If you are using idea management software, you also must make sure that it is transparent. Without transparency, it also will not work. It is vital that your staff knows what the system is, how they should use it, and how it will benefit them. So how do you make your system more transparent?
Why You Need Transparent Idea Management Software
When a system is transparent, communication across the organization is increased. Furthermore, your employees will feel an increased sense of trust. This, in turn, means you can get the greatest benefits from your system, as it will encourage your staff to be involved in it. Additionally, you will increase overall engagement, as well as excited about the process of innovation.
If you have a transparent system, communication across the board of your organization will be significantly increased. In fact, research has shown that turnover levels are 50% more likely to be lower in organizations with excellent communication.
How to Increase Transparency
Making your system more transparent is actually quite easy:
- Make sure everybody in your organization is included in the process. You need to make sure that everybody, from the janitor to the CEO, feels empowered to submit ideas.
- Explain the system properly to all your employees. Training should include not just practical tips on how to use the system, but also how the system will provide benefits to the entire organization. This means that your staff will feel a sense of ownership over the company’s success.
- Explain clearly how you intend to choose certain ideas, and what will happen to them if chosen. Talk about voting on ideas, for instance, so that people feel involved in the decision making process. This information increases understanding, and also makes it clear that people should care about it.
- Ensure every employee can access the system. It should be open, so that people can see the ideas others have submitted, provide comments, and vote on ideas. This increases creativity, and encourages people to submit more ideas.
Remember that you shouldn’t just tell your employees about being collaborative to improve the organization as a whole. You should clearly encourage it as well. Tell them that they can and should look at other ideas and try to improve them.
Make Your Organization More Transparent
Make sure that your idea management system is not the only thing that is transparent, but that your entire organization is. The above four steps can be tweaked to every element of your organization. The days of having a top down hierarchy are finally getting behind us, as it is now clear that people don’t like being told what to do, they want to be involved in working out what the best course of action is. They do not respond well to managers in ivory towers, but rather to those managers who involve them on the running of the day to day organization. Get this right, and you will already be innovating.