Fostering innovation is good for businesses and yet many don’t do it.

Innovative companies grow faster and are more profitable than those that aren’t innovators. Benefits include differentiating from the competition, increasing sales and profits, and better employee engagement and retention.

Fundamentally, innovation means to create something new, but it can also mean better solutions, finding more efficient and effective methods of completing a task, or creating new processes or workflows.

Coming up with new and fresh ideas allows companies to remain relevant and to drive their success.

Companies that don’t innovate lose market share to their competitors, often have low productivity and efficiency, can lose staff, experience decreasing profits, and in many cases, go out of business. Well-known companies that have suffered from failing to innovate include Blackberry, Kodak, Nokia, and Blockbuster.

According to statistics from Viima — which provides tools to help companies turn ideas into innovations — 84 per cent of executives consider the future success of their organization to be very dependent on innovation.

And yet, a survey of 800 business leaders in the United Kingdom conducted by PA Consulting Group found that while two-thirds of organizations say that innovation is essential for their survival, less than a third say they are effective at innovating to propel growth and boost revenue. As well, more than three-fifths of senior executives feel that CEOs have the vision and passion necessary for innovation to happen.

So why aren’t more companies making innovation a priority? The report noted that only one quarter of U.K. organizations say their boards do this.

Many companies find their niche and then only focus on what made them successful, neglecting to take notice of new developments. Others have leaders who either are reluctant or are incapable of piloting innovation, and still others have a culture that is unwilling to accept risk. Some fear failure — in fact, the PA Consulting report found that two-fifths of U.K. leaders reject disruptive ideas because of this fear.

Additional challenges include long development times, choosing the right ideas, and lack of coordination.

Velsoft’s latest softskills course, Fostering Innovation, delves into this subject, looking at what an innovative workplace looks like; how to help create an innovative workplace environment; and ways that innovation can help a company.

Don’t get left behind. Start innovating and developing a culture of innovation today. And if you need help, visit https://www.velsoft.com/products/ to find out how to get your hands on our Fostering Innovation course.

outside of Blockbuster Video store