A common discussion we have with clients is the role of support units — that is, procurement, finance, legal — in the innovation process.

I always tell them that these support units must become their number one fans. Why? Simple: they are the “immune system” of the organization. They are responsible for defending the assets and the model that the company’s perfected over the years. And (lets not forget about this) they fund all your innovation initiatives.

With that in mind, here is a list of reasons why you should have them present throughout your transformation (and how we do it at innoway):

1. They are the key to doing new things: support units have the authority (and responsibility) to approve new concepts and ideas. Like any other professional, they want to make sure the balance between risks and benefits is clear to avoid breaking things.
2. They are experts in their own fields: when designing experiments and new concepts, we make decisions based on our knowledge. This can sometimes lead to inefficiencies. There might be a better way of testing the same assumption. Sometimes this can be solved by engaging with the support unit responsible for an expert point of view.
3. They can be creative as well: just because they don’t have innovation in their role doesn’t mean they can’t contribute. In fact, once support units understand what you are trying to do, it will likely spark their creativity andthey will come up with different approaches.
4. They know the organization’s boundaries: as I noted previously, since it is your support units’ responsibility to avoid major risks, they are very aware of the organization’s limitations, which can help in defining how to test a new idea.
5. They also want to be part of the transformation: if engaged properly, you will find that your support units really want to contribute in the transformation programme. In fact, it will not be possible without their help.

So, how can you go about bringing your support units onboard? In our experience, the following tactics work really well:

1. Engagement from the beginning through training sessions and early meetings. The risk of engaging them too late (or not at all) can lead to slow decision making, high risks and skepticism in the transformation programme.
2. Make them part of your journey by involving them in your innovation governance and as part of projects.
3. Align rewards and recognition to their role: by making part of the successes it will increase their interest in participating and reducing the barriers (WIIFM – Whats In It For Me).