Intrapreneurship Trends 2022

Intrapreneurship is trending in 2022, and it’s worth educating yourself, whether you are an employee with an idea, or a company looking to foster more creativity from within. So what is intrapreneurship from a business perspective? 

Intrapreneurship vs Entrepreneurship

Do you consider yourself to have an entrepreneurial spirit? The best inventors, business people, and achievers of tomorrow do. Entrepreneurs start businesses based on creative ideas; they also take initiative, according to the global and entrepreneurs’ online magazine Vizaca. This quality of entrepreneurship has great value, and big companies are beginning to incentivize employees to stay within the company.

On the other hand, an intrapreneur is a company representative within a larger corporation. Perhaps they create new things, services, processes, and so on, but all within the company’s umbrella. An intrapreneur is one of those few highly valued as an important resource within their company. 

Employers should be aware of the competitive nature of their industries today; constantly innovating and advancing is the only way to stay afloat. Both entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs must enjoy noticing opportunities and spearheading strategies to use those possibilities to their maximum potential. Still, there are many forms in which those people emerge, and much of it depends on the employer’s attitude and approach. (Vizaca)

What are the benefits of intrapreneurship?

MAccelerator wrote another article about intrapreneurship, where we outlined its top benefits.

Briefly, intrapreneurship is an advantage for everyone because it:

In today’s cutthroat environment, the reality of brain drain is causing many bosses to reconsider how they treat their largest source of information and creativity; their employees. Actually, one study found that 60% of organizations consider their employees to be their most valuable source of innovation. This pool of talent should be fostered from within, not scorned.

“Interestingly, it is reported that around 70% of all successful entrepreneurs develop their winning ideas while working at their 9-to-5 and leave their positions to commercialize their ideas outside their organizations,” says Skipso Labs. 

Intelligence employers and innovation managers make it more attractive for intrapreneurs to stay within their companies. Incentives and a culture of engagement are necessary to prevent people from taking their good ideas elsewhere. Across time and industries, entrepreneurs leave to find their success when the organization doesn’t accept or help them. The difference lies in which type of employer or employee you are.

Picture large companies as cash cows, designed to perform a repeatable, scalable business model over and over. They are often milked until there’s nothing left; once revenues, profits, etc. begin to sink, large companies start to have problems. What’s the solution? Keep your mind and outlook open. New ventures are a critical piece of success today. Even enormous disruptors like Google constantly work to reinvent themselves and create new lines of business (Highline Beta). Do your best to expand the company’s reach and make connections throughout industries; start profitable new ventures, just in case your cash cow dries up. 

Furthermore, a startup is “a temporary organization designed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model.” Startups, or new ventures, are temporary because their sole purpose is to visualize if the business model is feasible in the market. Once that’s discovered, a startup ceases to be a new venture and becomes an established company. 

New ventures just involve finding different avenues and models to better conduct business and service customers, be they existing or newly acquired. Keep in mind that if your business goal for new ventures is to sell the same products to the same customer in the same manner, it’s not something worth pursuing (Highline Beta). Instead, hit refresh on everything and let your employees have the freedom to invent, too. The more brain power, the better.

All across the world, organizations and employees are feeling more pressure about robots taking their jobs, for example. It’s an increasingly real, imminent threat. However, this can be combated by including employees in the process. Talent and progression are key. The secret to success in the technological world is ensuring your new ventures are new; all of the organization’s methods, models, products, services, etc. have to be reset from the old ways.

Despite the obvious need to foster intrapreneurship for a company’s success, 77% of executives report that their power to support intrapreneurship is low. Simply put, those companies and organizations that don’t manage to create involvement opportunities internally are missing out. They don’t have a culture of collaboration for their employees and are likely losing highly valuable innovators (Skipso Labs). 

What other advantages exist?

When you launch a new venture, it’s impossible to achieve anything without talking to customers. Actively engaging with your existing customer base while constantly accruing new users is essential to raise your venture from startup to business. New ventures will bring you closer to clients, increase your sympathy for them, inform you about them, and give you a leg up on the competition. You’ll likely see increased customer satisfaction, which means more profit.

Similarly, identifying new markets to launch new ventures is a great strategy. “In experimenting with and launching new ventures, there’s a good chance you’ll identify new markets to tap into that previously you hadn’t thought of, or couldn’t figure out how to access successfully. You might even discover new markets for your core business,” Highline Beta points out. Take advantage of spaces where you can expand from your established company to new markets.

Another prominent aspect causing the 2022 intrapreneur trend is its favorability for everyone involved. It causes much higher levels of employee satisfaction. Entrepreneurial employees included in the creative process of identifying, creating, and launching new ventures understandably feel more engaged and content at work. When management listens to opinions and ideas, it can often help create a more positive, open, and interesting internal culture.

How can my company develop a culture or program for it?

Hopefully, we’ve convinced you that if your organization doesn’t have an intrapreneurship initiative, it’s time to start one. Employees tend to feel happier, perform better, have better work/life satisfaction, and overall improve the company. Plus, when a culture exists to foster intellect within the organization, it can go much further than those which fail to implement such a program or culture. 

The following text is an outline from Skipso Labs of a few steps which you can use to design your intrapreneurship program:

1. Employee and stakeholder involvement

• Remember that the critical move is to continually involve the employees, every step of the way, whether or not their ideas are utilized. Their voice should matter.
• Community building around the program is key so that people will support it.
• Ensure that your program’s values are aligned with your company’s objectives, to secure a “yes” from stakeholders. Adopt precise success metrics so that stakeholders can see ongoing and comparative results.
• Construct a program with multiple iteration cycles, where about 80% of the projects submitted are filtered in the first round, and 15% during the following evaluations. That way, you’re left with the best 5% of projects to choose from.

2. Create motivation and incentives

• A large number of employees can be highly motivated by the opportunity to be a part of this intrapreneurship program in and of itself.
• Participation in these programs is positive; involvement can show that an individual has the confidence and qualities of a leader.
• Employees involved in the intrapreneurial program gain more face time with senior executives and important leaders. Therefore, they have a higher chance of career advancement- a powerful reason to join.

3. Failure as a positive

• Have you ever thought about rewarding failure as if it were a success?
• This is an extremely effective method; employees feel more confident to innovate and go beyond the usual.
• Many large companies have already embraced this style. The multinational conglomerate Tata Group created an award to appreciate failed innovations. 
• It’s a normal part of the process, so initiatives like this help to normalize it.
• Make this reward one of your company traditions.

4. Give time and paths to generate ideas

• One aspect that we should focus on is that intrapreneurs are often driven by the desire to be autonomous, and often leave companies for that reason. 
• Give your employees the perfect amount of autonomy and responsibility to manage their own projects. 
• Space and time are required for people to be creative and ultimately become innovators.

5. Communicate the value of intrapreneurship to your employees

• While some on your team might be excited about an intrapreneurship program, many people don’t have a clue what that means.
• Build interest and knowledge about your program through company events, meetings, or other creative means. 
• Find out which employees are interested in the intrapreneurship program, and keep them updated about the program’s progress! Community and openness are a huge part.

What could go wrong?

Nothing is guaranteed to succeed, whether in business or life. However, a few things could go wrong with an intrapreneurship scheme, as Skipso Labs has outlined. First of all, an intrapreneur program has high expectations, because it’s a powerful tool that can shape the whole culture of an organization. To embrace it, you must understand that this cultural shift is more than a short-term spike in ideas.

Moreover, intrapreneurship initiatives are exciting; they motivate employees and give them the chance to contribute their views in valuable ways. In the beginning, engagement might be high. However, if the participants see no results from their opinions, the excitement for innovation will fizzle out. Outcomes are important, so show them to your employees, stakeholders, and executives.

Another road bump against intrapreneurship is that the corporate environment can be hostile toward change. Trying to grow your innovative idea within a corporation can be nearly impossible. Companies who want to achieve the benefits of intrapreneurship should immediately adopt an ethos of “think like a startup.” Everyone should be on board.

Of course, a sufficient budget, space, and resources to allow for ideation are essential. If your company doesn’t provide the things that intrapreneurs need, as well as a roadmap to help them realize their visions, you will soon find that you aren’t gaining value from those great ideas. Provide solutions. (Skipso Labs)

Employee’s perspective: what’s important?

“At its heart, intrapreneurship is about encouraging employees to think like entrepreneurs. This means giving them the freedom to experiment with new ideas, take risks, and fail without repercussions. Of course, not all corporations are equally receptive to this thinking; in fact, many traditional corporations are downright hostile to it. They tend to value conformity over creativity and punish failure instead of rewarding it.” (MAccelerator)

These elements are what a typical employee might feel about the status quo. They want to be able to take risks and fail without repercussions. They would work much more happily and effectively if their employers valued creativity over conformity and rewarded failure, instead of punishing it. As our other MAccelerator intrapreneurship article informs, employees are more satisfied, leading to higher retention rates. “When employees feel like their voices are heard, and they have a role in shaping the company’s future, they are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs and less likely to leave for greener pastures.” 

By the same token, these programs increase creativity and innovation, leading to the creation of new services, products, and methods that give the organization an advantage. Employees can have the best ideas because they know the company best. They just need the chance to use their entrepreneurial skills.

Lastly, the importance of buy-in and investment from employees is huge. Seeing the results of their efforts engages them more, and improves performance and loyalty. When they can see the result of their efforts, they are much more likely to be supportive and loyal to the company. (MAccelerator)

Current intrapreneurs, you’re probably wondering what else you can do to survive the exponentially fast-paced world. Not to mention, how to face the threat of computerization that seems to keep knocking on our doors. The very first step you must take to protect yourself in the future is to adjust your mindset.

What does the future hold?

Look around your company, industry, and specific role to see the big shifts happening. If you see that your role or industry is becoming obsolete, you can take the opportunity to shift to a growing one, or learn skills that transfer to new situations. Will you decide your fate or let it be decided for you? The answer is that now is the time for good changes.

Fastcompany advises: “Read the data on what jobs and industries are most susceptible to computerization. Is your industry among them? What jobs and fields are growing, and what skills do they require? See if your current employer can help pay for training in these new skills. Ask to join projects that are future-focused to develop your new skills.”

Now that you’re ready to open your mind to new opportunities, it’s time to rethink your career. Move with the way the world is going; from linear to exponential. Stop thinking of your career as a ladder; it can be a whole network of pieces. Mosaic Career design is based on the things you value, the accomplishments you want to make in the world, and the examination of your skills’ utility in any industry.

The ultimate, most vital strategy to propel your career is to connect with others. Use certain tactics and tools, but skip networking the old-fashioned way; that has also been upgraded for this new age. 

Instead of using the networking tactics of yesterday, seek to build a community. “Professional community building is about discovering the kind of value you can add or bring to others. Make outreach and connection a routine part of your work. If you are interested in learning about a burgeoning market sector, reach out and connect with someone whose work you admire in that space. Once you’ve connected, look for ways to lend that person a hand or provide value in some capacity,” says Fastcompany.

Intrapreneurship is trending in 2022 and 2023, so it’s time to get educated. Employees and employers should be looking to improve their creativity and intrapreneurship, to see big results. Business is a tough scene sometimes, so follow the tips in this article and see how creativity shines through!

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