Managing Innovation in HR - Instilling innovation involving every HR employee from top down is key to enhance total value of innovation

Instilling innovation within HR Teams and managing innovation to deliver exemplary result is one of the key outcome expected from HR operational excellence team.  

Broadly speaking, there are 3 types of innovations, and it is important that there is a focus to enrich and sustain all these type of innovations within the organisation to enhance the value of innovation. 

1. Incremental Innovations: Incremental innovation focus on minor changes to the existing services, products and systems. Innovation here is based on enriching the existing customer value and hence 'Voice of Customers' plays an important role in identifying problem statements. 
2. Substantial Innovations: Substantial innovations are significant changes to existing services or products or this could be new features or bolt on technology. Innovation here focus on significant value change to existing services and also new value propositions
3. Radical Innovations: Radical innovations are breakthrough innovations that creates completely new value proposition, market or products. These are significant changes and needs to be managed as program of activities when delivering the change.

In order to ensure innovation are encouraged , identified, delivered and value channeled to maximise ROI, HR PMO office need to ensure that processes are implemented to manage all the 3 types of innovations in 4 key stages of delivery i.e IDEATION, SELECTION, DELIVERY AND CONTROL

1. Programs bucket applies program management framework to achieve radical innovations and transforming HR function either by implementing new target operating model, ERP or new processes. These innovations requires significant leadership buy-in and are usually top-down mandated. Read about managing HR strategic programs here
2. Projects bucket applies project management methodology to deliver substantial changes to HR systems, processes or services. These innovation may come top-down from leadership team or based on key business challenges input coming from bottom-up.
3. Continuos Improvements bucket applies LEAN and agile delivery methods to deliver incremental changes. These innovations mainly come from operational issues and challenges and are identified with employee participation and with the help of operational staff who work on processes on day to day basis. Creating ideation platform, problems from ITSM tool, kaizen events, innovation hub are all methods that may be deployed to drive incremental innovations. Read about the HR CI delivery model here

A comprehensive HR portfolio considers all the types of initiatives and provide adequate governance to ensure value is delivered via end to end innovation management method by involving every employees from leadership team to the entry level HR staffs.