea sharing in teams. This was important given the top enabler of innovation is top leadership, the report stated.
The PageUp report was based on a survey of 322 business and HR professionals including 109 from A/NZ.
When it comes to company training and education for employees to be more creative and innovative, Australian respondents were found to have rated their organisations lower than global peers (23 per cent versus 39 per cent). Local respondents were also less confident in their approach to building talent for future workforce capability compared to global peers (49 per cent versus 53 per cent), and said their organisations were less likely to reward and recognise innovation in performance management (48 per cent versus 53 per cent).
Australian respondents also scored themselves lower in terms of the presence of leadership development programs that build future capability in leaders (40 per cent versus 48 per cent globally), plus a process for moving talent from role to role (36 per cent versus 41 per cent). Locally, respondents also claimed less visibility of current and future skill gaps to support organisational goals (29 per cent versus 37 per cent).
PageUp global market researcher, Rebecca Skilbeck, prioritisation of innovation by corporates was a good sign. However, plenty of work still needs to be done to ensure employees can act on these intensions, she said.
For PageUp, the answer is better HR processes to recruit, develop and nurture talent, as well as frameworks that help develop and prioritise new ideas.
“Innovation can easily become a flash in the pan moment, rather than a long-term strategy to safeguard the organisation into the future,” she said. “A sustainable culture of innovation requires a commitment to creating company-wide capability.”
Follow CMO on Twitter: @CMOAustralia, take part in the CMO conversation on LinkedIn: CMO ANZ, join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CMOAustralia, or check us out on Google+:google.com/+CmoAu
In the third and final episode of our 3-part CMO50 video series exploring modern marketing and why it’s become a matter of trust, we’re delighted to be joined by Telstra’s former CMO and now digital services and sales executive, Jeremy Nicholas, and Adobe VP Marketing Asia-Pacific and Japan, Duncan Egan.
Flash back to the classic film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Television-obsessed Mike insists on becoming the first person to be ‘sent by Wonkavision’, dematerialising on one end, pixel by pixel, and materialising in another space. His cinematic dreams are realised thanks to rash decisions as he is shrunken down to fit the digital universe, followed by a trip to the taffy puller to return to normal size.
Why is it there is no shortage of leadership development materials, yet outstanding leadership is so rare? Despite having access to so many leadership principles, tools, systems and processes, why is it so hard to develop and improve as a leader?
As a nation united by sport, brands are beginning to learn money alone won’t talk without aligned values and action. If recent events with major leagues and their players have shown us anything, it’s the next generation of athletes are standing by what they believe in – and they won’t let their values be superseded by money.
