Companies dependent on new products and services to maintain relevance need innovators. High quality employees are hard to come by and with innovative minds becoming such a hot commodity, keeping them can prove to be even harder. Employee satisfaction must be maintained in order to foster innovation and in turn help secure an organization’s future as a successful and innovative company. Help retain top innovators by following a brief set of guidelines.

Feed innovation

Great innovators are looking for more than a 9-to-5 position where they clock in and out of an office each day. They are eager and appreciative of learning opportunities and ways to expand their breadth of knowledge and understanding. Allowing them to fulfill these needs in the workplace is an excellent way to increase overall job satisfaction. Try setting aside a fixed budget per employee which can be used for approved educational programs such as short courses, certification programs or even a higher degree.

“Lunch and Learns” have become quite popular with companies looking for lower cost options to satisfy the needs of their more innovative employees. It consists of one or several peer presentations in which employees are able to share their area(s) of expertise with other interested colleagues in an informal lunch setting. In a similar fashion, bringing in experts or lecturers from fields associated with the company for optional seminars is another way to keep innovators satisfied and engaged.

One of the main principles of innovation management is recognizing that ideas come from a variety of different sources. Business leaders can kill two birds with one stone by creating internship programs for university-level students to engage in research and development with employees from the R&D team as their mentors. This brings in a new source from ideas and allows innovators the opportunity to expose themselves to newer approaches and schools of thought in their field along with giving them the satisfaction of mentoring and helping younger innovators.

Of course, this is all in addition to the most practiced method of feeding innovation – free time. The most successful innovative companies allow their R&D teams to pursue their personal research interests for anywhere from 5%-20% of the work week. Many cite this free time as the most fruitful source of new ideas.

Provide a comfortable work environment

Offices at Lego [http://homeklondike.com/2012/02/02/legos-denmark-office/]

One of the more obvious factors in keeping innovators happy is providing a comfortable working environment. While this certainly includes the physical workplace, there are several other factors outside of this which should also be considered.

Innovation is all about keeping an open mind, and this concept stretches to the office environment. Simple steps such as relaxing dress codes and allowing employees to work in a more open, communicative setting can go a long way in achieving higher employee satisfaction. Add to this flexible working hours and if possible, remote working opportunities and retaining innovators becomes much less of an issue. Benefits are also of great concern to a majority of employees, especially to those with families. Providing employees with a solid benefits package and retirement savings options will also help retain employees.

Give innovators a voice

One of the biggest mistakes a company can make in regards to their employees is to receive their ideas, but provide little feedback. Innovators can often feel like they are being taken advantage of in this situation and are at higher risk for leaving the company to seek employment elsewhere. To prevent situations like these, business leaders must provide channels by which innovators know they are being heard and appreciated.

Create a process in which innovators can check the status of any ideas they submitted quickly and easily. Provide feedback wherever possible, preferably in person and avoid sending generic email messages or other correspondence. It is important for all employees to feel like they are valued within the company as this is a crucial factor in overall employee satisfaction. Managers may benefit from opening their doors and promoting an open communication policy within the office. This will help employees feel more valued while helping to mitigate any arising issues at the same time.

Finally, recognize accomplishments and success when appropriate. Employees who have gone the extra mile to help achieve company goals or taken on leadership positions should be recognized accordingly. This can take the form of monetary reward, promotion or a simple ceremony and lunch out. These simple actions will let employees know that their work matters and they are actively responsible in the company’s success.

As an innovative business, tackle the issue of retaining innovators from a customer-oriented perspective, where the innovators are the “customers” and the company is providing them with a “service”. Take the time to understand their values and cater the office and employee benefits to match these values. In addition to monetary compensation, employees want to feel like they are appreciated and being heard by their company. Additional benefits and avenues to pursue personal interests further bolster the quality of a company’s “service”.

Read more on this topic here:

Creating a Culture of Innovation to Attract and Retain Top Talent

Employee Retention – How to Retain Employees

Managing Employee Satisfaction in the Work Place