Investor's Business Daily - Imaginatik Helping Companies Tap Into Their Employee's Ideas
Investor’s Business Daily - August 11, 2005
By J. Bonasia
When Bristol-Myers Squibb wanted to raise awareness of its new diabetes drug, it tapped its work force - via Idea Central. Privately held Imaginatik makes Idea Central, one of the few software programs on the market designed to help companies find and develop ideas from among all their employees.
Using the software, Bristol-Myers collected 5,000 idea from it staff for its “War on Diabetes” campaign in 2001. One idea was the "Glucovan." The firm dispatched the truck places such as stock car races and baseball games to give free testing to more than 140,000 diabetics. Thousands of them ended up buying Bristol-Myers’ diabetes drug.
Idea management can result in millions of dollars in new sales and cost savings, says Mark Turrell, chief executive of Imaginatik. “By following a systematic process, companies can massively increase the odds that they’ll find the right answer and make money from it,” he said. “We say companies are paying people for just 25% of their brains, and the rest of the brain is along for the ride.”
More companies like the idea of idea management. Some companies use their own custom software for this task. Other makers of such software include privately held firms Sopheon, BrainBank and Akiva. SAP and Deloitte Consulting also sell products to this market.
Imaginatik surveyed its clients earlier this year. It found an average return on investment of 251% after one year and 927% after two years.
The software can help companies with the difficult tasks of developing ideas without breaking the bank, which can happen if firms must hire expensive consultants.
It also, by definition, gets everyone involved. Many companies hold offsite, idea-generation retreats for top managers or other select groups. That creates an elitist environment, says Turrell. “There are many bright people within a company who are much closer to their customers and competition than top executives,” he said. “But often they have no channel to express their opinions”.
Idea management software gives them a channel. Managers define a corporate goal and then send a notice to all workers. Idea Central gathers ideas from everyone and stores the ideas in one central place. Appropriate staff then reviews the ideas, though other employees can provide critiques as well.
The software compares costs against benefits to gauge project success. The process give executives a concrete method to manage innovation. The approach is similar to better known software that’s used to manage finances or supply chains.
This structured approach is catching on because it offers real benefits, says Navi Radjou, an analyst with Forrester research. Clients use it to manage their supply chain of ideas, he says. The software transforms the raw materials of ideas into new products or finished goods, says Radjou. “CEOs want to improve and accelerate the innovation process to drive growth,” he said. “Innovation is seen as the mantra for success.”
Some companies include a rewards program with their idea management systems. Employees who contribute new ideas can earn points toward rewards, similar to frequent flier programs. This can help with staff loyalty and career development. For instance, two plant workers at Imaginatik client Cadbury-Schweppes came up with so many good ideas, they were promoted to management roles. One became director of engineering.
Other Imaginatik customers include IBM, Chevron and Dow AgroSciences, a unit of Dow Chemical.
Boston-based Imaginatik expects to log $5 million in sales this year. If all goes well, says Turrell, the company could mull filing for an initial public stock offering by year’s end.