Why Innovation Is a Team Sport

A new study from the Great Place to Work consulting firm found enterprises that welcome ideas from all employees have better potential for growth than less inclusive companies, reports the Wall Street Journal . The analysts surveyed about 500,000 U.S. employees at nearly 800 public and privately owned companies, most of them in the United States. Firms where more workers said they felt their ideas were solicited and valued tended to have higher revenue growth and employee productivity. Companies that scored in the top quartile on those metrics produced, on average, more than five times the revenue growth of companies in the bottom quartile. The study determined workers at companies in the most inclusive group were 14 percent more likely to say they want to stay at their company in the long term than those in the least inclusive group. Those workers also were 32 percent more likely to describe themselves as willing to put additional effort into work, compared with the least inclusive group. Many high-scoring firms had implemented special structures or practices to encourage employees to brainstorm and contribute business ideas. Great Place to Work's Marcus Erb recommends companies "open up their mindset" about what workers can offer in the way of innovation. "Leaders that don't see that are going to miss out," he warns.