The symposium began by highlighting the significant changes that have taken place in Asia's economy and talent market since 1990, with David NG and Mike Paxton sharing the remarkable achievements of well-known technology companies such as Huawei, Alibaba, Tencent and other well-known technology companies in the fields of telecommunications, e-commerce, artificial intelligence and electric vehicles, showing the potential and importance of innovation to the attendees.

Why foster a culture of innovation within your organization?

This workshop highlighted the many benefits of cultivating a culture of innovation within an organization. Innovation not only provides a competitive advantage, drives business growth, enhances adaptability and employee engagement, but also fosters collaboration and enhances the customer experience.

As the workshop progressed, participants raised a number of key questions, including how to measure the success of innovation and how to drive change. David NG points out that conducting a company-wide employee engagement survey is an effective way to measure success. He also emphasized the importance of personalized surveys, which can be segmented based on team or hierarchy, although it may be difficult in large organizations. In addition, he shared the experiences of successful companies that demonstrate a culture of innovation through the brand itself and make it feel like a culture for employees.

In the pursuit of innovation, there are often obstacles

The workshop also discussed common barriers that organizations face in pursuing innovation, including resistance to change, insufficient resources, risk aversion, siloed organizational structures, lack of a clear innovation strategy, short-term focus, bureaucracy, and lack of customer centricity. Participants had an in-depth discussion on these obstacles, sharing their experiences and perspectives. David NG advises leaders to lead by example, demonstrate a commitment to change, and engage employees in innovation by working with new partners, communicating vision, and providing needed training and special incentives.

To overcome these obstacles, the workshop presented a variety of strategies, including cultivating leadership commitment and cultural change, developing a clear innovation strategy, allocating resources and support, promoting a learning and experimentation mindset, encouraging collaboration and knowledge sharing, streamlining processes and decision-making, adopting a customer-centric approach, and engaging in external collaborations and partnerships, among others.

The role of HR in organizational innovation

HR plays a vital role in creating a culture of innovation in an organization. Their responsibilities include attracting innovative talent, developing employee skills, aligning performance management with innovation goals, promoting a supportive culture, empowering employees, managing change, and fostering collaboration. The workshop also provided an in-depth discussion of tools and techniques such as idea management platforms, design thinking, innovation workshops, hackathons, cross-functional teams, innovation metrics, learning and development programs, recognition and rewards, and open innovation, among others, that can help organizations nurture and support innovation.

In addition, the seminar highlighted the importance of presenting persuasive arguments in the organization. HR is encouraged to understand the company's goals and challenges, gather evidence of how innovation can help other companies, connect innovation to business outcomes, address concerns, develop action plans, include key people, and tell a compelling story.

The Morgan Philips webinar concludes that creating a culture of innovation requires a long-term commitment and can lead to exceptional results for organizations. By fostering a culture of innovation, organizations can leverage the diverse perspectives and ideas of their employees to achieve breakthrough solutions and improve processes. As an HR leader, cultivating a culture of innovation is an investment in the future, ensuring continued growth and relevance in an ever-changing world.

For organizations looking to build a culture of innovation, Morgan Philips offers several services, including conducting assessments, developing tailored strategies, providing change management coaching, providing training and development programs, and facilitating creative and collaborative sessions. Morgan Philips is committed to partnering with organizations to help them foster a culture of innovation that leads to successful and sustainable growth.

About Morgan Philips：

Morgan Philips is a global talent solutions provider that helps organizations attract, assess, develop and retain the best talent. We offer integrated talent solutions including HR consulting, executive search, talent management solutions and flexible professional recruitment. By combining talent, technology, and innovation, we help our clients solve talent challenges, achieve business goals, and drive organizational success.