How to Keep Employee Ideas Flowing

Posted by Anonymous , 9/4/2007 Tags:KeepEmployeeIdeasFlowing
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How to Keep Employee Ideas Flowing

Introduction

Stimulating creativity in employees is essential for the long term success of a business. Innovative ideas lead to new methods, new services and new products. With employee cooperation, managers can build an atmosphere that will get the creative juices flowing.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Steps

1

Step One

Promote new relationships. Rotate employee work stations. Exchange members on project teams. New faces and conversations foster new ideas.
2

Step Two

Request innovative ideas. To stimulate thought, publicize key areas or problems facing the business or industry. Encourage solutions and additional, unrestricted submissions, big or small.
3

Step Three

Acknowledge ideas that won't be pursued. Respond to the effort. Give feedback on any positive aspects of ideas that could be applied to other submissions. Encourage continued contributions.
4

Step Four

Shape worthy ideas. Give feedback and suggestions for dealing with negative aspects. Challenge employees to think beyond the routine in problem solving.
5

Step Five

Provide resources. The most important of these is time to think. Employees also need equipment, supplies and sometimes money to explore ideas that seem promising.
6

Step Six

Celebrate creativity. Implement rewards for innovations that will be pursued. Reserve large monetary rewards for high impact innovations. Utilize verbal praise, written praise and non-cash consumer items for low impact innovations.

Tips & Warnings

  • Computer software programs are available to promote creativity. When networked through a business, these foster idea sharing and group contributions to proposed ideas.
  • To keep a creative idea alive, present negative aspects as problems to be solved rather than an inventory of what is wrong with the idea.
  • Don't mandate creativity. If not voluntary, idea submission will become an exercise.
  • Don't shut down employee ideas through closed nonverbal communication. Use confirming nods, friendly facial expressions and circular welcoming arm and hand gestures as creative ideas are discussed.
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