The IrishJobs.ie ‘Bright Ideas at Work’ survey reveals that Irish workers are a positive, motivated bunch brimming with ideas, with 80pc believing that ideas generated by employees can significantly drive business success.
Of those surveyed, 92pc believed they had an idea that could make a difference to the company or organisation that employs them, and 75pc said their employer and management encouraged them to come up with new ideas.
However, just 24pc of workplaces have formal schemes in place to recognise or reward creative thinking from its employees. Only 13pc of the workers surveyed participate in organised brainstorms at work, even though 80pc would like to take part in monthly creative thinking workshops.
Listening to employees
“The survey suggests that there is opportunity to harness creative thinking and ideas among employees and support business success across the country,” said Valerie Sorohan from IrishJobs.ie. “Good leadership involves surrounding yourself with talented people, getting out there and listening to their ideas.”
Of those that believed their idea could make a difference, 26pc believed it could create new business, 22pc reckoned it could cut down on costs, while 18pc had thought of a new product or service.
Intrapreneurship
With employees’ ideas having so much potential for business success, employers need to listen to them. “The majority of workers are calling for structured workshops to facilitate new ideas generation,” said Sorohan.
“We are well known as a nation of entrepreneurs. On top of this, employees in Ireland are also proving strong on the generation of bright ideas, dubbed as ‘intrapreneurship’, where it’s all happening within a company,” she continued. “The survey results paint a positive picture of people in workplaces here and we are not surprised.”
Idea image via Shutterstock