Innovation is vital to the success of any business, no matter how big or small. The Culturing Success report launched by Microsoft this month found thousands of Australian small businesses are jeopardising their performance across total revenue, business efficiency, market share, staff satisfaction and customer loyalty, through a lack of innovation. Innovation is not to be confused with invention. The role of innovation in the workplace can be as simple as refining business processes or implementing a culture of valuing and implementing new ideas. The report comes at a time when the Minister for Small Business, Bruce Billson praised “mumpreneurs”, or women business owners, as leading the way in navigating new technology, new business opportunities, and the perennial challenge of balancing economic and family goals. Adopting new technologies is seen as key to innovation in business, but Microsoft found many businesses simply didn’t innovate due to a fear of failure, or simply lack the motivation to change. Working in silos, employee distrust and poor collaboration were also nominated as barriers to the development of a culture of innovation. The survey of more than 500 SMEs identified three categories – Leaders, Cruisers and Laggards. The majority of businesses surveyed fall into the ‘Cruiser’ category, happy to tinker on the edges and coast along while market conditions are favourable. Thirty three per cent of SMEs surveyed were considered innovation Leaders, while 24 per cent were classified as businesses with little or no appetite for innovation. Minister Billson says innovation in business processes can drive efficiencies and innovative businesses are generally successful businesses, because they’re constantly looking at ways to improve and to grow their business. The report findings support the Minister, revealing SME Leaders that embraced innovation performed better than other businesses in the survey. About 39 per cent of innovation Leaders reported that their revenue was growing faster than the average rate for their industry, compared to 24 per cent of Cruisers and 23 per cent of Laggards. So what can women business owners do to harness innovation? Microsoft outlines five strategies: Evaluate performance: Businesses should audit themselves to identify how innovative they are today, with a particular focus on their workplace culture. Establish the right culture: SMEs can make significant gains by focusing on and changing their workplace culture to unlock innovation. Collaborate: Individual companies and other stakeholders, especially governments, can do much to build networks that improve innovation. Be flexible: Innovation Leaders tend to offer flexible working arrangements to staff. Other SMEs should explore their potential to do the same. Attract next-generation staff: Companies should take on tech-savvy workers to ensure they’re up to date with the latest trends in technology and customer interaction. These might include recent school or university graduates. Download the Culturing Success Report
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HerBusiness (formerly Australian Businesswomen’s Network) is a membership community that provides education, training, resources, mentoring and support for women business owners.
