There is nothing worse than having a bunch on negative aimless employees, especially if you are managing a start up company. Ideally you would want to stimulate the creativity and productivity of your employees as much as possible.
The fact of the matter is that you cannot take your employees on a field trip or social event every week to have them relax and socialize with one another. You have probably wished that there are ways to keep them motivated but still productive! Of course there are, so let us take a look at a few items that you can invest in to boost the creativity and ultimately the productivity of the entire office.
If for instance, you run a magazine start up, it is very important that you have creative visuals and ideas for content around the office. Even though all positions in the office might not be aware of it, all employees need splurges of creativity. If a certain employees feels like they are doing a mundane task which doesn’t need any creative influences, they might be surprised at the ideas they might come up with when they feel inspired. The idea is to challenge your employees without forcing them to create or produce anything in effect.
Idea wall
This can be either a white board or an open wall for people to write ideas or splurge out creative images. Being creative works different for every person. One employee might be inspired by nature, where others might want to practice their creativity through art. The wall should have a range of stationary and even paint. Encourage your employees to write positive and inspiring messages and ideas on this wall. The wall should be somewhere visible for everyone each day.
Video Games
You might be thinking ‘No Way’ for installing a video game station at your office, but have you considered the benefits? Not only will the games stimulate their attention span, it will also remind them of their childhood- a stress free and creative time. If you feel that some of your employees will take advantage of this, you can limited the use of time per day, but initially test their attitudes. If you are a positive and influential boss, they will have enough respect for you to not abuse the privilege. To take this a step further you can even have Competition Friday, where all your employees can compete against each other for a prize. This would work well with Wii games and will also stimulate a bit of exercise.
Bring nature indoors
People can easily feel imprisoned within an office space, and this can also limit their creativity. Try bringing in plants or flowers in the office, or even implement a water feature. Not only will the sound be soothing, but being around water will calm the employees and make them feel relaxed. If you connect the elements of nature with certain tasks, this might lead to even more creativity. Each employee can have a small plant on their desk which they are responsible for. Nurturing and caring can also lead to creativity.
Office Pet
Nope, not a teacher’s pet, but rather some sort of pet that the entire office is responsible for. The office gets the task of naming the particular pet. If you have an enclosed office space you can get an animal that can be outside. This will lure the employees to spend some time in fresh area. If you are limited regarding space you can install a fish tank and care after some interesting fish. The pet can also be seen as the office mascot, and being around it should relax the employees and keep them creative.
The best way to go about finding items for the office to boost creativity is to consider the personalities of your employees. If your programmer is an avid guitar player, install a music station to inspire and relax. If you have a team who can think on their feet, throw around an idea ball in a meeting, the person with the ball then has to give a new creative idea before passing the ball along. Remember, the office does not need to be a dull place, it can be a platform where creativity can blossom.
If you feel you don’t have the best ideas and initiatives, why not try looking into serviced offices in London? These companies will supply in all your office needs, from layouts to interior decoration, and this is a fast growing business initiative with overflowing with creative ideas.
Please enjoy this guest post submitted by John Badger. John is the content manager for Dryland. Dryland offers serviced office rental in London.