Engine contributes to CBI report ‘Excellence in service innovation’

“The CBI report, Excellence in service innovation, showcases innovation in some of the UKs leading and high-growth service sector companies. The intention is to raise awareness about service sector innovation and to highlight best practice. Graham Love, Chief Executive of QinetiQ, who sponsored the report commented on investment in innovation by the UK service sector saying:

“Traditionally in the UK, innovation has been synonymous with R&D expenditure. However, with more than 75 per cent of the economy based on a broad base of services, from retailing and financial services to leisure and tourism, it is high time we expand our understanding of what innovation means.”

Engine added the consultancy view on innovation in the service sector emphasising the importance of culture and of design. In the report Joe says,

“The best organisations understand design and do not see innovation as something happening in a laboratory on its own.”

Concluding, the authors describe several factors for success:

“Typically, service sector innovation success is not solely about overall levels of investment in R&D or new technology, but embraces broader aspects including how a company engages with its customers, markets and employees, how it builds brand awareness and trust, how it changes its processes and propositions with time, and how it works to create a customer experience that generates demand. The same would also hold true for the public sector.

Services need to be well constructed, to ‘look’ good and be easy to use. Ideally, they should be enjoyable, desirable and add value that the consumer appreciates. To achieve this, design elements and the customers’ real needs must be considered upfront.”

Download a pdf of the report from here (2.8MB).

If you’d like to learn more about innovation in the UK service sector contact the Innovation, Science and Technology Group at the CBI.