Marketing is a tricky business.It can sometimes seem like there’s a new trend emerging on a daily basis, and it’s tough to keep up. In such a fast-moving landscape, it can feel like you’re constantly falling behind. With that in mind, maybe it’s time to start thinking outside the box.Today we’re going to look at how to build a creative culture within your marketing team and how it can help you elevate your marketing strategies above all the rest.
What is a creative culture?
Some believe that creative culture is only useful for creative companies.This couldn’t be further from the truth. Sometimes there are solutions to regular problems that can only be found through creative thinking. Even the most data-driven businesses could benefit from a little creativity from time to time.While many seem to think that making the workplace “fun” is the key to a more creative team, creative culture is more than a slide in the office and a few colors on the wall.It’s about the people within those colorful walls and how the business treats them, the bonds they grow, and the values they all work by.
Why is creative culture so important?
Let’s keep it simple: imagine you’re interviewing at two businesses.One of them seems very clinical and impersonal, the other has a bustling office with friendly conversation and a great atmosphere. You ace both interviews and at the end of the day, you have two job offers – which business do you choose?No-one wants to feel like a cog in the machine, and few are sticking around to see if their experience improves over time. Given the recent rise in employees taking a stand against poor work practices, it’s more important than ever to make sure your employees have a great working experience.One of the best case studies for how creative culture can improve businesses is Microsoft. After becoming the CEO of Microsoft in 2014, Satya Nadella set to work improving the company culture with great success. In a 2018 interview, Nadella was proud to talk about how his culture overhaul had stopped infighting, restored morale, and created over $250 billion in market value.
How to build a creative culture?
It doesn’t matter if you’re running a construction company or a high-tech, disruptive collective, a creative culture can transform your business for the better. Higher levels of employee satisfaction, higher quality work, and increased productivity are just some of the benefits you can receive by implementing a creative culture.So, how do you do it? We’re going to break down the process of building a creative culture.
1. Define core values
Your core values are what define your business and its culture.
They are a series of principles that your company lives by which influence the type of people you hire, how happy your employees are, how well your business performs, and much more.To have a successful creative culture, you need to implement a series of core values that facilitate it. Overhauling the company culture requires change from the ground up. You need to pull up the roots and plant new seeds that encourage and facilitate a more creative outlook.
2. Communicate and care in equal measure
The past few years have done a real number on absolutely everyone. We need to reassess how we communicate with others to help rebuild the connections we used to have. The bonds we make with our colleagues are going to be crucial in the coming months and years as we try to restore the sense of normality we used to have.Psychological safety has become a hugely important factor for both employers and employees thanks to studies by Google and efforts from behavioral scientists like Amy C. Edmundson.Put simply, if employees don’t feel safe enough to share their ideas, creativity cannot thrive.
3. Find common ground
Many businesses make the mistake of assuming that everything they do is guaranteed to benefit their employees, but that’s not always true. Companies looking to build a creative culture need to communicate with the people that will be affected by such a shift, the employees.
You should make sure to keep them in the loop when shifting to a creative culture.Make sure to listen to their ideas or any concerns they may have and work with them to create the best working environment you possibly can.
4. Make it fun
One of the main ideas behind a creative culture is that work should be an enjoyable place to be. No one wants to work somewhere that makes them miserable, so make sure to inject some fun back into the work day! Whether it’s a weekly get-together or a full-blown party on deadline day, it all works towards a better place to work.
5. Encourage thinking outside of the box
Do we even need to elaborate here? Creativity is the entire point of implementing a creative culture! Forget those cookie-cutter solutions, we want fresh and creative ideas from here on!
6. Hire to fit your culture
While it’s important to take care of the staff you have already, it’s equally important to keep an eye on the future. You need to start assessing your candidates to discover how they will fit in with your creative culture. It may be radically different from what some are used to, making it a bad fit for both parties.
