A culture of innovation has become essential to the sustainability and success of the company. It is in the best interest of managers to integrate these values into the company's culture in order to encourage employees to propose and share new ideas, solutions and innovation projects and to strive for positive results. 

While many have understood the importance of including innovation in their business strategies, they do not always know what actions to take to best encourage and engage their employees. 

From an article written by the Forbes Council, find out how leaders can help foster an innovative culture in 10 ways. 

1/ Managers as leaders of the innovation culture

A culture of innovation is above all successful when managers are involved. They have to position themselves as true leaders and adopt a certain coaching style towards their employees. They are the first ones to show curiosity and to encourage sharing and proposing creative and innovative solutions. Employees need to be supported in the transformation of the corporate culture and will be more likely to be engaged if managers lead by example. This will have a significant impact on innovation. 

2/ Employees involved in the innovation culture

Employees must understand the meaning of the approach and integrate that a culture of innovation is linked to cultural objectives. 

It's important to engage them by asking them how they can approach this new culture and how they can drive innovation within the company. When you ask for input from your employees, involvement is guaranteed. The leader announces the objectives and then takes into account the team's desires on how they want to go about it. 

3/ A space dedicated to innovation

A space dedicated to proposing ideas, best practices and innovative projects is a good way to encourage employee initiatives. They must have the necessary resources and support to follow through and be fully engaged in the process. This allows them to exchange ideas with each other, enrich each other's ideas, share best practices and co-construct in order to move towards the emergence of innovative projects and actions. They then seize every opportunity to contribute to the achievement of the objectives. 

4/ Employees, the first actors of the innovation culture

As a manager, it is essential to understand that employees are the first actors of such an approach. Faced with the field, they are in the best position to come up with the best solutions. They must feel that their voice counts and that their ideas are heard. It is in a secure environment that they will be able to express themselves and maintain this culture of innovation. 

5/ A new working method

Implementing a culture of innovation also means breaking down the silos between groups. Co-construction should not only be done with groups of employees who are used to working together on a daily basis. The strength of a successful innovation culture is to bring together people from different worlds who can enrich each other through their mutual experiences. 

6/ The right to make mistakes in innovation

Adopting a new culture, a new way of working, also means accepting the right to make mistakes. Innovation never happens when a culture punishes creative failures. You have to let employees experiment, make mistakes, bounce back... And innovation will only be enriched and nourished. Leaders have an essential role in supporting teams by advising them and encouraging them to propose things, without fear. 

7/ The proposal of ideas encouraged

A space dedicated to idea generation, the establishment of parameters to evaluate ideas and the development of a mechanism to reward good ideas contribute greatly to the establishment of a culture of innovation. Even more so when the selected ideas are tested and implemented by rewarding the people who proposed them. Employees then feel heard, involved in improving the company's performance and valued. 

8/ Several contribution modalities proposed

Employees may have preferences as to how they contribute to the proposal of innovative ideas. It is therefore important to take this into account and to offer several ways of contributing: via a form, anonymously, during a competition on the best ideas proposed, during a call for ideas limited in time.... Everyone is free to set up different methods according to the desires of the employees to encourage initiative. 

9/ Organized "question rooms

On a regular basis, managers and leaders can organize "question rooms" in person or directly on the idea proposal space. Employees can then ask questions that are blocking them from proposing ideas or understanding the process. And conversely, managers and leaders can gather information during these organized times in order to naturally discover innovative solutions. It is also an opportunity to discuss together the direction to take or the areas of improvement to bring. 

10/ Communication above all 

Your employees come up with ideas, get involved and commit themselves. But to maintain this dynamism, they need to know the benefits of their involvement. It is essential to communicate with employees on the progress of the process. Every month, for example, a newsletter can be sent to all the teams highlighting the best ideas proposed, those that have been implemented, the positive impacts of the process on the company's performance and any other information that would continue to motivate employees to take initiative and propose innovative solutions. 

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You have all the keys in hand to implement your innovation culture in the best conditions. And we even offer you your own space dedicated to the proposal of innovative ideas and solutions so that your collaborators have a dedicated space.