Information Sheet 5.1-1

Information sheet 5.
1-1
IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES TO DO THINGS BETTER
Great organizations need people who seek ways to improve what is being
done and who enjoy contributing to the innovation effort. In any role, you can help
your workplace to become more effective and produce the best results possible.
Be curious about work practices that are not as productive as they could be, rather
than just accepting things because ‘that’s the way they are’.
You can identify opportunities to do things better. Be aware of your role and
those of others around you. You need to be able to identify what exactly needs
changing and obtain the right kind of information to help you put forward a case
for change.
Examples of Innovation
Here are some examples of innovation in the workplace.
Receptionist
Susan is a receptionist for a local council. Her job is to attend to customers at
the counter and assist with incoming phone calls. She regularly has long queues
of customers at the counter; some have quick inquiries, while others require
more time. She and the switchboard staff discuss ways to create at least two
queues at the counter, how customers can choose which queue suits their needs
and how the staff can better share counter duties while still managing the phone
calls. They present their ideas to their manager and include a way to pilot this
innovation.
Paper factory
Spencer works in a paper factory and develops an adhesive. It is not strong
enough for his purpose as it keeps papers together but is easily pulled apart.
Colleagues use the adhesive to attach notes in work files as it does not damage
anything. A few years later the company realises the value of this innovation and
renames it the ‘Post-it note’.
Why is innovation important?

Innovation is good for business. It helps organization’s achieve commercial
success by providing new and better products and services. These are often
delivered at lower costs. Doing things differently can also help to create better,
more productive workplaces and make staff feel more involved and happier at work.
Clients also benefit from improved products and efficiencies and better prices.
Innovative organizations outperform others. They can respond faster and
better to changing environments, grasp opportunities and develop necessary
partnerships to generate and act on ideas. Innovations can benefit organizations in
a number of ways, as shown on the following page.
EXAMPLE: TWO ORGANIZATION’S ENCOURAGE INNOVATION
Small business
A small publishing firm with 15 staff creates newsletters for associations. They
have had the same clients for a long time. Most of the staff know each other quite
well, but do their own work without the need for much interaction with others.
The two owners are worried that the energy seems to have gone out of the
organization. None of the staff have had new duties, training or development for
some time. The owners decide to treat their staff to a Thank you dinner as a way
of acknowledging their hard work and loyalty, and to use this time to offer prizes
for innovative ideas for improvements. The owners ask two supervisors to hold
weekly meetings at which members of their teams can brainstorm ideas. Lev, the
sales representative, wins an award for his suggestion that each month two staff
members could research, produce and circulate a short brief with information
about an association that may benefit from having a newsletter or other
publication. Kassie, a data-entry clerk, receives an award for suggesting that staff
subscribe to different newsletters to get new ideas and share them with the
others in a monthly meeting.
Large organisation
ACB Importers is a large company with 1700 staff working in Sydney,
Melbourne and Perth. The senior managers want to improve the way they
do things and decide to ask staff to submit ideas using a staff suggestion
box in each location. The boxes are opened each month at the monthly
management meetings. Suggestions are investigated and the best ones are
presented at a senior management meeting each quarter. The senior
managers decide which ideas should be implemented. This month, Ben
Hassan, the receptionist in Perth, is commended for his suggestion about
ways to cut down the amount of paper that the company uses.
PROACTIVELY IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT IN YOUR

AREA OF WORK
There are always opportunities for improvements. A person with good ideas
could spend all day being innovative. But we still need to get our work done. It’s
about having a balance.
If there is no innovation, our jobs and our organization’s become stale and
boring. But too much time spent thinking about how to do things differently means
that nothing will be achieved on a daily basis.
It’s a good idea to see your role as having two parts: one where you focus on
innovation, one where you get the job done. Have your working hat on when there’s
a deadline to meet; have your thinking hat on during quieter times.
Some people make notes about ideas. Others spend a few minutes each day
thinking how they could do their job better.
How opportunities are identified

Always be attentive to problem areas as well as to ways to improve your role
and workplace. There may be a need to do things more quickly, to make fewer
mistakes or to make the work environment healthier and safer.
The process of larger changes can take some time. As we have already seen,
some organizations actively encourage people to be innovative and provide ways for
this to happen. Sometimes, though, while you are working you will come up with
your own good ideas, and it is important to devote a part of your day or week to
developing these. Below are a number of ways you can take note of potential
opportunities in your workplace
Be Observant
Notice how you can improve the way you do things.
Be Curious
Ask questions of colleagues and read procedure manuals and

frequently asked questions documents (FAQs).
Be Creative Thingker
Come up with a number of possible ways of making changes.
Areas where improvements can take place

In the business world, innovative ideas generally come under one of nine
categories, each of which are described below
Processes and procedures

Improving processes and procedures involves developing more efficient and
beneficial ways to carry out tasks and duties. It may involve changing the order
you do things in, or reducing the number of steps it takes to achieve a particular
result – anything that helps you make the best use of your time at work and ease
workload pressure.
For example, you may have been instructed to process email requests for
information about a service or product in the order you received them. You find
that some requests are handled quickly and easily, while others take a long time
and require a great deal of research. You come up with an idea to handle the
easy ones straight away and leave the more difficult ones until later on in the
day. This way you can respond to most inquiries quickly and efficiently, and in
the afternoon you can deal with the others in a more leisurely manner.
Work practices
Work practices are the way your organization does its business; that is, its
policies and general methods of operation. This can include the way teams are
made up and change over time. Sometimes teams need to change because they
are not working as effectively as they could.
An example is a bank deciding that it wants to attract more customers. There are
two other banks in the same suburb. At a staff meeting, a worker suggests
changing the opening hours so that customers can access their bank earlier than
the other banks.
Changes in the physical environment
The physical environment may need to be changed if people are not able to work
to their best ability; for example, if the layout is inappropriate, something is
unhealthy or unsafe, or something is not pleasant for staff or clients.
For example, an increase in staff in an office means that some workers are placed
in an area not previously used by people; this area is not well ventilated and
becomes very hot in the afternoons. New air-conditioning and vents could be
installed and blinds placed in front of the windows to make this area safer and
more comfortable for staff.
Storage or maintenance procedures
Organizations need to review and update their storage and maintenance
procedures regularly and build in ways to deal with future growth. Staff need to
know what needs to be stored and where, and how to dispose of anything not
required. Maintenance schedules for a wide range of equipment need to be
developed, casted and adhered to.
An example involves a spa and pool company with several large outlets. Each
outlet has the current range of stock and some also have old stock at discounted
prices. At a planning day, staff agree to move several of the outlets to smaller
sites, have less stock on site and set up an online shop to sell old stock and
where customers can select and design spas and pools based on their bathroom
or garden measurements.
GENERATE NEW IDEAS

There are many ways to get creativity flowing. Sometimes new ideas come
quickly and easily; at other times you need to put in some effort. The following
methods can help you to produce ideas about any issue, including ideas for
improving things at work.
Brainstorming
Brainstorming means coming up with a range of ideas in a short time. You can
brainstorm by yourself, but it is usually better to get together with at least one
other person, or your whole team. You may suggest that your team has regular
brainstorming sessions to discuss a particular area of work.
For example, if you are having trouble keeping up with your emails and getting
your work done, it can be a good use of time to brainstorm ideas and a range of
possible solutions to better manage tasks and time. It is important that during the
brainstorming process you do not make any decisions about what is a ‘good’ or
‘bad’ idea. Write everything down, no matter how silly it may sound.
Mind mapping
Mind mapping was invented and patented by an American, Tony Buzan, who
discovered that we can tap into more areas of our brain and come up with more
ideas if we ‘map’ our thoughts on a page.
To draw a mind map, write a core word or phrase (such as a problem you are
having) in a box in the center of a page. Then draw a number of paths coming out
of the center box, and on each path write down different aspects of the problem.
Create paths leading from each aspect suggesting ideas for solutions. You can then
look at your mind map and decide which ideas would be good to follow up.
UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION

Understanding your own work role, those of others in your team and the
organization’s priorities are all important things to consider as you gather
information relevant to your ideas for change. The main reason why you are
employed is to help your organization achieve its goals and expected outcomes.
Each staff member contributes to these goals in a particular way. There is no point
changing the way you do something if it stops you achieving these goals.
Whenever you do something, it will have some kind of effect on the way others
work. For example, moving your in-tray under your desk might make it easier for
you to access, but it will make it more difficult for others to use.
You need to make sure you understand:

 the organization’s expected outcomes and how well you can achieve these
outcomes under current conditions
 whether the current processes and situations are adequate for needs in the
foreseeable future
 the resources required for your ideas and whether these can be supplied
 any barriers that may hinder your idea being taken up
 what impact your ideas might have on others: clients, staff or the general
public
How practical innovative ideas are
Try to imagine the needs of your role in the future – there may be no point
implementing change that is only going to be useful for a short time.
Think about how your ideas will be resourced if they are adopted by the
organization. Resources can be things you can see or touch, such as computers,
phones, telephone directories or software packages. They may also be less obvious,
but equally important, things like time and your skills and knowledge.
It is important to ensure your idea is realistic before suggesting it to others. You
need to consider things that might stop you from progressing, such as limits to
finances, time or resources or the organization’s current policies or priorities.
Time-saving considerations
In some instances, you may be able to take some preliminary actions that could
save time and money before any attempt is made to explore your innovative idea.
These include getting some feedback from others and/or exploring the potential
cost of your proposal.
Getting further feedback from others can help you decide whether your idea would
be useful and therefore likely to be accepted. You could do this by asking selected
staff members to respond via email as to whether they think your idea might
improve current practices. This way you also have a useful written record.
Obtaining brochures and quotes for services, new equipment and software can save
a lot of time, especially if you are aware of any budgetary limitations. Getting a few
quotes can help you compare and contrast these, or if there is a preferred supplier
you can ask for the special customer rate.
Review information
After you have collected information about your idea, you need to review it
for:
 currency – whether it is up to date

 relevance to the idea – whether the information directly supports the idea
 suitability in your situation – whether the information is likely to be viewed
as useful and practical
 likelihood of fixing the problem or achieving positive change – whether it will
be seen as worthwhile to invest time, money and/or other resources to make
use of this information.

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Information sheet 5.

Why is innovation important?

EXAMPLE: TWO ORGANIZATION’S ENCOURAGE INNOVATION

PROACTIVELY IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT IN YOUR

How opportunities are identified

Notice how you can improve the way you do things.

Ask questions of colleagues and read procedure manuals and

Come up with a number of possible ways of making changes.

Areas where improvements can take place

Processes and procedures

GENERATE NEW IDEAS

UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION

You need to make sure you understand:

 currency – whether it is up to date

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