One thing is certain: 2022 is sure to be a unique year, just like the few that came before it. With it comes many challenges and also many innovative approaches.
While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to innovating just any business, there are, in fact, numerous practices that can help you kick-start the initiative and get your employees engaged.
Let’s take a look at some of them.
Major Obstacles
Before you start planning, you should know which points to address. Here are some stats that pinpoint where to focus your efforts:
- The most common reason for people leaving their jobs is that they feel they are not being challenged at work
- Each month, 3 to 4.5 million employees quit their job
- 94% of employees would consider staying longer if their company offered learning opportunities
- One-third of new hires quit after approximately 6 months
- 76% of employees who feel their work isn’t being valued look for other job opportunities
- The overall turnover rate is 57.3%, out of which 25% is voluntary turnover and 29% — involuntary turnover
- 75% of the reasons for employee turnover can be prevented
As you can see, the major issue is — turnover rates. To keep your employees happy and engaged (the two terms aren’t synonymous, mind you), make sure to set up anonymous feedback practices and actually listen to your hires’ opinions.
Now on to some effective innovation ideas.
1. Start a Sustainability Team
More and more businesses are setting up their own sustainability teams, and not without a good reason. Sustainability is a hot topic these days, and it seems it will remain trending regardless of the incoming challenges.
For one thing, EVs are growing on many people, and no wonder with easy EV charger maintenance initiatives your business should provide education on.
That’s just the beginning, though. For a sustainability team to be truly efficient, it needs to cover all points of interest, the most important of which we will list hereby:
- Define the business’ long-term purpose with sustainability as the main focus — create the economic case for sustainability
- Create sustainability knowledge competence, knowledge, and knowledge base
- Co-create sustainable practices with your hires
- Encourage healthy competition
- Create a sense of purpose, productivity, and engagement
- Create transformational change by demonstrating higher purpose with sustainability as the main focus
- Make every employee a sustainability champion
Add to that anything that employees are looking forward to, based on anonymous feedback.
2. Explore New Tech for Frontline Employees
Need we say that staying afloat with new tech is the bare minimum? With businesses transforming their operations at a pace faster than ever before, it is crucial to not only hang in there, but to make sure to provide training and update tech regularly.
Updating apps and tools should be a practice rather than an occasional occurrence and, even more importantly, replacing outdated apps with newer, more efficient ones is a must. Don’t forget to provide training so that employees will be empowered to perform their jobs with ease rather than being bothered by complicated apps they’re not sure how to use.
A word on frontline employees, though. They may often feel as if the office or in-house teams are managed in a more modern way (which they often are, truth be told), and managing frontline employees may be more difficult.
For starters, you can use software to track employee’s hours. This will help with better engagement and also make your life easier.
3. Focus on Your Team’s Health
With the rise of the wellness craze, it has become evident that many employees are unsatisfied with the health and wellness benefits their employers offer.
To be sure, there’s nothing more important than health, so make certain to think up a viable strategy that will not burden your employees.
Start small and grow bigger by incorporating ideas based on employee input.
The small steps are paramount and easy to implement. E.g., you can start offering healthy snacks (put a bowl with fresh fruit on the desks) and encourage a wellness time where your team gets up and moves around.
Should any of your employees get injured, ensure they have time off or easier duties to help with injury recovery.
4. Travel While You Work
Finally, with digital nomadism and remote work becoming a big deal globally, it is important to offer this opportunity to employees who are looking for a hybrid work model.
More and more people are deciding to go work abroad, see the sights, get productive, gain a new perspective and create some savings. Make sure to encourage the practice by offering appropriate work models and agreements.
According to Emilia Flores, Co-Founder of UkBadCreditLoans says “Be open-minded when it comes to contracts.” Keep in mind that many digital nomads run their own business (often for tax purposes), so offer them the deal you need. It’s a win-win situation, as, contrary to popular belief, not all remote workers rely on gigs. Many of them prefer long-term cooperation with a company offering a stable job. They just need to be given the opportunity to deal with administration in a way that suits them best.
Key Takeaways
As you can see, big changes start small, but isn’t that always the case?
To innovate your company completely, you’ll need to observe trends, provide education, and keep your employees healthy, happy and engaged.
Work your way up as your business grows but make sure to put employees’ health first and listen to anonymous feedback. Not everything needs to be complicated; sometimes, listening is the only effort it takes you to create a happy workspace for all.