Research and development department is a topic of discussion. Is it worth opening it in your company? How to organize his work? Who should sit in it? What to do to make it work more efficiently? The answers to these questions are not simple. But it is worth following the tips of companies in which the R&D department operates with great success. An example of such a company is our regular customer - Fitech - work, opinionsrealized by his team brings amazing results. We introduce its secrets.
Research and development department - why is it worth having it in your company?
Establishing a R&D department in your company is an investment. It cannot be concealed that its activities usually consume a lot of funds. And whether it will generate the same great benefits is not at all certain. As experts emphasize Fitech, work the opinions of such a department in many cases resulted in the creation of breakthrough solutions that allowed the company to gain a competitive advantage.
On the other hand, R&D departments focused on the development of technologies supporting the production itself, which are carried out in the company, are often able to develop solutions that significantly reduce production costs. No matter how ambitious the goals we set for R&D, one thing is for sure. Our clients, informed about the fact that there is such a department in the company, will automatically start to perceive it better. As professional, innovative and quality oriented. All this, of course, translates into sales results.
Team selection - the most important stage in creating the R&D department
Even if the company has a large budget for research and development, but does not have a strong team, it is hard to count on the fact that it will be spectacularly successful in this field. Ideas count in research and development. And these are born in people's heads, which is why a well-thought-out selection of team members is so important. It must be created by people for whom work in the R&D department will be not only a professional challenge, but also a passion. Proficiency and out-of-the-box thinking are features that we should definitely look for in potential candidates, but let's not forget about soft skills.
An employee who cannot communicate effectively with the team or who has a fiery enthusiasm for project implementation is useless. Sometimes it is worth creating several competence teams within the R&D department. As was done in Fitech: work, the opinions of each of them then focus on one goal. And the people who will create a given team can be properly selected. Both in terms of knowledge and skills, and in terms of personality and ability to adopt the same work model.
Fitech: R&D work hates pressure
A good team is one thing, but it is also important that they have the right level of freedom and independence. Only in such an atmosphere can really good, creative ideas be born. The mistake many company boards make is to treat R&D like any other department in the company. That is, the expectation that every action taken by him must be successful and profitable.
Meanwhile, the research and development department is not executive. It is a creative department that has its own rules. And failures are inherent in its operation. And it does not mean that employees "tried too little." As managers say Fitech, work of the discussed department are often projects that cost a lot of effort and ended up in the trash, as it was realized on the way that they would not achieve the assumed goal. There are also many that have been implemented, but have not been successful. It is estimated that if even a few percent of all projects implemented by this department can be considered successful, this result is really good.
The research and development department cannot feel the pressure of efficiency, but also the pressure of deadlines. It cannot be expected that in the blink of an eye he will create a spectacular project that the company will conquer the market with. Rather, it must be assumed that the solution he is currently working on may be introduced even in a few years.
Fitech: work feedback from the R&D team
Another mistake often made by management is getting members of the R&D team to work on other small projects. Usually they are related to the removal of current technical problems in production. All because such teams often include qualified mechanics, automation specialists and specialists in specific systems used by the company. So the management may come up with the idea that it is not profitable to look for someone from the outside to repair, since we have an expert on hand.
Unfortunately, this mode of work is not conducive to creativity. A team that is constantly distracted from its main task will not be able to focus on it. We have to accept that the R&D department is part of the company that lives its own life. It is a department that should cooperate with other units in the company, but also with its external environment. As specialists emphasize Fitech, work On the one hand, feedback in research and development is constantly following the actions of the competition. On the other hand - new trends and technologies, including those available in foreign entities. It is also working with the company's clients, the aim of which is to learn about their opinions and expectations. In order to be able to set directions for changes and company development on this basis. Cooperation with research centers and partners who can provide valuable technological support is also no less important.
Two main models of work
When designing a company's research and development department, it is also worth considering what exactly we expect from it. Most companies see it as a provider of technologies or solutions that will enable the improvement of the company's existing products, and thus distinguish them from the competition. So it is an approach oriented to what the company currently has. There is also a different approach - aimed at broadening the horizons of the company's activity. We are talking here about, for example, production plants with technical facilities. It also allows you to create other types of products than those currently being created. Sometimes the company's proprietary solutions can also be used in a new area. But it is the R&D department's job to discover this area. And then prepare everything necessary to move the project from the idea phase to the implementation phase.
Is it worth launching a corporate research and development department? Each company has to find an answer to this question by analyzing the specifics of its work and estimating the development potential of a given industry. One thing is certain, however - research and development departments operating in production plants should become interested in cooperation with Fitech. Work opinions in the area of innovative solutions introduced in the field of production usually cannot do without solid technological support.
