Paying people to innovate can increase creative output, but it can also change the kind of ideas they produce. The same reward may push some employees toward originality and others toward speed and volume. To get the results you want, design incentives around both your goals and your workforce. Here’s how.
Match rewards to your innovation goals. Decide whether you want more ideas, bigger breakthroughs, or both. Reward frequent submissions if volume matters. If originality matters more, create a separate track that rewards impact or technical significance.
Account for professional identities. Identify which employees have deep, specialized expertise and which work across broader areas. Don’t assume the same incentive will motivate both groups in the same way. Use that mix to anticipate whether rewards will encourage greater inventiveness or simply more output.
Build complementary teams. Create ways for broad thinkers and specialists to work together. Let generalists expand the idea pipeline, then have specialists test and refine promising concepts. Monitor the balance over time, and adjust your team mix if quality falls or idea generation slows.
