With the enhance focus on innovation in Tata Group through Tata Group Innovation Forum (TGIF), slowly but surely, the understanding of "innovation" among executives and management is growing. A number of conferences, seminars, publications, workshops and our visits to USA and Japan have demystified the subject.

The innovations that drive future value need to come and get executed from somewhere or, more accurately, from somebody—those people who constitute any organization's intellectual assets. And most organizations simply do not have the infrastructure and culture in place to locate and harvest the fruits of ideas and experience.

TGIF has approved a measurement system (called Innometer) to find out the state of Innovation Process and Culture. This Innometer could be applied to the whole organisation or part of the organisation eg BU, department etc.

The InnoMeter has been developed based on the knowledge and experience gained from Prof Julian Birkinshaw of London Business School.

To carry out the Innometer study, the following participants from the company are required: 

• Senior leadership team and
• A good mix of high performing young managers, creative managers and influencers 

All the managers of the participating company are required to fill in a short web-based survey at least 10-15 days before the site work for interviews and discussions. 

A team of TQMS consultants visits the participating company to have a one-on-one discussion with the senior management team and a few focus Group discussions with managers. 

The results of the Tata InnoMeter are shared just after the discussions at site are over. This session facilitates discussions on action planning to improve Innovation process and culture. 

This ‘Innometer’ that has been adapted from the work of Prof Julian Birkinshaw. It has two parts:

Innovation – Process: The Innovation process in Innometer has been identified as a three step process. The first two steps have been further divided into sub-processes as mentioned below.

Innovation Culture: Four broad cultural pillars have been used in the Innometer to assess the culture of Innovation. The Innometer outcome presents the culture as perceived by the employees on seven attributes that have been derived from these four pillars. 

TQMS carries out the above study which is ideally followed by an action planning session to design interventions for addressing the weaker links in the Innovation process and culture.

InnoMeter Methodology

Some of the typical outcomes of the Innometer studies are: