Driving Innovation Into The Business Core Will Bring Success In The Digital Era

As times change, everything needs to adapt. Steve Jobs said, "Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower."

Business innovation is a priority for companies to set themselves as a leader in the industry. While the world is becoming more and more tech-savvy, businesses also need to embrace the digital revolution. If you were a business owner who started in the early 2000s, would you want your business to function like how it did in 2002 while your competitors adopted the change to suit the customer wants of 2021? That is the reason for the need of innovation.

Does innovation happen overnight? No, there can't be a definitive timeline for innovation, but what is certain is that innovation needs the right atmosphere in a business setting. For ideas to become concepts, the seed needs to flourish in the right environment which can only be created by HR.

HR has a role to either build and hire resources to facilitate innovation or act as a catalyst in redefining the business processes. If the business objective is to improve customer experience, HR's function will focus on recruiting the right talent or provide analytical reports about the current talent to improve the potential and let the organization know about the time and money they need to invest in manpower.

COVID-19 saw a shift in the working pattern. Working from the office has changed to working from home. This has led to the introduction of AI-powered bots in workplaces and digital applications to track working hours, facilitate brainstorming sessions, keeping sheets updated, etc. For companies to successfully be a part of this digital innovation in harmony, HR must be successful in creating a growing environment for all the employees.

A growing environment is not limited to hiring talent, it also means retaining talent and supporting CEOs' vision for the business. According to Brian Kropp, Group Vice President, Gartner, "CEOs want to know how to improve the innovative effectiveness of their organizations. And the CEOs are right to want this outcome. When HR can improve the innovation effectiveness of the organization, annual revenue can increase by as much as $8,800 per employee."

What Is Innovative effectiveness?

It is nothing but an organization's ability to identify new opportunities. Through identification, a business can determine which opportunity to pursue and adjust its business functions accordingly. If a company's HR understands the risk and merits of such opportunities, organizations will outperform at two things, sensing – which is evaluating opportunities and deciding where to invest, and seizing – which refers to quickly allocating resources, brainstorming ideas, and scaling innovative ideas to extend the core of a business.

Making innovation the DNA of a business is a deliberate effort where HR will require to connect employees with a network of innovators, engaging them to come up with innovative ideas, and equipping the organization with the right talent and digital tools. HR plays a vital role in making the right environment and getting the right people to talk for a successful business transformation.