In today’s edition of Tips from the Experts, we asked three business professionals to share their top 5 tips for encouraging innovation within the workplace.
Kelly Ruston, Communications & PR Director at Lightbox
1. Be a Leader, Not a Manager
I was once given a great piece of advice (from the now CEO of Cath Kidston): tell your team what you want them to achieve and by when – not how to get there. The journey to success should be guided and supported, not managed. Allowing employees the freedom to choose their own path to success inspires creativity and supports staff engagement, which of course breeds innovation.
2. Be Prepared to Change the Way You Work
Not everyone works efficiently 9-5, Monday – Friday. Be prepared to work flexibly – we’ve seen a huge improvement in our workforce’s creativity, innovation and most of all productivity by allowing them to choose their own working days (within reason).
3. No Idea is a Bad Idea
Our MD’s mantra: no idea is a bad one – even if it is a little far out. Ideas can lead to brainstorming new ideas, new ways of working or new campaigns.
4. Get the Team Right
Finding the right people is always a tough task in business. But at Lightbox we believe personality is just as strong as a formal qualification. The right people will always encourage each other, talk to each other and most of all bounce ideas around; nurturing creativity and innovation almost naturally.
5. Change It Up a Bit
We’re a big believer in getting out of the office when it comes to brainstorming big ideas or pitches. The same four walls can be stifling – even in an open and relaxed office. Getting out for a coffee in a boutique café, or even outside in the fresh air will always get the brain cells ticking.
Jay Karsandas, Marketing Manager at Mobiles.co.uk
1. Open Plan Hot Desks
While it may seem a fashionable approach, taking a leaf out of the tech start up and creative industry and utilising open plan offices with hot desks is a great method to drive innovation. At its core they break down boundaries between different roles and get junior and senior staff working closer together. Creating an open environment encourages all colleagues to express their most creative and innovative ideas, all the while developing a collaborative approach within the team.
2. Desks With Wheels
A method pioneered by only a few businesses that at first may seem unorthodox, but has a sound theory to its benefits. Businesses which have cross function projects should encourage teams to work closely together. Employees can be hesitant when it comes to moving desks, either from being comfortable where they are or the inconvenience of moving. With mobile desks, employees can easily move to other areas within the business, encouraging cross functional work. This in turn drives down email and telephone communication, which can hinder creative thinking.
3. Stand Up Meetings
Meetings are a burden on many employees, not just due to the time they take up but also the fact that outputs are not always beneficial. Introducing quick 15 minute stand up scrums keeps it short, sharp and lively. It drives quick thinking on key points and decisions can be made without creating an air of doubt. No one wants to stand in a meeting for an hour – it’s a great method to keep employees engaged and thinking freely.
4. Learning Lunch
The workplace should not be all about work. Sounds a little strange, but work without learning can lead to the same results each and every time. Create a learning lunch culture: every couple of weeks a member of the team hosts a session to take people through a task from start to finish in their day job, or runs through an innovation in the market that the business would benefit from. It creates a break from the everyday hustle, and creates a one minded environment. The host also organises lunch, and we all know employees appreciate a free lunch.
5. Dragon’s Den
No idea or employee is too small. Opening an ideas forum to the whole business is a fantastic way to generate ideas en masse. My own workplace Mobiles.co.uk held its own Dragon’s Den. Employees submitted ideas and presented back to a panel, Dragon’s Den style, but not quite as daunting. It encourages members to think beyond their current roles and generate ideas that may fit within other business functions. It opened up innovative thinking to the whole business and produced ideas that may not have necessarily come from normal sessions, all while creating a competitive buzz around the company.
Jo Blood, Managing Director at Posture People
1. Create Quiet Spaces
Today’s modern day open plan offices are fabulous; no more closed doors, no more grey cubicles but no more quiet spaces to think. Nowadays, a major complaint from staff is noise. Creative people often need quiet spaces where they can develop ideas and not be distracted. Teams need spaces where informal meetings can be held, and a table in the middle of a noisy office won’t cut it. Better to use technology such as acoustic pods to create an oasis in the middle of office where people can come together and discuss ideas.
2. Eat Together
A step up from a chat around the water machine, we are now regularly asked to install a communal dining area (picnic style benches are very popular at the moment) so that people can eat together. Who knows what ideas will come in between bites? The opportunity for different people to sit and chat can often lead to discussions about projects, and different viewpoints can bring about innovation.
3. Invest in Wellbeing
Your most expensive asset is your staff; research by Oxford Economics found that it takes an average of 28 weeks before someone is fully up to speed after they’ve started a job. So keep the people you’ve got, and foster that talent. Invest in a Wellbeing programme, and we are not just talking about a few questionnaires. Today’s wellbeing programmes look to improve people’s health (not react to problems), and the end result is more productive people. More productive people produce better results.
4. Build a Space Where People are Inspired
We are not necessarily talking about a blow-the-budget ‘Google inspired’ space, but an office where people are proud to come to, and want to work at. Good office design can do wonders for both attracting talented people and inspiring the people that already work there. This is where the skill of a commercial interior designer can help. They can involve the people already working for the company and turn their ideas into a cohesive, inspiring environment.
5. Pause Occasionally
Agile working is the new buzz word, and nowadays employees are required to cope with change. However, we need to build time to develop a business. One company we know takes a day out per quarter. They start the day by tidying office, do a team building exercise (past events include a cookery course and an indoor climbing wall), then devote half a day to discussing the business and what could be improved. Innovation comes from giving people the time and space to grow.
Thanks to all our contributors for their valuable advice. Do you have any tips on how to encourage innovation within the workplace that you would like to share? Feel free to leave a comment in the section below.