BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

Five Ways To Jump-Start Creativity Among Remote Teams

Forbes Technology Council

Derrick Morton is the co-founder and CEO of FlowPlay.

"Collaboration is key to creativity." These words from journalist and author Walter Isaacson likely ring true for the majority of us still working from home. Though some artists do find inspiration in solitude, most creative professionals rely upon the organic back-and-forth idea-sharing and brainstorming that comes with working in a team setting. After months of isolation, and with remote work remaining the status quo for the foreseeable future, creative expression is becoming more difficult for artists in music, film, game design, technology development and more.

Like many companies, my business relies on the innovation and creativity of our people. Despite our size, we are a close-knit team. Many of us have worked together, side-by-side, for more than a decade. Collaboration is part of our culture. Our office — which has been closed since March — is open-concept. Normally, we can easily chat with others from our desks and use the many social spaces around the office to hang out, bounce ideas and de-stress. We have always spent a portion of the workweek from home and, as a result, made the most out of the days when everyone was in-office. It was the perfect balance between team collaboration and quiet time to focus and produce good work. Now, it's been months since we've seen each other outside of a screen, and our teams are, at times, feeling depleted of motivation and creativity.

This challenge is by no means unique to us. At some level, creativity is vital to every business. At my company, we're looking for new ways to offset the negative effects of forced remote work. Below are five of the solutions we're exploring to help jump-start connection, creativity and productivity.

Create virtual workspaces.

Companies are looking at a myriad of out-of-the-box ways to keep their people connected meaningfully — beyond appointment-based videoconferences. People who are accustomed to collaborating in the same room need more than a few Zoom meetings to work with their colleagues and friends on creating, designing and building new products and services. One solution our company is testing is creating a virtual "meeting room," or several rooms, that stay open every day during work hours. Employees can have a constant video presence in the room throughout the day and speak to colleagues as they work, much in the same way they would if they were all in the office together. I expect similar formats to emerge in the coming months and year, as leaders find ways to improve collaboration and ensure their employees are not suffering from loneliness and isolation.

Replace or augment Slack.

Slack and Microsoft Teams use have exploded over recent months and, in many ways, have begun to replace email. My employees are using Slack far more than ever before. It helps us keep in touch minute-to-minute, and everyone has mostly adapted to the new format. Still, Slack and Teams fall short of meeting all needs — especially for workforces that are planning to remain remote long-term. In the coming months and beyond, we're watching for new tools that fill the gaps and expect to see solutions with a focus on more robust collaboration features that allow people to connect and collaborate remotely emerge.

Establish more one-on-one meetings.

People need to be supported and valued. If they doubt their worth or start to feel invisible, creativity will slip. It's not always easy to share a wild idea. Right away when we closed our offices, my co-founder and I set up video one-on-one meetings with every single employee. This went a long way in making sure people felt cared for and anchored to our collective goals. When company leadership connects with employees directly on a regular basis, it builds loyalty and empowers them with the confidence they may need to speak up and share.

Redefine expectations.

You need to strike a balance between offering a lot of flexibility for people juggling extra responsibilities in addition to their day jobs and the importance of team responsiveness. It's important to set a strong tone from the top down for expectations and specifically outline how the company plans to help employees navigate new challenges. Additional time off, flex schedules, extra health and wellness support and other perks are all good options to consider. We're strongly encouraging employees to use PTO. When working from home, it's easy to forget the importance of a day off — but it's as important as ever to take time to unplug. Hiring for independence goes a long way as well. We have a flat organization and trust in the autonomy of our people to get their jobs done. We hire people who thrive on independence, which has made it easier for them to adapt to working in isolation.

Curate new workshops and events.

In the absence of live events, which many people rely on for education, networking and idea-generation, employees will need new outlets and formats for professional development. Our company is looking at shifting our typical investments in industry conferences toward curated events with small, selective speaker and attendee lists. Workshops and webinars designed for specific audiences and skill-building will also be valuable in replacing the lost benefits that come from traditional in-person events.

Really good ideas are never perfected in a solitary vacuum. Connection is essential for people to innovate and thrive personally and professionally. Isolation is increasingly wearing thin on people around the world, and work-from-home fatigue is setting in. But there's also an opportunity for great work to be done in this landscape. We've launched an entirely new product during this time — one that directly responds to current consumer experiences and needs. Companies that can stay on top of these issues and take steps to ensure their employees have the support and tools they need to engage with their jobs will be resilient in maintaining creativity and productivity now and when our world resumes business-as-usual.


Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?


Follow me on Twitter or LinkedInCheck out my website