Slow down to move faster than your rivals

In organisations up and down the country, getting more from less is what we are all being asked to strive for, particularly in these downbeat times. It is highly likely, for example, that the budget you set for this year assumes, quite unrealistically in many cases, that the product or service your organisation offers will somehow manage to reap greater rewards this year than last. Amid the mayhem that this causes to individual workloads, it is easy to overlook the power of ideas as a source of salvation.

Ideas? Well, the cynics say, it would be nice to have the time to have one or two. Nobody has an original idea these days, we are told, and even if they did, then someone higher up the food chain would probably either jump all over it or steal it maybe both. But the cynics couldnt be more wrong. In an era when the price of what you sell is as likely to fall as rise, only the seriously fortunate make more money each year from doing the same thing in the same way. Innovation is therefore making a well-deserved reappearance on the business agenda, as even the most uninspired organisations realise that the people working for them have some fabulous, money-making ideas rattling around in their heads. The most savvy HR directors are muscling in and making innovation central to their agenda.

Some companies are now investing heavily in formally ingraining innovation into their culture. Strategic innovation units sift through ideas, put together business plans and, crucially, seek to find more imaginative ways to reward those whose ideas they develop, perhaps through a stake in the new business or a chance to oversee their own idea through to delivery.

An enlightened approach to innovation from HR doesnt have to be heavily formalised in this way. For some, innovation is best fostered when warmly received as part of everyday working life. Tescos HR director, Clare Chapman, makes time to listen to the suggestions of the groups near 300,000 workers worldwide. Only by slowing down to listen, think and develop ideas, says Chapman, can Tesco remain a little faster than its rivals.

If you yearn for more thinking time, then our magazine has an innovation to tell you about. The Human Resources Leaders Forum is an exclusive annual event designed specifically for senior HR professionals. Held on 17 to 19 September, it promises workshops and high-quality speakers on issues such as the CEO/HR relationship, executive development, HR and the unions, corporate governance, the employer brand and, of course, the power of innovation. We think its a great idea and hope that you do too.

Trevor Merriden editor