Towards A Stronger Future for the European Workplace Innovation Network Steven Dhondt and Peter Totterdill

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1 Towards A Stronger Future for the European Workplace Innovation Network Steven Dhondt and Peter Totterdill Introduction From the European Commission supported the activities of the European Workplace Innovation Network (EUWIN) in promoting and helping develop workplace innovation (WPI) in Europe 1. The European Commission has subsequently asked us to continue and promote workplace innovation pro bono, and we are glad to do so. The extensive network developed since 2013 will take over EUWIN s functions, freeing us to find new ways of bringing workplace innovation to all parts of Europe. We can improve the current state-ofthe-art of workplace innovation in many ways. Much has been achieved, but even more remains to be done. This document combines the views and perspectives of seasoned EUWIN networkers with those of very new partners 2. Everyone can support our effort in strengthening WPI in European companies and institutions. During the SI-DRIVE Final Conference, we gathered information and insights needed to formulate new directions for a Stronger Future. This document outlines a new network proposal for EUWIN together with a framework for future policy dialogue with the European Commission and EU member States. What have we achieved since the first Position Paper on WPI? EUWIN started with the Dortmund/Brussels Position Paper in 2012, and we are proud of this heritage. The main aims of the Dortmund/Brussels Position Paper were expressed in four core priorities: The EU should address the push, pull and up-lift factors required to scale up Workplace Innovation in Europe. National and regional action based programmes should be stimulated, based on a shared vision and a shared understanding of the conditions required for sustainable and systemic change. The current thrust of European research spending on hard tech issues must be balanced by the development of Workplace Innovation. The new Framework programme, Horizon 2020, should allocate thirty percent of the technology investments to Workplace Innovation investment. Direct support for new capacity and network building is required to pump prime actions in many Member States. Transfer of knowledge inside Europe (within the North and from North to South and East) should be stimulated to enhance Europe s competitive edge through Workplace Innovation. A targeted transnational initiative should establish new coalitions and fund demonstrator projects in Member States currently lacking national programmes. Measurable performance targets relating to work organisation need to be incorporated within the Integrated Guidelines of the European Employment Strategy based on systematic data collection. Measures to raise awareness of the significance of work organisation should be targeted at ESF operational structures at national and regional level. In the following table, we indicated which of these goals have been realised over the past four years and which needs now exist: For definitions, for the position paper, we ask you to refer to the documents on the internet. For an overview of the actions of EUWIN, please consult the EUWIN websources.

2 Table 1 Action Plan for Workplace Innovation 2012: what has been realised and what are current needs? Action Realised? New needs A common database of evidence-based practice should be created to enhance understanding of Workplace Innovation. Yes: Continue the development of this database. Research on Workplace Innovation, in different forms, helps create awareness and demand. Action-oriented research into the conditions for effective and sustainable change in organisations remains a priority, establishing the conditions under which improved organisational performance and enhanced quality of working life can converge. The current thrust of European R&D spending into hard tech issues must be balanced by research on Workplace Innovation in order to build a comprehensive view of the conditions for sustainable economic and social progress. The new Framework programme Horizon 2020 should balance investment in technology with investment in Workplace Innovation. At least thirty percent of invested funds in Horizon 2020 should be allocated to Workplace Innovation. Workplace Innovation linked to the introduction of new forms of work organisation makes a significant impact on indicators that lie at the heart of Europe 2020, including productivity, innovation, quality of jobs, active ageing, healthy work and the acquisition of appropriate skills. Targeted intervention by public agencies and social partners works as a means of stimulating and resourcing Workplace Innovation in ways that produce win-win outcomes for enterprises and employees. Europe should include such awareness in its narrative on Europe Funding to promote Workplace Innovation through the ESF should be at the heart of its Operational Programmes at national and regional levels. In a number of Member States, Workplace Innovation is well-established as a policy issue. As Europe grows closer together and companies operate across geographical borders, it becomes even more important that knowledge and practices should be shared between Member States by means of joint programs, networks and collaborative action. 2 Partly: only Eurofound has invested into this topic. No. Partly: an effort was directed at the European Innovation Scoreboard. DG ENTR 10 Oct 2012 WPI in industrial and innovation policy. DG EMPL 2015 advocates Complementing technological innovation with WPI for job quality, active ageing and so on. Partly, but varies considerably between countries. Yes, through EUWIN. H2020 and FP9 need to allow for this subject. This needs to be re-thought. This effort should be refocused and launched. This should continue. This should continue.

3 Countries and enterprises are already deeply interconnected and face common challenges in embracing globalisation. It is an EU-level responsibility to ensure a structured approach to learning from Europe s diversity and to turn such learning into a unique competitive advantage in the global economy. Diversity management in relation to Workplace Innovation has to be recognised at EU level as an essential means of stimulating and enhancing exchange of knowledge, experience and creative thinking between Member States. Such learning can be done by supporting European Joint Research, or by creating a framework through which more can be learnt from the separate programmes in different countries. Enterprises need support to create and embed a holistic innovation culture. Europe already has a vast store of research-based knowledge and case study experience, but little exists in a form readily available to practitioners. In part this reflects a lack of translation between languages and in part a lack of translation between academic research and practice. New mechanisms for capturing, distilling and distributing knowledge of work organisation throughout the practitioner community are required. Social partner organisations at national and local levels can play a key role as knowledgeable participants in stimulating, guiding and resourcing workplace change, but they also need help and support to fulfil this role. More support is therefore needed for renewed social dialogue and capacity building actions targeted at national and local social partners. Direct support for the creation of new capacity and network building is required to pump prime actions in many Member States. The transfer of knowledge within Europe (both within the North and from North to the South and East) will help enhance the European competitive edge through Workplace Innovation. A targeted transnational initiative should be launched by the European Commission to resource the establishment of new coalitions and to fund demonstrator projects in Member States which currently lack national programmes. This could be based on convergent actions involving DG Enterprise and Industry, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, and DG Regional Policy. Partly, through the efforts of Eurofound and EUWIN. Partly, through EUWIN outputs. Partly, through EUWIN. No. No The topic should receive a more permanent place in Eurofound programming as well as in that of the DGs. EU or national support for translation instruments will be required. This should be developed through EESC, EP and ECOSOC. DG EMPL should be more connected. The EEN, EASME, and other European investments should have WPI as a focus. The DGs should collaborate on this subject. This has been tried, but insufficient commitment exists to break through the silos. 3

4 Workplace Innovation can enhance policy effectiveness. Work organisation appears frequently as an issue in EU policy documentation and even in the European Social Fund, but there is insufficient evidence of its translation into action. Measurable performance targets relating to work organisation need to be incorporated within the Integrated Guidelines based on systematic data collection. Measures to raise awareness of the significance of work organisation should be targeted at ESF operational structures at national and regional level. No See EIS above. Which new actions are needed to support workplace innovation? The table above shows several actions which should be continued or refreshed in the future. For each of these actions, EU, national, regional or social partner support is required. Several new suggestions were formulated during discussions leading to the production of this paper: The outcomes of the Brussels-SI DRIVE Final Conference workshop were: A. Wider dissemination of the WPI concept is needed: 1. Small adaptive changes are needed to target mindset change, a multi-pronged, multi-channel (e.g. various ways of communicating about WPI) approach in which companies, unions, policymakers and society at large (multiple stakeholders) are involved. Since there is a big gap between high technology and users, an incremental approach with smaller steps and lower thresholds would help companies to take up WPI. Horizon2020 follows a high-tech strategy but does little about the engagement of people. 2. One step would be to find companies that engage in WPI but do not know they are doing so (since they have not heard the term): these could serve as examples for others. Remember that upscaling is not easy. Carefully regulated subsidised consultancy to help companies may also be effective. 3. There are, by now, numerous good WPI resources available. However, they are either difficult to access or are not accessible to the general public or to companies because their language does not match that of the audience. A change in language or translation is needed to get people to understand the concept and make it more easily accessible. It would be stimulating if companies and their people could understand what WPI is all about at first hand. 4. Demonstrate the convergence between market-related outcomes and improved quality of work inherent in WPI, including flexibility, stress risks, healthy work, work-life balance. 5. Education: students suggested that if workplace innovation is important it would have been in our textbooks. We discussed why it is not (yet) in textbooks on innovation management, and which concepts such as organisational innovation are close to it. Nevertheless students recognised the content of workplace innovation as important, including employee engagement and flat organisations. Surprisingly, the Chinese student said that horizontal companies (flat organisation) is the trend in China as a kind of continuation of socialist values. So, the recommendation of the students was to connect workplace innovation with better-known concepts and to get it in textbooks. 4

5 6. Helping change the behaviour of managers and employees: take into account differences between employees and use a diversity approach. Use story-telling to engage all stakeholders. Create feedback mechanisms for employees and provide training for changing the workplace. 7. Support a change in culture. B. Public institutions as lead buyer of the idea of WPI Role Modelling 1. EU institutions as well as local government institutions should implement WPI themselves and role-model it to others. Public policy agencies need workplace innovation. Empowered public sector staff would be more entrepreneurial and work more closely with other stakeholders to develop workplace innovation initiatives across the economy as a whole. 2. Inspirational leadership would also help in this respect. C. Capacity building 1. Guarantee that WPI support is of high quality through regional or EU policy, or other accreditation body. Providing companies with a quality mark or accredited programme for WPI could help promote implementation more broadly. 2. The European Commission has a strategic role to play in supporting actors (research institutions, social partners, NGOs, regional/national development agencies) to build capacity for workplace innovation at regional/national levels; this includes support for awareness raising, putting it on the social dialogue agenda, creating expert communities, peer-to-peer knowledge sharing and practical support at workplace level. (See Tuomo Alasoini s superb Dissertation for an in-depth analysis). 3. Policy-makers should help and incentivise companies to implement WPI; one possible way to do so would be by providing free workshops on WPI, especially targeted at SMEs. 4. Additionally, companies should be shown how WPI is the best approach to deal with, and to get the best out of digitalisation and robotisation. The same holds for achieving a flexible organisation. 5. Establish programmes for companies to participate in, based on practical solutions. 6. Create sharing between start-up and scale-up companies: exchange expertise between big and small organisations (e.g. 2 weekly team meetings). D. Policy context: soft regulation needed 1. Connect to the Pillar of Social Rights. 2. Take OSH regulation as an example: develop an agreed norm, a quality mark, for organisations as there is for software. A European Directive is most probably not the way to implement workplace innovation even if it was possible (see Tuomo s Dissertation 3 ). This also holds for psychosocial workload: no directive but tools and campaigns, partly funded by EU and national governments. Soft regulation should be developed. 3 Alasoini, T. (2015). Workplace development programmes as institutional entrepreneurs. Why they produce change and why they do not. Dissertation Helsinki. 5

6 E. More knowledge needed 1. It could also be worthwhile to identify the barriers to implementation or acceptance of the concept. 2. Renewed efforts are needed to create a public understanding of workplace innovation and its importance for key concerns such as productivity, mental health and the socially responsible introduction of new technologies. A sustained 10-year media campaign is needed, plus the open availability of evidence and practical experience. 3. It is important to understand who our (actual and potential) activists are, and where they come from. The space for individual initiative is being squeezed out of universities in many countries, as academics become increasingly driven by targets. Can we reverse this while also creating space for other actors (such as social partners and NGOs) to build regional/national movements and secure support from policymakers? If these suggestions are linked to the former action plan, then we get the following overview: Table 2 A New Action Plan for Workplace Innovation More information, more dissemination Action New suggestions Database of evidence-based practice See A. Wider dissemination. Research on Workplace Innovation. At least thirty percent of invested funds in See E. More Horizon 2020 should be allocated to Workplace Innovation. research. Workplace Innovation indicators should be included in systematic data collection to raise awareness. Knowledge and practices should be shared between Member States by means of joint programs, networks and collaborative action. European Joint Research should help exchange between the separate programmes in different countries. Enterprises need support to create and embed a holistic innovation culture, using practitioner communities, even more in the second machine age. Public support, policy context Public agencies and social partners should stimulate and resource Workplace Innovation in ways that produce win-win outcomes for enterprises and employees. Capacity building ESF funding to promote Workplace Innovation through the ESF should be at the heart of its Operational Programmes at national and regional levels. More support is therefore needed for renewed social dialogue and capacity building actions targeted at national and local social partners. The transfer of knowledge within Europe (both within the North and from North to the South and East) will help enhance the European competitive edge through Workplace Innovation. Practical programmes by the European Commission to resource the establishment of new coalitions and to fund demonstrator projects in Member States which currently lack national programmes. See E. See C. But add B. See C. See C. 6

7 The old actions need to be continued, the new list shows some additional directions. We will imbed them in the new action plan for EUWIN, which will follow in the coming months. The policy context of has changed over time. Europe is now using the Juncker Plan to find new ways forward. We are at the end of the period of austerity and are dealing with the prospects of stronger economic growth, while Brexit creates new challenges for the European Union. The question is, does this new policy context require us to rethink the action plan for the future? We invite everyone to suggest such new actions. The past four years have taught us more about what drives Workplace Innovation. Old risks for inclusive work remain: the growth of self-employed individuals, the growth of the network economy and multi-located working sites, the notion of the mobile and boundless workplace, the concept of distributed leadership and management, the changing institutional roles of unions and occupational groupings, the ageing work force, complex patterns of self-organised linkages connecting organisations and individuals, the application of ICTs and the use of social media. At the same time, new risks arise. We are now dealing with new phenomena such as the platform economy, robotisation and digitalisation. All of these developments require a context within companies that is open to the ideas and perspectives of first-line employees. This direction is not automatic, nor market-driven. Policy support will be needed to stimulate this participation. Your support is needed We invite everyone to support this Stronger Future. If you want to express your support, please let us know. You can always suggest improvements to this document. Steven Dhondt (steven.dhondt@tno.nl) Peter Totterdill (peter.totterdill@workplaceinnovation.eu) 7