How To Encourage Innovation When Teams Are Remote – Inn…

Of course, working from home doesn’t come without its downsides, one of which is a block in creativity and innovation. That lack of person to person teamwork, spontaneous idea sessions and shared experiences have caused somewhat of a creativity blockage for some businesses.

Use the best cloud storage, file sharing, online management and messenger systems possible to encourage great communication, and do try to find the budget to boost your employees internet capabilities if they are struggling. 

If there are areas in which you have succeeded with online creativity and innovation together, build on those. If there aren’t any, figure out what worked in person and try to replicate that online. There will be pockets of really positive work, you just have to identify them and grow from them. 

Sometimes innovation is slowed because employees don’t realise how much you value their ideas. If you can boost their confidence and offer multiple avenues where they can share ideas, the chances are, you’ll start to get a positive response. 

Studies suggest that many remote employees can feel left out of the bigger picture at work. This can put a dampener on creativity and leave your remote workers feeling uninspired. Try to ensure all remote employees feel included in the whole business, especially if you do have employees attending the office. All-hands calls can work well to do this, as well as acknowledging remote employees every day without specific reason, and checking in regularly to see where your remote workers are with their work motivation and goals. 

Remote team innovation can be challenging, but it is entirely possible with a few tweaks and changes. With the right approach you can start to nurture a really positive culture of creativity with your worldwide workers. Eventually you’ll get a boost in teamwork, motivation and plenty of those all important magical ideas and thoughts from which incredible things grow.