{"id":16950,"date":"2019-11-05T10:00:16","date_gmt":"2019-11-05T09:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hatrabbits.com\/?p=16950"},"modified":"2019-11-05T18:57:51","modified_gmt":"2019-11-05T17:57:51","slug":"fresh-eyes-journal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hatrabbits.com\/en\/fresh-eyes-journal\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fresh Eyes Journal \u2013 let new employees identify innovation opportunities"},"content":{"rendered":"

New employees or team members can help identify new innovation opportunities. But don’t expect them to do this automatically. Introduce a fresh eyes journal to encourage newcomers to share what has gone unnoticed for too long.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The arrival of a new employee or team member is a reason for celebration. Sure, the newbie has lots to learn and will need some guidance at the start, but it is exactly the unfamiliarity with \u2018business as usual\u2019 that gives your new colleague a superpower: the skill to identify innovation opportunities that are invisible to the rest of the organisation.<\/p>\n

The Fresh Eyes Journal<\/strong><\/h3>\n

At HatRabbits, we give new team members the assignment to keep a \u2018fresh eyes journal\u2019<\/em>. We ask them to write down everything that stands out to them. Everything that makes them frown deserves to be written down in the journal.<\/p>\n

We didn\u2019t invent the fresh eyes journal as a way to identify innovation opportunities. The founders of Emerald Therapeutics<\/u><\/a>, a Californian biotechnology company, came up with the idea to keep an innovative culture. They introduced four steps that each new employee is supposed to follow whenever he or she encounters something that seems odd:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. If you see something that seems weird to you, write it down<\/li>\n
  2. Talk to other people: why do we do things this way? What\u2019s our reasoning for doing this?<\/li>\n
  3. What issues remain, even when you take into account what colleagues told you about the reasoning behind the practice?<\/li>\n
  4. What solution(s) do you propose? How can we fix this?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    By having someone new write down as many ideas as possible on improvements, solutions and opportunities, the organisation (or team) gets to benefit from the \u2018fresh eyes\u2019 other team members no longer have.<\/p>\n

    Why a Fresh Eyes Journal?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    The longer you work in an organisation or team, the more commonplace everything becomes. Even things that might not be very logical (anymore<\/a><\/span>) at all. Newcomers, however, are not yet stuck in fixed patterns. The fact that everything is new to them, enables them to point out the obvious that is no longer visible to experienced employees. Whatever they find odd, they can flag. Some rules and customs might be in place for good reason, but others might have become obsolete without anyone noticing. New and better methods might be available. A fresh eyes journal likely uncovers innovation opportunities that were in plain sight all along.<\/p>\n

    Make sure you ask new employees to keep a fresh eyes journal right from the start. Ask them on day one. It won\u2019t take long before they are used to \u2018the way we do things here\u2019 and once they\u2019ve gotten used to their new environment, their eyes aren\u2019t so fresh anymore. In most cases, it probably won\u2019t take more than a month to become part of the system. Make sure you make the most of the fresh eyes while they last.<\/p>\n

    Preconditions for the journal to function<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    A fresh eyes journal is a great tool to uncover innovation opportunities, but for it to function it is necessary that the new colleague feels safe to point out uncomfortable truths. It\u2019s not fun to hear how what you\u2019re used to do can be done way more efficient. Let alone that your actions are useless or counter-productive…<\/p>\n

    Is the ordering process tedious for customers? Does the competition have a feature that blows yours out of the water? Is there redundant paperwork that slows down your process…? You\u2019ll want to know.<\/em><\/p>\n

    It can be scary to tell people with a lot more experience they\u2019re doing it wrong. Therefore, it\u2019s paramount to show that the organisation or team appreciates the new feedback. Explicitly make clear that the newcomer shouldn\u2019t hold back. Not just minor flaws should be mentioned. In fact, it\u2019s ESPECIALLY the painful observations that should be shared. Explain that these embarrassing findings help the organisation to improve and to find new innovation opportunities.<\/p>\n

    However, reassuring words are not enough. If suggestions and observations are shut down or ignored, you can be sure no more valuable insights will be shared.<\/p>\n

    Don\u2019t punish what you consider ignorant remarks. As the new colleague doesn\u2019t know how things work around here, he or she might question valuable routines or suggest things that are clearly impossible. Don\u2019t point out how foolish these remarks are. Instead, thank the employee for sharing his or her thoughts and patiently explain why, in this case, the idea won\u2019t be implemented. After you\u2019ve double-checked if the remark is indeed as unfounded as you think, of course!<\/p>\n

    Furthermore, show that you act on the ideas that have been put forward. Give feedback on every idea and show that steps are taken to implement or test good ideas. Nothing is more discouraging than complete silence after having shared an idea. If an employee gets the impression that nothing happens with whatever he or she brought forward, motivation to share anything will melt away like snow in the sun.<\/p>\n

    Make it easy to signal innovation opportunities<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Make sure it\u2019s easy for a new employee to signal the innovation opportunities you are looking for. After all, it\u2019s yet one more thing to do. And getting used to a new environment is hard enough as it is! Make clear how important the fresh eyes journal is. If you don\u2019t clarify this, your new colleague won\u2019t bother spending time on this secondary task.<\/p>\n

    Some guidelines<\/strong><\/p>\n

    To help new employees to get started with the Fresh Eyes Journal, we share some simple questions and advice on day one:<\/p>\n

    General<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n