Fostering Success Using Intrapreneurship

Now that we’ve discussed intrapreneurship, you may be wondering how to make it part of your company’s success. We've got the latest scoop.

Corporate Culture.

The importance of corporate culture can’t be overlooked. It determines everything—who you hire, how you interact, even how you dress. Therefore, if you want intraprenurship to play a role in your success, it must be a stated corporate goal. This needs to happen from two places: management and employees.

Top-Down:
Corporate culture is established from the top-down. This means founders, execs and management. If they don’t implant and embrace the culture, even if the potential exists in employees, it’s unlikely that they will be heard, that their vision can become reality, or that they will even realize input is appreciated. Management must actively promote and integrate intrapreneurhsip into the company’s vision and culture.

It’s also important for management to note that risk must be taken by employees when engineering and voicing solutions. Employees could worry about backlash, rejection or even termination if ideas don’t succeed. Management must take some of the risk out of the equation by remaining patient, forgiving, helpful and sensitive in constructive criticism. Otherwise, they are less likely to contribute, out of fear or rejection or loss.

Bottom-Up:
In this model, innovation comes from the bottom-up. This means that once the culture is established, it’s up to workers to embody and embrace it. Employees must feel empowered and confident in challenging the status quo and in sharing their ideas. They also must be mindful of existing problems and aware of their surroundings, to catch any issues before they become larger problems.

Make It Interesting.

People are more likely to do things when they’re fun, or offer a reward. Simply asking for everyone’s input may not be enough. Luckily, we have a few ideas to make it interesting:

• Hold a contest
• Offer rewards or bonuses
• Use ideas in visible places—billboards, newsletters, slogans, campaigns
• Any direct or public recognition
• Include computers/ mobile devices into the equation
• Discuss ideas at company meetings and work on improving them collaboratively
• Give employees designated time to think about innovation, instead of their normal duties.

Make It Organized.

Even in creative ventures, some degree of organization is needed to ensure smooth sailing. Depending on the number and medium of submissions, keeping everything in a set place, with an established team to review ideas, could be necessary.

Make It Measureable.

How do you know if your efforts are successful? They must be first, organized, and second, included in company metrics. How to accomplish this?

Tie it to Revenue Growth:
In instances where a new product or service is enacted, its progress must be assessed and included in the company’s overall growth, as well as monitored on its own.

Tie it to Cost Reduction:
Growth is good, but eliminating waste also helps. And these things can add up when implemented properly and en masse. Take a look at your energy bills, supply bills, etc, and monitor the differences after a new idea has been implemented.

Make It Visible.

Now that you have the data, it’s time to put it on display.

Comprehensive graphics that spell out designated metrics make improvements more real in the minds of execs and employees. It encourages them to keep up the good work, and illustrates how they can truly make a difference.

We consider intrapreneurship an excellent opportunity to engage the workforce, and to come up with new ideas. To facilitate it, we developed Vocoli.

Vocoli is an online forum where employees submit ideas for review by a designated panel within the company. It’s an organized, detailed and easy-to-use platform, meaning ideas are not lost in the woodwork.

Vocoli allows management to identify specific problems and host campaigns to solve any pressing issues. And because it’s all online, users can submit ideas at any time, from any device.