Uncover Hidden Potential Within Your Organization's Untapped Skillset
In today's fast-paced business world, organizations are constantly seeking new ways to stay relevant and thrive. One often overlooked strategy is to tap into the untapped skills of employees, customers, suppliers, and well-wishers. By implementing a few strategic approaches, companies can boost productivity and innovation, as outlined in a recent article by Bill Taylor, published in HBR in 2022/07.
Firstly, leaders should foster an empowering culture where employees feel empowered to contribute their unique skills and ideas. This can be achieved by adopting a humble leadership style, which encourages growth and openness among team members. Establishing open communication channels, such as regular feedback sessions and surveys, can help uncover hidden talents within the organization.
Engaging customers and suppliers in co-creation processes is another effective strategy. By allowing them to contribute to product development or service improvement, not only do companies tap into their skills, but they also increase their emotional investment in the organization. Implementing structured feedback mechanisms from these external stakeholders can help companies understand their needs better and utilize their expertise.
Creating platforms or tools for idea submission is crucial in fostering a culture of innovation. This can be done through hackathons, ideation sessions, or online platforms. Recognizing and rewarding contributions that lead to innovation encourages more people to participate and share their untapped skills.
Engaging with the broader community through events, partnerships, or volunteer programs can uncover talent from well-wishers who might not be directly associated with the organization. Leveraging social media and online forums can help engage with a wider audience, gather feedback, and discover talent from outside traditional boundaries.
Upskilling and reskilling programs help employees and partners develop new skills, thereby tapping into potential talent that might be underutilized. Mentorship programs, where experienced individuals can guide and nurture the skills of others, foster a culture of growth and innovation.
By implementing these strategies, organizations can effectively tap into the untapped skills of their stakeholders, leading to increased productivity and innovation. However, it is important to note that leaders should willingly accept and evaluate these ideas, and implement them, recognizing contributors for their efforts.
In a time when there is widespread fear that AI and automation will lead to massive unemployment, the talents of an organization's well-wishers are too valuable to be wasted and should be tapped into as a readily available resource. The scarcity of talent is putting pressure on employees, leading to unhealthy and unsustainable work conditions. The article discusses the importance of developing talent for an unpredictable future.
In conclusion, companies must fill in vacancies for both low-skill and high-skill positions to be effective. Inviting more people to contribute to an organization's success can increase productivity and innovation. The article suggests that companies should consider unconventional methods for hiring, such as engaging well-wishers and tapping into the talents of customers and suppliers. Despite economic uncertainty, companies still find it difficult to hire qualified manpower for various vacancies. Leaders should invite these individuals to express their thoughts and ideas, and help solve organizational problems.
- To further boost productivity and innovation, organizations can integrate a lifestyle section in their business model, soliciting ideas from employees on areas like fashion-and-beauty, home-and-garden, and relationships.
- Companies could also collaborate with customers and suppliers to develop unique food-and-drink products, engaging them in the process to foster a sense of ownership and emotional investment.
- Organizations may consider creating a travel section to showcase employee adventure stories or to solicit ideas on eco-friendly travel solutions, enhancing community engagement.
- For a pet-friendly business environment, organizations can offer pet care services, engaging pets as a unique aspect of the company's lifestyle culture. Alternatively, they could create a platform for employees to share their experiences and expertise in pet care, providing shopping suggestions for pet food, accessories, and travel gear.
