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Famous Company Employee Innovation Programs
Famous Company Employee Innovation Programs
Quite a few big names are leading the way in innovation by allowing their employees time to pursue new projects and ideas, of their own design, for the brand. By allowing 15 or even 20 percent of the workweek for employees to pursue these other projects, companies are finding a surprising improvement in productivity. Perhaps part of the reason this is such a productivity boosting endeavor is that it lifts morale, rewards the efforts of proven performers, and allows employees to gain an even better understanding of the products and needs of the company.
It’s not the small startups alone that are beginning to see the strong need for innovation or the responsibility of the business to create an atmosphere that invites and encourages creativity — even the big names in the business are boarding the innovation train. These are a few fine examples of famous companies and the employee innovation programs they offer.
Google’s 20 Percent Rule
At Google, innovation is always encouraged. So is the idea of throwing out new ideas—no matter how untenable they may seem. In fact, Google encourages this from engineers at all levels of the playing field. It isn’t limited to engineers at the top of the heap. One way Google likes to really get the creative juices flowing within the business is by offer their engineers the 20 percent rule that allows them to spend up to 20 percent of their time working on their own projects.
Imagine being hired for a job that you only have to do 80 percent of the time? The other 20 percent, you get to work on whatever you want, as long as it advances the company.
How does this help? It forces employees to work through some of the more tedious tasks they have in order to move on and work on their own projects that really spark their interests. It also lets the employees know that their contributions are valued by the company.
Apple’s Blue Sky Program
While Steve Jobs wasn’t big on programs such as this according to this Wall Street Journal article, there’s a new sheriff in town at Apple and CEO Tim Cook is making changes to make the company even more employee friendly.
One of the most noteworthy changes is the Blue Sky program that allows a select group of employees time away (reportedly a few weeks) from their typical duties in order to work on new projects Apple has in the works. It’s a great way to reward excellence and keep employees motivated to excel.
In the past, employees stayed with their beloved Apple employer for a number of reasons, with the impressive stock options, loyalty to Steve Jobs, and devotion to Apple products being three of them. Now that greater competition is rearing its head and stock prices are coming back down to earth, the company is set to seek out new ways to engage and retain employees.
Other ideas that are being tossed around at Apple include: employee sabbaticals, employee discounts on merchandise, and charitable matching programs in addition to the Blue Sky programs.
IBM’s Think Fridays
IBM considers itself to be a real leader when it comes to innovation. One way the multinational technology enterprise believes they set the bar high is by offering “Think Fridays”. With this unique program, employees are given half a day each week to use as “think” time. In doing this, IBM leaders believe they are removing many of the obstacles other companies have in place that stifle creativity. Other ways they offer to create an atmosphere ripe for innovation is flexible scheduling and the ability for employees to work from home.
The bottom line, at least with IBM, is that it doesn’t matter what time of day great ideas happen or if employees are dressed for the office or wearing fuzzy slippers when they do.
While not every organization has the wherewithal to allow its employees to spend 20 percent of their time doing tasks not directly involved in what they were hired for, the success of these companies might provide you with some food for thought to consider implementing employee innovation programs in your organization.
