Those who produce must cultivate creativity and do everything possible to avoid burnout, according to a study published today

The manufacturing sector believes the pressure to innovate is greater than ever.

A new study sponsored by digital manufacturer Protolabs highlights the challenges manufacturing professionals face under the growing pressure to innovate.

The study, titled 'The Balancing Act: Unlocking Innovation in Manufacturing', was conducted in collaboration with FT Longitude and reveals that the most innovative executives excel at recognizing areas of the business that need urgent attention, such as retaining talent, promotion of creativity and prevention of burn-out.

Indagine

The survey reveals that manufacturers have never felt so much pressure to innovate as today. In fact, only 22% of the 450 manufacturing professionals surveyed believe this is not the case. The unprecedented demand for new ideas is driven by the need to create new products and services faster and to operate more efficiently and sustainably.

The study identified a group of "leaders", sorting out the responses of those who believe they exceed expectations in terms of innovation, to understand how their attitudes can make a difference. It has emerged that leaders have a mindset that is more attentive to urgency and emerging opportunities. The group of 'leaders' identified the main challenges in the need to retain the brightest talent, avoid burn-out and sustain human ingenuity in the AI ​​boom.

Respondents were further asked about work culture, processes and technology, highlighting their attitudes and approaches towards supply chain strategy, how employees work and the technology initiatives they are focusing on. Other respondents acknowledge that their companies have not embraced the model of “fail fast”, i.e. figuring out in a very short time whether a project can be a success or not, launching and scaling new products or services or working more collaboratively with third parties to implement new ideas faster. u

Protolabs Europe

Bjoern Klaas, Vice President and Managing Director of Protolabs Europe, said: “The companies we have connected with understand that innovation is more important than ever to improve efficiency, create growth and drive sustainability. Professionals feel pressure from their own company, customers, competitors, and the industry as a whole.

The decision to innovate is a significant one, as it brings challenges, and the new strategies it requires can lead to disruption in the business. More organizations are having to acclimate to risk, embracing the fail-fast approach and anticipating product iterations.”

The study found that:

• Nearly two-thirds (65%) of leaders believe their companies urgently need to update their approach to innovation and are actively looking for ways to do so.
• Nearly three-quarters (73%) of leaders say they are concerned about how to retain their most innovative employees
• Two-thirds (66%) of executives believe human creativity is being overlooked by enthusiasm for new technologies
• A quarter (25%) of all respondents say that their company is not able to quickly understand the degree of success of a project.

Peter Richards, Vice-President Marketing and Sales EMEA at Protolabs Europe, said: “In compiling the study, we isolated the professionals who are at the forefront of innovation to give us insight into what works for today's leading innovation. Plus, it gave us perspective on where others might be at fault."

Conclusion

Support for creativity is sometimes overlooked in the enthusiasm for new technologies such as artificial intelligence. Adopting a greater sense of urgency has been seen as the key to success, but leaders are aware that this carries risks, such as burn-out, which leads to the loss of top talent.

Download your copy of The Balancing Act: Unlocking Innovation in Manufacturing to access the full report, with views from over 450 European manufacturing executives.

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