Promote Innovation

BSBINN301A – Promote innovation in a team environment

Additional notes forContribute to workplaceImprovements

With Sue Cameron

Promote innovation in a team environment

Create opportunities to maximise innovation within the team

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Promote innovation in a team environment

Expected outcomes today: Explain why feedback is important

to improving work practices Explain what a well rounded team

should include

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Promote innovation in a team environment

This unit of competency is about being able to participate and support the processes around developing new work practices

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Overview of the Subject

This course is broken up into four different topics. They are:

1. Create opportunities to maximise innovation within the team – here we will see why new ideas and improving work practices are required and how ideas are collected and evaluated

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Overview of the course

2: Organise and agree effective ways of working – We will examine how through the use of the company’s human resources we can facilitate innovation and change within an organisation.

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Overview of the Subject

3: Support and guide colleagues – We will look at the process of change and what support is required to make change successful.

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Overview of the Subject

4: Reflect on how the team is working – Finally we will look at the change process, how it is kept on track and measuring the value of any change

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Create opportunities to maximise innovation within the team

“ Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs” – Henry Ford

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The Stages of Change

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Feedback

Feedback is vital to encourage further feedback and improving work practices in the following ways:

Individual feedback – is the extent that an individual receives specific information (praise, blame or any other comment)

Clear and direct evaluation or results of the work itself can indicate where work is “ on track” or “off track” and requires improvement

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Feedback

This process of feedback is often in the form of performance appraisal but also can happen in informal conversations daily.

Feedback needs to be positive and used constructively. Given negatively, feedback can be seen as threatening and seen as the basis of poor employee relations. This will be counterproductive.

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Feedback

Constructive feedback should be based on: Good communication skills Trust between parties Specifics Factual information No more information than the receiver

can handle Something that the receiver can do

something about

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Group Feedback

Group feedback – is often more effective than providing it to just one personMany innovative ideas will be produced from a group or team who have a range of skills and can pool these skills and knowledge to come up with better solutions

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Group Feedback

Feedback is important to getting results within a team, because without a sound understanding a team of individuals may get the same message but interpret it different ways

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Group Feedback

The team members need to communicate and this communication needs to be:

Effective Accurate Understood

Feedback is essential to ensure that communication is understood and acted upon

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Innovation and creativity – Making it work

The creation of ideas within an organisation is dependant on the flow of people and information between the company and the environment

Outside information, whether its from new employees, customers, consultants or from a website may provide the source of alternative approaches or technologies used by suppliers, competitors or similar organisations

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Which are the changes to run with?

Being innovative and having lots of great ideas doesn’t mean implementation or change will happenCertain factors need to be considered:

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Which are the changes to run with?

The innovation and change being considered needs to be in line with what the organisation wants to achieveA company that wants to focus on its core business ( e.g. manufacturing widgets) is more inclined to look at technology to improve its business rather than hire an electrician in case the machinery breaks downManufacturing is its core business, repairs are not, so it would be a better fit to outsource that part of the business

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Which are the changes to run with?

The innovation and change needs to be realistic and relevant to the organisation – Lets look at the example of the company producing widgets. Its sells 100,000 widgets per year and has 50% of the total market

The company has two options:

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Which are the changes to run with?

1: A simple and cheap machine ( $5,000) that would reduce costs/widget by 5% and allow another 20% to be produced

2: An expensive ($100,000) highly technical machine which could produce over 1,000,000 per year at a reduced cost per unit by 10% - as long as that many were produced

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Activity 1

Which option would the company consider to be realistic and relevant?

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Your answer to Activity 1

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Your answer to Activity 1

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Which are the changes to run with?

Looking at Option 2 is it realistic for the company to sell 1,000,000 widgets in a year? No….the market currently is only 20% of that number!

Would the cost/unit reduce if the machine was to produce only 20% of its capacity? – Probably not!

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Which are the changes to run with?

And the cost?... What else could be done with $95,000 that could benefit the company?....Plenty of things!

Would repairs and maintenance on the highly technical machine be more expensive?....Probably!

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Which are the changes to run with?

It is fairly obvious that Option 1 is

more relevant and realistic when looking at the company’s current position

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Which are the changes to run with?

If an idea is submitted to management, the idea itself is not enough, management needs to consider the resources required to make it happenIf we use the example of the widget making machine we can consider what resources are required to implement option 1?

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Which are the changes to run with?

Technical expertise – Needed to fit the machine and fix the machine if it breaks down.

Space – Can we easily install the machine or do we have to redisn the premises?

Money – Do we have $5,000 for the machine and all other costs?

Manpower – Are more staff or additional training required?

Time – How much downtime would there be ( not just installation but consider meetings , training etc) and what are the windows of time available remembering the company’s production commitments?

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Which are the changes to run with?

Change not only need to be

realistic but it must also be timely in order to achieve the goals required

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SMART change

Change like goals should be SMART

S – SpecificM – MeasurableA – AchievableR – RealisticT - Timely

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Selecting Team Members

A well rounded team includes a mix of people and skills. The team should include:

Some individuals who intimately understand the current process ( experts – could be at any level in the organisation)

Some individuals who actively use the process and work closely with customers

Some technical wizards

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Selecting Team Members

Some individuals who are completely objective toward the process and outcome ( consultants may fall into this category.

Customers of the process( when possible) and suppliers ( those people who are involved with the process at the boundaries)

Some individuals who are not familiar with your process ( someone who brings a fresh perspective and outlook to the team)

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Selecting Team Members

You need the “ best and brightest” on your team but they must work well together for the project to succeed. When selecting team members, make sure that they are:

Creative and open minded Good team players Well respected among peers,

stakeholders and other business leaders

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Team size considerations

The recommended size for innovative teams is 3 to 12 members.

Smaller teams – 3 – 4 people work faster and produce quicker results.

Teams greater than 7 to 8 members often require sub-teams to be formed in order for the team to operate properly.

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Team size considerations

If you require more than 8 members consider establishing a smaller core team of three to four people to manage the overall project and then divide into sub-teams of 2 to 4 members

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Team size considerations

The argument for larger teams is greater functional representationThis representation brings different perspectives to the table and a greater knowledge base

The trade off is that larger teams move more slowly through the creative process and the members are often part - time

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Suggested team roles

Team Leader Taking accountability for the project

outcome Selecting the methodology Planning the project Interacting with the steering committee Managing the budget Leading the team

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Suggested team roles

Project Manager ( same as team leader for small teams)

Project scheduling and milestone tracking

Managing all sub team activities Monitoring progress and identifying

jeopardy items.

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Suggested team roles

Facilitator ( not always required for small teams)

Facilitating team meetings Staying objective Bringing order and focus

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Suggested team roles

Team Members

Learning from others Designing the overall solution Implementing the design

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