Engaging employees is a crucial task and one that must be in constant motion. This is why the collection of ideas must be lively and constant. At the heart of these challenges is the user experience, which is based on the interactions and emotions experienced by the participants.
The Role of the idea management software
It plays a central role, as it is at the heart of the collaborative operation. The idea management software collects ideas, organizes them, encourages employees to use them via gamified processes, and contains many features to encourage ideation and transform ideas into concrete projects. A good idea management software is also useful for managing the pace of posts and contributions. Indeed, all interactions are asynchronous: we publish an idea on Monday morning, we look at the comments on Wednesday, and we answer a question the next day. Because it is able to respect and adapt to everyone’s rhythms, it facilitates communication flows between all parties. On the other hand, idea management software emphasizes co-construction over collection. It may be tempting to define the collection as an important KPI, but not all ideas are mature and immediately actionable. To focus exclusively on collection is to address only the minority who are confident enough to speak out, taking the risk of excluding those who do not dare to take the plunge. To be successful, you need to invest at least as much time and energy in cultivating ideas as in collecting them.
UX is a key success factor
Finally, a well-maintained platform is also a successful experience. To achieve this, user experience and user interface must work together to make it easier to connect people and ideas. The idea management software is intuitive and easy to access. It is not discouraging, because it is capable of stepping aside in favor of ideas.
When you are on Facebook, you don’t realize that you are on a specific tool with specific characteristics. The focus is on the newsfeed, notifications, interactions and what allows users to connect with each other. On an idea management solution, it’s the same thing: technology is at the service of people and not an end in itself.
How can we effectively bring ideation to fruition thanks to an idea management software?
Ideation is characterized by the creative process of generating and communicating new ideas. This work is part of an innovation process and is the basis of the project. Coming up with ideas, sharing them and commenting on them represents about 20% of the total work. But how can we develop them sufficiently to test them against reality? This is where co-construction comes into its own. For a corporate innovation approach to work, it must be able to match ideas with the key skills of participants likely to be interested in them. On the same principle as Tinder, you swipe right and left. You have to be able to connect an idea with someone who has the expertise, skills and knowledge to enhance it.AI for a personalized user experience
To achieve this, artificial intelligence and metadata play a key role. Depending on what the system knows about the qualities of each participant, it is able to suggest and propose ideas that may be of interest to them. This personalization work is essential, because it is not uncommon to see several hundred new ideas being created per day. It is, therefore, impossible to be exhaustive and spend time looking at them all. By focusing only on ideas related to an employee’s professional field or according to their desires, expectations and previous contributions, the match becomes intuitive and natural. When an employee logs into the platform, they will be guaranteed to see only ideas that are relevant to them.Involve the community to evaluate ideas
The process of maturation can only take place over time and through consultation. A seemingly good idea can easily become a bad idea because the author did not include a key variable in their thinking. Conversely, something that may seem simple and mundane can have significant disruptive potential as long as the idea is enhanced. This process is essential for the growth of ideas. This validation by peers makes it possible to measure the enthusiasm for action and to highlight the value of multidisciplinary and collaborative work.
How to collect ideas with an idea management software?
Key takeaways:
The idea management software is the heart of your system’s reactor. Choosing the right one is fundamental, because it is what will bring ideas and projects to life. To do this, focus on simplicity, the user experience, portability to all devices and ease of use.
Once the ideas have been collected, the community must help them grow. To do this, we need to find a way for each idea to be linked to the most suitable, competent, or relevant people. It’s a job that relies on a good dose of artificial intelligence and precise management of metadata, as we can see on most social networks or merchant sites that seek to personalize the relationship with their customers.
Céline Degreef
CEO & Co-Founder Yumana
