More companies include retreat time to innovate
Boston Globe – Aaron Lester
7-Dec
Time was, companies held the corporate retreat, where the bosses and managers would huddle in some off-site location to noodle over ways to improve the business. But today, especially in the technology sector, companies hold innovation days, or hacking sessions, where employees are given time away from the daily grind to work on projects that excite them. Some sessions are highly structured, tackling an already identified problem; others are more free-form, allowing employees to pursue the more whimsical. “The question is, how do you create a pipeline of innovation?” said Patrick Supanc, founder of Boston education start-up, Alleyoop, which holds “hackathons” where employees tackle specific problems. “Creating dedicated time is really important. It’s tough to scale innovation when the only time to innovate is on nights and weekends.”
