How to Create a Culture of Innovation in the Workplace

Why did Blockbuster lose its competitive edge and disappear, while Netflix went from mailing out DVDs to becoming the world’s biggest streaming service? In hindsight, it’s easy to see that Netflix was better at anticipating change and innovating its business model. 

 According to the PwC Annual Global CEO Survey, 45% of CEOs believe their companies won’t survive the next decade if they stick to their current path and don’t reinvent themselves.  

While many in the C-suite talk about wanting a culture of innovation, many don’t give their employees the green light and the right tools to do so. Creating a culture of innovation is essential to harness the power of fresh ideas and change that make adapting to the current and future business climate possible.  

The perils of being stuck in the status quo 

Without constant innovation, it is unlikely that a business will grow. Both external change, such as how a company markets its products, and internal change, like streamlining a process, are beneficial in keeping a business agile and relevant. 

The danger of being unwilling or unable to innovate is that the company will lose its competitive edge (as with Blockbuster). This obviously affects the bottom line through missed revenue opportunities. It can also result in increased costs if things are done the same old way, ignoring new technology and ways to increase productivity. Both can lead to financial instability and possibly the company’s demise.  

From a human resources perspective, a company stuck in a rut or that doesn’t embrace new ideas will have trouble attracting new talent. The existing workforce is likely to get bored and dissatisfied with the lack of innovation and improvement. 

A company with a culture of innovation, on the other hand, is committed to the open exchange of ideas. It invests in supporting positive change and collaboration through its values and policies. 

10 building blocks for a culture of innovation in the workplace 

Healthy corporate cultures highlight principles and practices that further the best interests of the company and its workforce. In a culture of innovation, those principles and practices promote the idea that good ideas can come from anyone in the organization.  

The following are characteristics of a culture that values innovation: 

Instill autonomy 

When given autonomy, employees have the freedom to practice creative problem-solving without someone micromanaging their every move. They will start to develop a feeling of pride in their work and excitement about the new ideas they present and see materialize. Add in an ownership mindset that holds them accountable for their results and the organization is well on their way to a culture of innovation. 

Try this: Have team members take turns writing the agenda and leading   team meetings. 

Allow risk taking 

Not every idea will be a winner, and that’s okay. Mistakes provide some great learning opportunities and even imperfect plans might contain an idea that leads to something big. In a culture where all new ideas are considered until proven otherwise, employees will remain engaged and continue to take risks and share their thoughts. 

Try this: Choose one employee-suggested change to implement each quarter. Better yet, have the team vote on what the organization will try next. 

Encourage empowerment 

Empowering workers allows them to shed their imposter syndrome and feel worthy and heard. Some company cultures unfortunately do little or nothing to encourage or support employees. This can keep people from speaking up even when they know their ideas have value. In a strong culture of innovation everyone’s opinion is worthwhile and management champions those who suggest something new and different.  

Try this: Run periodic brainstorming sessions where teammates can bounce ideas off one another. 

A healthy attitude toward change 

Many companies struggle with change, but that’s what innovation is all about. To have a healthy culture of innovation, the organization must be one where change is viewed in a positive light. Teams must learn how to manage change with clear communication, realistic expectations, and staff buy-in. 

Try this: Hold team meetings to prepare for upcoming process changes, and postmortems after the change to discuss what worked and what didn’t. 

Create psychological safety 

A culture of innovation and a culture of psychological safety go hand in hand. There is not much chance of hearing new ideas from an employee who is afraid of being ridiculed or ignored for thinking outside the box. Learning how to cultivate a psychologically safe workplace is important for every aspect of an organization, but especially for those that hope to nurture innovation and creativity at work. 

Try this: Remind employees that there are no stupid questions. Encourage them to think outside the box and share even the smallest—or most outlandish—suggestions in a judgment-free forum. 

Give and receive feedback 

When it comes to innovation in the workplace, two-way feedback  is valuable. For example, a suggested change offered by an employee can be acknowledged along with feedback about the idea’s viability (or lack thereof) and next steps, if any. If the suggestion is ignored, the worker is not likely to speak up again.  

Likewise, implementing an innovation without first gathering feedback from those who will work with it every day could be a mistake. Allowing employees to ask questions and participate in the process might uncover flaws in the plan. Asking for feedback also signals trust in employees’ opinions, boosting their feelings of empowerment. 

Try this: Consider a team meeting where everyone gives and receives feedback.  

Make creativity a priority  

Granting permission to show creativity at work is just the first step. Companies must be prepared to prioritize and invest time and resources in creative endeavors if they are serious about innovation. New ideas will often begin to flow once employees are allowed to step away from their normal work duties and use their innovation skills, even if only for a few hours a month. 

Try this: Schedule time each month for employees to try new things, take a course, or do a creative team-building exercise. 

Promote collaboration 

Dysfunctional teams aren’t likely to produce much in the way of innovation. Building a team that works well together, however, will result in the sharing of ideas and creative problem- solving. Work toward open communication, healthy competition, and good peer-to-peer feedback. 

Try this: Periodically have employees switch teams and cross-train on new tasks. Like job shadowing, this can be beneficial for both the “student” and “teacher” in the exercise. 

Practice intentional hiring 

Building a culture of innovation means being intentional about onboarding people with a diverse set of skills, ideas, and viewpoints and not letting unconscious bias into hiring decisions. Without diversity, teams can develop tunnel vision and group thinking, failing to spot the need for change, let alone producing creative ways to evolve. People with differing viewpoints and life experiences will bring fresh ideas based on their unique demographics.  

Try this: List the talents of the current team, then consider what additional skills would make the most impact. Set aside biases and evaluate applicants based on those skills. 

Value continuous learning 

Companies with an established learning culture will more easily develop a culture of innovation. Instead of an environment where everyone feels they must stay in their lane, learning cultures value stretching one’s skill set and trying new things—both of which feed an innovative mindset. 

Try this: Self-directed microlearning like that offered by HSI Blue Ocean Brain is a great way to keep the team learning at their own pace. 

Turning intentions into culture 

Managers can’t just hope their employees will come up with innovative ideas, they need to make sure it’s part of the corporate culture. Innovation should be a company-wide priority backed up by corporate values and policies. The organization must be willing to invest its time and resources to train its people in the hard and soft skills necessary for a culture of innovation.  

HSI Blue Ocean Brain is on the front line of giving companies the tools to change their workplace culture through our professional development microlearning platform. Whether the goal is a culture of innovation—or any of the cultures mentioned above that overlap with it—we can provide the training materials to help get you there. Schedule a consultation today.