Innovation remains an important driver in a constantly-evolving technology world. The impact currently being made by artificial intelligence is an example of the disruptive influence of new tech. Mobile devices, eCommerce, and the cloud, now seem commonplace, but a decade ago that wasn’t the case.
IT employees with an affinity for innovation are a major competitive differentiator between companies in the tech world. Is your organization hiring the innovative candidates able to help forge a path to success? If not, perhaps it’s time to take stock of the office culture?
Sure, hiring candidates who boast a career filled with innovative accomplishments needs to be a goal of any tech firm. At the same time, growing an office culture known for innovation actually boosts those skills among your current employees.
Essentially, your company gains two benefits by championing an innovative culture: the previously mentioned skill boost among your current employees, as well as the benefit of becoming known for innovation, which makes it easier to attract the right type of candidate to your organization.
Create a system where everyone is able to submit ideas or offer insights on new products, reengineering existing processes or simply working smarter. Randal Moss, one of the authors of IGNITE: Setting Your Organization’s Culture on Fire with Innovation commented on this approach.
“Right now, one of your employees may have a brilliant idea. The employee could be an engineer or someone in the accounting department, or it could be the groundskeeper. But—minutes from now—that idea will be lost. Why? Because your company doesn’t have the framework in place to capture it,” notes Moss.
Let's be honest: innovation is sometimes messy. Mistakes happen and projects fail. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, some of the best lessons have been proven to only have been learned through these mistakes. As long as lessons are learned and experience is gained, your organization benefits over the long haul.
Ultimately, giving your staff a chance to fail, provided they continue to strive for fresh innovations, remains an essential part of building the kind of culture that’s the envy of other tech organizations. Once again: Your current employees learn how to be innovative, while other IT professionals hope to become part of the team in the future.
In short, building a culture of innovation helps you develop – and hire – innovative employees.
If you need additional insights on developing a great tech team at your company, speak with the experts at Technology Partners. As one of the top technical staffing agencies in St. Louis, we provide great candidates able to make a difference for you. Contact us, today!