How To Better Inspire Innovation Within Your Business

Out-of-the-box thinking and ideas are necessary for any business to excel and grow. These result in change and help to outsmart other brands in the same industry.

According to research, innovation is essential for businesses to succeed, and 84% of executives admit it is true. However, only 6% have clarity on the issues and understand how to deal with them to improve their innovation performance.

As a result, if you want innovation to drive change in your organization, you must first create a work environment that supports this approach to motivate employees.

Read ahead to see how you can better inspire innovation within your business.

1. Support Creative Risk-Taking

If you want to encourage innovative thinking, ensure your employees never feel afraid or discouraged by taking creative risks. Instead, create an office culture of risk taking that rewards this behavior for promoting out-of-the-box thinking.

Employees generally hold back and suggest safe ideas in fear of rejection or making mistakes. Constantly emphasize the importance of innovation in your organization and the value of creativity. Communicate this by being supportive of risk-takers and the new ideas they bring to the table.

One of the best ways to encourage employees to be innovative and help your business grow is to listen to their suggestions and feedback, either through open discussions and meetings or anonymous outlets.

2. Promote Cross-Team Collaboration

An organization with dedicated teams working on their expertise areas tend to be more productive. However, this division among the staff members leads to the teams being isolated from one another. For instance, IT doesn’t know what marketing does, and the latter has no idea about HR’s work.

It could be highly beneficial to create a collaborative culture and overcome these barriers for teams to work together and discuss similar issues that they can solve collaboratively. Sharing ideas also results in more creative solutions. For instance, an online whiteboard enables easy collaboration among teams to work at once even while being physically away from each other.

However, it is also essential not to foster a work environment that is too complex or entirely team-less, making everything chaotic. Instead, create a vertical structure where every team has the relevant expertise and resources for innovation and is accountable for its results. With each team being motivated and committed to its task individually, innovation and collaboration can bring about fruitful results.

3. Workspace Design

A good workspace inspires employees to work better. Office setting, cubicles, paintings on the walls, task lighting, and other decorative pieces can bring an aesthetic look to the place. Additionally, fresh plants and huge windows to incorporate natural light into the area can make the place feel lively and calm.

Furthermore, you can encourage the employees to bring personal things like family pictures, small decoration objects, or printed quotes to personalize their cubicle or desk space and feel at ease. You can also provide sit-stand desks throughout the office. While it will be an additional cost, it is worth investing in to prioritize your employees’ health. Flexibility and good health with no backaches will not hinder the creative process.

A comfortable and relaxed environment helps employees to feel more inspired and creative by their surroundings.

4. Provide Useful Resources To Employees

Innovation requires tools, and you can’t expect employees to be creative without giving them the relevant tools to bring their ideas and thoughts to life. But first, you need to give them the space to explore ideas. You have to give time to your employees to come up with quality solutions instead of overworking them.

Furthermore, hear your team out and understand their requirements to provide them the technological tools they need to work on a project or idea. Cooperation from the company’s end can create a highly encouraging environment for innovation and consequent business growth.

5. Encourage Self Reflection

While your business has people who share countless similarities, they are individuals with their unique communication styles, talents, and work styles. People usually work best when their individuality is not hindered and can produce more creative solutions by being themselves instead of following each other.

Generally, employees get so buried under work pressure and deadlines that they forget their core purpose. Encouraging employees to self-reflect and focus on their achievements inspires them to keep up their work of introducing innovative and successful solutions.

Conclusion

What business doesn’t want to stand out and introduce something new to the market? With the rapidly evolving environment, it is essential to recognize how innovation can transform a business and take it to another level.

However, you have to foster a workplace environment that supports creativity and encourages employees to voice their ideas. Whether it is team collaboration or workplace design, you have to make your employees feel comfortable.

Jay T. Ripton is a freelance business, technology, and lifestyle writer out of Scottsdale. He loves to write to inform, educate and provoke minds. Follow him on Twitter @JTRipton.