somewhat agreed or strongly agreed. But which of the survey’s measures are the most closely correlated to what we might call ‘innovation encouragement’? When looking at connections, it is important to use a holistic approach. Too often ratings of measures are considered in isolation, in a singular silo view that does not recognise the variable interconnectivity of all things. Our analysis, therefore, used a network approach to highlight those that have the strongest connections to the encouragement of innovation. These factors are, in turn, also interconnected to other measures. The top 10 connections to innovation listed here are generally recognised as good leadership and management practices that are indicative of an organisation’s culture.
Yet, organisations dedicated to improving innovation must understand that a one-size-fits-all approach is unlikely to be effective. Instead, successful leadership should blend the transformational, directive, situational and transactional, depending on the circumstances. Organisational culture in public service Does the Canadian federal public service have a culture of innovation based on the government’s survey? Overall, the answer is “sort of”. As mentioned, 72 per cent of all employees somewhat or strongly agreed that “I am encouraged to be innovative or take initiative in my work”. However, there are significant differences across the 90 different government departments canvassed. For example, among 7,000 employees of Correctional Services Canada, only 51 per cent agreed that they were encouraged to be innovative. This department is responsible for all federal prisons. Given the current conditions of some of these institutions, varying approaches to inmate reform and low employee morale among unionised prison employees, one might argue that this proportion should be higher. Elsewhere, only 57 per cent of employees with the Canada Border Services Agency reported that they felt innovation and taking the initiative would be actively supported. This level of variance was also found in relation to employee confidence in senior management. Overall, 64 per cent of all employees polled gave at least a passing grade to their level of confidence in upper management. However, this figure ranged from 26 per cent to 96 per cent across departments. The Canada Border Services Agency was at the bottom of the scale, with only 26 per cent of employees expressing confidence in senior figures. Measures of a senior management’s quality such as this, alongside ratings concerning their ability to make effective decisions and share essential information with staff, also showed a strong correlation to levels of innovation and descriptions of an organisation’s culture.
1 Having an opportunity for input into workplace actions 2 Feeling valued as a worker 3 Getting meaningful recognition for a job well done 4 Being encouraged to collaborate 5 Useful performance reviews 6 Support for higher service levels 7 Being treated with respect 8 Understanding how work contributes to organisational goals 9 Being kept informed about workplace matters by a supervisor 10 Timely and effective decisions made by senior management Of course, culture commonly encompasses a company or institution’s values, beliefs and traditions, as well as what is rewarded and penalised, how employees are treated and relations with various communities and stakeholders. A healthy culture, then, is interconnected to supportive structures and systems of management that directly impact the workplace climate of job satisfaction, morale and engagement. Measures denoting an organisation’s level of health might, therefore, include internal communication, engagement, respect and the extent to which employees understand how their work is contributing to the purpose and goals of the organisation.
30 Business Impact • ISSUE 2 • 2024
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online