Innovation is the key to success in promoting healthy workplace culture.

Innovation is one of such factors that have an indirect bearing on productivity and developing a spirit of contribution among the workforce.

What is Innovation: – The process of translating an idea or invention into a good or service that creates value or for which customers will pay. To be called an innovation, an idea must be replicable at an economical cost and must satisfy a specific need. Innovation involves a deliberate application of information, imagination and initiative in deriving greater or different values from resources, and includes all processes by which new ideas are generated and converted into useful products. In business, innovation often results when ideas are applied by the company to further satisfy the needs and expectations of the customers.Found at https://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/innovation.html

Following are the top 8 ways through which you can improve and develop an innovative environment in your workplace

• Encourage innovative ideas and acts – As an employer listen and execute employee’s innovative ideas. They must have a feeling that you not only listen to their innovative strategies but also put them to practice. Make sure your employees are in the loop on your company strategies and challenges and invite their input.

• Make a schedule for brainstorming – Allocate some time to encourage brainstorming and for sharing ideas with another. For example, fix a time slot for brainstorming; arrange group workshops and support to encourage team-work. Always keep your doors open to new ideas for solving a problem, challenge or making a new strategy. Remember! Involving your employee’s in brainstorming workshops can prove useful in promoting innovation. You can also place a suggestions box for gathering feedback and innovative ideas in your workplace.

• Training your employees towards innovative mindset – Arrange webinars and “On the Job” workshops for the training of your employees in innovative thinking. Motivate them to attend those training sessions so that they can acquire the capability of brainstorming, innovative mindset and advanced problem solving, etc. Allow people to learn from their mistakes. Provide the time and resources to develop and implement those ideas worth acting upon

• Encourage your workforce to accept challenges – Appreciate your employees for finding new ways to go about the business and encourage them for accepting challenges in their work. Always add “a little bit challenge” in each task that you assign to your employees. Workers enjoy doing jobs that challenge their ability and assist in enhancing their own innovation skills.

• Always appreciate and support your employee – Always try to respond enthusiastically to the innovative ideas from your employees and never respond negatively to even “seemingly foolish” ideas. Always motivate your employees for doing something “new and revolutionary” to encourage innovation. Drop some bonuses for the workers who’s innovative idea brings in some positive change.

• Forgive and forget the mistakes –Innovation is a byproduct of learning of the mistakes, so never penalise for the mistakes of your employees (in the execution of innovative ideas). Remember! Innovative ideas can “go wrong”, but innovative ideas are one of the means by which your workforce can challenge itself and learn. So try to forgive the “innovative mistakes” as a workplace policy.

• Plan rewards for creativity – Be in the number of companies that reward their employees for creativity. Motivate your workers and teams that come up with the winning innovation through your reward scheme and also appreciate your employees who came up with innovative ideas, suggestions and new schemes. You can plan a holiday scheme or monetary rewards for those who contributed with innovative ideas to boost your company’s reputation.

• Act on new ideas that “make sense” – Always keep in mind that innovation nurtures with motivation and there is not a better way to motivate than putting the projected idea into action.  Give time and resources to your employees to bring their innovative ideas into their work. If you will not “transform” their ideas into “practical form”, then your workforce would loose the motivation for brainstorming and coming up with innovative ideas.

How can you be innovative?

• Persistence
• Remove self-limiting inhibitions
• Take risks, make mistakes
• Escape
• Write things down
• Find patterns and create combinations
• Curiosity

Here are ten things you can do on the job to make it easier to be more innovative every single day.

• Start Conducting Stand-Up Meetings. Your entire energy changes when you’re standing. …
• Surround Yourself with Inspiration. …
• Get a Buddy. …
• Pick Small Projects. …
• Flip Your Assumptions. …
• Bring it to Life. …
• Ban Things. …
• Get Out of the Office.