The various support programs address not only scientists and engineers but all employees
© Getty Images
© Getty Images
Idea providers often become project managers
Every two years, Merck employees submit 300 to 400 product proposals, from which experts select the 20 most promising ones. These ideas then advance to the “innovation marketplace,” where the proposal’s initiator presents the project at in-house innovation marketplaces, looks for other employees to help him or her develop the concept, and engages in discussions so that the product idea can be continuously improved.
This process takes about six months. At that point, there is a selection process in which all Merck employees can take part by means of an intranet platform. In this way, the five or six best ideas are selected and then sent to the “innovation boot camp,” where a business plan is developed for each idea in two weeks of hard work. During this process, each idea is examined from a technical and legal standpoint and analyzed to determine its market potential and whether it infringes on patent rights.
The teams then present their business plans to a “grand jury” consisting of the members of the management committees of Merck Serono, Merck Millipore, Performance Materials, and Consumer Health Care. This jury selects the most promising projects and assigns it a budget on the basis of the available funds. The actual research and development work can now begin.
Once this work has been completed, the “only” thing that still is needed is market success. In any case, the contributors of the ideas gain valuable experience for their future careers, make contacts with other employees throughout the Group, receive training in how to create business plans, and are given the unique opportunity to turn their ideas into reality within their own project teams. In this way, they get to climb further up the career ladder. A total of ten projects that have gone through the innospire process have been handed over to Research and Development. The first product from this process could be launched on the market in late 2012.
In addition to these innovative measures for promoting innovation, the company continues to successfully use the traditional method of soliciting new ideas from its employees. In 2010 alone, 2,037 Merck employees in Germany submitted 4,501 suggestions for improvement. Slightly more than half of these proposals were accepted and implemented. In most cases, these ideas cut costs in production, and they often increase occupational safety as well. Each one of these ideas let the company save EUR 16,248 on average. The innovative employees benefit from bonus payments, which averaged EUR 509 in 2010.
In addition to these company-wide measures for promoting ideas, Merck’s international subsidiaries and individual divisions also hold idea competitions and present the employees with awards for good suggestions. For example, the Merck Serono division organizes Game Changer Workshops, in which employees and external partners (many of whom are scientists) discuss new technologies and important developments within their respective regulatory and business environments. Employees from Merck Serono have, for example, held discussions about personalized medicine with experts from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) near Boston.
Merck Serono has also launched a number of other initiatives, including the annual Merck Serono Innovation Cup, in which outstanding students from all over the world are invited to take part. The event consists of a week-long summer camp at which the students get to know Merck Serono and find out about the role of research and development in the pharmaceuticals industry.
At the camp, the talented young people are also brought together with experienced retirees who used to work for Merck Serono. In this meeting of generations, the participants are divided into five teams that generate new ideas which they then develop into business plans. “The best business plan is rewarded with EUR 10,000, and a job at Merck is not out of the question,” says Ulrich Betz, head of the Center of Innovation and the person responsible for all of Merck Serono’s innovation promotion programs.
Another initiative is the Open Innovation Program, which allows other scientists to submit compounds they have discovered during their research so that they can be tested by Merck. If Merck is interested in a compound and uses it, the scientist in question will share in the resulting profits.
Every two years, Merck employees submit 300 to 400 product proposals, from which experts select the 20 most promising ones. These ideas then advance to the “innovation marketplace,” where the proposal’s initiator presents the project at in-house innovation marketplaces, looks for other employees to help him or her develop the concept, and engages in discussions so that the product idea can be continuously improved.
This process takes about six months. At that point, there is a selection process in which all Merck employees can take part by means of an intranet platform. In this way, the five or six best ideas are selected and then sent to the “innovation boot camp,” where a business plan is developed for each idea in two weeks of hard work. During this process, each idea is examined from a technical and legal standpoint and analyzed to determine its market potential and whether it infringes on patent rights.
The teams then present their business plans to a “grand jury” consisting of the members of the management committees of Merck Serono, Merck Millipore, Performance Materials, and Consumer Health Care. This jury selects the most promising projects and assigns it a budget on the basis of the available funds. The actual research and development work can now begin.
Once this work has been completed, the “only” thing that still is needed is market success. In any case, the contributors of the ideas gain valuable experience for their future careers, make contacts with other employees throughout the Group, receive training in how to create business plans, and are given the unique opportunity to turn their ideas into reality within their own project teams. In this way, they get to climb further up the career ladder. A total of ten projects that have gone through the innospire process have been handed over to Research and Development. The first product from this process could be launched on the market in late 2012.
There is also a totally new program known as “innoseed,” which was introduced in January 2011. Unlike innospire, in the new program the company’s management directly assigns development tasks for individual projects. The program encompasses research and development programs from which both Merck Serono and Merck Millipore benefit, such as a new technology platform for biomarkers. The program has an annual budget of EUR 8 million, and the research and development projects have a duration of two to three years.
Discussing ideas with experts
In addition to these innovative measures for promoting innovation, the company continues to successfully use the traditional method of soliciting new ideas from its employees. In 2010 alone, 2,037 Merck employees in Germany submitted 4,501 suggestions for improvement. Slightly more than half of these proposals were accepted and implemented. In most cases, these ideas cut costs in production, and they often increase occupational safety as well. Each one of these ideas let the company save EUR 16,248 on average. The innovative employees benefit from bonus payments, which averaged EUR 509 in 2010.
In addition to these company-wide measures for promoting ideas, Merck’s international subsidiaries and individual divisions also hold idea competitions and present the employees with awards for good suggestions. For example, the Merck Serono division organizes Game Changer Workshops, in which employees and external partners (many of whom are scientists) discuss new technologies and important developments within their respective regulatory and business environments. Employees from Merck Serono have, for example, held discussions about personalized medicine with experts from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) near Boston.
Merck Serono has also launched a number of other initiatives, including the annual Merck Serono Innovation Cup, in which outstanding students from all over the world are invited to take part. The event consists of a week-long summer camp at which the students get to know Merck Serono and find out about the role of research and development in the pharmaceuticals industry.
At the camp, the talented young people are also brought together with experienced retirees who used to work for Merck Serono. In this meeting of generations, the participants are divided into five teams that generate new ideas which they then develop into business plans. “The best business plan is rewarded with EUR 10,000, and a job at Merck is not out of the question,” says Ulrich Betz, head of the Center of Innovation and the person responsible for all of Merck Serono’s innovation promotion programs.
Another initiative is the Open Innovation Program, which allows other scientists to submit compounds they have discovered during their research so that they can be tested by Merck. If Merck is interested in a compound and uses it, the scientist in question will share in the resulting profits.
