FEATURE
ARE YOU SABOTAGING INNOVATION? How to Engage Your Intrapreneurs
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Shona Welsh, MCEd, CHRL
HRmatters / www.cphrmb.ca
iscovering I was an intrapreneur was a revelation. After 25 years of struggling with why I didn’t fit in, I finally understood. An intrapreneur is an entrepreneurial employee who isn’t interested in starting their own business. They like being part of a team, contributing to a vision bigger than them, and treat the company as if it were their own. As an HR professional, I was keen to understand how we could better engage and retain such employees. So, I spoke with intrapreneurs across all sectors, from entry level to the C-suite– and everything in between. This is what I discovered.
Most organizations are great at hiring intrapreneurs. They love their energy, creativity, and focus on results. Unfortunately, most organizations are not particularly skilled at engaging and retaining intrapreneurs. Here’s why. 1 / BLOCKING IDEAS
Intrapreneurs are, by nature, creative and action oriented. But when they’ve done the leg work and still get repeatedly rejected, they eventually stop contributing. And when that happens, it’s only a matter of time before they leave. If you can’t provide opportunities for idea development, they’ll find a place that will. And that organization is often your competitor.
