When Rachel Antalek, chief innovation strategist, Antalek Strategic Innovation Partners, Seattle, began her career in the restaurant industry, companies focused their innovation practices primarily on new product development and not much else. Nearly 25 years later, innovation teams often are an integral part of a company's R&D function. They help develop ideas that increase a restaurant's offerings, enhance customer experience, improve processes and create relevance in a fast-changing business environment.

Antalek, an innovation pioneer at such companies as Starbucks and Olive Garden, today advises others on innovation. She recently shared her thoughts on building an effective innovation team.

Innovation teams need to explore several things: the company's products, technology, service, business model, and even some of the industry disruptors affecting how it operates. They have to think about how a company can deliver great customer and employee experiences, especially in the labor market we're in now. If a restaurant company can't deliver great employee experiences, there's no way it will deliver great customer experiences. To that end, innovation teams must...