In the past years, we were in the beginning of the fourth industrial revolution, which fundamentally changed the way we live, work, and make connection to one another. This condition was enforcing Human Resources professional to have important role to assist organization in facing this evolution. Industrial 4.0 is demanding company to invest in new technology and tools to improve operation efficiency, but it’s not only about manufacturing process, but the way entire organization operates and grows. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data are key factors to have a better understanding on working process, quality, services, and business ecosystem.
This situation required the organization to have more dependencies and availability of knowledge workers and fewer skilled workers. Because knowledge workers will be the key success to drive innovation and creativity. It’s becoming crucial that we are surrounded by HR professionals who are open-minded, proactive, resilience, tech savvy and having capability to growth. They able to understand key skill-sets needed for the organization, what is lacking, with digitally focused solution to keep ahead on competitors.
That is precisely why I always enforce myself and my team to have game-changing innovation capability and build a culture of innovation through human resource function. Because if we are talking about innovative organization, People is at the heart.
Innovation is about People! Innovation is creating values from ideas, not something that comes out from machines, but made of people. People who provide ideas, creativity and knowledge.
To develop innovative organization, we have to think hard, there are key elements (L-E-A-P HIGH) what becoming key success factor in establishing innovative organization:
1. Leaders who share their vision and commitment to innovate
Innovation need clear direction, leader have to share their dreams, define goals and specific purpose on why we are doing this, clear statement on where we are going. Leader is the most crucial element, because they have role to influence organization performance and create conditions to enable and empower others.
2. Effective Collaboration
To establish and continue the creation, we have to build effective innovative teams, they should have
• Team Leader who can give support and getting best out of the team
• Clear goals and activities
• Good balance of the roles matched to various individual behavioral styles
• Effective conflict resolution mechanism if team member has their own perspectives
• Having a group norm to help them to perform
3. Appropriate Structure
Different organizations have their own condition and strength; this element structure is a must-have, but it can be taken in any format which suitable to your organization. It could be organic or mechanic, but it should be appropriate structure to create integration between different functions, units, or individuals. Structure which allows individual to unleash and allow creativity without losing control and focus to create value for the organization.
"Business Leaders have to understand the link between Innovative People and an Innovative Organization. Building Innovative Culture will be key success for Sustainability"
4. Promote Key Individuals to become Change Agent
Change agents are always one of the key influence factors. Somebody who lived with the value, becoming idea champion, facilitator, gate-keeper, mentor and coach. The challenge on this element is on how to identify, attract, engage, empower and reward them.
5. HIGH Involvement Innovation
Encouraging people to optimally contribute and innovate is always challenging. Innovation is inseparable from an environment that is fostering brainstorming and facilitating different ideas.
This environment requires:
• Trust and openness
• Response to challenge and involvement
• Support and space for innovation
• Facilitation of conflict and debate
• Ability to act independently, “don’t just do what they are being told to do”
To establish this, we can start by creating a map of innovation involvement. This map helps us on how to provide environment and facilitate group of people who mapped into these four categories
A is probably representing situation where there is an individual or small group of people in the same unit who bring ideas, creativity and make innovation into his own work/processes, relatively low impact.
B is representing large group of people who bring ideas, creativity and make innovation and making large scale impact for business operation.
C is representing an individual or few group of specialists who bring ideas, creativity and make innovation into quality standards with high impact.
D is representing large involvement from multi functions leaders, or entrepreneurial leaders bring ideas, creativity and make innovation with high impact for business.
The more people are connected and involved, the easier it is to build innovative organization.In short, Innovation is about People! and People is the main key success factor to faced Disruption 4.0.
Remember “Great Thing Never Comes from Comfort Zone” to be more successful we have to be more agile and innovative!
