As companies jostle to fill open roles, one of the most important things they can do is create and nourish a company culture that appeals to candidates. With the ongoing low unemployment rates in the tech and engineering sectors, it remains a candidate’s job market. As candidates pick and choose between job offers, they’re more apt to work for companies that align with their values.
Many engineers and IT professionals are naturally creative and innovative – they’re solutions-oriented, looking for new ways to solve problems. For that reason, they’re drawn to companies that foster a culture of innovation. A competitive salary and healthy work/life balance will always be important in attracting and retaining top talent. But engineers and IT professionals, in particular, want to be part of organizations that encourage innovation, creativity, and collaboration.
Creating a culture of innovation not only attracts top talent but improves retention. Further, it empowers employees to experiment, solve problems in new ways, and – ultimately – create meaningful change. All these things help your company stay competitive and affect your bottom line.
While most engineering and IT professionals are innately innovative, it takes intentional efforts to create a culture where curiosity thrives, risk-taking is encouraged, resources are earmarked for experimentation – and potential failure is acceptable.
Defining Innovation
Innovation can look very different for different companies. For example, a software company might seek innovative ways to solve existing problems while an engineering firm might look at innovative ways to use technology to increase efficiency. Defining innovation in terms of your company’s products and goals is the first step in fostering a culture of innovation.
Involving employees in this process is critical. Your employees are likely your best source for understanding what drives creativity, problem-solving, and collaboration within your organization – and what could be improved to further foster innovation. Their input can help create a shared vision that resonates across the company.
Further, by soliciting employee feedback, an employer can demonstrate the value of innovation, thereby empowering workers to prioritize it. By actively engaging in innovative work, employees help to build and sustain a culture where creativity, problem-solving, and collaboration thrive.
In addition to defining what innovation means to your company, it’s important to set goals related to innovative practices. When you can measure the impact of innovation, it becomes easier for everyone to see how their innovative practices impact success. This not only encourages further innovation but provides a quantifiable way of showing potential hires the importance of innovation to your company.
Creating An Innovative Environment
Creating and fostering an innovative work environment requires a thoughtful approach, appropriate tools, and a risk-tolerant culture that celebrates failures as well as successes.
Beyond defining and encouraging innovation, setting goals, and celebrating successes, it’s important to provide the resources needed to be innovative. Those resources may include practical tools and – more importantly – time. Experimentation requires time.
Google is renowned for allowing employees to use 20% of their work time on learning, skill development, and hands-on projects that may benefit Google but fall outside of an employee’s regular job responsibilities. As Wilco Soetman explains in a blog piece, “The concept behind the 20% rule is deeply rooted in the belief that giving employees the freedom to explore their passions and ideas can lead to significant discoveries and innovations.”
An important part of experimentation and innovation is failure. By allowing employees time to pursue innovation, companies also allow those employees time to rebound and learn from failure. In fact, failure should be celebrated as an opportunity for learning and growth – and further innovation. This builds resilience while reinforcing the idea that failure is not just okay but a natural part of innovative practices.
Encouraging Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration
One of the best ways to foster a culture of innovation is to encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration. When teams are composed of individuals with diverse skills, training, and perspectives, they can approach problems from multiple angles and collaboratively find solutions that can be truly groundbreaking.
By breaking down silos, companies can encourage engineers and tech professionals to work alongside marketing, sales, or business development teams, for example, to creatively tackle problems. A piece at Forbes points out that:
[S]caling collective intelligence is the key to unlocking the power of cross-disciplinary thinking. The sharing of new mental models and diverse perspectives from across boundaries of expertise can create new ways of seeing the world and eliminate outdated assumptions. “A team of cross-disciplinarians will achieve up to 5 times more innovative solutions together than disconnected minds can do on their own,” says Terence Mauri, MIT Entrepreneur Mentor and founder of the Hack Future Lab.
Appropriate resources are necessary to set these hybrid teams up for success. Online tools need to be user-friendly and intuitive for all who use them. Physical spaces should be designed in ways that foster collaboration and creativity. For example, “innovation zones” can be set up with interactive whiteboards; comfortable movable seating; and tech tools. Whether online or in person, environments that are thoughtfully designed to foster innovation give employees dedicated space to connect, share ideas, and develop groundbreaking solutions together.
Prioritizing Continuous Learning And Development
To keep up with rapid technological advancements, companies within the engineering and IT sectors must prioritize continuous learning and development. But, doing so is also important for fostering innovation.
Offering learning opportunities for emerging technologies like AI, providing financial support for attending industry conferences, and sponsoring learning opportunities that lead to certifications can spur innovation. Additionally, designing innovation hubs or zones can create dedicated space for innovation, empowering teams to collaborate on groundbreaking projects.
Recognizing And Rewarding Innovation
Recognizing and rewarding innovative contributions are key to fostering a culture of creativity and collaboration. Employees who feel that their contributions are valued and have contributed to the company’s success will be empowered to continue innovating. There are a few different ways employers can recognize exceptional innovation.
Incentive Programs
Bonuses, promotions, and public recognition are terrific ways to foster a culture of innovation. Incentives like these can motivate employees to pursue learning opportunities, push boundaries, work collaboratively, and take on new responsibilities as they seek innovative solutions.
Peer Recognition
Beyond being a way to recognize exceptional work, encouraging peer acknowledgement can increase morale, create a sense of community, and strengthen team cohesion. This positive environment naturally fosters further collaboration and innovation.
Sharing Success Stories
Sharing success stories about innovative achievements on your company website and social media accounts is a terrific way to demonstrate your commitment to innovation. Additionally, being recognized in this way can spur employees to work toward innovative solutions.
Showcasing Your Culture Of Innovation
Fostering a culture of innovation isn’t just important to your company’s long-term success and bottom line. It’s also critical for attracting and retaining top talent.
Engineering and tech professionals value learning opportunities and the chance to create visionary solutions. Emphasizing your commitment to innovation as part of your brand is a powerful way to attract candidates who are a great fit for your company. Showcase initiatives and achievements across your employer branding channels, including your company website, social media platforms, and recruitment campaigns.
Sharing employee success stories about innovative achievements – especially as testimonials – can provide additional validation to candidates who assess your company culture before applying.
As well, consider incorporating language in your job postings that emphasizes your commitment to innovation. For example, phrases such as “opportunities to pioneer new solutions”, “collaboration with cross-disciplinary teams committed to innovation”, and “work in our online and physical innovation hubs” clearly signal to candidates that you value innovation.
When companies embed innovation as a core value within their cultures, they create workplaces that attract, inspire, engage, and retain the very best talent in the engineering and IT sectors.
