Leaving the status quo, improving production processes to add value to customers and differentiate themselves from the competition is vital in many organizations in a context in which changes run fast. To achieve this, innovation is the key, according to entrepreneurs and consultants.
For the research and development of new products, some Uruguayan companies have research and development departments or areas. This could be considered the previous step to the innovation areas, which have started to appear now in Uruguay with a new figure: the innovation manager. When it comes to choosing the person who will manage the ideas and, with the help of a team, will manage to execute them, it will be necessary to consider that this person has a deep knowledge of how the business works, is a leader and, most importantly, thinks differently and questions the established.
According to KPMG's Human Resources Manager, Federico Kuzel, companies that do not create a space for their employees to have a place to think differently, encourage them to leave and form their own company. Companies "begin to realize that it is not necessary to execute innovative ideas outside the office, but that it is possible to intrapreneur and devote time to the development of ideas," he said.
Innovating not only implies investing financially in the creation of an area -if the company did not have one before-, but it is also necessary to dedicate time to the planning and development of the idea. Sometimes, more traditional companies, which were not born with technology as the basis of their business, are reluctant to decide to have one person dedicated exclusively to the development of new ideas and that, according to Kuzel, is the main obstacle to disruption. "In general, if something works, the Uruguayan leaves it that way, even if it can be improved and eventually give more profit," said the consultant.
State support
To encourage innovation in Uruguayan companies, the National Agency for Research and Innovation(ANII) implemented a program aimed at hiring professionals dedicated to business innovation. ANII finances up to 65% of the monthly cost of up to three people per company for a maximum term of 24 months to those who apply to the open window call.
ANII's Operations Manager, Sara Goldberg, commented that the idea is that they are people who spend most of their time thinking about new products and processes, how to find added value and improve products and services. "Depending on the degree of training of the people, is the different type of financing they have," she added. The central idea of this funding, according to Goldberg, is to make one person responsible for carrying the company's innovation on his or her shoulders.
"We know that funding can be a limit for a company that wants to innovate, and this tool makes companies take heart," he insisted.
Guiding commitment
For the director of ANII, Fernando Brum, in order to incorporate an innovation area in the companies, it is necessary that the top management is determined to walk this path of mistakes, successes and slow results. "The commitment of the direction, in the first thing that is manifested is the investment in personnel and in the necessary tools," said Brum. For Brum, supporting innovation and research and development is central to competing in any business area. The consequences of not having a specialized person will be visible in a few years, when the speed of change of competitors who did develop new ideas will surpass them.
"Those that are not innovating at some point will feel the pressure of the market and the way out will be to modify the standardization of processes," Brum summarized.
For his part, the director of Advice, Federico Muttoni, understands that a company can innovate in two different ways: make a small change in the way of doing things or reach a disruption, raising a new paradigm in the business. To achieve either type, it is necessary that the innovation manager works transversally with all areas of the company.
"The company has to generate a culture of innovation that crosses all departments, with the support of senior management and getting all employees to join the process," said Muttoni.
The director of Ariceta Consultores, Fernando Ariceta, predicted that it is likely that in the not too distant future the Innovation management will include other areas that today are "scattered", such as R&D, quality control and product development.
"I imagine that, at some point, organizations will have to mutate to a structure that has an innovation area in all the branches where it is necessary," the consultant defined.
"Once you start down the pathof innovation, you can't turn back". Fernando Brum, president of ANII.
Be an innovative leader
The innovation manager or innovative leader must, in addition to finding ways to develop new ideas, have unique qualities that allow him to coordinate an entire team behind him. "Listen and observe, detect what the organization can serve and interpret how to apply the change in the context in which the company is managed". This is how the director of the technological solutions company Pyxis, Diego Sastre, defined the infallible characteristics for any person who will manage innovation in a company.
Pyxis was one of the first companies to receive ANII's subsidy for the payment of personnel in the Research and Innovation area. In this case, ANII subsidizes part of the salary of an engineer who was studying in France and returned to Uruguay, and other master students who are doing their thesis oriented to research topics of interest to the company.
For Sastre, innovation must be accompanied by previous research. In addition, he urged to innovate in processes and not in products, which in the case of Uruguay do not compete with global investments.
State subsidy for innovation
Since September 2015, ANII integrated as part of its tools for innovation the program for the recruitment of highly qualified professionals, with the aim of enabling companies to develop Research, Development and Innovation departments.
For those professionals who have completed their graduate studies abroad, and have not returned to the country or have done so within a period not exceeding 12 months, the percentage of funding will be 80% of the monthly cost for a dedication of up to 40 hours per week.
The maximum amounts to be financed will be different depending on whether they are professionals with bachelor's or master's degrees, or doctorates and postdocs (ANII provides a monthly maximum of $ 45,000 for professionals with bachelor's degrees, and $ 112,000 for professionals who return from abroad with a postgraduate degree). A committee evaluates the relevance and capacity of the company.
Some innovation and/or research managers
Andrés Pastorino - manager of Conaprole's R+D+I Division
Conaprole's Research, Development and Innovation Division covers research projects linked to raw materials, products and processes, and was established eight years ago. The division's manager, Andrés Pastorino, understands that innovation is an activity that demands investment, time, incorporating knowledge, working with uncertainty and the possibility of failure. "This requires a different business model and culture if innovation is to contribute to success in a relevant way," he said. He added that "comparatively, in the region and in the world, many countries have shown a greater commitment to innovation" in recent years.
Pedro Mastrángelo - Innovation Manager of CSI Ingenieros
In 2013 the transversal innovation area was formalized in CSI Ciemsa, engineering development company in design, operation, reconnaissance and construction. The area was integrated with two people, where Pedro Mastrángelo was the head of the team. In the framework of ANII's project to hire professionals, a few weeks ago a new collaborator joined the team to work on long-term projects and coordinate innovation. "We (innovation area) are immersed in the production processes. If we move away from the reality of what the client thinks, we can quickly lose the perspective of what the client needs", warned Mastrángelo.
Gastón Milano - GeneXusChief Technology Officer
GeneXus' Research, Development and Innovation Department was born with the company itself. At the beginning, its founders, Nicolás Jodal and Breogan Gonda, were in charge of this area, which currently has a team of 30 people working in small groups of three people in each project that is developed. "We believe that creativity is more encouraged in small teams and this is a constant in Uruguay, because in the end the scarcity of resources makes it a competitive advantage", explained the director of the area, Gastón Milano. The executive assured that GeneXus is always looking for "a different way of doing things".
María Pía Aristimuño - Virbac R&D Project Coordinator
Virbac Santa Elena Laboratory has as one of its main areas research and development, which includes innovation with the creation of new products -especially vaccines-, or improving the existing ones.about a month ago resigned the manager of the area and the company is looking for a candidate to fill the position. According to the R&D Projects Coordinator, María Pía Aristimuño, the candidate for this position must have a great technical knowledge and, at the same time, a strategic vision of the market. "It is important to incorporate technology according to the needs of producers," said Aristimuño.
Source: The Observer
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