Story:
The end of innovation by coincidence – building a systematic capability.

How to make innovation a systematic and consistent process?

How do we do it?

We seek consistency in what we say, think and do, which is why from the time we select our partners,and throughout the entire Human Resources process, we seek capable people, in whom we measure their innovation capability based on observable behaviors and evaluate their innovation performance. But we especially seek people with strong principles and values in line with those of the organization, to ensure we can fulfill the higher purpose we have set for ourselves.

Among the characteristics we look for in our employees are discipline and perseverance, which allow us to implement innovative initiatives and achieve the goals we have laid out. The ability to work as part of a group is also very important for us, because we constantly create cross-functional and cross-hierarchic teams, enabling us to carry out ambitious projects and improve every day.

• Ability to break hierarchies

We have developed a special ability to break hierarchies. Before we implemented our strategy, innovation only arose from those we considered brilliant minds or from the first level of the organization. But since the strategy was implemented, a non-hierarchical structure was put in place in which the owners of a project, along with the Innovation Coaches, who can hail from any hierarchical level in the organization, are in charge of inviting to participate into their innovation sessions, people who can contribute from their knowledge and experience and not because of the office they hold. In the training for Innovation Coaches we transmit the importance of leading sessions according to the merits of ideas, indepently of the proposer's position or hierarchical level. Also, the methodology and training coaches receive gives them the knowledge and confidence to make this a reality. People  at all levels of the organization have promoted innovation sessions in which the ideas of all participants are equally valuable and heard. For example, the President used sessions to define how he should handle the various committees of the Bank and some vice presidents have promoted internal dynamics to encourage and recognize innovation in their areas.

• Our Innovation Coaches

It is a source of pride for people to be elected for the role of Innovation Coach, because it recognizes their leadership, perseverance and discipline in the organization. These persons receive training in which they are exposed to innovation principles and tools, the way in which these should be facilitated to generate innovative ideas, and how to manage groups to break through the hierarchies barrier. 

When a person is elected to be an Innovation Coach, the person keeps the regular duties of his/her position and at the same time becomes a source of support for his or her area and other officers, to identify needs, plan and facilitate sessions that will lead to the development of innovation ideas.

Innovation Coaches are recognize by all people in the organization, therefore when an area or a person identifies a problem or an opportunity, they seek the help of one of the Coaches to facilitate an innovation session. Once the owner of the problem contacts the Coach, they sit down so they can understand the issue, define which methodology shpuld they use, and who should be present at the session.

• We break paradigms

The innovation process has led us to question what we have and the rules imposed on us from outside, which has allowed us to modify our products and processes. For us an indispensable aspect of innovation is to break paradigms. It is also very important to be inclusive; we believe that everyone has the ability to generate innovative ideas, and the best answers and solutions are often not found in those with more experience.

• An organization that learns

In the dynamics of our organization we recognize that learning is a key feature that allows each person to grow daily and allows us to improve as an organization. That's why our associates have the possibility to make a mistake without any fear they might be terminated for it , and this in turn generates confidence in them and the appropriate environment to learn, innovate and do the job better every day. Learning is also the basis for programs such as the Innovation Award, Innovation Expedition and Innovation Portal, which allow us to strengthen knowledge of innovation in our employees and share best practices present in different areas of the organization.

• Innovation Prize

The Innovation Prize is the way to recognize we designed, because it allows us to consolidate innovation achievements presented every year so these might be known and replicated throughout the organization. It also allows us to recognize and motivate officers and work teams who have led innovation in the organization and further to strengthen the innovation culture we have built during this process.

In the Innovation Prize we recognize some group categories (Customer Experience, Efficiency, New Product Development, Synergy, and Branches) and some individual ones (Best Project Owner, Best Innovation Coach, and Best Vicepresident), because we consider innovation is possible thanks to teamwork, but we also recognize that leaders are necessary to push it.

To participate in the Innovation Prize, the persons or work teams who consider they achieved innovations that broke paradigms and had economic, social and/or enviromental impact for the organization, nominate their projects through the Innovation Portal. All projects received are evaluated by a technical commitee composed of the Bank's Vicepresidents, which is in charge of selecting the most innovative achievements to be presented and argued before an external jury. THe external jury is empaneled each year with people from the public and private sectors, who we invite based on their experience and relationship with innovation, and who select the winners; in this way we guarantee that the evaluation and selection of the winning projects is transparent and objective.

• Innovation Expedition

Keeping in mind that Innovation is an organizational skill, we wanted the recognition that the Prize winners received to be in line with the creation of an organizational skill, and allow the participants to strengthen their innovation knowledge and become inspired to coninue innovating. For these reasons we created the Innovation Expedition, an experience in an inspiring place in Colombia, in which the participants have the possibility of attending conferences with innovation experts, working with the comunity, and experiencing life events belonging to the regions they visit.

To the date, we have had two Expedtions, one in the Amazonin in which we had experts on biomimetics participating, and another in San Andres and Providencia, where the expeditionaries had the chance to share their experiences with entrepreneurs in the region. In 2013 we will carry out our third Innovation Expedition, which will take place in the Coffee Region.

• Information System

To support the innovation strategy, we have an information system located on the Bank's intranet, the Innovation Portal, to which all associates can gain access to share their implemented achievements, send the Innovation Managment their observations and concerns, request help in their innovation process, and consult the methodology, the achievements implemented by others, the Coaches network, news relating to our innovation strategy, advice and material to prepare innovation sessions. 

•  Understanding Innovation

It was also important for innovation to create a common language in which we all understand that innovation means implemented achievements and not ideas, that for something to be innovative it has to break a paradigm, and that it must generate positive impacts in the economic, social and/or environmental aspects for the organization and/or one of the Bank’s stakeholders.