How To Help Remote Teams Stay Creative to Spark Innovation

By  //  March 1, 2022

The world is different today than it was even two years ago. Arguably every area of life has been affected by the global pandemic and has had to adapt, and the same applies to the business world. As we all know and experienced, 2020 required the shift to remote work for a vast amount of companies and workforces who were previously operating in in-person environments.

One thing that may have come as a surprise to some of us is the way remote work became part of the new norm in a relatively easy fashion so that now 62% of workers say they’d like to continue working remotely.

Of course, this statistic is not so astonishing when we consider the many benefits of remote work, including more flexibility of hours, less commuting time and money spent on gas, workers’ ability to complete their tasks in a space that inspires creativity, and less risk of spreading illness, to name only a few of the reasons encouraging the shift in work mentality.

Considering the great number of people who want to keep remote work as part of their life, business owners and CEOs everywhere are finding themselves needing to maintain structures that help remote teams and workers stay innovative and inspired to do their best. Although it can be tricky to keep a team framework when employees are working from different locations, these business entrepreneurs have made it possible for their companies, and they shared with us their advice for keeping their teams in a creative headspace.

Be Proactive About Staying in Communication

“The physical and psychological distance of working from home allows ideas to percolate, and for recent conversations about a particular innovation topic to be reflected upon. This is important to innovation, since it allows concepts to be mentally sorted through and conclusions to be drawn that enable the full consideration of many pieces of information. Through this, more innovative ideas are developed and they are likely to be more creative and commercially viable.  A large amount of research has shown that remote work has many benefits, including increased job satisfaction, greater work-family balance, higher engagement, and fewer distractions. Be proactive about communicating with others so that the innovation team stays connected and cohesive. Rather than waiting for misunderstandings to develop, when working remotely it is particularly important to have virtual lunches and breaks together, so that relationships stay strong and trust is maintained.  By allowing for chit-chat and casual conversations before and after meetings, or during scheduled virtual breaks, the innovation team can remain productive and creative,” says Timothy Golden, Professor of Enterprise Management and Organization at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Allow for Flexible Schedules 

“One of the biggest perks of remote work, and therefore driving factors of desire to be remote, is the flexible hours that often accompany remote work situations. If an employee is not coming into the office, there is not as much reason for them to follow the same hours as they would have when commuting to work. Many people have found that creating their own hours, or at least being given more flexibility of scheduling, provides them with more creativity; we all work at different paces and some people perform better at certain times of the day depending on their energy levels. Give your workers as much flexibility as you can offer, but make sure they still have structure to their workdays such as by scheduling regular team meetings or check ins,” says Patricio Paucar, Co-Founder and Chief Customer Officer of Navi, a simplified navigator for comparing phones and mobile plans.

Refer Your Team to Creative Resources

“When tasked with needing to help your remote teams stay creative from a distance, ask yourself, Where or when do I feel the most creative? What circumstances come together to support my most creative self? Your answers should tell you a good amount about how and where and when you work best. A similar self-reflection can benefit your team. Offering them a remote work structure is a first step to allowing them to follow their own best practices when it comes to their tasks and assignments. You can also encourage them to connect to their creative side with platforms designed for innovation. This can look like any wide range of options, from background music to meditation apps to apps that send snippets of information or creative ideas by notification. Do some research on the creative platforms that most inspire you personally, and then start to build a list of resources that can similarly benefit your team.  As a CEO, I take my role as the person in charge of supporting and inspiring my team very seriously; I want to be the one who fights for the best engagement and innovation levels for an all-around creative, focused, and happy team who loves the work they’re doing,” says Michelle Arnau, CEO of Rowan For Dogs, the world’s first clean coat care for dogs.

Encourage Workers to Find Creative Spaces to Work

“Creative people find space to be highly influential on their mindset and creative levels. Have you ever entered a space that instantly energized you or made you feel inspired? Although much can be done to make them welcoming and focus-ambient, most of us know that offices are not those places of inspiration for us. That isn’t to say that no good work can be done in-office; clearly the many companies operating out of office buildings show this.  However, with remote work comes the opportunity for professionals to choose their environment, or even change it up during the week. You should encourage your remote team to find spaces to work that allow them to focus, be productive, and of course, inspire their creative juices. Sometimes a person’s house is that carefully curated and peaceful place for them, but sometimes the home can be a place of stress or distraction, in which case workers might find more success by still commuting to a work area during their hours. When you meet with your remote workers, be sure to discuss the impact of location on work habits. Invite them to consider where they feel most productive,” says Cole Steverson, COO of Hybrid2Go, a hybrid battery replacement service.

Stay in Communication With Your Remote Teams

“In some ways, remote work is more independent than in-person work where co-workers convene in the same location with typically identical or at least overlapping schedules. However, remote work has been proven to be just as effective as in-person work or even more effective depending on the personTypically, workers who thrive when completing independent projects and who can stay organized and on-task are the ones that find remote work the most gratifying. It’s important to ensure that the independent nature of remote work is seen as a positive thing by your business.  Try to ensure your remote teams are provided for by giving them the freedom to follow their own best practices but also the underlying support and structure that assures them they’re a valuable part of the team. Staying in communication with your remote teams helps them recognize that they can lean into the best parts of independent work but they aren’t alone in their work pursuit. Establish multiple open communication channels, set regular team meetings, and let workers know where to turn with any questions or concerns they have,” says Michelle Hodgden, Chief of Staff at Kinoo, next level video chat designed for grandparents and grandchildren.

Encourage the Sharing of Ideas

“It requires more digital openness. If you create a culture where a majority of the work is done in a virtual environment like in team spaces, then it allows even the most junior employees who might never speak up during a meeting — or even be invited — to share their thoughts without the pressure of the in-person contribution. But if you have created a digital working group that is usually started before the meeting and persists after the meeting, it allows individuals to share their ideas in a less pressure-filled way. I’ve found a lot of great ideas coming out of those sessions,” Pegah Ebrahimi, COO of Cisco Collaboration.

Introduce Your Team Members to Each Other

“I don’t know how it works for everyone, but I find it a lot harder to feel inspired if I begin to think I’m alone in my mission. Independent work is something many people excel at, but everyone still wants to know they aren’t alone–that they have a support system under them even when they are largely working on solo projects. Therefore, it makes sense that a method for inspiring strong work from your team members is to ensure everyone feels connected to a larger operation than themselves sitting in their living rooms or local coffee shop. With my remote teams, I highlight a different employee each week and introduce them to each other, encouraging the other workers to reach out with a greeting or message; this helps us all stay connected and know the other people at the company. The more connections employees have with their co-workers, the more they can discuss minor questions and advice amongst themselves and the more they feel supported by others,” says Akhilesh Srivastava, Founder and CEO of Fenix Commerce, customizable ecommerce shipping solutions for online sellers.

Allow for Side Project Time

“A perhaps somewhat controversial method of inspiring creativity and innovation in your employees is allowing for paid side project time–in moderation, of course. Google is the big company that first introduced this model and discovered its positive effects. They established what they call the 20% Project where team members are allowed to work on their own creative projects during 20% of their paid time. What the team at Google realized is that it helped keep workers creative because they were able to switch gears and focus on something personal that excited them whenever they felt burnt out or uninspired–or, because 20% equals one workday a week, employees could take one day of uninterrupted personal project time, which encouraged an overall creative mindset. Google has confirmed this rule is still in effect. The reason this structure still benefits Google is because oftentimes workers’ creative projects are ideas and services that will be to Google’s advantage. If Google adopts one of the side projects, it’s a win-win situation for Google and the employee behind the idea. Consider implementing a similar side project allowance at your own company to inspire further innovation in your teams,” says Bryan Alston, CMO of Greater Than, a super natural performance drink focused on proper hydration.

Encourage Fresh Air and Movement Breaks

“We all know the importance of taking breaks in order to reset our minds and stretch our bodies; when we take a few minutes for our minds and bodies, we can return to work ready for productivity. There are multiple theories about what the perfect break timeline is: the once hourly and every 60-90 minutes ideas are popular, including the Pomodoro Technique which encourages a 15-30 minute break every 90 minutes after taking an initial short break after the first 25 minutes of work; another study claims the perfect timeline is 52 minutes of work and 17 minutes of break throughout the day. One thing we do know is that breaks, no matter when they occur, have many benefits on mood and mindset. Encourage your team, whether remote or in the office, to take regular fresh air and movement breaks. There’s no benefit in pushing yourself to the breaking point, because your productivity will simply decrease more and more if the mental clarity is not there. Movement breaks are important because they allow you to step away from the screen and stretch after sitting for so long. Meditation or deep breathing is also particularly effective throughout the day whenever you need to recenter yourself,” says Liza Kirsh, CMO of Dymapak, visually appealing child-resistant packaging to preserve products and protect customers.

Ensure Workers Have a Distraction-Free Work Environment

“Working remotely can really inspire those who have a clean, distraction-free environment that encourages their productivity levels. However, many people who were sent home to work remotely in 2020 during the pandemic found the transition challenging because their houses were not optimal work spaces. Even though certain team members may have opted to stay remote while those who prefer to work in-person may have already returned to work, in some cases businesses are staying entirely remote for reasons out of their control or due to a complete shift in their work model. Make sure that each member of your team is able to find a remote workspace without distractions or background stress, where they can work just as productively or even more so than in the office,” says Daniel Sathyanesan, CEO and Co-Founder of Winden, a business bank designed to help you make money.

There you have it: the best advice for how to keep your remote teams in a creative headspace that inspires innovation at work. With remote operations, there are many areas to pay attention to in order to ensure best working practices are followed, from environment to scheduling to communication and more–so make sure you consider all aspects and steer your team in the right direction to be the most supported and encouraged.