By Adrienne Erin
Contributor, Online Career Tips
When it comes to fostering creativity, it’s all about an open and inviting environment. Although having a spacious floor plan where people don’t hide in cubicles is important, it’s not the only factor in building an innovative company. Collaboration matters, and so too does letting your employees know that their ideas and suggestions matter also, whether you have a small startup staffed by a few people or a global company with worldwide offices. To foster the idea-creation process, try some of the suggestions below.
Be Receptive
Employees won’t offer ideas if you don’t ask for them. Start fostering creativity by making it clear to your staff that you’re open to suggestions, and then keep an open mind. In other words, let your employees take risks, and don’t punish employees for ideas that don’t pan out.
If an employee suggests an idea that isn’t in line with your brand, be encouraging and suggest looking at the issue from another perspective. Provide employees with guidance, and tell them to come back to you after they’ve worked out the kinks in their proposed idea. An open door to your office always helps.
Schedule Brainstorming Time
Don’t let meetings be all about presentations. Set a time to gather a department together to brainstorm ideas, whether it’s for future editorial spreads or the design of a new product. This way everyone feels like they have a voice. Plus, as ideas are tossed out, coworkers can build off each other’s thoughts to make them the best possible before they propose the finished idea to you.
Collaborate in New Ways
While there’s value in brainstorming on a department-by-department basis, switch things up by arranging for a meeting with a more diverse group of people. Try gathering a group of people who have different backgrounds and experiences. Someone from research and development can tell if an idea is feasible, while someone from sales may have insight into what your clients want and someone in production can make the idea a reality. Since everyone will have a different approach and way of thinking, there’s no saying what they’ll come up with.
Let Employees Work on Side Projects
By allowing employees to work on ideas that interest them, you’ll be giving them a chance to flex their creative muscles. That’s the thinking behind why Google allows its employees to spend 20 percent of their time on side projects and Intuit allows employees to spend 10 percent of their time on new ideas. These side projects may even lead to big, profitable projects, such as the invention of “Google News.”
Reward Creativity
While suggestion boxes may work if employees are shy about proposing an idea, the idea is largely outdated. That’s because the idea goes into a box and then employees don’t see where the idea goes from there. Was it implemented elsewhere in the company? Did management even see it?
To avoid that, host companywide contests and spread the word. For example, if your production process isn’t fast enough to keep up with demand, ask all employees — not just production — how it might be sped up. After you’ve chosen the best idea, provide some sort of design award, either monetary or a recognition of the employee in a company newsletter.
Use an Online Survey
If some of your employees are shy, put together an online survey that includes both multiple-choice questions and free-format answers where employees can share their ideas for process improvements, new products or even the way business is done around the office. By ensuring their anonymity, many employees feel they’re better able to speak their mind without risking their job.
Provide Free Time
Sometimes the best ideas come in the most inconvenient places, like the shower. While you don’t need to make a shower available to employees, you should allow — and encourage — employees to take a break, if only for a little while. That’s because sometimes employees just need to step away from a project to see it with clear eyes. That’s why some offices have pool tables and other games for their employees to play as a way of recharging while staying in the office. When employees return to their desks, they can look at the project with clear eyes and be ready to tackle it with new ideas.
Another version of this is providing think time away from the office. This is different from vacation time, although that’s important, too. Some companies give think-time days where they encourage employees to go to a place outside the office that encourages reflection.
Incentivize Process Improvements
If you would like to make company procedures more efficient and cost-effective, a great way to get people thinking outside the box is to implement an incentives program. Reward measureable improvements with recognition and a monetary prize. Encourage friendly competition in order to keep everyone on their toes.
Create a Positive Workplace
Work environment is key to creativity, but a comfortable, bright office isn’t the only factor in making a positive workspace. Help your employees enjoy their day even more by hosting holiday events after work or just-because events during work, like ordering lunch or Starbucks for everyone. After all, when people are enjoying themselves, they’re more flexible and free to think about their job in new and better ways.
Fostering creativity is the first step to creating an innovative company, and the first step in fostering creativity begins with creating an environment where people want to share their ideas.
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