Creating An Environment For Innovation In The Office

The environment of the office coupled with other crucial
factors acts as a determining factor in the overall thinking
process and eventual reactions of your workforce at any
specified time. The overall environment plays a
fundamental role in shaping the outcomes of events and
can result in desirable circumstances or deviations from
the goals if not paid appropriate attention.

A normal working individual spends at least eight to ten
hours a day in the office, not including the travel time.
They pass the rest of the time engaged in the other daily
chores of life. If you add onto this the travel time,
accounting for the increasing traffic in cities, and the time
spent in dressing for the office or preparing for the next
day, the time dedicated toward the office could increase
to twelve to fifteen hours a day. Now consider a situation
wherein you are spending the chunk of your day at a
place you don't enjoy. The environment is stuffed and
managing office politics is more crucial than any other
part of the day's work. Such occurrences only have a
negative impact and do not leave a place for a positive
attitude towards the regular day to day work.

All organizations irrespective of size or nature of work
performed face this problem in different forms. The
environment tends to demoralize even the most creative
workers. High performers subside without any impelling
force to gear up and strive towards new avenues. The
only option that remains is looking for a new job.

This challenge has been continually haunting Human Resource
managers, who, considering the stiff competition, are always
facing enormous problems in hiring the right candidate.
Complemented to this are the huge training costs. What is
the right solution?

The solution is to create an environment inducing work and
prompting rapid innovations. An environment that allows
people to experiment and effectively utilizess the requisite
space and resources is the perfect remedy.

Employees must be internally motivated to research and
perform the required extra duties in addition to their daily
work requirements. Some methods to achieve such an
open environment are listed below.

Create an effective communication channel. Make sure that you
as a boss are accessible. The channel should be two ways.

Create an effective reward system. The worthy must be
honored.

Do not be afraid of experiments. They are the road to
innovations.

Promote a horizontal structure to the greatest extent
possible instead of various layers.

Impart individuality. Recognition is an effective motivation
tool.

Organize cultural activities.

Eliminate unhealthy competition among the team members or
employees in the same department.

Various organizations are taking extreme steps like promoting
relationships in the work place and creating small team open
office configuration. However, the exact requirements can be
decided only upon understanding the work environment and
existing culture.






Article written by David Gass.