Our latest featured blog is a series of videos from Gavin Russell, with his tips on how HR practitioners can improve their ability to be innovative. With over 20 years in talent transformation, Gavin has helped businesses ranging from small start-ups to multinational corporations rapidly evolve their approach to talent.

He has led major talent change programmes at Skype, Microsoft, Foxtel and DTZ and is the author of ‘Transformation Timebomb’, a business guidebook for the digital age. He holds certifications in Mastering Business Models, Value Propositions and Business Testing, as well as Design Thinking. 

Gavin has given us his top 5 tips for HR practitioners on improving their ability to be innovative.

3. Design thinking principles:

Enterprise innovation comes from a deep understanding of your users real-world problems.

Don’t start with how to improve your current products/services – you’ve already narrowed your objective, which stifles creativity. 

You should start at the other end – your users experience of their jobs/pains/risks/gains.

Immerse yourself in their problem – soak it up without judgement, developing fresh perspectives.

Understanding your user’s problem/opportunity, from their point of view, creates a completely different framework within which to be creative.

Embrace the ‘small, quick and dirty’.

Solution often doesn’t need to be big, expensive and complicated. In fact, the best innovations are often small, fast, simple, focussed and frequent.

Don’t wait till it’s perfect – no solution is perfect. And remember, you don’t need to know everything to get moving.

You can find out more about what Gavin does on his website here.

James Cumming is our MD, Interim and Transformation Search specialist. Please get in contact with him directly to discuss any of these topics further.