What are your company's goals? Do you want to innovate, increase employee happiness, or grow with the market? Whatever your company's goal may be, one way to achieve it is by encouraging employees to brainstorm and think outside of the box.
This blog post will provide a step-by-step guide on how to get started!
Set Aside Brainstorming Time
Encourage everyone to speak up about their ideas by setting aside brainstorming time. During this time, encourage people to share thoughts or feedback on the topic discussed and anything else that comes to mind. You may also want to consider applying liberating structures from Voltage Control to help you unleash employee engagement, creativity and finding solutions.
This will allow people from other departments who don't usually attend these meetings an opportunity to contribute valuable input that could help move the organization. Set aside time to engage in active brainstorming with your employees.
Brainstorm together by starting with a blank wall and writing ideas as they come up. Encourage people from different departments to get involved so that new connections can be made between company areas.
Develop a Culture of Constant Improvement
You've already taken steps to increase office productivity by setting aside time for brainstorming and broadening your employees' creativity. But, to tap into the innovation of each employee, you need an environment that fosters constant improvement.
How? Creating a culture where people are rewarded or recognized for the improvements and changes they propose even if these proposals are not implemented right away. This type of work environment will encourage others to share new ideas confidently, knowing that there's no risk attached as long as it is constructive feedback.
You'll also want to create opportunities within the organization so employees can see how their contributions make a difference on a day-to-day basis – like displaying photos from meetings where their input was used and celebrated.
Attend Workshops
The way to generate new ideas is by attending workshops and events that will force you out of your comfort zone. One type of event is happy hour meetups with a specific industry focus, for example, "marketing" or "web design."
It doesn't matter what the topic is as long as it's outside your normal range of work experiences. You'll be surrounded by people who have expertise in an area where you're struggling, which could help spark some fresh perspective on your problems - don't drink too much!
There are many workshops on the market to help with developing and fostering innovation. There are also plenty of online resources available, such as TED Talks or even YouTube videos for watching inspiration talks.
Create a 'Startup' Program
Create a program that allows employees to work on their projects without supervision from the company. This will promote autonomy, collaboration, and innovation while also providing mentorship for new ideas.
Build your culture of constant improvement by setting aside brainstorming time, brainstorming together, developing a culture of continuous improvement, and attending workshops or creating a 'startup' program. These steps can help encourage employee innovation in any organization!
In conclusion, to increase office productivity, it is essential to encourage employee innovation. To do so, set aside time for brainstorming. Then, brainstorm together and foster a culture of constant improvement by attending workshops or creating an "entrepreneurship" program like Google's Launchpad Lab - which provides space and resources for new entrepreneurs to launch their ideas without any initial capital required.
