Workforce innovation is the ability of managers and leaders to generate new ideas and approaches to not only workforce development, but workforce strategies. In previous blogs, I have written about the math problem we have in workforce. There are not enough people, yet we continue to want to staff in the same way.
Embracing creativity is critical to keeping up with the ever-changing demands of the market and allowing our teams to help address the workforce constraints is important. While most of us want to foster innovation in our teams, leaders need to be deliberate to make this happen. Here are a few ideas to help innovate some new approaches in workforce:
- Create space for innovation. Enabling innovation often requires multiple perspectives and dedicated time. To inspire creativity, establish a time and space where ideas can be traded and built upon.
- Embrace risk. Innovating in the workforce requires a culture that embraces risk-taking and encouraging team members to celebrate successes while learning from failures. Failure is just one-step on the path to advancement and a collaborative environment with empowered employees can and will achieve more.
- Develop an innovation strategy. An innovation strategy are the principles for how any organization expects to develop its employees to be innovative. Leadership defines what innovation means to their organization and lays the groundwork for how all employees can contribute to an innovative culture.
Changes in workforce development are constantly materializing, and bluntly the organizations that learn to innovate will be the ones that thrive. By creating spaces for innovation, embracing risks, and developing a strategy to foster innovation, organizations are better positioned to serve their communities.