Tips for Keeping Up Innovation While Remote Working

Remote working – a concept that was unknown to small and large organizations, has now become one of the most widely known phenomena. The global pandemic caused by coronavirus initiated the process of remote working for businesses around the world. The concept has brought many advantages, but with pros, there are cons too. The most formidable challenge that entrepreneurs have faced is keeping up the innovation and motivation.

However, there are some tips you can use to make sure the innovation never dies.

The Tips to Keep the Innovation Alive During Remote Working

Your employees need a proper setting to come up with creative ideas, and some people find it challenging to do that when they’re at work. Working from home has changed that for such employees, they find that in a secluded environment, they tend to be more productive.

Make Someone In-Charge

Most professionals recommend that there should always be a person-in-charge of remote workers. Every employee should be made responsible for reporting to the person-in-charge to make the remote working process data-driven. Employees will work better and harder if they have someone to report their daily tasks. The head in-charge can then use that data to enhance the quality of innovative ideas by motivating them to present more ideas.

Showing the Economic Value of Innovation

The term ‘economic value of innovation’ means to measure your innovative ideas against top-ranked firms like Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, etc. Schedule a meeting with your remote employees to outline the business processes of top-ranked brands. When your employees understand what the competition is doing to stay ahead, their innovation levels rise, and they become more productive.

Prepare presentations and show them facts that help them understand why you need their maximum support. It’s essential to keep tabs on your competitors, especially during these uncertain times, when you’re still working from home, and things can get away from you.

Set Goals and KPIs

The best way to ensure that people are innovative is by presenting them with their key performance indicators (KPIs) and setting their daily goals. If you clarify what you need, there’s a better chance that they will do better and strive to use the innovative side of their mind. The metrics will act as a motivational tactic that will encourage them to think of better ideas to boost their company.

Make it their goal to spend some part of their day thinking of innovative ideas that can transform business operations, acknowledge their efforts, and celebrate their input to keep their spirit alive. In doing so, you’ll boost their confidence and motivate them to produce better quality work.

Face to Face Virtual Time

Don’t disregard talking to your remote employees just because you’re not working under the roof. Make sure to schedule some virtual face to face time with your team using applications like Slack, Skype, etc. However, don’t make these meetings about discussing projects and tasks; use these interactions to break down any ‘formal barriers’ you might feel between yourself and your team. If you keep up with your end of the conversation, interact with them in a friendly way, that will give them the courage to come forward with numerous innovative ideas. The meetings can also be random, where everyone joins the chat room with a cup of tea in a comfortable setting; such tactics can produce great ideas.

Make Company Issues Transparent to Them

The best kind of relationship that you can develop with your employees is a transparent one. Take your team into confidence and tell them the issues the company is facing – people think better when they understand why they’re doing, what they’re doing. When you help them understand why you need their innovative ideas, they’ll have a better direction to work towards and yield great results.

Some companies offer their employees a platform to convey a company-related issue and then ask their workers to give their innovative input. Other companies have ‘virtual investment plans,’ where they tell their employees to invest the virtual money into their innovative idea. The remote activity helps the manager analyze which employee is innovative and has a great idea to offer.

Schedule an ‘Innovation Hour’

People barely find the time to relax when they’re working remotely because they feel more responsible for completing their given tasks. They also have many distractions that can take up their time during the day; however, being the manager, you can help them give time to be innovative.

A great example is Facebook, where they give employees a ‘no meeting day.’ People have no meetings that day, and they’re encouraged to spend the extra time thinking of ideas that can prove fruitful for the business. Likewise, during remote working, you can schedule an ‘innovation hour,’ the hour can be about encouraging your team to think of ideas to change the company or make operations more straightforward. The hour can also be about coming up with new marketing strategies to promote the brand.

Encourage Them to Connect Remotely

While moving towards remote working, most businesses have also adopted new conversational channels to stay in touch. The most popular apps that are in use are Skype, Slack, Jira, etc. Such businesses understand the importance of communication and staying connected during working hours; however, sometimes, there are ways to make communication better.

For example, you can try encouraging your employees to talk to each other to come up with innovative ideas. Choose a platform where employees can upload their profiles, and people can interact with people who share their interests to think of ideas during ‘innovation hour.’

Work to Keep the Innovation Constant!

The recent experiment of remote working has given a chance to companies around the world to experience something new. The phenomenon has presented many benefits, and while the transition was challenging, companies have managed to make it work. Just make sure to keep your remote employees motivated, happy, and involved. Good luck with keeping up the innovation of your team!