BUSINESS

People and Leaders in Industry 4.0

Part IV

Innovation is a modern word used nearly everywhere, especially in terms of company policies.

However, I sometimes feel that the authors of the policies cannot connect it to particular phenomena.

They have a blurred idea of what innovation means in their business and how leaders should set

the environment for innovation to make a difference. They do not understand what kind of people

it takes to implement such innovation.

Innovation is not currently perceived as a matter of

corporations or societies investing huge sums in new,

cutting-edge projects. Nowadays, innovation is an

indivisible feature of each business regardless of the

size of the company. Results of each innovation depend

on the people who implement it.

“

The difficulty lies not so much

in developing new idea as in escaping

from old ones.

John Maynard Keynes

”

I often hear the stray idea that innovation demands

a thoroughly creative team with nearly unlimited support

who will chain-produce fresh ideas. Companies successful

in implementing innovation, however, prove it to be the

systematic work of those innovators who focus on their

target and see the needs of their customer or client. Such

a team typically achieves innovation at a lower cost in

a shorter time.

Radmila Liďáková, HR Manager in IPH Servis Morava,

s.r.o., has worked in both large and small companies, so

I asked her about her views on innovation in action when

working with people.

What people are necessary in a company that aims for

innovations?

A company who wants to innovate needs absolutely

standard employees, those who must be motivated for

innovation. They need motivation to think at work and

do something more, which is easier said than done on

site. Still, step by step, day by day I motivate employees

towards positive thinking as well as towards the will to

change, improve, innovate, and enjoy their interesting

work.

What is the difference between innovation in large and

small businesses as seen by employees?

The difference is in the approach. A large company is

almost anonymous; an ordinary employee may find it

difficult to communicate with the management and solve

problems, search for new opportunities, and implement

improvements. Things are easier in a small company:

everybody knows the boss, a welder or a mechanic

included. There are no obstructions and there is no

hesitation; there is room for solutions and implementation.

Making that happen in a large company is possible but

definitely more time consuming and challenging.

What environment and culture should an HR manager

establish in a company so as to support strategic

innovation projects?

Obviously, you cannot order people to make the

environment relaxed and friendly, or to make their

thinking innovative. A year and a half ago our company

moved into a brand new premises. We can innovate

whatever and wherever we turn: dated machinery and

equipment in large halls, processes which serve our clients

as well as product innovation help us grow and develop.

We dedicate most of our energy to working with people

within our company: we create the environment which

supports creative thinking, assist and inspire growth

through professional and expert training and show good

professional practice in other companies.

Text a foto:

Radka Šušková

New Dimension,

s.r.o.

www.

newdimension.cz

POSITIV 3/2019 ǀ 45