Organizations can’t innovate unless their employees have the knowledge and skills necessary to make it possible, according to new research from ASTD. The report, Building an Innovative Organization: The Role of Training and Development, uncovers the role of training and development (T&D) and attitudes toward innovation. The research is based on responses from 396 learning professionals who represent diverse organizations in the United States, with varying degrees of success in innovation.

“Training and development is fundamental to ensuring that leaders, managers, and individuals have the knowledge and skills necessary to innovate in the right place and at the right time,” states subject matter expert Claude Legrand, who collaborated with ASTD on the research. The report examines how an organization’s T&D function supports innovative process, along with how it teaches innovative thinking and innovation management.

Key findings from Building an Innovative Organization: The Role of Training and Development include:

• 98 percent of survey respondents say that innovation is “important” or “very important” for the future success of their organization.

• Only 14 percent say their organizations are “very effective” at innovation; 24 percent say they are more innovative than their competitors.

• 80 percent of respondents say their T&D department is “effective” or “very effective” at innovating its own program and operations.

• Innovative organizations are directly correlated with success.

• Common characteristics of innovative organizations include having an innovative and committed executive team, being good at implementing change, being effective at cross-functional teamwork, and having a published innovation strategy.

Building an Innovative Organization: The Role of Training and Development, is available on the ASTD store. For a copy of this report visit Building an Innovative Organization.

About ASTD

ASTD (American Society for Training & Development) is the world’s largest professional association dedicated to the training and development field. In more than 100 countries, ASTD’s members work in organizations of all sizes, in the private and public sectors, as independent consultants, and as suppliers. Members connect locally in 120 U.S. chapters and with 10 international strategic partners. ASTD started in 1943 and in recent years has widened the profession’s focus to align learning and performance to organizational results, and is a sought-after voice on critical public policy issues. For more information, visit www.td.org.