http://www.nbpjobs.org Your Job & Career Tips and More Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:51:54 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 http://www.nbpjobs.org/2009/04/how-to-identify-hire-encourage-creative-employees/ http://www.nbpjobs.org/2009/04/how-to-identify-hire-encourage-creative-employees/#comments Sun, 19 Apr 2009 09:27:35 +0000 admin http://www.nbpjobs.org/?p=70 It’s obvious that an innovative / creative company requires innovative / creative employees. But how you develop, maintain and encourage a creative work force? Here are some quick tips:

1. Hire Smart - Try innovative new job interview techniques that highlight how applicants deal with criticism. To innovate, you have to be very open to critique.
2. Go Multicultural. Cultural melting pots are known to be creative hot spots. Everything counts, from knowledge of global markets to varying diets and needs.
3. Give your employees lots of time and space to think and be creative. How about giving your employees X-number of free days per month where they are encouraged to visit a spot (mountain top, beach, river, wherever) that’s conducive to reflection and let their minds run wild with ideas and concepts.
4. Encourage risk taking. The unorthodox, the unusual, the unthinkable … usually, creative and innovative will stem from a bit of risk taking.
5. Bring in external forces. Tap the perspectives of outside experts – professors, physicists, poets, actors, archaeologists, theologians, astronauts, whoever. Get them to speak to your employees, motivate them, encourage them, give them different perspectives etc.
6. Be flexible. This ties very closely with #4 above. Give your employees room, space and flexibility to be creative.
7. Have them explore their co-workers world. Let your employees do their own work, but also allow them to experience their colleagues’ specialties. A new and different perspective on an old job/desk can be amazing!

]]> http://www.nbpjobs.org/2009/04/how-to-identify-hire-encourage-creative-employees/feed/ 0