Innovation in the Age of Remote Work: Fostering Creativity and Collaboration

Business landscapes have witnessed significant change in recent years, and the growth of remote work is one of the most noticeable features. While it has actually translated to an increase in productivity, research has shown that innovation regularly suffers as a result of this modern way of working. Fostering creativity and collaboration in a virtual environment has subsequently become a significant challenge.

With the right strategy in place, though, businesses can continue to cultivate a culture where corporate innovation remains strong. Here’s how:

Make creativity accessible and safe

Remote employees do face different challenges from traditional workforces, but the desire to work on new ideas still relies heavily on accessibility and psychological safety. Forbes explains that “creativity requires energy, peace of mind, and perspective”. To fuel creativity in remote employees, it's important to offer flexible schedules that cater to their unique routines rather than the traditional 9-to-5 grind. Taking it a step further, granting them the freedom to work on new ideas as inspiration strikes can truly unlock their potential.

 

The majority of innovations face failure, and even successful ideas often require an iterative approach. All employees, remote or otherwise, should be reminded that failure is a part of the learning curve and a step on the road to success. Tools like KICKBOX make innovation accessible for all, helping companies like Implenia embrace the modern landscape. A shift in mindset will encourage remote employees to create, which will help initiate innovation.

 

Enable virtual collaboration

Innovation cycles undergo three distinct phases of idea generation, idea incubation, and organizational scaling. Collaborations are needed at each stage and, frankly, the lack of in-person interactions is regularly seen as the largest stumbling block for remote employees. Despite the challenges of remote work, promoting connections and fostering innovation is crucial to the growth strategy of 84% of executives. To facilitate this, informal creative sessions and regular video chat and instant messaging connections are valuable tools.

Perhaps most importantly, though, innovation should be facilitated by a tool that can collect, execute, test, and implement ideas with real-time cloud-based collaborations. KICKBOX does this while also using defined methods and tools to keep all employees on the same page. By recording each step, remote employees can gain the plaudits they deserve.

 

Collaborate outside of your company

In addition to cultivating creativity within your teams, it is now possible to leverage success from ideas presented by outsiders. One option is to encourage clients to present their innovations. The My Starbucks Idea scheme was a great example that resulted in the birth of several winning innovations. Using a similar avenue could provide remote employees with the concepts that lead to great products.

Thanks to the KICKBOX ecosystem, it is also possible to tap into the collective knowledge of numerous organizations. This could enable you to form partnerships on joint innovations or simply gain insights. When combined with the above methods to support internal collaborations, success can be achieved.

To see how KICKBOX can be the driving force for creativity and collaboration in a virtual environment, arrange a demonstration with the rready team today.

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