Learning employee-driven innovating: Towards sustained practice through multi-method evaluation
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce a workshop process to enhance the learning of employee-driven innovating (LEDI) and to evaluate in multiple ways the practical effects of the LEDI process, which aimed to enhance the employee-driven innovation practices at workplace level in a public organisation. Although front-line employees are increasingly encouraged to participate in innovation, organisations lack multi-level knowledge on the practices, outcomes and effects of participation.
Design/methodology/approach
A six-month development process (LEDI) was conducted to empower front-line hospital support service workers to learn to innovate and to apply this in the services they provide. The process consisted of different themes: future visions, current services, creating new services and evaluations of ideas and innovation embryos. The multi-method evaluation of the process included pre-evaluation of the generated innovation ideas, a developmental evaluation of the selected innovation embryos, a follow-up evaluation of the innovation ideas and an evaluation of the organisational level effect via a quantitative survey.
Findings
The intervention process had positive effects on employee participation and learning to innovate. The conclusion of the four evaluations is that the LEDI process developed a new kind of agency among employees and enabled significant improvements to services. The evaluation of the organisation-level effect revealed that the process had also improved the views regarding preconditions for development.
Originality/value
The intervention method is a practical application of employee-driven innovation conception that is validated as practical and effective at workplace level. The process is a viable method for enhancing workers’ innovation-related learning in service organisations. The novelty of the method is based on the multi-disciplinary combination of approaches that consist of theories of practice-based innovation, expansive learning and emphatic human-centred service design.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Finnish Work Environment Fund and the two anonymous reviewers for their invaluable comments.
Finnish Work Environment Fund is a funding agency for independent scientific research, applied research and work development project. The reported research project received funding to carry out the development process (intervention process). The evaluation of the workplace intervention (measurement, research procedure) was funded by the independent research institute, Finnish Institute for Occupational Health.
Citation
Hasu, M., Honkaniemi, L., Saari, E., Mattelmäki, T. and Koponen, L. (2014), "Learning employee-driven innovating: Towards sustained practice through multi-method evaluation", Journal of Workplace Learning, Vol. 26 No. 5, pp. 310-330. https://doi.org/10.1108/JWL-10-2013-0079
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited