Most leaders would agree that innovation in the workplace is a positive thing. But only a few of them would actually end up following through with what it takes to innovate – not because of a lack of will, but because it takes time and work to encourage innovation in a team.
First, there’s the fact that as much as people say they want innovation, it’s also human nature to resist change. “Follow-through is the hardest component of any organizational change. People are averse to change. And they’ll push back at every step along the way. You need to develop a culture that embraces new ideas,” says Kevin Shuler is the CEO of Quandary Consulting Group, a team of tech consultants that specialize in business process management.
“This requires time and patience. If you can’t stay consistent, you’ll waste more time and money while damaging your workplace culture. Your team will start to see change as an obstacle and push back even more.”
Additionally, it’s important to invest in the conditions that breed innovation in a work environment, from creating psychological safety to providing resources that team members can use to execute new ideas.
To make the process a little easier, here are seven ways to encourage innovation in the workplace:
1. Open communication channels
If you want to encourage innovation, you need to communicate that and express that you’re open to new ideas. Then, you need to show that you’re serious about hearing those ideas out. Furthermore, it’s important to actually implement ideas and give feedback on why or why not to move forward with a suggestion. Make it easy to share and discuss ideas.
“To encourage innovation, you first should express that you’re open to ideas and have an open door of communication through which team members can offer their ideas. This should always lead to a conversation with the team member about whether their idea will be implemented,” according to Carolyn Young, the Lead Business Expert for Step By Step Business.
2. Give your team time
Giving team members the time to innovate is also crucial. If they’re overwhelmed by their workload and bogged down by tedious tasks, there won’t be room for creativity to thrive, says Shuler.
“Without giving them the time they need to think strategically, asking them to do so will only further strain your team,” he says. So, assure people that you have their back and look to alleviate manual tasks and processes that could be optimized, outsourced or automated.
3. Let contributors take ownership
Involve your team in the process of freeing up time and mental space. This will encourage individual contributors to take ownership of innovation.
“Encourage your team to highlight inefficiencies at the start, so you can free up the time they need to think more strategically. Ask them to identify meetings, bottlenecks, redundancies, and other time wasters. Then, work with them to give them more time,” says Shuler.
“You also should allow team members to be involved in the implementation of their innovative ideas. If you give them ownership, they will feel empowered and valued. It will also set a great example that will encourage others to innovate,” adds Young.
4. Facilitate collaboration
According to her, innovation is often the result of collaboration, so you must make it your mission to foster collaboration in the workplace. “Give team members some free reign to work together to solve problems, complete projects, or implement innovative ideas,” she says.
5. Provide the right tools
Ideas mean nothing without implementation. And in order to implement, you need the right tech and tools. “Chances are, your team knows there’s a better way to do their jobs, but they need the right tools to help them do a better job. There are numerous software suites out there that can speed up your team’s productivity. Ask for their input and try out new solutions,” recommends Shuler. Reduce friction and watch innovative ideas sprout.
6. Consider going “low code”
According to him, you may also want to consider tools that allow you to develop applications with little code, as the development process can often be a barrier to innovating.
“Low code makes it much more affordable. These are SaaS services powered by the cloud that make application development easy with a visual interface. This will allow your team to rapidly build custom solutions that fit their needs without burning through your resources,” he says.
7. Track progress
Finally, it’s important to track progress on the innovative ideas that you do implement and share updates with your team. This will motivate people to learn and grow and innovate even more.
“People need to see results. It fuels further ideas and development. It also creates transparency. Take the time to collect baseline data. And then track performance. Ensure this won’t be used punitively. Instead, it’s for everyone to learn and grow,” according to Shuler.
That last point is really important – cultures, where innovation reigns supreme, are cultures where mistakes are acceptable and even celebrated.
