Brainstorming sessions are the times when employees share ideas back and forth regarding a specific project or subject. They are led by a facilitator and might take place in a small team setting or a large group. Moreover, brainstorming sessions are a great way for every team member to feel like their voice is being heard and that they can contribute to the company’s success.
However, when conducting brainstorming sessions, you want to ensure that it runs smoothly, or else you risk the chance of it being ineffective. Look at how you can establish your next brainstorming session succeeds.
Shared Workspace
The thing about brainstorming sessions is that it’s a collaborative effort. It’s not just the manager or upper-level employee’s ideas that help the company succeed, but it’s the participation of all individuals.
The first step to ensuring a successful brainstorming session is to reserve a shared workspace. You don’t necessarily want to conduct the brainstorming session in a large, open space. Instead, you’ll want to book an area that’s big enough to fit your team and several chairs.
Also, ensure you have a whiteboard or blackboard available for brainstorming sessions, as it’s an excellent way to document everyone’s ideas.
Feedback
Your employees will develop in their careers and responsibilities over time. With this growth in responsibilities and experience, it’s crucial to ensure you’re providing them with constructive feedback.
Feedback doesn’t have to be done once throughout the year. You can do it on a monthly or even weekly basis. Furthermore, you want to ensure that each of your employees gets the same type of feedback. This way, they’ll know what they should expect in the future and understand how they’re doing.
Open-Mindedness
The first tip for a successful brainstorming session is to remain open-minded. You want to avoid coming into the shared workspace with preconceived ideas about how you should run the session. By staying open-minded, you allow your employees to feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and help the brainstorming session progress smoothly.
Remember, your employees are not paid just to sit there and listen to you—they need to share their opinions, creative problem-solving, and ideas. If you are the boss, remember to remind yourself that you hired them because they have valuable viewpoints.
Clear Agenda
Always begin the brainstorming session with a clear goal in mind. This way, you and your employees can work towards achieving it. If you’re in a team setting, you should make sure the team knows the goal of the brainstorming session and what they should contribute towards it.
You should also ensure a clear end-time so that you and your employees can know when the session is over. This way, you won’t have to worry about aimlessly brainstorming and wasting everyone’s precious time.
Final Thoughts
Brainstorming sessions should be done correctly, particularly in a shared workspace where everyone can contribute and participate. Ensure your employees are comfortable sharing their ideas, mainly if they are higher-level employees. Furthermore, remember to be open-minded and respond respectfully to all suggestions.
CoCoTiv provides every business with high-quality and cost-efficient shared workspaces in Charlotte, NC. Get in touch with us today for more information.