A Quick Guide to Company Culture and Innovation

Which Culture Stifles Innovation?

Forbes describes corporate innovation as “having out-of-the-box thinking as a strategy within your business”. Therefore, it relies heavily on individual creativity and having the right ideas presented at the right time. Sadly, when innovation is only driven by top management, it's hard for other employees to be heard.

Worse still, it prevents intrapreneurs from taking ownership of their ideas or feeling able to experiment or test new innovations. Consequently, then, a top-down approach to innovation strangles creativity out of intrapreneurs and creates a fear of failure. When added to the fact that 79% of employees quit due to a lack of appreciation, it is clear that this outdated culture should be avoided. 

To move away from strict hierarchies, organizations must consciously put effort into adapting their company culture. KICKBOX by rready helps you to do so by changing traditional hierarchies to support decentralized intrapreneurship. 

By implementing a program like KICKBOX, organizations convey a powerful message to their employees – we believe in your potential and your ability to think outside the box. We want to uncover your hidden talents and provide you with the time and resources to explore your innovative ideas. This singular act serves as a catalyst in fostering a culture of innovation, trust, and creativity within the organization.

How does KICKBOX Intrapreneurship Affect Company Culture?

KICKBOX Intrapreneurship feeds into the process of unlocking employee creativity and can transform the overall company culture for several key reasons. The most telling aspects of the new culture include;

• All employees are encouraged to participate in innovation in a company-wide buy-in. Moreover, everyone in the organization has a fair chance with their idea, no matter their rank, experience and position, from managers, salespeople to call center agents or interns. 
• Furthermore, employees will have the freedom to work on their ideas while they are fresh and without seeking constant approvals. This helps keep intrapreneurs mentally engaged while also enabling them to learn from failures and subsequently build a sense of psychological safety.
• All ideas will be analyzed on their merits, ensuring that only the best ideas get through rather than focusing on who submitted them. Intrapreneurship can become accessible with the right tools, and the fact that ideas will be backed by data means projects can be worked on with greater confidence. 
• Employees are invited to shape the company’s future by unlocking the next big projects while also tapping into an innovation ecosystem, which may involve gaining feedback from clients or tapping into the knowledge of colleagues or other KICKBOX users. 
• Intrapreneurs feel valued and heard while they can also gain acknowledgment for all contributions, which is a far cry from the outdated cultures where only the big idea is celebrated. In turn, an internal brand heavily linked to innovation can be created across the organization.