Despite playing crucial roles in the execution of an organization's projects, lower level employees have long been left out of the decision-making process, with executives and research and development teams typically choosing where to allot funds.
Now, however, companies have finally begun to realize the benefits of allowing employees of all levels to have a say in which projects to pursue. To do so, some have turned to Kickstarter-like internal crowdsourcing platforms to streamline the process, The Wall Street Journal reports.
These platforms, used by companies such as IBM, AstraZeneca and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, offer a space for all employees to pitch their ideas and virtually "invest" in their colleagues' proposals, giving executives an idea of which projects could have the most positive impact on an organization. While AstraZeneca has reportedly kept the traditional R&D process intact and reserves crowdsourcing for smaller projects, IBM developed its own ifundIT crowdsourcing platform for itself and its clients to use.
"Engagement is critical for us, not just in terms of serving clients, but in terms of attracting and retaining talent," Andi Britt, head of IBM's talent and engagement practice for Europe, told WSJ. "[It] means tapping into the collective intelligence of our employees globally, helping them shape the future of our organization."
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