Tech Intrapreneurs Initiatives
Taking an entrepreneurial spirit to the workplace isn’t just for small businesses and startups. It’s just as important to have that mindset within large companies in order to keep up with industry changes. In fact, many entrepreneurs have found success by creating their own corporate intrapreneurship programs that encourage employees to explore their ideas while also giving them leeway to try new things.
Unlike entrepreneurs, who assume all of the risks of innovating and often have to find their own funding for projects that may not immediately pay off, intrapreneurs have a built-in safety net, namely the company’s resources and brand name. However, just because intrapreneurs have a larger safety net does not mean that their initiatives will always be successful. Just as in a startup, major setbacks can ruin the company’s reputation or even result in bankruptcy. In order to help prevent these occurrences, the company should have an established system for reviewing and evaluating intrapreneurship initiatives.
The finance team can play a vital role tech intrapreneur in this process by helping to educate intrapreneurs on compliance and risk concerns from the outset. This helps to ensure that the creative project will have a greater chance of success. The finance department can also help to manage expectations by ensuring that intrapreneurs are aware of the timeframes in which they should expect return on investment and identify nonfinancial metrics in addition to profit and loss.
Financial Implications of Tech Intrapreneurs Initiatives
Research suggests that intrapreneurs who are given the support and resources to succeed have a much higher chance of creating successful products than those that aren’t. By fostering an intrapreneurship culture at the company level, companies can leverage their internal talent to innovate, improve efficiency and ultimately stay competitive in the marketplace.
While entrepreneurs are often able to get their business ventures off the ground quickly because of their own innate motivation and resourcefulness, it can be difficult for intrapreneurs to make headway with their projects when they are constrained by the day-to-day operations of the company. Intrapreneurs need to have a strong network of supportive colleagues in order to successfully launch and sustain their innovative initiatives.
Intrapreneurship can help create a more flexible and adaptive workplace, but unless it is carefully managed it can result in conflicting goals that can derail employee creativity. The best way to promote intrapreneurship is by encouraging employees to speak up and share their ideas, but it is crucial that these suggestions are carefully considered and evaluated. This can be achieved by establishing a process that allows employees to submit their suggestions to the “powers that be” and explains how these will be evaluated.
The key to success for intrapreneurs is that they must be supported by senior management. Intrapreneurs who are not properly supported will eventually lose their drive and move to other firms, which can be disastrous for a company’s long-term success. Therefore, companies need to implement a structured intrapreneurship program that includes an established framework and a clear path for employee growth.