EMPLOYEE INNOVATION SYSTEM
B. AYESTARAN / M. CERVANTES / J. LEE / R. NECHAS / A.ROBERTSON INSTITUTE OF DESIGN / DESIGN PLANNING / SPRING 2009
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The people in this department, they’re here because they love the city. They’re here
the way that they interact with their city or
their city interacts with them.
Table of Contents Problem 2 Problem as stated: Employee Innovation System 3 Problem reframed: Widening the scope of system Research 5 Secondary research: Learning from best practices 8 Primary research: Learning from current practices Solution Generation 12 Solutions generated: A catalogue of solution concepts 68 Solution systems: Three-phase rollout
PROBLEM STATED The city wants to capture the ideas of frontline substantial cost savings, service improvements, and/or new revenue .
CITY ’S PROPOSED SOLUTION Emphasis on web-portal Success criteria: The One Big Idea Individual submissions Centralized Closed access Need to design implementation track
RESEARCH FINDINGS Many employees do not use computers at work City already has a number of functional analog innovation systems Existing systems meet some departments' needs Employees are interested in incremental ideas that improve their work Collaboration leads to winning ideas Idea selection takes place at the department level Some employees think system should be open to the public Current systems take ideas to implementation
PROBLEM REFRAME Create an idea submission system to generate ideas, substantial cost savings, service improvements, and/or new revenue and foster an innovation culture in the city.
THE SYSTEM WILL :
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It’s a process change, but it’s also a culture change. You can change any process, but if you don’t change the culture, that’s where it stops.
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There is really a can-do spirit in the city. I don’t care what the perceptions are. People work hard. They have a lot of respect for what they’re doing. And they want to make the city better.
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[Frontliners] know what they need to do their job - what would improve their ability to do their job. What would make it easier. They know. It’s just really no one asks.
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CHALLENGES Communication and culture The city has a chain-of-command culture. Its primary communication channels are, for the most part, top down. Complex Infrastructure Over 35,000 employees spread out over 44 departments have very Public Scrutiny Because the city is a government organization, all their programs are subject to issues of public scrutiny. Additional complexity for consideration: The city is dealing with a budget crisis. Recent layoffs have left the city workforce feeling understaffed and hesitant to offer new ideas that may lead to more work.
DESIGN CRITERIA The Employee Innovation System must facilitate a culture of bidirectional communication. The System must include multiple methods of communication, both digital and analog. The System must protect the privacy and security of sensitive government information. The Employee Innovation System must be budget conscious. The System must build the trust of employees.
4
POPULAR APPROACHES TO EMPLOYEE INNOVATION Software systems Bright Idea, for example, is the company who built the idea management software system for the popular website Innocentive. Like Bright Idea, that is largely without computer access. Analog systems The GE Workout is a series of two-day, structured meetings meant to identify, work in the private sector, the expense and loss of work is just not feasible for a government organization. Furthermore, city problems often involve ordinance, and these are not issues that can be solved on the spot at meetings. Suggestion boxes This tool is simply not strong enough to carry ideas from frontline employees through several layers of bureaucracy to implementing powers.
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INNOVATION CULTURE Best Practices
Elements
Corporate Examples
Create Social Contact
• Have frequent contact among employees. • Encourage informal contact. • Establish ties across departments. • Set up mentors across departments. • Bring together interdisciplinary teams.
Google has "all-hands" meetings every Friday with beer. Toyota employees sit in open spaces to avoid communication barriers. Toyota employees are encouraged to cultivate informal ties by joining clubs. Toyota uses professional mentoring to encourages ties across department structures. The GE Workout brings together people from all disciplines to tackle a problem.
Make Innovation a Responsibility
• Make it part of job description. • Expect innovation, dedication, and hard work
Google budgets innovation into employee time. Toyota evaluates managers on their ideas more than successes, and encourages them to be open about failures.
Articulate a Clear Vision
• Clearly articulated values • Culture aligns with innovation culture
At Toyota, old and new values come together GE Work Out groups tackle archaic bureaucratic process
Create a Stimulating Environment
• Create a thinking environment • Disseminate knowledge • Be a contrarian. • Cultivate all your skills
Google regularly brings in well-known speakers. Toyota wants "everybody to know everything" by transmitting knowledge horizontally as well as vertically. At GE, employees are encouraged to question antiquated company practices. divisions on topic that interests them.
Believe in Employees
Foster Experimentation
6
• Have managers talk with employees. • Take managers to the frontline. • Value employees as the most important asset.
• Encourage experimentation, tolerate failure. • Reward learning and ideas over immediate successes
GE creates an energizing dialogue, instead of having everyone Toyota founders emphasized the importance of management Google managers say that employees know more than they do: "Nor are we smarter that thousands of our bright, motivated employees." The Toyota Prius was the result of several experiments that initially failed. Toyota uses this criteria in performance evaluations.
IDEA MANAGEMENT Feature
Principles
Corporate Examples
Purpose
• Set scope of ideas •
Toyota encourages incremental change. Employees are encouraged to tackle large goals by breaking them into little pieces. The logo is "think deeply but take small steps." At GE Workouts employees identify issues together.
Perspective change
•
Foster participation
• Selectively involve wide audiences. • Get all kinds of ideas.
Personal Touch
• Identify innovation mentors • Train mentors to guide participants
Collaboration
• Encourage employees to work together to develop ideas before submission.
At Google, employees contact colleagues in other departments when they need help working out an idea.
Peer review
• Have brainstorming sessions. • Use a chat or wiki feature to spark discussion. • Allow peers to vote on and rate ideas to test market value.
At GE, solutions are found in an open forum and employees are empowered to carry them out AT IBM, Thinkplace is a wiki/chat where individual users post ideas to generate momentum behind them. Google uses a web tool to let employees rate ideas and post comments.
Recognize Contribution
• Provide regular feedback • Provide rewards (not necessarily monetary)
Clear Structure
• Follow a structured review process.
Implementation
• Link ideas to improvements to help build motivation.
way. ideas come to fruition.
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INTERVIEWS 13 interviews were conducted over 6 weeks Interviewees were selected with input from the Project Sponsors. A mix of departments were selected according to 3 primary factors: Diversity of department functions and capabilities Diversity of innovation practices Department availability for interviews Project Sponsors (4 interviews) Department of Innovation and Technology
Department Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners (3 interviews) Department of Revenue Department of Human Resources Department of Transportation Middle Management and Frontline Employees (6 interviews) Department of Family and Support Services Department of Transportation Department of Revenue Department of Human Resources
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CITY BEST PRACTICES On a department by department basis, there are solutions in place to improve communication and encourage idea submission to varying degrees of success. Collecting and Documenting New Ideas
Utilizing Communication Tools
• Mayor
• Nextel radios
•
• Mobile devices • GPS enabled tracking
• Director’s Council in the Department of Revenue
• Department-level idea competitions in the Department of • Web portal Innovation and Technology
• E-newletters • Paycheck distribution
Leveraging Employee Expertise
•
• Long-term employees leverage their breadth and/or depth of expertise to improve work processes • Employees in middle management may have a unique
• Special Projects in the Department of Human Resources
position that keeps them regularly engaged with frontline • Self-formed peer groups in the Department of Innovation employees while also having some access to leadership
and Technology • Long-term employees build cross-departmental
Engaging Leadership • leaders interested in employee input and feedback make it a priority
relationships and contacts over time • Concrete crews in the Department of Transportation work together on a daily basis
• leaders receptive to employee input ask for that feedback • leaders spend time working directly with frontline employees
• Quarterly recognition • City perks
Looking to External Resources • Consultants
• Photos with Mayor
• Experts and partners in the private sector
• Presentation opportunities
• Other cities
• Humor and appreciation in the Department of Innovation
• Sister agencies
and Technology
• Conferences • Self-initiated peer networks • Seasonal employees and contractors
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WHERE DOES INNOVATION FIT INTO THE CURRENT CITY SYSTEM ? An analysis of the interviews combined with previous secondary research resulted in nearly 300 insights. BREAKDOWNS Lack of Bottom-Up Communication Lack of Leadership Buy-In Internal Mistrust External Mistrust Coping with Scale Lack of Respecting Workload Lack of Transparency Lack of Lateral Communication Lack of Incentives OBJECTIVES Work Process Improvement Collaboration Clarity Security Feedback Recognition NEEDS Customization Clarity Alignment Respect of Workload Training Acknowledgement Both incremental and “big” ideas 10
RESEARCH INSIGHTS TO DESIGN PRINCIPLES Communication Infrastructure
Employee Motivation
• Provide communication channel for employees to give ideas. • Provide appropriate modes of communication. • Communicate with all (35,000+) employees. • Facilitate communication across various departments. • Facilitate communication across various areas of expertise.
• Provide employees with incentives to participate.
Employee Support • Provide training for system. • Provide means for personal contact.
Collaboration • Encourage external collaboration. • Facilitate employee collaboration.
Employee Value • Respect employee workload. • Leverage employee expertise. • Improve work experience
Department Buy-In • Ensure leadership buy-in. • Allow for department customization. • Accommodate big and little ideas
Clarity • Provide procedural feedback throughout the process. • Provide clear objectives for employees. • Make process clear for employees. • Provide clear timelines
Tangibility • Direct ideas to implementation. • Provide a way for system evaluation of success. • Provide employees communication channels to give feedback before implementation.
Longevity • Not rely on individual owner. • Improve the image of the city. • Provide a way to archive processed ideas. • Be continual over time.
Trust • Protect employees from internal politics or retribution • Protect the city from media, public scrutiny/ misinterpretation, and politics. • Provide clear selection criteria • Provide clear path of authorship. 11
SOLUTION CATALOGUE 1.
Common Employee Touchpoints
29.
Online Collaboration & Idea Sharing Forum
2.
Message/Announcement Distribution
30.
Middle Management Conference Series
3.
Newsletter
31.
GE Workout
4.
Mid-Level Empowerment
32.
Special Teams Initiatives
5.
March Idea Madness
33.
Inter-Departmental Contact Directory
6.
Innovation Chair
34.
Quarterly Idea Reviews
7.
Open Access
35.
Voluntary Participation
8.
Incremental Build
36.
Voicemail
37.
Tracking Number
9. 10.
Contact/Communication Area
38.
Citizen Contribution
11.
Shift Overlap
39.
311 Innovation Line
12.
Open Floor Plan
40.
Cell Phone Submission
41.
Automatic Feedback for Every Idea
13. 14.
Director’s Council
42.
15.
Wiki: Best of…
43.
Private Sector Board
16.
Year Book
44.
Popular Vote
45.
Award Ceremony
17. 18.
Employee Posters/PR
46.
19.
Empower Employees
47.
20.
System Training Incorporated into Pre-Existing Training Sessions
48.
21.
Idea Life Cycle Map
49.
Career Builder
22.
Innovation Mentor
50.
Collectible Badges & Redeemable Perk Points
23.
The Academy
51.
Competition Between Departments
24.
Rotating “Idea Council”
52.
Employee/Manager Incentive
25.
Publicize
53.
Impact Visualization by Ward
26.
Launch Party Idea Exchange
54.
Implementation Team Lead
27.
Idea Matchmaker
55.
Cross-Disciplinary Implementation Teams
28.
Inter-Departmental Open House & Shadowing Events
12
Presenting Idea
SOLUTION CONCEPT
1
Common Employee Touchpoints There are touchpoints, such as the Chronos clock and paycheck stubs, that all employees interact with on a regular basis. Identifying these indicates where to put important communication material and the most appropriate medium for it.
bulletin board
chronos
computer station
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Provide communication channel for employees to give ideas
• Uses existing touchpoints
• Provide appropriate modes of communication
Con • Communicates with all employees
• Communicate with all employees • Facilitate communication across various departments • Facilitate communication across various areas of expertise
13
SOLUTION CONCEPT
2
Message/Announcement Distribution City extends and maximizes its communication reach with current and available tools and technology. Announcements are customized
Cells/Blackberrys
Nextel
E-mail/Blog
NEWSLETTER
NEWS
Newsletter
Fixed Screens
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Communicate with all employees
• Uses existing touchpoints
• Facilitate communication across various departments
Con
• Facilitate communication across various areas of expertise
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• Communicates with all employees
SOLUTION CONCEPT
3
Newsletter A newsletter is distributed that publicly recognizes employees for their idea contributions. It let’s people know what ideas are currently be considered and shares some of the best practices discovered from all the departments.
NEWSLETTER
e month!
Employee idea of th
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Communicate with all employees
• information on new ideas in the works
• Facilitate communication across various departments
•
• Facilitate communication across various areas of expertise • Leverage employee expertise • Improve work experience • Provide employees with incentives to participate
ideas to people who can build or implement them
Con • recognition • participation and collaboration • accessible to everyone
• Facilitate employee collaboration • Provide a way to archive processed ideas • Be continual over time
15
SOLUTION CONCEPT
4
Mid-level Empowerment Empower managers to implement ideas. Not all ideas need to go to senior management. Let ideas be implemented at the level where it is possible and makes sense.
This idea requires policy change.
This idea is a quick win! Let’s implement now!
This idea requires funding.
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Accommodate big and little ideas
• information on new ideas in the works
•
• the process
• Direct ideas to implementation
ideas to people who can build or implement them
Con • recognition • participation and collaboration • accessible to everyone
16
SOLUTION CONCEPT
5
March Idea Madness A seasonal period when the whole city, or group of departments, gets involved in an intense brainstorming/submission session. of voting, until the most prominent ideas remain.
MARCH 2010
Idea Madness!!!
!!!
Relevant Design Principles • Facilitate communication across various departments • Accommodate big and little ideas • Provide clear time lines • Provide clear selection criteria • the process • Provide a way to archive processed ideas • Be continual over time
17
SOLUTION CONCEPT
6
Innovation Chair An innovation chair is a leadership position that would own the EIS. They would be in charge of issuing challenges, organizing event and time lines, providing training, keeping archives, and directing ideas to implementation. Beneath the Innovation Chair would be facilitators and mentors, and beneath them would be liaisons between the program and departments. Innovation Chair
facilitators, mentors
department liaisons
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Communicate with all employees
• leadership fro ongoing program
• Make process clear for employees
• system of mentors and facilitators
• Provide training for system
• liaisons between departments and program leadership
• Provide means for personal contact • Direct ideas to implementation • Not rely on individual owner • Provide a way to archive processed ideas • Be continual over time
Con • provides program ownership and longevity • provides human contact for employees • provides training
18
SOLUTION CONCEPT
7
Open Access Everything the city does is subject to public scrutiny. While the city wants all the idea from employees, including those that identify some current problems, perhaps especially those, the city does not want that information on the front page of the newspaper. The city needs to confront this head on, and consider this project a cultural change, a time of openness and transparency. It should be celebrated instead of feared.
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Protect the city from media, public scrutiny/misinterpretation, and politics
• open, public system • involve media, public in process
• Improve the image of the city • Encourage external collaboration
Con • encourages media and public buy-in • improves image of city • encourages collaboration by not limiting access
19
SOLUTION CONCEPT
8
Incremental Build Start small and build to decrease chance of system failure.
Relevant Design Principles • Allow for department customization • Accommodate big and little ideas • Be continual over time
20
SOLUTION CONCEPT
9
An Innovation mentor, or computer program, provides general guidelines for department heads and leads them through a series of customized idea generating models.
I think that for your size department I would suggest first implementing “X” and “Z”, followed by “A”.
Starters
Starters
Entrees
Entrees
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Allow for department customization
• Logging idea time hours
• Provide appropriate modes of communication
• Collects monthly idea list
• Should respect employee workload • Leverage employee expertise • Improve work experience • Provide a way for system evaluation of success • Provide clear selection criteria
21
SOLUTION CONCEPT
10
Contact/Communication Area A scheduled time and place for communication. Employees may submit ideas, schedule brainstorm sessions, catch up on city announcements.
Submission Station
Fixed Content Screen
NEWS
Digital Calendar
Relevant Design Principles • Provide communication channel for employees to give ideas • Provide appropriate modes of communication • Facilitate communication across various areas of expertise • Provide training for system • Facilitate employee collaboration
22
SOLUTION CONCEPT
11
Shift Overlap Shift change meetings that allow personal interaction and communication between employees. They share best practices on a day-to-day basis.
Great! Thanks!
10 am
3 pm 2:45 pm
9 pm
Relevant Design Principles • Provide appropriate modes of communication • Facilitate communication across various areas of expertise • Facilitate employee collaboration
23
SOLUTION CONCEPT
12
Open Floor Plan Collaboration is an important tool for innovation. Workspace can be designed to encourage and optimize the sharing of ideas.
Relevant Design Principles • Improve work experience • Facilitate employee collaboration
24
SOLUTION CONCEPT
13
department. It is particularly useful for brainstorming and disseminating information to all employees in a department at the same time..
look at these ideas
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Communicate with all employees
• Brainstorming sessions
• Facilitate communication across various areas of expertise
• Collaboration between employees
• Facilitate employee collaboration
Con • Connects employees • Quick dissemination of information
25
SOLUTION CONCEPT
14
Director’s Council The Director’s Council is a monthly meeting lead by a department’s by their peers. The representatives are elected to serve as conduits of frontline employee issues that require resolution from above. This format allows for timely problem resolution as well as fosters communication and connection across divisions.
Director
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Provide communication channel for employees to give ideas
• Conduit for issues from frontline
• Facilitate communication across various areas of expertise
Con
• Facilitate employee collaboration
• Problem-solving across divisions
• Provide means for personal contact
26
• More face-time with director
SOLUTION CONCEPT
15
Best of... A Wiki in which employees may share best practices. It would allow Performance Managers to start building historical data for measuring success (metrics). The Wiki also archives all submitted ideas, which, together with the metrics, can be printed in manual format.
Manual
CityWiki
CityWiki for best-practice and idea archive.
CityWiki used to create performance manuals.
Relevant Design Principles • Provide communication channel for employees to give ideas • Communicate with all employees • Facilitate communication across various departments • Facilitate communication across various areas of expertise • Facilitate employee collaboration • Leverage employee expertise • Accommodate big and little ideas • Provide a way to archive processed ideas
27
SOLUTION CONCEPT
16
Yearbook This can be a year book or annual magazine of the best ideas. It is a way of recognizing employees as well as sharing and archiving ideas.
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Communicate with all employees
• annual collection of all submitted ideas
• Facilitate communication across various departments
• featured employees
• Facilitate communication across various areas of expertise
• lists of best practices discovered
• Employee Value: Leverage employee expertise
Con
• Provide employees with incentives to participate
• archive
• Provide a way to archive processed ideas • Be continual over time
28
• recognition • accessible
SOLUTION CONCEPT
17
Instead of living in fear of the media, the city could openly celebrate the ideas of their employees on the official web site of the city. This will demonstrate transparency, change the image of the city, and celebrate the city’s employees.
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Protect the city from media, public scrutiny/misinterpretation, and politics
• page on city’s official web site • features employees and ideas
• Provide employees with incentives to participate
Con
• Communicate with all employees
• recognition
• Improve the image of the city
• inexpensive to maintain • good image for the city • demonstrates employee value
29
SOLUTION CONCEPT
18
Employee Posters/PR Employees are featured in launch/appreciation campaigns throughout the city. They could be “idea of the moth” employees.
GOOD IDEA
Relevant Design Principles • Provide employees with incentives to participate • Improve the image of the city • Leverage employee expertise
30
32nd Ward CDoT WORKING HARD
SOLUTION CONCEPT
19
Empower Employees Empowered employees can make small changes in their environment that improve their work experience. Requires clear communication and understanding about why things work the way they do and the steps one takes toward making changes.
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Leverage employee expertise
• Clear communication
• Improve work experience
• Protocols
• Improve the image of the city
Con • Solving problems fast • Improve work experience • Increase pride in work
31
SOLUTION CONCEPT
20
System Training Incorporated into Pre-Existing Training Training sessions for the idea submission system are incorporated into managers. This is an opportunity to disseminate information and system
Citywide Project Management Training Today’s Agenda •......... •......... • EIS Idea Capture & Brainstorming
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Communicate with all employees
• training sessions include both analog and digital options to take back to home departments
• Should respect employee workload • Provide clear objectives for employees • Make process clear for employees • Provide training for system • Provide means for personal contact
Con • builds interest at mid-level that can both support leadership and encourage front-line employees • taps into potential pool of system mentors
32
SOLUTION CONCEPT
21
Idea Life Cycle Map Visualizations of the idea submission process are laid out both online and as hard copies to clarify process of idea life cycle to employees. These visuals are introduced during system training and are included as part of a tutorial. Employees can see where their idea is in the process. they can see when their idea is moved forward or if it has been rejected. These visual system maps can help establish a common understanding of expectations.
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Provide appropriate modes of communication
• maps also available on mobile devices
• Provide procedural feedback throughout the process • Make process clear for employees • Provide clear time lines • Provide clear selection criteria • Provide clear path of authorship • Provide training for system • Provide a way to archive processed ideas
• same visualization can be used to show what stage a submitted idea is in the process as a tracking and documentation
Con • supports common understanding and clarity of process • provides ongoing feedback visually • can be extended to become a tool for documentation
33
SOLUTION CONCEPT
22
Innovation Mentor System Mentors are a committee of city employees with deep knowledge Mentors facilitate the idea submission process and serve as a personal point of reference for other employees. Employees with successful idea may become a mentor for other employees. This helps spread techniques and give people with trouble a starting point and a human contact.
Is this a good idea?
It’s not too clear yet, but I can help.
= Innovation Mentor
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Communicate with all employees
• Mayor’s Fellows could be mentors
• Provide communication channel for employees to give ideas
• mentors may be selected by peer election or as volunteers
• Leverage employee expertise
• committee of mentors could be permanent or rotating
• Improve work experience • Provide procedural feedback throughout the process • Provide clear objectives for employees • Make process clear for employees • Provide training for system • Provide means for personal contact
34
Con • Mentors with time dedicated shows city priority on employee ideas • Mentors provide personal contact
SOLUTION CONCEPT
23
The Academy When someone wins an Oscar they become part a member of the Academy which means they gain special access to further involvement, future submissions. This could be a way to build a group of mentors and
= Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Leverage employee expertise
• employees with winning ideas become part of the evaluating board that chooses the next winning ideas
• Provide employees with incentives to participate • Provide training for system • Provide means for personal contact • the process • Not rely on individual owner
Con • resume building incentive • recognition • system infrastructure is self-building
• Be continual over time
35
SOLUTION CONCEPT
24
Rotating “Idea Council” Department representatives rotate from “term” to term. Representatives work for their departments part-time and the rest of the time is spent working on running/implementing Idea System and Council.
Jan. - Apr.
CDoT
Revenue
HR
CDoT
Revenue
HR
CDoT
Revenue
HR
May - Aug.
Sept.- Dec.
Relevant Design Principles • Provide communication channel for employees to give ideas • Ensure leadership buy-in • Facilitate employee collaboration • Be continual over time
36
SOLUTION CONCEPT
25
Publicize Utilizes media to publicize and promote EIS launch and EIS Submission Cycle
NEWS
You Tube NEWS
Television
YouTube/City Web
Printed Media
Relevant Design Principles • Provide appropriate modes of communication • Communicate with all employees • Make process clear for employees • Provide clear time lines • Protect the city from media, public scrutiny/misinterpretation, and politics • Improve the image of the city
37
SOLUTION CONCEPT
26
Launch Party Idea Exchange The Launch Party is a cross-departmental social event used to mark the beginning of an idea submission cycle and encourage both idea exchange and excitement among employees. These interdepartmental social events can be extended beyond launch time to maintain momentum and foster continued idea exchange outside of regular work parameters.
Employee Inn ation is Here! ov That’s a great idea! Let’s work on that together...
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Communicate with all employees
• Idea Exchange Cards with contact information and space to include notes about ideas exchanged can be shared between employees
• Facilitate communication across various departments • Provide means for personal contact • Improve work experience • Encourage external collaboration • Facilitate employee collaboration
38
Con • builds culture of idea exchange • encourages interaction and professional relationship building outside scope of normal work routines and environments
SOLUTION CONCEPT
27
Idea Matchmaker Mode 1: A performance manager sets up people (e.g. based on resumes) who should meet for a brainstorming session or collaborate in a project. Mode 2: An online system matches idea collaborators based on interests, backgrounds, assessment surveys.
Mode 1:
CDoT
Mode 2:
Revenue
HR
HR
Relevant Design Principles • Facilitate communication across various departments • Facilitate communication across various areas of expertise • Leverage employee expertise • Allow for department customization • Provide clear path of authorship • Facilitate employeecollaboration • Not rely on individual owner
39
SOLUTION CONCEPT
28
Inter-Departmental Open House & Shadowing Events Periodic open house events are hosted by each department and open to employees across the city. These open house visits help employees understand potential connections, and common problems or solutions
Yeah. Any suggestions to make it work better?
Is that something you deal with every day? Me too...
CDoT
Open House Lunch Lecturette And for this one project, our team...
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Facilitate communication across various departments
• possible activities within the day could include job shadowing, lunchtime “lecturette” presentations, informal observations, a breakfast “social
• Facilitate communication across various areas of expertise • Leverage employee expertise • Improve work experience • Provide means for personal contact • Encourage external collaboration • Facilitate employee collaboration
40
Con • allows opportunity for idea exchange and cross-departmental learning • provides potential for “accidental discovery” of common functions, problems, and/or solutions
Water
SOLUTION CONCEPT
29
Online Collaboration & Idea Sharing Forum The collaboration and idea sharing forum is accessible on the city’s web portal for employees to view ideas from other employees. Employees post ideas they are working on, and can view, comment with feedback, build on, or add to other ideas posted.
Time Saving Ideas
Technology Ideas
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Encourage external collaboration
• ideas are sorted and tagged by topic, related departments, and other information to make ideas searchable
• Facilitate employee collaboration • Provide a way to archive processed ideas
Con • fosters development of ideas in greater detail • reduces idea redundancy • can serve as a documentation and archiving tool
41
SOLUTION CONCEPT
30
Middle Management Conference Series Middle management has a unique position of bridging the gap between front-line realities and upper-level objectives. An inter-departmental conference for middle management employees provides the opportunity to share best practices and problem-solve across domains of expertise. One possible way of organizing workshops could be through scenarios, which all possible parties involved can meet to discuss problems and solutions.
Heatwave Scenario Workshop
CDoT
CPD
FSS
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Facilitate communication across various departments
• external partners, advisors, and/or experts may also participate
• Facilitate communication across various areas of expertise
• conference results and ideas are shared with leadership
• Leverage employee expertise • Improve work experience • Provide means for personal contact • Encourage external collaboration • Facilitate employee collaboration
42
Con • problems may be solved and implemented at a pragmatic level • common problems may be shared
DOIT
CPL
SOLUTION CONCEPT
31
GE Workout Facilitated day-long meetings. Employees break into small groups, work on problems, and present their solutions.
Relevant Design Principles • Facilitate communication across various departments • Facilitate communication across various areas of expertise • Accommodate big and little ideas • Provide clear objectives for employees • Make process clear for employees • Provide clear time lines • Provide means for personal contact • Facilitate employee collaboration
43
SOLUTION CONCEPT
32
Special Teams Initiatives Special Teams consist of small volunteer groups of employees who conduct problem area.
Special Teams Report
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Provide communication channel for employees to give ideas
• small rotating employee teams
• Facilitate communication across various areas of expertise • Leverage employee expertise • Improve work experience • Provide clear path of authorship • Provide employees with incentives to participate • Provide means for personal contact • Facilitate employee collaboration
44
• selection based on volunteering or peer nominations • teams present to department and leadership
Con • employees are motivated by topic interest and opportunity to present • small groups foster focused and collaborative problem-solving
SOLUTION CONCEPT
33
Inter-Departmental Contact Directory The Inter-Departmental Contact Directory is a book (which could be digital and/or analog) of contacts in various departments. Each contact listing would provide a brief description of the person’s role to help clarify who to best contact directly about exploring various ideas which might be relevant to a
CD o
T Contacts CDo
p De
T Contacts
De
p
a te W f to
r
ater fW to
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Facilitate communication across various departments
• book includes tags by expertise that are indexed in back to help highlight and search relevant contacts that may be in unexpected departments
• Facilitate communication across various areas of expertise • Encourage external collaboration • Facilitate employee collaboration
Con • new or special employee expertise that are not highlighted by a job description may be shared
45
SOLUTION CONCEPT
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Quarterly Idea Reviews Idea submission is an expected part of the quarterly department performance reviews.
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Ensure leadership buy-in
• idea submission is on the agenda at quarterly performance reviews
• Provide clear time lines • Not rely on individual owner • Be continual over time
Con • ensures leadership buy in
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SOLUTION CONCEPT
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Voluntary Participation Participation in the program should be entirely voluntary. Those who feel they have something to contribute should be encouraged to do so, and those that do not should not be castigated.
i have an idea
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Should respect employee workload
• Employee chooses to participate
• Leverage employee expertise • Improve work experience
Con • Empowers employees
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SOLUTION CONCEPT
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Voicemail A voicemail box is a low-cost, automated way to collect ideas. Participants call a number and leave a message with their idea.
please leave a message with your idea *BEEP*
Relevant Design Principles • Communication Infrastructure: Provide communication channel for employees to give ideas
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SOLUTION CONCEPT
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Tracking Number Employees receive a tracking number when they enter an idea. This allows them to keep their names as anonymous as they choose, while making sure their authorship is on record so they can receive any rewards that deserve. Like a FedEx tracking number, this will also allow them to see where there idea is in the process.
Thank you! Your idea tracking number is 94750457130498120
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Make process clear for employees
• tracking number for each idea submitted
• Protect employees from internal politics or retribution • Provide clear path of authorship
Con • allows trackable anonymous entries • helps employees get feedback
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SOLUTION CONCEPT
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Citizen Contribution Citizen contribution allows residents to communicate their suggestions for city improvement. This method requires open communication and engagement of the public.
more crosswalks....
i have an idea!
Relevant Design Principles • Encourage external collaboration • Improve the image of the city
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SOLUTION CONCEPT
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311 Innovation Line The 311 Innovation Line is open to anyone with a suggestion for improvements in the city. The system provides a tracking number for the caller’s idea which allows him/her to watch the progress of his/her idea as it progresses. The operator may also direct an idea to the area that is best equipped to implement it.
thank you for calling
Relevant Design Principles • Provide communication channel for employees to give ideas • Direct ideas to implementation
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SOLUTION CONCEPT
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Cell Phone Submission Employee uses a cell phone’s text and camera functions to submit ideas to a central number. The cell phone is a tool nearly everyone already has and knows how to use, thus making it easy to adopt for this system.
idea
Relevant Design Principles • Provide communication channel for employees to give ideas • Provide appropriate modes of communication • Communicate with all employees
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SOLUTION CONCEPT
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Automatic Feedback for Every Idea Every time an employee submits an idea they receive a personal thank you.
Thank you!
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Facilitate communication across various departments
• a response of gratitude for every idea submitted
• Provide employees with incentives to participate
Con • employees feel appreciated
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SOLUTION CONCEPT
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employees.
Small Pay-off
Easy to Implement
Tough to Implement
Quick Win
Time Wasters
Bonus Opportunities
Big Pay-off
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Provide clear objectives for employees
• quick tool for early idea evaluation
• Make process clear for employees • Provide training for system • the process
Con • provides easy guidelines for employees • rid of some and immediately implementing some
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Special Efforts
SOLUTION CONCEPT
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Private Sector Board
Chase Bank
Relevant Design Principles
IIT
McKinsey
University of Chicago
Doblin
Concept Features
• Protect the city from media, public scrutiny/misinterpretation, and politics • Encourage external collaboration
Con
•
• encourages external collaboration the process
• ideas • spreads out accountability
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SOLUTION CONCEPT
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Popular Vote Employees vote and comment on each other’s ideas. Providing collaboration, submitter. As an extension, city residents could also be invited to vote on ideas submitted by employees. This will ensure public buy-in. It will provide
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Provide appropriate modes of communication
• employees can vote and on
• Protect the city from media, public scrutiny/misinterpretation, and politics
• residents can vote
• Leverage employee expertise
collaborate on each other’s ideas • ideas posted on public city web site
• Make process clear for employees
Con
•
• gives employees clear feedback the process
• ensures employee & public buy-in on new initiatives • encourages external collaboration
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SOLUTION CONCEPT
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Award Ceremony A ceremony where employees who have submitted successful ideas can be recognized publicly. This may have a tie-in withe Kathy Osterman Awards.
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Provide employees with incentives to participate
• annual award ceremony • adding an “innovation award” to Kathy Osterman awards
Con • substantial recognition • demonstrates value of ideas to the city
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SOLUTION CONCEPT
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and get a personalized “thank you.” This can also include presentation of a
Thank you!
photo with Chief of Staff
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Provide employees with incentives to participate • Provide means for personal contact
• photo shoot
Con • inexpensive reward and recognition • demonstrates leadership valuing employees
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SOLUTION CONCEPT
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Presenting Idea This is an opportunity for employees to present their ideas. This may be to an audience from the private sector or to senior management of the city. It shows appreciate for the individual behind the contribution.
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Employee Motivation: Provide employees • external partners, advisors, and/or with incentives to participate experts may also participate • conference results and ideas are shared with leadership
Con • recognition • develops new skills
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SOLUTION CONCEPT
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Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Provide employees with incentives to participate
Con • inexpensive incentive
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SOLUTION CONCEPT
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Career Builder When an employee contributes a successful idea, a letter will be placed in Working on innovation teams and submitting successful ideas may be worthy of a line on one’s resume. These actions allow employees to stretch their abilities and let the program be integral in personal career growth.
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Improve work experience
• put employees on challenging projects for job growth
• Provide clear objectives for employees • Provide employees with incentives to participate
• category in performance review
Con • projects become opportunities • meaningful for employees careers • cash incentive in long run • will remain even if program ends
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SOLUTION CONCEPT
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Collectible Badges & Redeemable Perk Points This is an opportunity for employees to present their ideas. This may be to an audience from the private sector or to senior management of the city. It shows appreciate for the individual behind the contribution.
stickers lapel pin
patches
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Provide employees with incentives to participate
• individual pieces for each idea
• Be continual over time
• collectible
• a card worth a prize when completed • employees can choose
Con • encourages continued participation • inexpensive show of appreciation cultures
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SOLUTION CONCEPT
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Competition Between Departments Competition between departments over who has the best idea brings employees within departments closer together as well as drives up the quality of ideas. The promise of a reward and bragging rights provides incentive to participate.
water
CDoT
Relevant Design Principles • Improve work experience • Provide employees with incentives to participate
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SOLUTION CONCEPT
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Employee/Manager Incentive When an employee submits a successful idea, both he and his boss receive recognition. This will ensure leadership buy-in.
manager
employee
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Ensure leadership buy-in
• managers are rewarded for the participation of their employees
• Provide employees with incentives to participate
Con • ensures leadership buy-in
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SOLUTION CONCEPT
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Impact Visualization by Ward the city. This will help the public, the media, and alderman understand what more ideas.
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Protect the city from media, public scrutiny/misinterpretation, and politics
• online map visualization
• Provide employees with incentives to participate
• archive
• Provide a way for system evaluation of success
Con
• shows impact by ward
• Improve the image of the city
• encourages community & alderman buy-in
• Provide a way to archive processed ideas
• method for evaluation • makes process transparent
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SOLUTION CONCEPT
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Implementation Team Lead Employees who submit ideas that are selected for implementation have the opportunity to participate in the implementation of the idea.
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Employee Motivation: Provide employees • idea author takes a role on with incentives to participate implementation team • Tangibility: Direct ideas to implementation
Con • skill building for employee • incentive for employee • system infrastructure builds itself
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SOLUTION CONCEPT
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Cross-disciplinary Implementation Teams Cross-disciplinary teams created for implementation of winning ideas. Teams richness and to encourage skill growth among employees. And/or the teams will include relevant management when needed for changes in policy, budget needs, and technology needs.
frontline employee department B
frontline employee department A
frontline employee department C
special project budget
policy
technology
special project
Relevant Design Principles
Concept Features
• Facilitate communication across various departments
• cross-disciplinary implementation team
• Facilitate communication across various areas of expertise
Con
• Leverage employee expertise
• right people to get job done
• Facilitate employee collaboration • Direct ideas to implementation
• plan to implement
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SOLUTION SYSTEMS Various solution concepts from the previous section were pulled embodiments of what the employee innovation system could ultimately become : 1. event cycle 2. analog system 3. web portal
ROLL OUT The development of the full system would be carried out one solution at a time.
PHASE 1 EVENT CYCLE
Range of probable futures
Known set of possible futures
Clear enough future
8 weeks
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1 year
18 months
PHASE 2 ANALOG SYSTEM
Range of probable futures
Known set of possible futures
Clear enough future
8 weeks
PHASE 3 WEB PORTAL
1 year
18 months
Range of probable futures
Known set of possible futures
Clear enough future
8 weeks
1 year
18 months
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EVENT CYCLE An annual, month-long event designed to engage all employees in generating and submitting ideas.
OVERVIEW
one idea. Departments will gather ideas from their employees and vote on the best one. Mentoring will be available for guidance, but each department will determine their methods for brainstorming and collecting ideas work best for them. The best idea of each department will be presented at the end of the competition. Each idea author will receive a prize. At sector partners. The best idea will win a bigger prize for their department. The top 5 idea authors will be asked to be art of an implementation team along with a board of advisors made up of private sector partners and relevant senior management
ANALOG SYSTEM The system offers the opportunity for the city to customize a program that best fits the project scope and objective. Serving all, serving one.
OVERVIEW an entire department, or citywide. It must be noted that the most important element of the Analog System is that it prioritizes human interaction and the least amount of technology possible. It relies on the pragmatic notion that any department head/lead may supervise and implement the process by selecting from the Concept Catalogue. Mentors may be utilized to enable direct contact whenever there are cross departmental projects. Access to the systems is open to all city employees. The system coordinated and maintained collectively on an annual basis. Project processes and results are archived upon completion and best-practices recorded as they come.
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WEB PORTAL The system embodied as a web portal system is cyclical in nature with articulated goals and challenges.
OVERVIEW The system can be grown in phases, introducing the web tool to a handful of departments initially, and expanding to reach citywide over time. It is important to recognize that the web portal solution still requires a human element; supervised and implemented by the Department of Innovation and Technology, Innovation Mentors are utilized to enable direct contact with every department and its employees
Employee Account Page
Access to the system is open to all city employees; system results are also open to the public for viewing. The entire system, including both the human and technological components, is coordinated and maintained by the Department of Innovation and Technology.
Idea Description Page
TAGS:
IDEA TITLE
Idea Browsing Page
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