Idea Management: Essential Technological Shift for your Company

The 21st generation has seen businesses change their processes to accommodate modern technology. Modern technological innovations optimize and improve the efficiency of business procedures.

According to statistics, 4 in 5 companies use one or more technology that aims to improve or better their operations or finance. The advantages of using technology companies are seen in the success of such brands.

One area in companies that have had many technological advancements is idea management. Idea management is a process that encompasses idea capturing, storage, analysis, and implementation. 

Idea management software has improved success rates for many businesses. The software supports continuous business improvements. This is essential to keep a company ahead of its competition.

Idea management software and tools are essential for every company. In this article, we highlight the reasons why idea management is an essential technological shift for your company.

1. Remote Idea Submission

The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 forced many companies to instruct employees to work at home. At the time, working from home seemed like a bad idea for many businesses. However, remote working started becoming the norm. Companies adopted and optimized remote working to their work.

Currently, remote working is the norm for many companies. Globally, remote employees often have one common complaint. The complaint originates from employees of companies that use manual idea management. The employees complain that the processes often leave them out.

Manual idea management processes need one to submit physical documentation of their ideas. The documentation is dropped in suggestion boxes in the offices. For remote employees, this means that they have to travel to work to submit ideas. For some employees, this idea is not workable. They hold back from submitting their ideas.

Remote company employees working in different time zones are also locked out. Idea management software solves these issues. With idea management software, employees can log into the software and submit their ideas at any time. This ensures that no employees in the company are left out.

2. Faster Execution of Idea Management Process

Like other manual processes, manual idea management processes take a lot of time. The time consumption starts from the first to the last step.

In fast-paced business environments and markets, having slow processes creates a significant disadvantage. Idea management software helps reduce the time taken in every idea management step.

The time taken is reduced using:

1. Relevant automation 
2. Faster data input methods
3. Faster processing methods. 

When using manual idea management methods, the approval step for any idea would take a long while.

The approval step would consume a lot of time because various business executives had to study the idea first. After studying the idea, the executives would either turn it down or approve it. Their final take on the idea was based on their opinions. This process was is done manually and would take time because executives had to wait for each other.

Idea management software solves such drawbacks. The ability to allow simultaneous analysis of an idea saves companies and employees a lot of time.

3. Idea Accountability

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Many companies offer incentives to employees who come up with revolutionary ideas that increase business revenues. While the incentives serve to motivate and appreciate employees, they also create a problem.

The theft of ideas is a common occurrence in companies and businesses that use manual idea management processes. This is because manual idea management has many loopholes that can be taken by workers as chances to steal ideas and get incentive payouts that they do not deserve.

Idea management software helps counter this growing concern among many companies. Rather than using conventional suggestion boxes, the software allows users to submit ideas directly to the management.

The first step in the idea submission process using idea management software is to create a user account. User accounts allow the system and company to keep track of the source of any innovative ideas. Once the user creates an account, they can now submit any ideas they have.

Innovation management software also allows employees to easily track the approval process of their ideas. This increased accountability reassures employees and gives them a greater incentive to come up with innovative ideas. 

4. Collaboration

During idea approval processes, some business executives might find it hard to comprehend certain aspects of the idea. This is where the collaborative features of the best idea management software come in.

Idea management software can allow business executives and workers to discuss an idea. This is done to ensure that every stakeholder has a good understanding of the submitted idea. 

The collaboration tools in idea management tools also allow employees to submit additional input that can better a submitted idea. Through this, companies can get to implement the best versions of submitted ideas and reap maximum benefits.

An added advantage of the collaborative capabilities of idea management software is how they can help evade financial losses. Some ideas might seem good on the outside but once implemented, they can impact the company’s revenue negatively. When an idea is openly discussed using the collaborative tools of idea management software, such consequences can be noted by other employees before the idea is implemented. 

5. Client Input

In business, the main goal is to please clients and get them more impressed with your products or services. This goes to show that the best way to innovate and improve business products and services is to consult the clients.

The best innovation management software allows clients to post their idea submissions or product reviews. These can help the company develop products or modify its services to better suit the needs of its clients. With this, the company will increase its customer satisfaction rates and business revenues at large. 

Conclusion

Companies that are making a shift to the use of technology in their processes should grant high priority to the idea management process. With the help of good idea management software, a start-up company with the lowest market share in its market can easily become have the highest market share. This is why it is vital to implement idea management software for your company.