BSBINN201A
Contribute to
workplace innovation
Identifying
opportunities to do
things better
 Identifying opportunities to do things better involves:
- Understanding your role in workplace innovation
- Identifying opportunities for improvement
- Gathering and reviewing information.
 Innovation is about improving the way we work. It
might involve:
- creating new products, services or systems
- building on existing products, services or systems
- changing attitudes to our jobs, organisations or
customers
- changing team structures
- developing new work teams.
 Innovation can help an organisation by:
- providing new and better products and services
- achieving a lower cost for existing products and
services
- helping employees be more productive
- improving morale in the workplace
- increasing customer satisfaction.
 Innovation can also benefit organisations by helping
them to:
- make the most of technology
- compete globally
- maintain and grow their business
- work smarter, not harder
- make workplaces more pleasant and productive
- provide a sense of ownership for employees.
 Employees at any level can contribute to innovation.
 Innovations may be small changes or major
reorganisations.
 If you have an idea for innovation, you should always:
- include others who need to know about it and need to
be involved
- be able to show how it will help in your organisation
- follow any procedures for presenting new ideas
- accept that the final decision may not be yours
- implement changes only when you have received
approval.
 Organisations may use different methods to
encourage innovation, including:
- suggestion boxes
- team meetings
- workshops
- planning days
- training and development
- staff surveys
- competitions
- innovation-based reward practices
 Involving all relevant parties is an important part of
helping innovative ideas succeed.
 Some of the people who may be involved in
implementing change include:
- supervisors and team leaders
- work group colleagues
- other teams and team leaders
- the quality assurance manager or productivity manager
- the owner or manager of the organisation
- clients, sponsors and other interested parties.
 Seek a balance between innovative thinking and
working on routine tasks.
 This helps to meet deadlines and make achievements,
but also allows time for improvement.
 Identifying opportunities to improve means being:
- observant
- curious
- a creative thinker
- experimental
- open to new ways of doing things.
 While you are doing your work, you may identify
things that are frustrating or waste time.
 Finding a way to eliminate this frustration is
innovation.
 Alternatively you may think of a way of making a
task or process more relevant.
 Innovative ideas generally fall into one of these
categories:
- Processes and procedures
- Work practices or services
- Changes in the physical environment
- Storage or maintenance procedures
- Team communication
- New technology
- New customer base
- Staff changes
- Job role changes
 Improving processes and procedures involves
developing more efficient and beneficial ways to
carry out tasks and duties such as:
- changing the order of activities
- reducing the number of steps required to achieve a
particular result
- changing when different staff members perform
the same activity
- performing similar activities together.
 Changing work practices or services relates to the
way an organisation does business.
 Innovation in work practices or services may include:
- changing how teams are made up
- adjusting opening hours
- increasing the range of services offered.
 Changing the physical environment may include:
- adjusting an office layout to be more open and
inclusive
- changing the light or ventilation to be more
comfortable
- becoming more environmentally friendly
- adjusting the floor plan of a display area to be
more attractive to customers.
 Innovation in storage and maintenance procedures
may involve:
- disposing of items that are no longer required
- changing where items are stored so that they are
more accessible
- developing a system to monitor when items are no
longer required
- developing a system for scheduling maintenance.
 Improving team communication can help save time or
improve output.
 Ways to improve team communication include:
- changing when team meetings are held
- using telecommunication to save transit time
- changing from paper communication to email or
web-based communication.
 New technology often drives a change in work
practices including:
- how information is sent to customers
- how staff communicate with each other
- how data is recorded and analysed.
 Attracting new customers is an important part of
expanding the business. This may include:
- developing new marketing strategies
- researching gaps in the market
- producing adapted or new products
- analysing competitor products
- understanding competitor’s customer profiles
- changing outlets and distribution processes.
 Changes in technology often lead to staffing changes.
Although some positions may be lost when
technology is introduced, this creates openings for
new employees.
 Organisations may need to change how they provide
the same service to customers and employees. This
may mean changing how they:
- provide information
- receive customer and employee requests
- process data
- communicate with customers and employees.
 There are many different ways to generate new ideas.
 Methods commonly used by organisations include:
- brainstorming
- mind mapping
- creative thinking.
 Brainstorming involves working individually or with
a group to develop a list of ideas in a short time.
 Some common ‘rules’ for brainstorming include:
- Record all ideas as they are given.
- List as many ideas as possible.
- Don’t analyse or criticise ideas during the exercise.
- Encourage wild and exaggerated ideas.
- Build on previous ideas.
- Set a time limit for the activity.
 Mind mapping is drawing a relationship between
different ideas on a page.
 To ‘map’ a concept:
- Write a core word or phrase in the middle of a
page.
- Draw ‘arms’ from this core word or phrase.
- Write a different aspect of the problem on each
‘arm’.
- Create ‘arms’ from each aspect which suggest
solutions to the problem.
 Creative thinking involves:
- exploring ideas
- generating possibilities
- looking for more than one answer
- lateral thinking.
 Having more than one idea to solve a problem is
helpful because:
- not all ideas may be practical
- a short-term solution may be required while a
permanent solution is developed
- more than one idea may need to be implemented
- a solution may not be successful.
 Before implementing a change, it is helpful to
understand the reasons for the current situation.
 You should also understand:
- the expected outcomes and whether the changed
process will deliver the same outcomes
- whether the current processes and situations are
adequate for current needs
- the resources required to implement the change and
whether they are available
- any barriers to implementing the change
- the possible effect of the change on interested parties.
 It is helpful to research an idea before suggesting it.
 Sources of information may include:
- customers and employees
- the Internet or intranet
- organisational documents
- industry sources
- suppliers’ catalogues
- sales representatives
- media.
 Many problems are similar across departments in an
organisation or may be experienced by a range of
organisations.
 Research these possibilities before designing a new
solution so that you can benefit from their experience.
 Use media or internal notes to help generate
improvement ideas. Even a story about an unrelated
industry can help trigger an idea to improve
processes, products or services in your organisation.
 Once you have clarified your idea, seek feedback
from colleagues, supervisors or customers as
appropriate.
 You could do this in conversation, at a meeting, or by
email.
 If your idea requires any purchases, seek a range of
quotes before proceeding further. This will help
indicate whether the idea is feasible or within
budgetary restrictions.
 After compiling your research, review it for:
- currency
- relevance
- suitability
- likelihood of achieving change.
 A short written proposal helps present an idea to your
supervisor or manager.
 This document should include:
- the reasons for change
- possible solutions
- supporting information
- recommendations.
Developing ideas with
others
 Developing your ideas with others involves:
- identifying people to provide input
- approaching people
- seeking feedback
- following up ideas.
 Developing innovative ideas is a collaborative
activity.
 Working as a team can help provide input, feedback
and expertise for identifying and implementing
innovative ideas.
 When working as a team, individuals take on different
roles.
 These roles may not always be the same as their roles
within the organisation.
 Your colleagues in the same work area will have a
direct interest in your idea.
 They may be able to provide suggestions or identify
different problems and issues.
 Your supervisor or manager can provide an
organisational perspective and offer advice on how to
implement ideas.
 You may need technical support or expertise to
implement your idea.
 Technicians may be from other areas in the
organisation, or external personnel. If so, take care
when discussing confidential information.
 A challenger is someone who helps trial the idea, asks
difficult questions and provides relevant feedback.
 This person can help identify problems in advance,
which makes the implementation more likely to
succeed.
 A promoter is someone who will actively promote or
champion your idea within the workplace. This may
be a mentor, buddy or your supervisor.
 Resourcers provide practical information about how
an idea can be implemented and about the availability
and cost of the necessary resources.
 A financier is the person who approves the budget to
implement your idea.
 This might be a supervisor, an office accountant or
financial controller.
 There are many ways to communicate with people
about an innovative idea. Which method you choose
depends on who you are communicating with and
organisational protocols.
 Communication methods include:
- informal discussions
- team meetings
- telephone calls
- email
- report sheets
- planning sessions.
 Organisational protocols are the standard or accepted
ways of carrying out tasks, making decisions and
implementing changes in a particular organisation or
team.
 Be strategic when presenting an innovative idea.
 If you need someone’s support, choose a time when
the person is:
- not under stress from a deadline
- able to focus on your request
- relaxed and open to new ideas.
 Adjust your communication style to suit the person you
are addressing. Most organisations will follow the
following formality levels:
- High: Corporate level such as Managing Director.
- High-medium: Senior level such as senior manager,
chief accountant.
- Medium: Specialist roles such as personal assistant or
supply officer.
- Medium-low: Division or business unit level such as
manager or team leader.
- Low: Team or individual level such as secretary or
receptionist.
 Seek feedback from others in your organisation to
determine whether your idea has merit.
 Some of the different ways you may gather feedback
include:
- talking to colleagues and supervisors and asking
questions
- brainstorming
- using ‘what ifs’.
 Using ‘what ifs’ means putting the words ‘what if’ in
front of your idea and considering what consequences
and repercussions there may be. This could be done
on your own, with an interested person or as a group
activity.
 After receiving and considering feedback, you may
need to revise your idea.
 Create new possibilities by:
- thinking through the idea again
- incorporating the information you have received
- incorporating other ideas and feedback
- testing modified or new ideas with others.
 You should document feedback to:
- keep track of the historical development of an idea
- acknowledge and value others’ time and effort
- save time by not repeating steps or having people
re-raise issues
- ensure the best possible outcome
- provide evidence of following all necessary steps.
 Document feedback by:
- producing a key points summary
- completing a SWOT analysis table
- creating a table showing ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ of the
idea.
 A SWOT analysis examines the strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats of an idea.
 Try to align strengths with opportunities and be wary
of weaknesses that align with existing threats.
 Review feedback to help modify your idea.
 Depending on the feedback you may need to:
- make minor modifications and improvements
- discard the idea in favour of another
- reconsider the problem to develop a new idea.
 Applying a rating system to ideas helps make
decisions. A rating scale may include the following
criteria:
- High probability of success as originally stated
- Probability of success after some changes
- Idea needs further work in order to determine
success level
- Low probability of success – major changes
needed or new ideas
- Idea unlikely to succeed – new idea(s) needed.
Addressing the
practicalities of change
 Addressing the practicalities of change involves:
- implementing routine changes
- identifying issues and processes for implementing
ideas
- presenting ideas and suggestions.
 Implementing change generally occurs in stages:
- Identify a problem
- Investigate appropriate action
- Make decisions about how to implement change
- Obtain approval to implement change
- Make the change
- Evaluate the change
 When discussing change, it is helpful to consider
whether you are in ‘action’ or ‘decision’ mode. This
affects the information you will provide to others.
- Action mode: when you are undertaking activities
related to your idea, provide just enough
information so that others can help you.
- Decision mode: when you are briefing others so
that they can make a decision about an idea,
provide all relevant information in usable format to
support decision-making.
 Routine changes relate to your role and others with
whom you work closely. They generally do not
require approval or a lot of resources and may
include:
- changing when office supplies are collected
- transferring data to a different software package
- consolidating when supervisors receive material to
approve
- changing the time of a lunch break.
 Some routine changes may still require management
approval, such as:
- implementing new reporting procedures
- re-allocating minor tasks among team members
- changing systems access.
 When preparing to implement a routine change,
consider:
- the timing of the change and its impact on
workload
- how to inform others of the change.
 When planning and implementing major change that
affects a number of others, there are several issues to
consider:
- approvals required
- relationship of the idea to organisational priorities
- cost of implementation
- logistics
- communication strategy
- personalities and philosophies of others
- internal politics
- contingencies.
 Secure approval to implement an idea in writing
before proceeding. Depending on the budget, you
may need several levels of approval, so allow time to
secure these.
 Consider the impact of implementing the change on
the workplace. Take note of any major deadlines or
peak work periods and avoid implementing your
change at this time.
 Research any cheaper alternatives for the resources
required to implement change. Consider the cost to
the organisation of any ‘down time’ required to
implement the change.
 Some implementations need to occur in a certain
sequence for them to be efficient and successful. Use
a flow chart or a run sheet to plan these
implementations.
 Develop a communication strategy for everyone who
may be affected by a change. This may include
employees, clients, suppliers or members of the
public. Planning communication in advance helps
ensure it is timely and reduces costs.
 When planning an implementation, consider how
different people might react to the change and make
allowances. This will help the implementation run
more smoothly and help all employees accept the
change.
 Understanding the organisation’s culture and politics
may help plan an implementation. This may involve
scheduling implementation activities around key
events or organising them in a way that is consistent
with organisational culture.
 Contingencies are the things that go wrong during an
implementation, despite good planning.
 Research what happened in a similar implementation
to understand what may go wrong. This will allow
you to develop a contingency plan for the
implementation.
 When presenting ideas and suggestions, choose the
most appropriate method for your audience, based on
the level of formality required, the venue, and the
time available.
 This may include:
- verbal presentation
- written presentation
- presentation using technology.
 Verbal presentations may be with individuals, such as
a supervisor, or groups, such as your team or a focus
group.
 Verbal meetings are generally used for:
- presentations to well-known people
- simple information that can be quickly presented
- presentations that do not require a record.
 Written presentations can include reports, memos,
emails or designated forms.
 Written presentations are generally used to:
- allow participants to read the presentation in their
own time
- present complex information which requires
supporting data
- provide a record of the presentation.
 Presentations using technology may include
PowerPoint presentations, video conferencing or
web-based interactive programs and blogs.
 They can be expensive and time-consuming, but can
be impressive and professional. They are used to:
- communicate with audiences in a remote location
- create an extra impact
- provide a written record with a verbal support.
 When presenting ideas, structure the presentation
clearly to help the audience follow along.
 Use headings and clear sections such as:
- the problem and reason for change
- the issues
- the solution
- discarded solutions
- problems during the change
- side-effects of the change
- cost of implementing the change.