5 Keys to Boosting Creativity at Your Company

Creativity at the Company

A more creative work team and staff to boost productivity and the effectiveness of every action. Isn't that what every company would want? However, boosting creativity at a company isn't that simple. Day-to-day demands, lack of resources, or simply a lack of knowledge and specialised staff make it impossible to set as one of the new goals.

Committing to greater creativity at your company

How can you get more creative teams without demanding more time and energy from your employees? We've done the research to bring you some of the tips experts give, to give your company that boost of creativity it needs:

1.- Goodbye computer… Hello notebook!

Of course, no one can do without a computer at work today… but one recommendation is to set it aside, at least when jotting down new ideas. It will help you cement them, you'll be able to read them aloud again… And the most important ones, write them on sticky notes of different colours (depending on the area, department or topic) and stick them on the office wall, somewhere the rest of the team can read them.

2.- Put important ideas in quarantine.

You've surely had it happen where something that seems original and revolutionary today seems absurd or irrelevant tomorrow, once you think about it again… It's very common, which is why a good tip is to let a new idea rest for at least a month before making an important decision. This time apart will help you gain distance, view it more critically, and spot whatever flaws it might or might not have…

3.- Focus your ideas

It's not so much about having ideas — the more the better — endlessly brainstorming about any topic, thinking and thinking… Creativity at a company doesn't always happen spontaneously, and we need to steer it towards a goal to make it easier to find effective ideas that solve the company's current problems or needs. Don't forget that challenges and constraints will spark employees' creativity even more.

4.- Necessary conditions for greater creativity at your company

And for all that brainstorming and all that effort put into thinking up new ideas to pay off, it needs the right setting to happen. The most important thing is trying not to kill ideas, not shooting them down and putting an end to them from minute one. Even if they seem inappropriate, absurd, radical…, we need to be able to listen to them, make sure we've understood them properly, give feedback to the person presenting them, ask them to develop it further, to grow it, to place it on the same level as the problem or need we're trying to address.

What's more, experts recommend bringing together people from different disciplines, positions and departments on the same project. Each of them will have a different view of the problem and a different approach to tackling it, and to possible solutions. Giving them the chance to interact and reach shared goals together is one of the most important requirements for genuinely finding good ideas and boosting creativity at your company.

Motivation will be another key point. By assigning each project based on who's most motivated by or interested in that particular topic or project, we'll likewise achieve greater motivation and creativity, since we're dealing with a topic we enjoy.

And time — that essential time for the so-called "Eureka effect" to happen, for the lightbulb to switch on, which, in most cases, doesn't happen at work, but at home, in the shower, while driving back… It's essential to allow time for that creativity to flow.

5.- Artistic Team Building activities, the boost your team is missing.

And, if you add to all of the above the option of running activities aimed at improving and giving that extra boost of creativity your team needs, the results will improve noticeably.

As Team Building experts in Madrid and Barcelona, we know that, besides working on creativity and lateral thinking, this type of activity (which we define as Artistic Team Building) is also a very good tool for fostering a sense of belonging to the company, while promoting camaraderie, good humour and communication within the team.

Among all our corporate and Team Building activities, one in particular stands out here: Painting the Future, an artistic team building activity where participants face the challenge of imagining and painting what the future of their company will look like, connecting with their colleagues and sharing the same values, goals and vision of the company they're part of. It's also a perfect activity for all kinds of profiles, letting them mix, get to know each other better, all within a playful, fun and creative atmosphere.

Now you know where to start building a more resourceful, creative team at your company. Will you let us help you get it going? ;)