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How People in Business Functions Impact a Culture of Innovation
Individual Airport Business Functions
People in each airport business function play a pivotal role in incorporating innovation into an airport's culture, despite what some departments may think. For instance, some airports report that only a few of their business functions actually value innovation. And when asked, some business functions outwardly state they do not believe they have a role to play. However, Table D3.1 demonstrates just one of many ways that each business function can impact and support an innovative culture.
Table D3.1: Business Functions' Impact on an Innovative Culture.
| Effect on an Airport's Innovative Culture | Airport Business Function | Collective Behavior that Supports Innovation |
| Determines the overall strategic direction of an airport (e.g., traditional/outdated vs. future-oriented). | Corporate Management (CEO/C-Suite) | Promoting innovation in airport strategy, and communicating this to staff, demonstrates its importance to staff and encourages innovative approaches. |
| Determines how laws and regulations are interpreted (e.g., rigid vs. broad). | Legal | Embracing opportunities to explore new ideas within the context of governing laws and regulations. |
| Determines whether business processes remain the same or change. | Administration | Learning about and updating policies and procedures to optimize business functions. |
| Determines the level of diversity in an airport's workforce. Also determines how much an airport meets employee needs and desires in the workplace. | Human Resources | Focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion in new applicant recruitment. Ensuring performance reviews and incentive programs drive excitement and energy. |
| Determines how governing procurement models are interpreted. | Procurement | Exploring opportunities to transform outdated procurement processes. |
| Determines how much effort is given to ensuring that partners thrive in an airport. | Property Management | Discovering new ways to team with critical partners. |
| Determines which business methods are used (e.g., stern/unyielding vs. new/malleable). | Finance | Incorporating contemporary methodologies to promote financial stewardship. |
| Determines the airport's level of transparency and focus on customer needs/experience. | Public Affairs | Focusing on transparent and timely communications, with an emphasis on exceeding customer expectations. |
| Determines how well the airport meets community needs and impacts local economic development. | Air Service/Marketing | Seeking new opportunities to entice key air-service markets to bolster economic development in the community. |
| Determines how well the airport meets technology needs. | Information Technology | Learning about and pursuing technology to advance the mission of the airport. |
| Determines how well an airport functions on a daily basis and makes the facilities available to the traveling public. | Operations/Maintenance | Taking pride in facilities and finding ways to improve them to exceed customer expectations. |
| Determines the future infrastructure needs of an airport. | Planning/Engineering | Being passionate about providing quality infrastructure to meet the needs of customers and the community at large. |
| Determines the policies and procedures for the safety and security of staff and customers. | Security/Safety | Being energized and enthusiastic about discovering new ways to ensure the safety and security of the traveling public and the airport campus employees. |
The research revealed that several business functions really struggle to see their role in a culture of innovation. Legal, procurement, and human resources typically made the top of the list. These business functions felt mired down in regulations or “processes and procedures” such that they could not see how they could be innovative. You may find a similar situation at your airport with these or other business functions. Being aware of these stumbling blocks is important as you work to clear these challenging ideals and position all business functions to join in the culture of innovation you are seeking to develop.
Synergies Between Airport Business Functions
Collaborative culture is a close cousin to a culture of innovation. When different departments come together to solve problems or improve efficiencies, they may already be innovating and not even recognize it. Table D3.2 presents some of the more typical synergies that support innovation.
Table D3.2: Synergies Between Airport Business Functions.
| Effect on an Airport's Innovative Culture | Business Function Synergies | Collective Behavior that Supports Innovation | |
| How well they collaborate to improve the functionality of the airport for customers and partners. | Operations/Maintenance & Planning/Engineering | Putting the needs of customers and partners first to think through future facility-related concepts. | |
| How well they collaborate to interpret the governing procurement models to ensure that critical infrastructure is always available for the airport's customers. | Procurement & Operations/Maintenance | Collaboratively exploring opportunities to transform outdated procurement processes in order to expedite product purchasing and better serve the needs of the airport's customers. | |
| How well they collaborate to maintain a financial system platform to promote timely financial transactions. | Information Technology & Finance | Working collaboratively to continuously improve financial technology. |
