1. Everyday Innovation: How to
enhance innovative working in
employees and organisations
Prof Fiona Patterson
Dr Maura Kerrin
Geraldine Gatto-Roissard
Phillipa Coan

2. Introduction
• Research aims:
– define the characteristics and behaviours associated with
innovative working
– explore the organisational resources that facilitate or inhibit
innovative working
– address the ‘how to’ enhance innovative working in employees
and organisations
• Showing the links between evidence based theory and
practice
• Context of a global economic crisis

5. Report overview
Part 1. Background & research methodology
Part 2. Innovative working & the impact of recession
Part 3. Characteristics & behaviours for innovative working
Part 4. Organisational factors influencing innovative working
Part 5. Managing, leading & promoting innovative working
Part 6. How to enhance innovative working in employees &
organisations
Part 7. Summary & final reflections
Appendix
• Case Study: How to create an innovation culture
• A diagnostic framework for innovative working in organisations

6. Part 1. Research Methodology
• Review of the literature on entrepreneurship, wider
business, management and psychology
• Senior stakeholder interviews & case examples
• UK-wide survey facilitated by the Chartered
Management Institute based on 850 responses from
member organisations.
Thank you to all those who contributed to this research

7. Literature review key findings
http://www.nesta.org.uk/characteristics-and-behaviours-of-innovative-individuals-in-organisations/

9. Part 2. Innovative Working & the
Recession
• 78% of survey respondents reported that innovation was now
‘very’ or ‘extremely important’ to their organisation’s agenda
• 70% reported that the focus on innovation will be reinforced in
the current climate
• However, some working practices being adopted will actively
inhibit innovative working
• Results indicate that the public sector is less focused on
promoting innovative working

12. Common ‘myths’ about innovative
working
…only a few people are creative
…innovators are oddballs
…lateral thinking is enough
…innovators are not detail conscious
…innovators are too challenging to manage
…implementation is the easy bit
…traditional group-based brainstorming on flip chart/post-its is
highly productive
…the potential to innovate necessarily decreases with age

13. Part 3. Characteristics & behaviours
for innovative working
• Motivation, personal initiative, openness to ideas, self-efficacy,
original problem solving are key employee characteristics
• Certain characteristics are more important at different phases of the
innovation process
• Beyond a basic level, intelligence is not linked to innovative working
• Conscientiousness is a negative predictor of innovative working
• Despite recognising the importance of innovation within selection &
recruitment, only 29% of organisations currently act upon this
• Current HR practices in many organisations act to inhibit
innovative working

14. Survey results

15. Part 4. Organisational factors
influencing innovative working
• Embedding innovation within organisational values is important
• Innovative working is enhanced by intrinsic rewards
• Only a third of survey respondents reported their appraisal system
is directly linked to rewarding innovative working
• An organisational culture that supports innovative working is
tolerant of failure and values risk taking
• These practices were reported as less evident in public sector
organisations

16. Part 4. Organisational factors
influencing innovative working
“Paper chasing in the public sector undermines judgements and
weakens the decision-making process. The controversial case of
Baby P is an extreme case in point of what happens when a
decision-making process becomes weakened over time. Public
servants are often over-concerned about the consequences of
failure: negative media coverage can lead to risk aversion, even if
the content of the media stories is not related to innovation”
(Su Maddock, Director of Innovation, Whitehall Hub).

17. Part 5. Managing, leading &
promoting innovative working
• ‘Unclear leadership strategy & goals towards innovation’ is
identified as the most significant barrier to innovative working
• Respondents from the public sector were significantly more
likely to report ‘risk aversion & a fear of failure among leaders’
and ‘too hierarchical a structure across staff levels’

18. Managing innovative people

20. Part 6. How to enhance innovative
working
• Validated psychometric instruments to evaluate employee, team
& organisational innovation are available
• Leadership & management skills are crucial
• Diversity and social networking are key ingredients
• Respondents reported ‘cross-functional teams’ (47%) and ‘job
rotations/secondments’ (32%) as being commonly available
organisational initiatives to promote innovative working
• ‘Brainstorming’ was reported as the most common method used to
foster idea generation (45% of survey respondents)

21. Which initiatives work best for
idea generation?

22. Richard Batley, HR
Director

23. Part 7. Summary & Final Reflections

24. Thank you
f.patterson@city.ac.uk
m.kerrin@workpsychologygroup.com
http://creativity.city.ac.uk
MA/MSc in Innovation, Creativity and Leadership, commencing Sept 2010