Session: Agil und Innovativ (S120)
In 2016 the Leiden University Libraries started working on a new policy for innovation within the library. The goal was to make innovation a more important pillar within the organisation to which all employees could contribute. This shift was deemed necessary because, up until then, innovation had primarily been a top-down process. A culture change was necessary to address this situation. Innovation needed to be on everyone's radar, in a way that would inspire everyone to take part in it and for the organisation to more fully benefit from employees' insights and talents.
This presentation will discuss the results of this new policy up until now. A key 'instrument' has been the establishment of a dedicated Innovation Team in 2018. Consisting of four employees from different departments (but not management), the aim of this team is to make (already ongoing) innovation visible within the organisation and to encourage employees to actively take part in innovation. The team does so by providing a platform to submit ideas, to follow up on these ideas, evaluate them and, if possible, to either embed them within existing organisational structures or to create room for experimentation. Two key tasks/considerations will be highlighted. First, the development of a specific workflow and the creation of a format for recommendations to the management (evaluating the viability, costs and impact) has been pivotal in increasing the likelihood of an idea being accepted executed. The second consideration pertains to communication. An innovative culture demands that all serious ideas receive substantiated feedback and consideration, even if dismissed. All of this then encourages employees to submit more innovative ideas, because they can observe that all ideas are taken seriously by the organisation at large.
Carola van der Drift1
1Leiden University Libraries, Innovatie & Projecten, Leiden, Niederlande
Speakers: Carola van der Drift