Knowledge Base · Engagement
How do I run an innovation day for my team?
Model it on the book's Innovation Carnival: split the organisation into cross-functional teams, give every team one full day and a budget to spend on a real improvement project, then have every team present to close the day, with judges awarding prizes for the most innovative and impactful projects. Protect the day, fund it, and follow up what it produces.
The case study is a mid-sized beverage company. Engagement was low, innovation had stalled, and the suggestion box was mostly empty. Processes were inefficient, staff felt their ideas were not valued, and the settled culture was that things stayed as they had always been.
- Form cross-functional teams, so each project mixes people who see the process from different sides.
- Give each team a budget and a full day, protected from normal work, to work on one improvement project.
- Keep the projects concrete: the case study projects included work on the packaging line design and on making invoicing simpler.
- Close the day with presentations to the whole company, and prizes from a panel of judges for the most innovative and impactful projects.
The book reports that dozens of improvement ideas came out of the carnival, with many implemented over the months that followed. Engagement scores among employees soared. Waste fell significantly across the company, efficiency rose, and the carnival became an annual tradition.
The leadership point the book draws is simple: asking for ideas is not enough. Build an event around them, with dedicated time and space for the work.
Related questions
- How do I turn employee ideas into real impact?
- How do I get my team engaged in improvement?
- What is a rapid improvement event (a kaizen event)?
Source: Continuous Improvement in the Workplace, Ch. 10 (Engaging Activities for CI).