Five Reasons You Need Idea Management Software

It’s a challenge every leader must overcome: the suggestion box. It seems so simple; set out a box, some pencils and paper, and let people anonymously contribute ideas. Then comes a flood you can barely manage, or a drought as you struggle to get people to weigh in. Even if you do get viable ideas, how does anybody know they’re being read, let alone being developed? This is why idea management software is a pressing need for every organization.

Idea Management Software Helps You Collect And Organize Ideas

Any organization has a deep well of creativity to tap into, but tap into it the wrong way, and you’ll get something more akin to a geyser than a steady flow you can direct. Idea management tools let you both digitally collect ideas, both anonymously and with credit, and put them into an order that makes sense for both you and your team.

Idea Management Software Offers Transparency

One of the flaws of the suggestion box is that ideas go in, but to your employees, it may seem like they never come out. Innovation management platforms allow you to create a transparent and accountable process where everyone can see ideas advance through different stages. This not only offers accountability for the progress of ideas, but it helps your team refine their approaches as they see why an idea moves forward or is sent back for refinement.

Idea Management Software Gives Control

One of the trickier aspects of collecting ideas is making sure every stakeholder is on board. Idea management software can be configured to allow the entire company to vote and comment, or only certain stakeholders to vote based on a filter. If your facilities staff has an idea to bring composting to company kitchens, for example, employees should know about the idea, and can comment on it, but the people most responsible for executing it should have more control over it.

With idea management, people communicate

Idea Management Brings Together Stakeholders

It can be difficult to break the silos that naturally build in any organization. The accountants will spend most of their time with fellow finance experts, the designers will largely work with other designers, and so on. Bar a few departments, like human resources, that of necessity touch every department, getting your staff into the same room, let alone on the same page, can be a challenge when they’re in these silos. Innovation tools engage them with each other and give team members the tools to constructively explain their perspectives when voting for or against an idea. This not only helps ideas grow, but it fosters more creativity and helps your team make connections.

Idea Management Makes Ideation Fulfilling

Being creative is a fundamental need in our lives, and having that creativity fulfilled in some way, even if it’s just people you respect taking your ideas seriously, is an important part of making the work we do more than a job where we punch a clock for a paycheck. If employees are actively driving the processes they abide by and the products and services they sell, their work means more to them emotionally.

As you can see, idea management software isn’t just about managing that suggestion box; it’s about uniting your company and making your team happier and more engaged. To see an idea management solution in action, get a demo today!