Public policies to stimulate, resource and sustain workplace innovation: European evidence and experience ROUNDTABLE 11TH - 12TH MAY 2016 Workplace innovation is increasingly recognised by the European Commission and by several national and regional governments in Europe as an important vehicle for the achievement of policy goals including productivity, product and service innovation, skills utilisation and development, health promotion and the retention of older workers. The fundamental premise underlying workplace innovation is that participative and empowering ways of organising and managing work enhance the ability of employees at all levels to use and develop their full range of skills, knowledge, experience and creativity, both in performing their functional tasks and in contributing to improvement and innovation. Workplace innovation seeks to broaden job roles and employee discretion at both individual and team levels, transcend vertical and horizontal demarcations, enable employee-led improvement and innovation, and engage the tacit knowledge of frontline workers in decision making (http://uk.ukwon.eu/the-fifth-element-new). There is a large and growing body of evidence to show that workplace innovation practices increase business performance, strengthen employee engagement and improve health. Based on this evidence it is reasonable to predict that such ways of working also enhance the engagement and well-being of older workers and delay retirement, a proposition currently being tested by the EU-funded Workage project led by Nottingham Trent University. National and regional programmes to support workplace innovation have existed in France and Germany since the 1970s, Finland since the mid-1990s, and Belgium from the early years of this century. More recently, governments in the Basque Country and Scotland have launched exciting new initiatives to promote participative and empowering workplace practices. The European Commission supports workplace innovation through the creation of EUWIN (the European Workplace Innovation Network) jointly facilitated by TNO and UK WON, and a further programme is anticipated in 2017. This is therefore a highly appropriate moment to share knowledge and experience of ‘what works’ in policy terms and to identify transferable lessons for the rest of Europe. The Roundtable As part of the Workage project, UK WON has organised a small roundtable on how national and regional policies stimulate, resource and sustain workplace innovation. It will also explore the impact of workplace innovation policies and programmes on the health, engagement and retirement decisions of older workers. Baroness Ros Altmann, UK Minister for Pensions, will join the Roundtable. Senior policymakers from the Basque Country, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany and Scotland will be hosted by Acas in London on 11th and 12th May. Representatives from BIS, DWP, UKCES and the Governments of Northern Ireland and Wales are warmly invited to take part. Professor Peter Totterdill, Chief Executive, UK WON peter.totterdill@ukwon.net www.workage.eu www.goodworkplaces.net 1
Programme Wednesday 11th May 14.00
Welcome and introductions
Sir Brendan Barber, Acas Peter Totterdill, UK WON
14.15
Opening Remarks
Baroness Ros Altmann, UK Minister for Pensions
14.30
Acas presentation
14.55
16.05
Opening statements by participants on workplace innovation policies and programmes Grzegorz Drozd DG GROW, European Commission Tuomo Alasoini TEKES, Finland Olivier MĂŠriaux ANACT, France Claudio Zettel German Government Clare Alexander Scottish Enterprise Mieke van Gramberen Flanders Synergy, Belgium Ainhoa Aizpuru Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, Spain Break
16.20
Response from UK participants and discussion
17.35
Summary of Day 1
17.45
CLOSE
20.00
Dinner
Thursday 12th May 08.45
Measuring the impact of policies and programmes: Health and well-being Engagement Retention of older workers Productivity Product and service innovation
10.45
Break
11.00
What works? And what are the transferable lessons?
12.30
Summing up
12.40
The future
Grzegorz Drozd
12.50
Closing remarks
Baroness Ros Altmann
13.00
CLOSE AND LUNCH
2