“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking, and don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart,…you’ll know when you find it.” – Steve Jobs
We have discussed several times the indispensable role employees perform in the success of the company – by providing top class customer service, by being creative, and several other methods. A company can help itself by inspiring creativity in employees – each employee would work to their optimum capacity and be a lot more productive when their ideas are solicited and included in the overall business of a company. Imagine the sense of self-worth of employees who are constantly sought out by the company to contribute to its success. With so many new companies and several opportunities, retaining the top talent of one’s company is becoming harder. Companies must encourage and inspire creativity in employees, give them reasons to be excited to contribute more each day, and be happy in being associated with the company. By inspiring creativity in employees, a company is able to encourage them to think proactively, use the resources at their disposal to the optimum, and work collaboratively with co-workers, all of which in turn contribute to the success and growth of a company. Customers prefer doing business with a company that appears strong and united – everything about such a company would be directed towards providing top class service and high quality products for customers.
So how does enhanced creativity in employees lead to a company’s success? Does your company recognize the importance of doing so? Almost every day, companies face several challenges, with the toughest one being the rise of the number of competitors – saying the same things and selling the same products and services. This gives customers (and employees) more choices and unless a company can find new ways to stand out from the crowd, they risk losing their identity and ‘voice’. Companies must come up with creative and innovative solutions for these tough challenges and by inspiring creativity in employees, a company would paving the way for finding many such solutions. By listening to the suggestions from employees, a company can revolutionize and differentiate its products and services and offer what no other company can.
A zest to contribute and creativity in employees helps them and the company to think and act differently and yet add immense value to the end users. Such employees and companies would find opportunities even in the toughest crisis, the employees would go beyond their assigned job, and each person would be more committed and proactive in removing any obstacles that could curb their growth and success. Creativity in employees makes them more passionate and dedicated to the company, thereby in turn to its customers and hence it would be obvious that they would do everything they could to ensure that every customer has happy and pleasant experiences each time they interact with the company. Creative people do not find excuses but rather creativity would be their greatest asset, which they would use to ensure that their company, its customers, and they too, get the best. Creativity in employees fosters a growth mind-set, which in turn would be highly beneficial for any company and all those associated with it in any manner.
By inspiring creativity in employees, a company would create a culture of forward and proactive thinking. Employees would seek to find answers for questions that customers could ask and by finding solutions even before customers perceive a problem, a company would gain their trust and loyalty. As a customer, would you not trust a company that can anticipate your problems and remove them even before they become too big to handle? Creative employees, on most occasions, would have new perspectives and would ask highly intelligent questions, leading to the solution to many problems. From a customer’s point of view, this would be a highly satisfying and trustworthy ‘relationship’, which in turn would lead to more business, loyalty, and vocal brand advocacy. A creative company would help its customers to succeed and reach their goals sooner, which for any customer is the most ideal association.
As mentioned, creativity in employees keeps them thinking – employees are more likely to question the status quo in order to broaden their outlook and approach to traditional problems and solutions. If each employee thinks creatively, a company would gain varied solutions to a single problem, allowing it to choose the most appropriate and best one. Creative employees usually observe issues that may go unnoticed by others and would have an innovative solution for those issues. For a company this would mean that almost all its problems would come with solutions and there would be enthusiastic people to implement the solutions such that the same problems do not reoccur. It would be hard for any competitor to beat this attribute!
Creativity in employees makes them more amenable to change. They are more flexible, are enthusiastic about learning, and ready to take up new and bigger challenges in order to prove their dedication to the company and its customers. In the current cutthroat business environment, change seems even more daunting and highly avoidable, than it does in normal circumstances. Yet without change, a company could soon go into oblivion. Creativity in employees gives them the courage to try new things, to take calculated risks, and be ready to change depending on the situations at hand. Such employees are the ones who go on to getting better opportunities within the company – often landing promotions and huge salary hikes each year. Companies need people who can give them more, gain for them a competitive edge, and yet not require too much supervision or too many resources to perform at their peak. A friend went from being an entry level executive to the Head of the Administration department in a matter of 3 years because of her ability to find creative solutions to the most complex problems. She worked so well within teams and with no supervision, that when the top position was up for grabs, the company could not think of anyone else but her for it. Her tenacity and creativity won her a lot of respect not just from the top brass, but also from her colleagues and co-workers.
Companies that invest resources in building creativity in employees, find that the benefits they gain far outweigh the investment they made. The ROI from creative employees is far greater – the drive and confidence of such a workforce, inspires confidence and trust in the minds and hearts of the company’s customer base and draws other stakeholders close. The better a company’s reputation becomes, it increases the potential to attract top class talent, more customers, and even top line investors, and the company can reach greater and newer heights within a short span.
It is vital for a company to stress the importance of innovation and creativity if it expects each employee to be part of their endeavour. The top line management must ensure that they convey regularly how innovation in business and daily operations would keep the company competitive, which in turn would attract more funds and customers for the company, which in turn would spell success for each person associated with the company. It follows naturally that only a successful company could afford to take good care of its employees through the best business and employee practices. Inspiring creativity in employees proves beneficial for everyone in a company hence it makes sense to remain focused and consistent on this important ‘asset’.
