How you can use simple means to promote the creativity of your employees in the workplace

Creativity is the path to great innovation, but fostering creativity in a highly structured environment, such as work, can be challenging. Luckily, with a little creativity of your own, you can get your workforce's ideas flowing. Here are a few ways to encourage creativity as part of your innovation strategy.

Creativity is important for your company's ability to innovate

Which company doesn't want employees with a high level of employee commitment and creativity? Your workforce itself may also want to have more space for creativity, to be able to be creative and to generate ideas that could help the company to innovate. But in reality things often look completely different! Hand on heart: When was the last time you asked your receptionist, your accounting or production employees what ideas and suggestions for improvement they have? The structured everyday working life hardly allows creativity! As a manager, you probably know this best! But your everyday work routine is also very tight and your appointment calendar is full to the brim!

The saying that necessity is the mother of invention has always been true, but it still misses something important: people accept challenges when presented with them, regardless of whether there is an actual need. Everything you find on the shelf in a store was invented because someone was challenged to overcome a problem. And not everything you find on a shelf is actually necessary! So think about challenges you can set for your team, regardless of their position or position in the company. These do not have to be product-related or related to your own workplace.

In order to promote the creativity of your employees in the workplace, you have to “trigger” them, challenge them, give them the opportunity to step outside of their own work routine, to think freely and to have the appropriate freedom to do so!

Create a balance between structure and freedom – between workspace and open space

Every company has meetings. But there's a difference between a meeting where staff is given information, has to answer questions, and then goes back to work, and a meeting that's actually about sharing ideas. There is no law that says every meeting has to be held in a conference room or that employees have to be creative on Tuesdays between 16 and 17 p.m. For example, instead of a meeting in the conference room, hold a “walking” meeting if you are going on a hike as a group, or hold the meeting in a cafe, or simply hold it somewhere your employees not reminded of their core activity. Then their thoughts will always be on “unfinished work”. And never ask about day-to-day business during creativity meetings. Your employees must be free from all things that burden them. The core work rests during a creative meeting, and that must be clear to everyone.

Organize idea competitions

If there are challenges in your company that need to be solved, don't discuss them in a closed group that always involves the same people. Open this group by involving all employees in solving the problem. This works excellently in a large organization with an innovation management community to which all employees have access. Here ideas can be submitted, collected, evaluated, commented on and developed by everyone.

Promote employee engagement

Boredom is one of those facets of life that never ceases to amaze. How can a person be bored when there is so much around us that stimulates our intellect and inspires our awe? And why do we constantly and mindlessly scroll through TV channels and Facebook feeds instead of focusing our energy on creating something beautiful or worthwhile? In the workplace, we call this phenomenon “disengagement.” Unmotivatedness and listlessness can arise in a person themselves, but it is often the company and its rigid structures themselves that ensure that employees do not do more than is expected of them. Therefore, the top goal of management should be to have committed employees within its own ranks.

Creativity in the workplace: Create a creative environment with simple means

A lot of thought goes into the design of offices. Business leaders continually strive to create a workplace that improves employee satisfaction, productivity, and creativity. In a recent survey of more than 2.500 professionals, 82 percent of participants said that to truly foster a culture of innovation where employees can implement their best ideas, a workplace must have innovative design.” In the same survey, the three most desired attributes of a creativity-enhancing workspace were natural light, creative imagery, and reconfigurable spaces with different furniture. In short: the office cubicle with the white work table and the ideal standard office chair are out!

When it comes to flexible workspaces, work on a bean bag, at a standing desk, on the floor... The Red Bull Office in London has more of a lounge feel than a workspace, with the reception, a bar, a cafe on the top floor , flexible and enclosed meeting areas and a large boardroom. Assigned seats are not necessary.

Other key workplace trends that contribute to a better office environment that can attract and inspire top talent include adding aspects that promote health and exercise (standing desks and gyms, but also attractive stairwells and movable walls). Still others want to incorporate creative artifacts or materials (like floors made from car tires or meeting rooms that look like hot air balloons). Seeing these things out of context can sometimes spark creativity.

Promote creativity easily and efficiently

If you are responsible for innovation management in your company, then you rely on the creativity of all employees. Without creativity in the workplace, innovation programs can hardly be implemented. Therefore, involve all employees in your innovation process. This alone will promote the creativity of your employees.

Use associative thinking

Associative thinking is a valuable skill. It's about connecting problems, questions or ideas to find solutions. Innovation arises from a need. Maybe there is a problem you are trying to solve. Maybe you want to complete certain tasks more efficiently. Start by examining all the components and then figuring out how they work together.

Ask questions

Start by asking all the important questions. What is it that you want to achieve? What tools do you need and how will the end result impact your organization? Innovation means challenging the status quo. It's about asking difficult questions and breaking new ground. Use this opportunity to create change. If you regularly ask your employees questions, you activate their thinking and get them out of the routine!

Network your employees with each other

Networking is a crucial part of innovation. One way to network is to have people from different departments within the company work together on challenges. Some of the best ideas can come from those who are not directly related to your team's goals but who may have valuable viewpoints.

Experiment

Experiment with ideas. This is the part of the process where you have the freedom to think about all the possibilities and try new things. Experimentation causes innovators to test new ideas. It is a way to gain experience through trial and error. The experimentation process gives you the opportunity to try out new ideas in a controlled environment.

Conduct regular employee surveys

To give your employees the feeling that employee satisfaction is actually important to you, carry out regular employee surveys. Employee feedback also helps you gain important insights into the level of commitment, performance and willingness to perform, motivation and loyalty. For example, use the Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) and also carry out regular pulse surveys.

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