Want to hear from your employees but not actually taking the time to ask questions and listen?
You could be missing out on a HUGE opportunity for not just new perspectives, but to create a culture of innovation inside your organization. The last thing you want is a workforce that thinks management doesn’t know what’s going on, doesn’t listen to ideas, or doesn’t care to make improvements.
The process of involving more people in the innovation process and asking them for ideas doesn’t have to be hard and is full of upside. Below are the four biggest benefits your organization will experience by taking a more proactive approach to collecting, analyzing, and implementing ideas from your employees.
Bulletproof Idea Management Process
Solutions – Find the Ideas and Feedback you Need
The biggest reason top management should be engaging their employees is (of course) to hear their ideas, opinions, and perspectives. Whether looking to boost efficiency and save cash or launch a new product or service, every executive could use some fresh perspectives from those on the front-lines of operations, sales, marketing, and more. With a solution-driven approach, employees are free to share their…
- Concepts and ideas to solve a problem or seize an opportunity
- Feedback on the solutions and ideas being shared
- Experiences related to the situations being addressed
Collaboration – Get people Talking and Sharing
Building a culture of innovation requires collaboration between all parties. Asking employees for ideas and feedback means breaking the traditional hierarchy that has ruled corporate life for decades, whereas top-down ideas and decision-making are the rule of the land. Unfortunately, this approach dooms many in today’s business world. While uncomfortable for many managers and executives, promoting and participating in collaborative activities to come up with and share new ideas is a practice that does wonders to…
- Reduce constraints between the front-lines and management
- Promote comfort and openness to share information and opinions
- Spark continuous cross-departmental association and innovative communication
READ MORE: What are the 5 Biggest Challenges facing Innovation Leaders?
Engagement – Expand Involvement in your Innovation Program
With engagement rates in the US at dismal rates and even lower internationally, every organization is looking for ways to keep their employees alert and active on a daily basis. What better way than involving them more deeply in strategy and operations? Different employees are of course looking for different things in their work-life and career, but inside a culture of innovation all should be offered the opportunity to…
- Contribute their ideas, experiences, and perspectives
- Be part of the conversation with feedback and support
- Feel a sense of meaning and opportunity to contribute
Creativity – Promote Alternative and Divergent Thinking
Management and employees alike want to participate in a workforce made up of people who get the job done, but at the same time are creative thinkers, analyzers, and problem-solvers. Apart from just asking for solutions to problems, it’s also possible (and recommended) to change the way they come up with ideas by providing more context and with divergent thinking exercises in an effort for them to…
- Think of both traditional and radical solutions
- Inspire them to more diligently find ideas for other problems
- Break the day-to-day monotony
Expanding involvement in idea generation and your innovation program provides clear benefits for both top management and employees company-wide. Management gets the ideas and feedback they need, while employees get the opportunities to contribute and share their ideas, experiences, and perspectives with others. You’re streamlining continuous improvement and building a culture of innovation that’s in demand across every industry.
Think your ideas aren’t being heard? Want to hear more from your employees?
Don’t rely on a suggestion box, email thread, or brainstorming meeting to collect, review, and implement ideas from your employees.