The measurement of innovation in large service organisations

The measurement of innovation in organisations that produce tangible products is well represented in the literature and many researchers have made significant contributions that should assist organisations to continue to create wealth. The scale and breath of this research has identified that many terms used to explain innovation have become part of organisational vocabulary. Terms such as creativity, innovative or enterprising are used when leaders and managers describe what they consider are either behaviours or mindsets that are required to grasp opportunities. These terms are often highly emotive. They are often interchanged, misunderstood and confused when dealing with tangible products.

A challenge emerges from the literature to develop a set of working terms that will assist leaders and managers to work effectively and efficiently when communicating with staff, customers and suppliers. The literature highlights many measures that may assist organisations gauge their performance internally and externally. The number of ways used to measure creativity, innovation and enterprising behaviours are considerable, with many researchers holding the view that, there is no one definitive measure. A set of measures is preferable due to the complexity and diversity of large organisations and their related needs. The review of the literature has identified the popularity of measures that provide benchmarks and milestones for tangible products.

The development of a set of measures for large service organisations (organisations that develop and deliver intangibles) appears to be problematic. In some cases, these organisations have been collecting ideas from staff to either reduce costs or add value; these ideas have been placed on the organisations intranet for all to see. Organisational acceptance and use of the intranet has seen the rapid capture and communication of creative ideas and enterprising opportunities that may assist organisations to either pursue new revenue streams, enhance productivity and cost reduction.

How does the service organisation know it has achieved its goals when measuring creativity, innovation or enterprising behaviours? A set of research questions was developed for the use in two large services organisations in Australia between 2001 and 2006 in order to create such a set of measures. The results have produced outcomes that are repeatable, measurable and measurable in service organisations. These outcomes have highlighted that, by using a consistent and straightforward set of measures, organisations can adjust their development programs to encourage staff to be more creative, innovative and enterprising. The organisations participating in this research developed their innovation programs using three variables: were the programs (1) achievable, (2) measurable and (3) repeatable? The outcomes of this research indicate that the measurement of innovation in large service organisations can satisfy these three organisational requirements.