Using the ideas of your employees is a great way to make your company evolve and be more creative than your competitors. But today, many obstacles limit taking initiative in business. So what should we put in place to encourage it? Are there effective solutions to counter all these obstacles? You will see that with a few tips and tools, you can easily create a climate favorable to the development of the best ideas of your employees.
Taking initiative: a key element of performance
Initiatives are a source of performance. According to a study conducted in 2017 by the firm Oresys, the more the employees of a company are able to take initiatives, the more efficient their company is. It also reveals that more than 9 out of 10 managers have ideas to advance their organization, and that they would be very motivated to implement them.
Beyond the figures, taking initiative allows the actors who are closest to the field, namely employees, to offer innovations concrete for upgrade the daily life of teams or to develop commercial aspects of a product for example. Everyone benefits: first of all, the employee who feels comfortable valued, since we let him go through with his ideas. Then the manager, who can count on staff Motivated, and finally the company, because it is winning in agility, in team spirit And in performance.
However, it is not that easy, today, to take initiatives at work. A number of factors discourage the majority of employees. Here they are in detail.
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The obstacles to taking initiative
The obstacles to taking initiative are numerous. We have chosen to highlight the 3 main ones, which come up frequently when we are closely interested in this question.
The vertical hierarchy
Companies in which decisions are made unilaterally by managers do not allow employees to express their ideas. Very often, autonomy is very limited, the tasks to be carried out are very precise and there is no room for individual initiatives. There is also little trust given by managers.
In this type of hierarchical organization, processes have generally been very standardized for years, without questioning. Every decision must be validated by several representatives (N+1 then N+2 for example). Proposing even a small change is therefore synonymous with a long and tedious process... which is very discouraging.
The lack of time
Taking initiatives requires a minimum of time, both for the reflection phase and for the implementation phase.
It is still often the case that employees have too many workloads to be able to devote enough time to other tasks. Not necessarily used to setting up projects themselves, they may also not feel competent or legitimate enough to go through with it.
The lack of money
Finally, most initiatives or projects require financial participation, more or less significant. Some businesses only see it as costs, when in reality it is an investment.
Initiatives on the part of employees can concern a wide variety of areas: well-being, cohesion, improvement of working conditions, etc. They can offer benefits to employees, to an association, or have a direct economic interest for the company. Allocating a budget to projects proposed by employees therefore does not represent a loss of money: it has positive consequences in the short, medium or long term for the organization.
The steps to encourage her to take initiative
You now know the value of taking initiative in business and what most often hinders it. We now offer you some tips to sustainably encourage your employees to follow through with their ideas.
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1 - Establish a climate of trust for your employees
La toleration And the benevolence are essential if you want employees to dare to propose their ideas. The general atmosphere should therefore be serene and non-judgmental.
The way managers Communicate with their teams is important to establish a relationship of trust within the company. They should offer Autonomy, set up collaborations between employees, and be transparent with them. The ideas proposed may not be accepted, but each refusal must be accompanied by explanations, so that everyone can understand the reasons why.
2 - Implement participatory management
It is a decision-making and problem solving process that fully involves the employees of a company. This promotes dialogue, encourages all team members to get involved and develops their autonomy.
Quite naturally, in organizations that practice this type of management, which is also called Bottom-up, the commitment is stronger and the number of initiatives taken is more numerous. By involving all employees in company issues, we automatically develop their creativity.
3 - Accompany and coach
It is not always easy to set up a project from A to Z when you have never done it before. This fear of not being up to par is legitimate, which is why it is important toaccompany your teams in the realization of their ideas.
Whether it is a company executive or an external coach, it is essential to provide support to your employees, especially at the beginning, so that they dare to get started. This may take a bit of time, but develop new skills at home that will be transferable in their daily missions.
4 - Use a tool that promotes initiative in business
Finally, if all these steps seem difficult to implement, know that there are very powerful tools to promote initiative within your teams. Teamstarter is one of them. This participatory budgeting platform allows employees to commit to projects that are important to them by allocating a monthly sum (offered by the company) to the ideas of their choice. It addresses the obstacles that usually limit the implementation of new projects in organizations:
- The hierarchy. Each employee, regardless of their role, is free to suggest an idea and submit it to colleagues. It does not need to be validated by its supervisor.
- The weather. Very easy to use, it only takes a few minutes to get started with the platform, propose your ideas or allocate your budget to the ones you prefer. To set up your project, a dedicated team of coaches helps and supports you. So you are not wasting time.
- The budget. The company chooses the amount it wants to give to each employee every month.
Encouraging the taking of initiatives at work is beneficial both for your organization and for your employees. By involving them and developing their creativity, they become more committed and naturally become more efficient. Many obstacles still restrict initiatives within companies: hierarchy, lack of time and money, limitation of autonomy, etc. By establishing a climate of trust within your teams and by implementing certain tools, you can have a positive influence on taking initiatives. In this way, you will take full advantage of the best ideas of your employees.
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