Why take all the responsibility for creative thinking when you could be tappinginto the genius of your staff and boosting their motivation at the same time?Glynn Dovis examines how to unlock the creativity in your employees

ffenldeasMost people have probablyerperienced the situation ofsitting down to a meal in arestaurant onlyto find theirtable is on a surface so uneventhat it rocks excitedly and spillstJreir drinks.

The tried-and-trustedsolution to this problem is tofold up a napkin or a beer matand stuffit underthe offendingleg. This used to be the case atMalmaison and Hotel du Vinhotels until a member oftherestaurant stafrdevised a smallwooden wedge that quickly andeasily alleviated the problem foraffected diners without themhaving to resort to origami.

This is an example of how anemployee - regardless oftheirstatus within a business - cancontribute a good ide4 which,when implemented, can have apositive impact on the runningofthe organisation. This couldbe through it enabling the betterdelivery of service for customers,helping the business to savemoney, or allowing the stafftodo their job more effectively andefficiently.

Sean Wheeler. director ofpeople at Malmaison and Hoteldu Vin, says: "Having lots ofwooden and tiled floors meantwe had lots of wobbly tables, but

then a member of tle restaurantteam made awedge athome,and we used this as a prototypeforgetting a lot ofthem madeup. We nowhave a number ofthem in each hotel. It's this sortof thing that makes a differenceto our guests.'

It is obvious that such ideascan help innovation and thatthis can be the differencebetween abusiness's success orfailure, but the issue for manycompanies is how exactlytheygo about unlockingthiscreativity from within theirteam.

FORUiI FON IDEASAt Malmaison and Hotel du Vin,Wheeler says, "a number ofsystems and processes have beenput in place. For starters, eachhotel has aYourVoicecommittee - chaired by a seniormanager - that meets once amonth and comprises a delegatefrom each department. As wellas being used to air views it alsoprovides a forum for ideasl

To encourage inputfrom allareas ofthe organisation thedelegates are from a variety oflevels. According to Wheeler:"People put themselves forward,and whoever has been voted inby each deparrment is the

spokesperson. This helps[communications], because ahousekeeper or junior memberof staffmight not like to speak tosenior people.'

In addition, the company alsoencourages ideas and feedbackfrom its staffearly into theiremployment through "coffeechats". And each employee alsohas a formal revieweach year -called a "talent tool box" - whichincludes an ideas andinnovations section alongwith ablue-sky thinking component.

Along with the woodenwedges idea, Wheeler says otherwinning suggestions haveincluded a solution to theproblem oflots of pmductsbeing stolen from the minibars.It involved removingthe stockand, instead, installing a "shop"behind reception that stocked arange of minibar items thatguests could order from theirroo[rs.'We still add service,because orders can be phoneddown, a-gd we nowprovide anenhanced product range toinclude things such as muffinsihe says.

Although you can clearly putin place formal mechanisms togenerate ideas, LawrenceAlexander, chief executive ofEasyHotel, believes you have to

enact them informally: "Youhave to do it in a natural way. Inthe work environment peoplehave their work hat on, andsince you have to try to getthrough to them individually[for their ideas], you might havcto gettheirwork clothes off."

CREATI]IG A GUIIUREHe suggests that there shouldnot be a whiteboard in sight, asit puts people under pressureand snufs out any creativity. ForSimon Hargraves, commercialdirector at Pret a Manger, it isalso about creating a culturewhere all members ofstafffeelsufrciently confident to comeforward with theirthoughts andinnovative ideas.

"At Pret, it all comes back toculture. We just try to keepthings simple. We fight [againstthings getting complicatedl allthe time. We are very informaland have aflat managementstructure, so all staffhave accessto senior management.Co-founderJulian Metcalfe is in[the offce] full-time, and staff-as well as customers - can getthroughto him, so ouremployees feel empowered,"explains Hargtaves.

Part of this is the "DearJulian" e-mail that Hargraves )

{ says provides a risk-freemethod of engagement for allstaff, with no fear of retribution,and no controls over the contentofthese e-mails to the boss.

Another medium where staffcan put forward ideas is themonthly Przt S/ar magazine,which includes "awhole section*here people can write theirviews", says Hargraves whoadds: "Itt open and honestandnotclich€d in anyway, which isessential to ensure openness.'

Hargraves says the companyalso receives between 50 and 60staffideas per quarter in themor€ formal manner of a letteror e-mail. Although thesefrequently involve recipe ideas,other more innovativesuggestions have reeentlyincluded a recommendationthat the company uses thestaple-less stapler (which foldsthe paper).

Whenever a new recipe isintroduced ashop is chosen andthe staffinformally road-test itthrough a test batch and areencouraged to throw in theirideas about how the steps in theproduction process can beimproved.

AWARD.WIIIIIIilG ITII ASFor any top ideas that areimplemented, an arvard ishanded out atthe company'squarterly briefing. Among theaward-winning ideas have beenthe iA.gain and Again" bag-for-life; the electric vans that thecompany uses for its Pretdeliveries service, and whichnow number 20 in total; and thePret charity run, which involvescollecting and distributing foodforI2,OOO homeless people eachweelc

One ofthe most recent ideasis the thermo-mug - a flask-likemetal mugwith ahandle -which will be launched acrossthe company shortly. "Staffa.regiven free tea and coffee throughthe day and therefore getthrough lots ofpaper cups. Theidea for the thermo-mug wa.ssuggested to save paper, and itwill nowbe part of everyteammember's joining pack,' saysHargraves.

It is maybe not too surprisingthat food company Benugo -whose London operationsinclude running the catering attheV&.A, the British FilmInstitute andvarious City firms,including Lehman Brothers - isdso built around a culturewhere staff are empowered,since its co-founder Ben Warneris a former employee at Pret aManger.

t1(l<

l 'l2-

TOP TO TIPS FOR UNLOCKING GREATIVITY IFI VOUR TEAM

1. Always provide accessibilityto senior management andpromote this direst access.2. Provideanideasboxthdenabhs anonymous ideas andcommertsto be posted.3. Introduce rclemrt keyperformancc indicators (KPIs) sothat werybody's job includesspotting good ideas.4. When holding one-to-oneappnisals, place tr,he onus onstaff to cortribute ideas.5. Setasidetimeforbrainstorming sessions and

Rather like Pret, there is amorning get-together - a "buzz'meeting - before service at eachof its units to "encourage stafftofeed ideas back to the companyand to get the team members tofeel involved".

What have provedparticularly effective for thecompany are its "strategicproject" groups, ofwhich eightrun at anyone time.

Each typically involvesbetween five and zO people andcurrently include a socialgroup, for organising eventssuch as staffparties andsporting competitions; anewspaper group, whichpublishes a staffpaper eachmonth; a charity group, rvhichaims to raise €2o,OOO thisyear; and an environmentgroup, which has attractedpeople seekingto develop

"[thequestionnaircI isthe firctlfting thatwe havedone on am:lssscalerald therelsponse wasterrffie.We gotlots of feedbacld'JulletteJoffe

provide incentives such as freefood and drink Host thesesessions outside the business andpossibly include tearn-bulldingactivities to stimulate newthlnking among tlrc team.6. Provideincentives,suc{rasprizes for the best ideag7. Crcate a crtturc that helpsgenerate ideas, and embed KPIswithin ttis so ttat ldeas are likelyto be brutght up at appnisal time8. Initiatejobswitcheswitlrother operations to help generateideas from outside tte business.

9. Initiatelobswitchesactossdepadments. as this briqs anew set of eyesto a role, whichcould generate ideas.10. In larye companaes, brcakstaff meetings down into smallergroups to avokl intimidatingpeople, and mix the groups upacross departments to qrate amote fertile envircnmeril forideas.$urces: Lesley Reyrelds, driefexeantiw futtlolio; otrdUz Hor&one, t rsnoging dirwto4London offte, hoftle Reaitment

environmentally fr iendly ideasfor the company.

A recent idea that came fromthe environment group and hasbeen implemented was theprinting of the company's coffeeloyalty scheme card on the cupsleeve rather than on a separatepiece ofcard. So, rather thanhaving their card stamped, thecustomer reuses their sleeve,and this is stamped up until theyclaim their free coffee when theyhave accumulated nine stamps."It works very well, as it is less ofa cost to the environment and tousi says Warner.

Alison Wheatley, marketingmanager of the Athenaeumhotel in London, has also foundthat the environment issue isproving a strongincentive forstaffto putforward their ideas.It was a suggestion by one ofthehotelt housekeeping staff thathas ensured that theestablishment will be therecipient ofone ofthe fewMefronewspaper recycling bins to bedistributed to businesses.

REGYCLIIIG IIIITIATIVESIt will be positioned at the staffentrance to ensure they allrecycle their copies when theyarrive at work. Wheatley says itis staff members who have beeninstrumental in driving otherrecycling initiatives around thehotel, such as abandoning theplastic sleeves for newspapersthat hung on the bedroom doorhandles in the mornings.

Such ideas typically comethrough the company's stafconsultative committeemeeting, which meets everymonth and comprises arepresentative from each ofthehotel's departments. "It is anongoingforum thatwe use tocommunicate across the board,and it has a rela:<edcommunications fl owi saysWheatley.

One ofthe most useful thingsto have come from the meetingwas the idea for guest feedbacknotebooks that fit into staffmembers' pockets. They areused to take note ofguestprefercnces, which are then fedinto the hotel's PC-based guesthistoryfiles. There is acompetition each month to seewho collects the most factsabout guests, which helps theAthenaeum achieve its highrepeat business level of 4,O%.

As well as hosting regularmeetings at each of its t7 sitesand holding a monthly get-togetherof its managers, theGiraffe restaurant chain hasalso, for the first time, recentlysought ideas and thoughts fromits staffthrough a questionnaire.

Juliette Joffe, co-founder ofGirafe, says seven were sent toeach site to find employees'opinions and comments on *redishes being served on thecurrent menu. "It is the firstthing that we have done on amass scale, and the responsewas terrific. We got lots offeedback."

Unanimously negativecomments on the company's"happinessbeans" side dish willensure that it is removed fromthe next menu,whilethe "tanryand spicy turkey enchilada",which is regarded by many staffas the dish they are "proudest toserve", will remain. Based ou thesuccess ofthis firstquestionnaire, Joffe says, moreare planned on topics such asthe working environment atGiraffe.

What is clearis that staffat alllevels can have abeneficialimpact on all parts of a business- whether it is deciding whatgoes on the menus or fixingwobbly tables - if they are giventhe opportunity and a suitableplatform on which to voice theiropinions.