There are many ways to alter a business to keep the staff morale high. This can be by introducing a rewards system or perhaps hand out an InstantCard to the staff so they can feel unique and part of a team which consequently encourages hard work! However, a business that evolves over time to shifting business realities as well as making positive changes isn’t always favored by everyone who works there. Some people prefer companies that change slowly and often stick to how things have always been done. The older the company and the longer the average tenure of staff with that company, the more resistant to change the employees tend to be.

Here are five ways to innovate carefully across the business while keeping staff feeling positive about the changes.

1. Attend Conferences to Learn and Network

For office managers, it’s important to learn whatever they can to keep the business humming along. Attending office manager conferences 2019 matches that goal perfectly because it helps increase their knowledge on different topics.

Experienced speakers give talks to introduce new thinking to a broader audience and there are sometimes workshops for a hands-on experience too. For progressive companies that see the value in having chosen staff exposed to new thinking through conferences, this blog post lists the conferences that appear to be the most interesting this year.

2. Accept New Suggestions from Office Staff

Management that believe they have all the best answers are both missing an opportunity and seen as unreceptive by employees. Staff that work in the company often see better ways to do things than the methods currently used. Sometimes this comes from ideas they dream up and other times from the business books they’ve read in their spare time which sparks some inspiration.

By taking advantage of these ideas by being open to suggestions, the company looks progressive. Staff can feel that they are contributing, and changes are put in place that wouldn’t otherwise have happened. While managers often think they know best, the people who are on the ground every day getting tasks done are in the right position to suggest changes to systems and processes.

It’s also worth considering a reward scheme based on how useful a suggestion was and how well it could be implemented within the company. This provides a financial incentive to think intelligently about work-based problems and how best to solve them.

3. Enjoy Filtered Water to Reduce Sugar-led Energy Highs and Lows

The sugar spike when reaching for and consuming a sugar-laden drink and then feeling sluggish when the sugar rush wears off is all too familiar to staff pulling long days. It isn’t good for consistent productivity or staying mentally focused on the task at hand.

For companies that see the problem and wish to provide an alternative to endless sugary drinks or coffee to keep staff going, Bevi is the answer. Bevi offer an innovative new water dispenser system that can provide filtered water to staff. Their system delivers still, sparkling and flavored water to suit many different palettes. It also helps cut down on plastic water bottle usage, helping you to become more eco-friendly in the process.

4. Implement Kanban Across the Organization

Kanban is a system of project and task management. It’s usable by any member of the organization because it’s simple to apply and lets the entire company stay organized around priorities.

A collection of boards gets adopted that have cards placed on them. Each card represents either a standalone task or a project. For projects, they can have multiple tasks that pool together relating to it.

By using a visual representation of all outstanding tasks and projects, a company’s CEO, department heads and individual staff members get a proper sense of what the company is working on. Rather than individuals using task lists in their Outlook software or on a smartphone, using Kanban provides a visual overview for all organizational priorities at that time. This proves effective in highlighting bottlenecks, and individuals or departments that are overloaded.

Within Kanban, there’s also the use of a Work in Progress limit. The WIP limit prevents too many tasks being activated concurrently.

5. Add New Practices Progressively, Not All at Once

When making any changes in the office, it’s important to do so gradually. Attempting to make too many modifications to systems, processes and procedures initially creates greater complication for staff. This has the potential to lower morale as they try to complete their work assignments while wrestling with any changes that have come down the pipe.

Whilst employees may get the feeling that change is a constant thing, when there are changes spread out over time, it’s still better than trying to change 5-10 things at the same time. The latter approach may sink employees who don’t adapt quickly or suffer from issues like low self-confidence where they might believe they cannot take the necessary steps. Therefore, care must be taken to accommodate different people who learn or adjust at different speeds.

It’s completely necessary for companies to innovate through adjustments over time. Businesses that fail to do so often get left behind by more efficient companies that adapt as part of their corporate DNA.