It is an established fact that small groups of employees naturally develop in almost every company and exchange ideas and create new strategies. This is usually done in a more informal way; during a coffee break or during a brainstorming session in the cafeteria. However, it is a sad fact that many of these ideas are stuck within the group, since the employees may well assume that management will not take them seriously.
This is a missed opportunity because these microcultures are a significant innovation potential. This is supported by research from Harvard Business Review which posits that companies that pay attention to these hidden innovation networks are likely to grow faster and remain more competitive. Nevertheless, these microcultures are usually overlooked because they do not align with the formal structures of the organization.
So how can businesses ensure that these useful ideas are not lost?
Where Are the Microcultures Situated?
Microcultures develop in various parts of the organization. Some are physical – production teams, the R&D department or any other specific workgroups. Others are digital – internal platforms, group chats, or forums. It is the same as people coming up with ideas in Slack or Microsoft Teams, and sharing their ideas without having to physically meet.
For instance, you can emulate technology company 3M which allows its employees to spend 15% of their working time on personal innovation. This policy born by the company resulted to creation of iconic products like the Post-it note and the Scotch tape. The moral of the story? When companies recognize and foster innovation microcultures, real innovations are possible.
The Role of the Marketer: Searching for Innovation Proactively.
Marketers, in general, concentrate on branding, campaigns, and strategies. However, in order to be effective, they must first understand what concepts are being generated within the company. This is an active approach.
How to Recognize Innovation Microcultures?
Step 1: Leave the office and walk around and talk to people – Go to departments that you do not typically visit. You should ask employees what problems they encounter and what solutions they have thought of.
Step 2: Analyze internal communication patterns
Examine email conversations, chat conversations, and internal discussions – Where are new ideas being raised?
Step 3: Hold more casual idea generation activities.
Guarantee your employees a way to express themselves on innovations in a stress free environment.
Step 4: Listen to the complaints – Some of the best ideas are born from the complaints. You can ask the teams what problems they encounter daily and what solutions they can think of.
Through these steps, marketers can bridge the gap between microcultures and management so that good ideas do not get drowned out.
Looking Beyond the Organization
Innovation is not only limited to internal teams. External microcultures; startups, academic institutions, or even customer communities can also provide new ideas. Other companies, including Google and Philips, have adopted this approach.
Google is perhaps one of the most famous companies to have implemented this concept with its well-known “20% time policy” which allowed employees to work on their own projects, which led to the creation of products like Gmail and Google Maps.
How Can Marketers Leverage External Microcultures?
This is how:
Go to industry gatherings and engage in innovation networks.
Establish partnership with startups and universities to develop new ideas together.
Interact with customers to identify trends and gain new perspectives.
When companies harness both internal and external innovation microcultures, they build a culture of innovation.
Conclusion:
Revealing the Otherwise Invisible Innovation Networks. Innovation microcultures are mostly dormant and have a great deal of potential. Those organizations that embrace and foster these often hidden networks have a clear competitive advantage.
In the case of marketers, it is important to play the role of a explorer, a listener, and a facilitist of experiments. The best ideas are never made in the boardroom; they are made in some not so obvious place and are just waiting to be discovered.
