Having high-quality ideas, and the ability to identify them among all ideas that are submitted is a challenge many of our customers are struggling with.
The good news are that we believe that these are goals are definitely achievable by following the below best practices.
The below article explains how to approach these goals from various aspects:
- Making the Idea Itself better - how can the product help the author/co-authors to submit their best idea?
- Utilize the "Wisdom of the Crowd" in order to improve the idea
- Make sure the best ideas are identified and evaluated, and are not ignore, stay behind
- Building an Educated & Empowered Community
i.e. make sure our community is getting instructive feedback so the quality of the ideas is constantly improving
The guide provided by Qmarkets highlights actionable strategies to improve idea submission, collaboration, decision-making, and community building within a structured innovation framework.
See also attached PPT with more examples that can be shared with your team.
1. Making the Idea Itself better
- Make sure it's is clear what are the ideas that the current campaign is looking for.
Clear campaign goals and expectations ensures participants understand the purpose and scope of their contributions.
Campaign titles, descriptions, and supporting materials should be concise, informative, and aligned with the organization’s objectives. - Make sure the submission form is optimal
The questions in the form should be well-defined and with an accurate and help texts.
Based on your community and the topic of the campaign, find the right balance between a detailed-enough submission form, but without exhausting your submitters...
A few simple ways to achieve it is:
- Make sure the system setting supports flexible fields that can be adjusted per campaign as explained here
- Build a user-friendly submission experience is crucial - dynamic, intuitive forms and AI-driven assistance can enhance the clarity and relevance of submissions, ensuring participants feel supported throughout the process.
- Share the evaluation criteria
Participants are more likely to submit high-quality ideas when they are aware of how their submissions will be evaluated.
Being transparent with the evaluation process helps guide participants. Specify if this campaign follows a distinct methodology compared to previous ones, and elaborate on any unique elements involved, such as special recognitions, rewards, restrictions, or other relevant information that differentiates it from standard campaign
- Don't start with an empty campaign
Submit examples of strong submissions can inspire and set benchmarks.
2. Improve Collaboration on Ideas
Collaboration plays a vital role in elevating the quality of ideas. With the right collaboration an average idea can become a great one.
We are not the only ones saying it :-)
- Management Collaboration
Campaign managers and system owners must actively foster engagement, building trust and encouraging ongoing participation.
One effective approach is for managers to lead by example, offering constructive feedback and tagging participants to spark interaction.
To learn more about user tagging, visit here.
Other effective ways are sending dedicated bulk emails and/or newsletters to increase awareness.
Recognizing and rewarding collaborative contributions not only motivates participants but also reinforces the importance of teamwork in achieving campaign goals. recognizing can be achieves by allocating points for users that collaborate or by acknowledging contribution in various ways.
- Management support can also have a significant impact, as endorsements from senior leaders inspire greater involvement. Recognizing and rewarding collaborative contributions not only motivates participants but also reinforces the importance of teamwork in achieving campaign goals.
- Build trust
Define automatic transition rules to progress ideas along the workflow, based on community feedback, and make sure the community is aware of the importance of collaboration to their potential success.
3. Take the right decision in order to make sure you do not miss out the good ideas..
Making informed decisions about submitted ideas is critical to ensure the best ones are identified and prioritized.
- Use the right tools
Organizations should employ diverse evaluation processes, involving subject matter experts and leveraging tools such as AI.
Methods like scorecards, tournaments, and token voting can streamline the review process, depending on the volume and complexity of submissions.
To learn more on Review Committee Setup and Usage, visit here.
To learn how AI can help, visit here.
- Develop relevant processes to re-evaluate
Rejected ideas are often a forgotten gold mine that can hold much potential for the organization – things change, priorities shift and decisions worth re-visit
4. Educate and empower your community
Building a knowledgeable and empowered community is fundamental to sustaining innovation. Transparency is key; participants should receive clear feedback on why their ideas were accepted or rejected, enabling them to learn and improve.
- Be transparent in your actions and decisions
Users should understand why their ideas were not chosen, so they can improve for future submissions. Close irrelevant ideas with an explanation that is ideally visible to the community for transparency
- The Importance of Targeted Training in Empowering Participants
Providing targeted training, particularly on complex topics, helps equip participants with the skills and knowledge needed to submit impactful ideas. Workshops, webinars, and hands-on examples can bridge knowledge gaps and foster confidence among participants.
- Measure Your Process
Finally, organizations should regularly measure the success of their innovation processes. Tracking the ROI of accepted ideas and analyzing areas for improvement ensures continuous growth and alignment with strategic objectives.
By following these best practices, we believe that organizations can cultivate a culture of innovation where participants feel valued and empowered to contribute high-quality ideas. With clear guidance, effective tools, and an engaged community, the process of idea generation and evaluation can become a driving force for achieving meaningful outcomes.