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Looking For the Next Great Idea? Ask Your Employees.

December 9, 2016Lori Rohrbach

Group of Multiethnic People Studying About Teamwork

Picture your company’s last strategy or product development meeting. Who was sitting at the table? Probably the usual team of senior leaders who often gather to share thinking with each other.

By only encouraging idea generation among top leaders, you may be missing an opportunity to get critical input from your broader employee base. Oftentimes the team members who work most closely with products or customers will have useful insight on how the organization can innovate and improve to affect the bottom line.

So how do successful companies inspire key stakeholders and encourage employees to share their ideas?

  • Build a culture of belief—The entire workforce needs to believe that anyone can submit an idea and be heard. If this is a new approach at your company, it may be more widely embraced if an executive announces the program. Managers can then reinforce the message that employee ideas will be heard and the good ones will be acted on. Don’t forget to show support by encouraging managers to meet with their own teams to boost participation.
  • Create multiple touch points for sharing—Here are just a few ways to easily enable employees to share ideas: Employee surveys; informal lunches where employees can directly speak with leaders; an email address or physical Idea Box; online crowd sourcing tools that allow employees to easily vote for their colleagues’ best ideas; contests and internal idea campaigns.
  • Know what will motivate employees—Employees aren’t always looking for a raise or other compensation for their ideas. Public recognition can be well received. Or offering a few extra vacation days is another way to reward employees whose ideas will be utilized.
  • Show that you will follow through—You will get more input if employees know that you plan to implement the best ideas. By publicly recognizing employee contributions and widely communicating their achievement, you’ll signal to more employees the value in contributing their own thoughts.

The effort to create a simple employee idea-sharing program could pay off in big ways. Just ask 3M—the Post-It Note® was the brainchild of an employee!

Author: Ashlee Goodman

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Eight Work-From-Home Etiquette Tips

Eight Work-From-Home Etiquette Tips

 

Whether telecommuting is old hat or something you’ve been forced into as part of the COVID-19 shutdown, here are a few tips to make the experience run smoothly for both employers and employees.

 

Managing expectations

Successful work-from-home strategies always begin with clearly communicated expectations. Make sure your employees have any necessary equipment, tools and resources.  Will they need to track their time? Participate in regularly scheduled meetings? Be available at certain times of day? For employees, know what you’re accountable for and clearly communicate any challenges you’re having.

 

Constant communication

Keep the lines of communication open and be accessible. Check in with employees regularly through apps like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts and Skype, or even an old-fashioned email or phone call. Be genuinely interested in how they’re doing but don’t overdo it. Foster a feeling of trust by not micromanaging.

 

Nine to five…ish

While having a daily schedule is ideal, it may not always be practical right now. Make sure your people know when you need them to be available and try to offer flexibility at other times. They may be juggling school schedules as well as work schedules and working at “off-shift” times may be necessary. Be mindful of employees in different time zones as well.

 

For employees, try to work when you’re at your best, and not when you’re exhausted by kindergarten playtime and fourth grade math. Make sure people know if you will be unavailable at certain times.

 

Taking a break

Getting up and moving clears the head and helps with creativity and problem-solving. Whether it’s a walk around the block or a break for lunch, make time to get away from your desk throughout the day.

 

Signing off

Working from home does not mean being available 24/7. Set an actual end to the workday if possible. Don’t send and respond to messages at all hours. Sign out of messaging apps and close work programs. Understand and respect these boundaries.

 

Location, location, location

When setting up a home office, think about where you will have the fewest distractions – for yourself and for those who may be seeing you and your background on a video conferencing platform. Try to avoid busy spots that may include semi-clad people walking behind you, barking dogs and kids vying for your attention.

 

Conferencing and calls

Be clear about whether you expect people to turn on their cameras during meetings. If so, be clear about how they should be dressed. During calls, mute your phone when you’re not talking to avoid background noise. Headphones can also help with call quality. When speaking, pause frequently so others can participate in the conversation.

 

Social engagement

It’s ok for managers and employees to have some down time together, which may help ward off feelings of isolation. Keep up your normal level of interaction, perhaps with a virtual coffee break or happy hour. Managers should set the tone for how casual to be. Let employees choose what they would like to share, and never pry into areas that were off-limits before.

 

 

Author: Erin Alderfer

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