Workplace Innovation Fund Productivity Improvement Through Partnership and Participation

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Workplace Innovation FundProductivity
Improvement Through Partnership and
Participation

• Edna Jordan Small Firms Association
• NCPP 24th November, 2008

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Presentation outline

• Workplace Innovation definition
• Success of the Workplace Innovation Fund to date
• Examples of Workplace Innovation Fund projects
• Key success factors

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Workplace innovation is about

• Finding new ways of doing things in the workplace
• The design and adoption of
• new practices
• new structures/work arrangements
• new relationships
• new products and services, as well as operations
  and processes
• Providing greater opportunities and arrangements
  for employee involvement

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Workplace Innovation

• Success or otherwise depends on the degree of
  commitment to it and the level and quality of
  employee involvement
• Building a commitment to workplace innovation
  will enable greater levels of innovation in
  relation to your core business

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WIF Success To Date

• Launched in April 2007
• Promoted extensively by Enterprise Ireland and
  NCPP
• Enterprise Ireland and NCPP websites
• Brochures
• Professional and sectoral events (IBEC CIPD
  SFA Skillnets, etc.)
• Briefing sessions
• 31 companies approved to date
• Manufacturing, Printing, Environmental Services,
  Food Processing, Agricultural Equipment, Medical
  Devices, Software Development
• From 13 to 212 employees
• Across 12 counties
• From 11,000 to 201,000

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WIF Example 1Print Packaging, Co.
Limerick(24 Employees)

• Company wishes to introduce a culture of
  continuous improvement and high-performance
  teams, strengthen and professionalise its
  management team, up-skill all members of staff
  and improve levels of staff involvement
• Workplace Innovation plan includes
• Management training in people-management skills
• Change-management competencies
• Team-working, team-building and team management
• Training and active participation in company-wide
  communications structures
• Review and establishment of financial incentives
  for managers and supervisors
• Internal customer concepts
• Development and introduction of Gainsharing
  arrangements

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WIF Example 2Environment and Life Sciences, Co.
Cork (22 Employees)

• Company is keen to accelerate employee
  involvement in the business, delegating
  decision-making to the staff involved in each
  process
• Aim is to empower production and
  sales/administrative staff to input and take
  responsibility for key activities in their work
  areas that were previously carried out by
  management
• Workplace Innovation plan includes
• Development of communications skills
• People management/managing in a team-based
  environment
• Coaching/mentoring team-based working

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WIF Example 3Construction Products/Systems, Co.
Tipperary (78 Employees)

• Company has experienced strong sales growth
  year-on-year and employee numbers have grown in
  response.
• Aim is to formalise their people-management
  arrangements through the development of roles,
  responsibilities and a competency framework.
• Workplace Innovation plan includes
• Management training in people management skills
• Change management,
• Managing teams
• Cross-skilling in all functions
• Development of profit-share/gain-share
  arrangements
• Development of company-wide strategy and
  structures that encourage two-way communication,
  feedback and corrective action

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Key Success Factors

• Leadership
• Senior management commitment to embracing and
  implementing workplace innovation
• Vision and values
• Incorporation into organisations vision and
  business objectives, ensuring employee
  involvement and engagement is a core workplace
  value
• Performance management
• Inclusion of workplace innovation in objective
  setting, reward and recognition
• Ownership of workplace innovation agenda
• Must be spread throughout the organisation