A Technology-Assisted Design Methodology for Employee-Driven Innovation in Services

The role of employees is becoming more important in managing complex service processes and in serving the variety of customer needs in the service industry. Within efforts to promote innovation in service fields, employee-driven innovation and service design are gaining attention. Though the relationship between employee-driven innovation and service design has been discussed, the effectiveness of service-design methodologies for employeedriven innovation has not been studied sufficiently. In this article, we propose a technologyassisted design methodology to promote employee-driven innovation in services. Through our case study at an elderly-care facility, we confirmed that the proposed design methodology assisted by the communication support system could trigger employee-driven innovation and expand its influence in the service field. In management, the first concern of the company is the happiness of people who are connected with it. If the people do not feel happy and cannot be made happy, that company does not deserve to exist.