Workplace Innovation Engagement Programme (WIEP)

A Scottish Enterprise initiative delivered by Workplace Innovation Limited

As part of its commitment to enhancing economic competitiveness and growth, Scottish Enterprise, the country’s main economic development agency, appointed Workplace Innovation Limited to deliver an innovative but practical Workplace Innovation Engagement Programme (WIEP) to participating businesses.

The programme’s objective was to help businesses across a wide spectrum of sectors identify and critically assess existing workplace practices through a specialist diagnostic tool, and to support them in uncovering new ways of working to make the best use of talent across the entire workforce. It was important to deliver an approach that was relevant and practical for all types of organisation, all types of employer and all types of employee.

The Workplace Innovation Diagnostic®

The programme commenced with each of the 10 participating businesses using the on-line Workplace Innovation Diagnostic® to assess a broad spectrum of workplace practices against evidence-based criteria. The Essential Fifth Element, a concept developed by Workplace Innovation Limited for the European Commission, explains the benefits of workplace innovation to companies and provides practical guidance on making change happen.

Action Plans

Each participating business then received a detailed feedback report, and each was supported to develop an Action Plan based on the Diagnostic survey findings. Typical Plans included:

flattening the existing hierarchy and pushing decision making to the lowest appropriate level
defining and living organisational values and behaviours
implementing self-directed team working
creating empowered, cross-functional teams based on workflow rather than silos
establishing innovation forums and continuous improvement groups
rethinking traditional leadership and management roles, responsibilities and accountabilities
enhancing skills development and utilisation, training and coaching plans.

Workshops

Throughout the programme, participants received continuous support from the Workplace Innovation team and Scottish Enterprise Specialists. Interactive workshops, facilitation, coaching and site visits helped with problem-solving and turning new ideas into practical action.

The development and implementation of practical Action Plans was also facilitated through regular peer review by ‘critical friends’ in Action Learning Sets, enabling participants to discuss their organisation’s challenges and how they were planning to meet them.

Participating companies also gained automatic membership of Fresh Thinking Labs, the international platform for knowledge-sharing between companies, offering an abundance of online resources and opportunities for in person contact with good practice companies across the UK and beyond.

It was clear that everyone benefited from learning about others’ ideas and experiences, from sharing the business benefits of good workplace practices and hearing about ‘what works and what doesn’t’.

WIEP participants can also opt to gain a recognised qualification, accredited by the ILM, based on their action plans.

Feedback

“Our participation has been essential in meeting our need to adapt to changing circumstances, primarily because we were a very inward-looking company and it’s only when you come to this kind of programme where you realise that there are other companies with similar challenges”
LS Starret Company, Jedburgh

“Rosemary and Peter from Workplace Innovation have taken participants on a learning journey. The programme has been excellent for learning from other organisations. Building key networks and relationships has been invaluable. The content of the programme has been geared to ensure all organisations gain something. We are introducing a new business model and this programme has certainly helped guide and support us as we commence our three years Strategic Plan to bring transformational change to the care sector”
Cornerstone

“This WIEP programme has already benefitted us hugely. It’s been great to hear of examples of best practice. It has enabled us to think outside the box, learn about the challenges of others and take some of their experiences back to our workplace.”
Aviva, Perth

DS Smith

DS Smith is a leading packaging company based in Lockerbie. Operations Manager David Murdoch asked the Workplace Innovation team to help involve his staff in innovative ways to improve the business. A Mini-FabLab session, facilitated by Rosemary and Peter, brought together frontline staff representing each area of production. The group modelled and then re-modelled the factory, sharing experiences and creating solutions … using boxes and paper! They addressed several production issues including improvements in teamwork and opportunities for quality improvement. Some ideas were quick wins and some involve quite radical changes.

They presented the redesigned model to David who was very receptive to their ideas. He is supporting the group to meet every month to develop further improvements. David also welcomed their idea that teams of operators should be able to pause production, identifying and resolving problems together at the time they are flagged, rather than at the end of the line. He agreed that this will reduce waste and improve quality control. See more.

“We realised we needed to give people time and space away from their machines to offer their true potential, which could make us a more effective and profitable business. The solutions are far superior to any that I could have come up with on my own because we are harnessing the experience from the business. So the time taken for the session was well and truly paid back to the company, not only in the bottom line, but in terms of team commitment” (David Murdoch Operations Manager, DS Smith).