More than 400 business leaders participated in Plante Moran’s 2014 Innovation Survey and confirmed a strong, positive culture is paramount for successful innovation and increased revenue. Why? Because culture is key for supporting one of the main drivers of innovation: employees.
Don’t shelve innovation in 2015! Answer these 12 questions to identify strengths, weaknesses, and ways to improve your culture, and elevate innovation.
- Would your employees say it’s a great place to work?
- Does your leadership team make innovation a priority?
- Do you currently invest in innovation?
- Do your employees feel welcome to speak up with new ideas?
- Do you currently offer paid training and educational opportunities for employees?
- Do you receive actionable, innovative ideas from your employees?
- Do you currently promote technology to aide in collaboration and/or work tasks?
- Have your employee work spaces and collaboration spaces been redesigned in the past five years?
- Do you have a formal employee recognition program?
- Do you regularly engage with your employees in person to thank or congratulate them on a great idea or a job well done?
- Have you introduced a new employee perk or benefit in the last year?
- Do you say “yes” to new ideas from your employees?
So, how does your culture score? If you answered “yes” to 10 or more questions, congratulations—you get a gold star.