The need for employee creativity is real. It’s the grease to the company wheels and business leaders are re-creating the work environment to boost productivity and spark more fresh ideas.
Productive staff to feel the juice.
You’re probably thinking, “Do I need to boost creativity in my workplace?”
Besides keeping happy and relaxed employees, let’s take a look at what some companies are doing to switch things up in the workplace and the benefits of those changes.
Freedom to Collaborate – In an interview with mobile payment company Square, office manager Maja stressed the company’s focus on collaboration. To promote this, the office is designed as an open space with no assigned desks. It gives employees a chance to move around freely and possibly bump into the CEO at a standing table during downtime.
“…we’ll have these conversations with people from finance, legal, design and you get all these collaborations that wouldn’t otherwise occur.” Their office manager was excited to share.
Arm your team with the tools to encourage work collaboration. In this case, Square used ‘hot-desking’ – where there are no assigned seats just access to set up anywhere for the day.
Headphone company Skullcandy uses movable desks while other companies use puzzle style desks. The variations are endless but the message is clear; get your employees interacting and comfortable with group communication. It increases the success in project collaboration and is a great asset to building lasting work relationships.
“Move fast and break things ” – It used to be the mantra for Zuckerberg’s Facebook in the beginning days when supervisors encouraged their employees to move fast, even if there were missteps along the way.
As business leaders, important to grasp the usefulness of creating a risk-taking environment. Netflix is a prime example that mission. They offer employees untracked vacation and pre-approval for project expenses. Thus, if you have an idea, they encourage you to go for it.
It’s an effective way to take notice of what works and what doesn’t for the company. Allowing staff to take risks and make not-so-normal decisions in the workplace opens up the floor for creativity and productive brainstorming.
People feel like their ideas are valued and respected and therefore work comprehensively towards company goals.
De-Stressing – A healthy work-life balance is key for employees to feel secure and comfortable at work. Some businesses encourage bringing pets into work, others offer daycare options and more businesses are beginning to allow flexibility in work hours.
, a styling company, encourages employees to build their own work schedule that allows them to carve time out for family responsibilities.
An important work-life balance can help employees feel secure, refreshed and in control of their work and home lives. Employees feel motivated at work and while increasing productivity, being in a happier mood always makes for a smoother day.
Common Areas- Samsung is in the works to build an office with large outdoor spaces and bright common areas to encourage social mingling between staff members. It’s more common for organizations to have ping pong tables, outdoor common areas, and bright lounge areas to help employees relax.
In the effort to help employees feel refreshed and inspired, companies have tossed their traditional lunchroom set up for a more open, bright and choice filled one.
We wouldn’t be talking about improving the workplace without highlighting mega company Google and their elaborate efforts to keep happy and productive employees.
Along with their perks that include massages and eyebrow shaping services (where do we sign up?), Google has designed its office space to draw creativity from its employees. From the long inviting lunch tables to the diner booths that have replaced conference rooms, Google is pushing the edge on company perks and creating some serious creative noise in its wake.
Take some time to look within your company to see what works better than others. Some things that might work for Google you may not have the budget for but it’s worth it to try some ideas on your own.
Workers Should Play – Pool tables, writeable walls, interior gardens , and slides are all effective ways to engage employees in work play. It lightens the mood and gives employees the opportunity to relax and let inspiration flow.
At Google, workers are issued scooters to travel within their large New York office and has game tables set up in almost all of their office locations. It adds to the opportunity for team collaboration and encourages the natural flow of ideas through play.
The workplace shouldn’t feel ho – hum for your employees. It should be inspiring, empowering and engaging.
It’s useful and cost-effective to pay attention to what your workplace might need. If you notice something off, perhaps switching things up is the right decision for you. It may not be on Google’s level but it’ll certainly be a step in the right direction.