You might not have accounted for this, but an enterprise-wide crowdsourced innovation program is a phenomenal motivating force for employees. As long as your HR dept is receptive (believe me, I have come across some who aren’t) then the HR department will be one of your biggest allies in assisting you in spreading the word about your program. They can help you with selecting awards for participation, communicating with employees, making sure that you don’t step on any landmines with awards (there are some companies who have very specific rules when it comes to what you can and cannot reward your employees with – iPads maybe, recognition for sure, wild drunken trips to Vegas, probably not)
However, you have to be careful here, as the HR department can also be a venerable foe. You will need to test the waters with them early and make sure that you keep them as allies.
Actually, you should try and make everyone your ally. You already have enough hidden (and some not so hidden) forces trying to take your program down, why make any more enemies?
