TLDR: Organisations require to accept that innovation and change is essential in order that they remain a competitive provider in an ever-changing marketplace. For smaller, flatter organisations, the ability to adapt in an agile way is much easier given the fluidity of job roles and decentralised decision making. For larger organisations, more consideration is needed on how innovation is accommodated to support change and to maintain market relevance.
It is widely recognised that organisations must adapt over time to remain relevant in their marketplace. This is typically accomplished by continuously introducing innovation to adapt approaches to established working practices and operating methodologies. This need for adaptation is particularly relevant in the facilities management and business services sectors where the influence of changing workplace occupation, artificial intelligence, automation, and technology systems are impacting on the post-COVID work practices that the workforce was accustomed to.
Progress and change have driven many innovations and alternate methods of operation that have adapted and evolved the ways that companies view the world and ultimately function. Organisations who have failed to move forward have stalled and many have ceased to exist altogether. In illustration, of the 100 companies in the FTSE 100 in 1984, only 24 were still breathing in 2012. And within the FM sector where the Keyne Group predominantly operates, 30% of the largest FM companies have disappeared in the last two decades and the supplier landscape continues to change significantly as a result of mergers and acquisitions. At the time of writing, the impacts of the global pandemic and overseas conflicts are still being felt, and the future landscape of the market is still adjusting to try and become as fluid and agile as possible in reflection of uncertainty and instability.
While external forces continue to influence the operation of organisation, it is the failure to act upon them that drastically reduces their effectiveness and their lifespan. Academics often refer to this as the “trap of success” where organisations become complacent based upon past experience and biases, partly driven by institutionalised behaviours and a focus on the internal protection of their own rigid structures. Their balance of effort often focuses predominantly on reconciling internal issues using logic and processes that continue to assume a static marketplace and predictable market patterns as opposed to realising the complex nature of industry and the pressures that their clients routinely face. A circle of deteriorating performance almost certainly ensues.
Those firms that have successfully moved forward have done so through a series of innovations and changes that have evolved their business and service model to meet the current demands of today’s markets. This “adaptive capacity” underpins the ability to change and evolve over time to ensure that value continues to be delivered to stakeholders within a dynamic operating environment. This capability is driven by several factors within the organisation, including:
- Adaptability to market climate.
- Leadership style.
- Organisational culture.
- Resources and workforce skills.
- The structures and systems within an organisation.
For smaller, flatter organisations, with decentralised decision making, and relatively fluid job functions, accommodating these factors is often second nature and embedded within their DNA. In larger organisations, it is often difficult to leverage these characteristics to create a pervasive climate that successfully nurtures innovation in a holistic way. Instead, it is typical for small pockets of innovation to occur in response to a specific challenge or observation. Alternatively, some larger organisations are known to successfully innovate through the creation of specialist ‘breakthrough’ teams and ‘spin-off’ organisations to nurture innovation in initial isolation of the larger entity, unhindered by the structures and politics in play. It is common too for innovation to be driven through acquisition, albeit there still needs to be mechanisms embedded to diffuse impact throughout the organisation.
Whatever the source, the successful accommodation of innovation and change requires the will of the entire organisation to recognise that change is essential in order to remain relevant; something we’ll explore more in part 2.
In the meantime, if you’d like to find out about the facilitation of innovation within your organisation and access to the Keyne Group Innovation Framework including how we can inject the value of innovation within your bids, drop us a note.