For large and highly bureaucratic industrial firms, the idea of fast paced innovation may seem far fetched. But as manufacturing giant Alcoa proved, seeking insights from employees can help to increase safety, streamline innovation and, in turn, create a far more profitable and successful organization.

Every year companies large and small have to evaluate the heaviest costs to their organization. Most might think that workplace hazards, human error or operational inefficiencies are the biggest enemy of the bottom line, but more often then not all of these causes (and plenty more) are byproducts of one easily remedied problem: Bad Internal Communications. How much are poor communications eating away at your profits?

Over the last ten years or so there has been a shift in focus within large organizations from viewing employees as a by-product of doing business to an actual asset to the organization. This was a huge change in perspective because assets are managed in a much different way.