# 6 Making innovation part of job roles

What is it?
Innovation can be made part of an employee’s role, by writing it into their job description or allocating a proportion of their time to focus on innovation.

How to promote innovation in the local government workforce has been a hot topic in recent years. Some local authorities have begun to develop a set of core competencies related to innovation that are embedded in job descriptions. Performance against these 'innovation competencies' can be encouraged and rewarded through performance related pay. Other organisations have developed roles that allow staff to work on new ideas or service improvements for an allotted amount of time (see method #5).

How could I use it?
Local authorities and other organisations have been using different strategies to build innovation into staff roles, for example:

1.    Defining core competencies for innovation
Recognising that innovative capacity among staff is a key condition for innovation, some employers now embed core competencies related to innovation into the job descriptions of certain roles. These might include the ability to think creatively, skills to work with end service users, critical thinking, or knowledge and experience in change management. Recruiting staff with these skills from the outset can increase the likelihood of innovation in a team.

2.    Performance-related pay
Several local authorities now offer performance-related pay or bonuses, to reward innovative work. Studies have shown that bonuses can act as an effective incentive for employees to lift their performance.

3.    Time 'away from the job' to innovate
Allocating paid work time to generating new ideas is a concept pioneered in the USA and is mainly used in technologically companies. For example, at 3M Corporation scientists and engineers employed by the company are expected to spend 15 per cent of their time exploring new projects unrelated to their day jobs. This could be transferred to local authority roles too.

4.    Tithes of working time
Employers can give employees 'time off' to work on local projects. These projects can range from helping a community centre with DIY to giving professional advice or support to a voluntary organisation. Authorities have found this method helps officers and councillors to meet others in the community and see issues from new perspectives – an essential ingredient for innovation.

5.    Valuing frontline workers as innovators
Staff working in the frontline of public services are often attuned to the problems entrenched within such services and have empathy with service users’ perspectives. Through constant communication with customers, clients and fellow employees they are confronted first-hand with faults in the system. Given the time, responsibility and resources frontline workers have the potential to inform future solutions. By giving employees permission to think critically of the current system, legitimacy to air their views, and encouragement to propose solutions employers can nurture an innovation-friendly environment.

Where has it been used? 

1. Hewlett Packard
HP launched its Invent Campaign in 2000. The company pays its employees $175 for submitting inventions and another $1,750 if it files for a patent on the idea. 

2. Performance-related pay for social workers in Denmark
In Denmark, social workers helping the unemployed find work are rewarded through their pay based on the length of time it takes them to find employment for their client. Read more here.

More information
•    Performance-related pay, read more here or here
•    Why does performance-related pay work – psychology of employees?
•    Promoting exploration and innovation by staff members – the difficulties of motivating employees to be innovative
•    Why does Google’s model of 'time off from your day job' work?