Published on April 10th, 2019 | by Sunit Nandi

Capturing Creativity – How to Generate Groundbreaking Ideas and Boost Employee Engagement with Crowdsourcing

From a falling apple sparking Newton’s theory of gravity, to Petri dish mould inspiring Flemming’s invention of penicillin, paradigm-shifting ideas often come from the most unlikely sources. When it comes to corporate innovation, many companies overlook this fact, favoring instead small-scale ideas based on well-established data.

Although incremental innovation of this kind is important, it’s not enough to take enterprise companies to new heights of success. To remain viable, companies must also focus on generating bold, market-disrupting ideas. This imperative is supported by a study undertaken by Forbes and Treasure Data in 2018, which found that 83% of executives who see their organizations as market disruptors reported increased revenue…compared with only 54% of those in non or partially-disruptive enterprises.

So how can companies generate more market-disrupting ideas? One powerful methodology is crowdsourcing – that is, outsourcing idea collection projects to target audiences in order to leverage diverse knowledge sets (achieved via questionnaires, competitions, etc).

Although crowdsourcing is ideal for gaining insights from customers, it’s also effective for generating disruptive ideas internally. Giving employees a means to contribute ideas, as well as comment on those submitted by colleagues, can help foster a productive culture of innovation.

Of course, an innovation culture comprised of disengaged employees will yield little results. To get the most out of internal crowdsourcing, companies must ensure that the initiative has clearly-defined goals, that contributors have an easy method for collaboration, and that incentives are put in place that encourage idea contribution.

Drive Value with a Crowdsourcing Innovation Platform

Using an innovation management software platform – such as that offered by Qmarkets – can help ensure the key crowdsourcing objectives outlined above are tackled efficiently.

In addition to providing a means to create an online suggestion box – where employees can contribute ideas for new products and services – Qmarkets’ crowdsourcing innovation platform is designed to encourage collaboration. For example, the platform has dedicated features for idea brainstorming, viewing and commenting on ideas submitted by colleagues, as well as voting on ideas (star rating, thumbs up, etc).

Innovation management software can also amplify employee engagement – crucial for ensuring the quality and quantity of new ideas is maximized. Qmarkets software enables gamified elements to be added to crowdsourcing campaigns, such as the ability to award points for actions undertaken on the platform (submissions, comments, etc). Project leaders can then provide tangible rewards for employees who accumulate the most points, incentivizing contributions.

A prominent study by McKinsey & Company found that 94% of senior executives felt that people and corporate culture are the most important drivers of innovation. Internal crowdsourcing, facilitated by an innovation management platform, can both enhance corporate culture, and ensure the disruptive ideas that result from it are harnessed effectively.

Tags: capturing, creativity, crowdsourcing, employee, engagement, generate, groundbreaking, ideas

About the Author

Sunit Nandi I'm the leader of Techno FAQ. Also an engineering college student with immense interest in science and technology. Other interests include literature, coin collecting, gardening and photography. Always wish to live life like there's no tomorrow.