SOCIAL IMPACT
Professor Ian Williamson has spent the past 10 years studying innovation in organisations.
Based on this research he believes there are three key human capital issues organisations must address to have a thriving innovation culture.
• DIVERSITY
First, the firm must create an environment that supports diversity. We know that a big driver of innovation is the accumulation of diverse expertise and experiences. This allows organisations to consider issues from multiple perspectives and provides a wider range of resources to act on insights.
• SOCIAL CAPITAL
Second, firms must manage the social capital in their organisations. By this I mean firms should spend time thinking about the pattern of interactions that occur within and outside the firm. Our research shows that the social networks of a firm's employees play an important role in shaping new ideas and harnessing these ideas for new services, products and processes.
• FLEXIBILITY
Firms must then create an environment that supports flexibility. If an organisation wants innovation it must create an environment that encourages and supports employees behaving in different ways. Flexibility in how people work, when they work, and how they decide on which work to do is critical.
In Professor Williamson's presentation at the last World Business Forum in Sydney, he made a compelling case for diversity as a key business strategy.
Professor Williamson explained to the audience which was filled with senior leaders of the Australian business world that the following groups are under-utilised in the workforce.
• Migrants
• Older workers
• Indigenous people
• Young people
• People living with mental illness
• Women
• Individuals with disabilities
He argued that those organisations and industries which will provide a pathway for the under-represented to enter or re-enter the workforce will be the ones that will survive and thrive in the modern world.
And he challenged organisations to ask how they can serve and meet the needs of the community in which they reside if they don't reflect the diversity of that community.
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