How To Create A Culture Of Innovation

Innovation is the key to growth in business. While most companies know this, implementing a culture that embraces change is not a straightforward task.

Indeed, major changes include risk, and some leaders fear losses that accompany such moves. As a result, they often put barriers in place that maintain the status quo. Unfortunately, doing so has the adverse effect of stifling creativity.

Here are some of the ways companies promote a culture of innovation in the workplace.

Encourage Engagement

Not only is it vital for employees to express their opinions, but they also need to be encouraged to pursue new ideas. While not all ideas are going to work, new concepts need to be put into action. Indeed, without taking any significant risks, a company may fail to notice significant growth. With this in mind, strong leaders need to determine whether an idea involves too much risk, and how to best implement a change.

Learn From Failure

All companies experience failure; however, past experience serves as a vital tool for future success. Owing to this, managers should embrace failure – to a degree. While no one wants to fail, mistakes are part of growth. Even well-established companies make them, and they accept that they occur. By looking closely at what didn’t work in the past, leaders are able to gather important information as to how much risk is involved in a new idea.

Foster Open Communication

It is a given that communication is vital in the workplace; however, a greater emphasis on feedback at all levels will increase innovation. Indeed, employees need to receive consistent feedback from their managers, and managers, in turn, require it from employees. With this in mind, both parties should feel comfortable communicating honestly in a timely fashion. If employees fear a negative reaction from their leaders they are far less likely to make their options known.

Choose Diversity

Pre-hire testing is an extremely important for selecting the ideal hire for a role. Not only will it ensure that the right person is hired for the job, but it will reduce employee turnover down the line. In order to select the perfect hire, employers need to have an idea of what their team is lacking. A job fit assessment helps determine whether an individual will strive in a specific role, and gives a more complete picture than a resume. An innovative team consists of a variety of individuals with unique strengths that are able to balance each other out.