Brainstorm Your Way to a Collaborative Culture
When bringing on a new prospect or client, it’s always interesting to find out who in the office has knowledge or experience in or around the field that the client is a part of. The opportunity to apply existing knowledge to pitches and strategies is what makes working for an agency so fun.
The Team, The Team, The Team
The opportunity for this type of collaboration comes first during the hiring process. When human resources hires team members from all walks of life, the company is bound to benefit.
Naturally, this intel can’t always be fleshed out in the first interview. It can take weeks for a new colleague to feel comfortable enough to say, “I know about fly fishing. Can I help brainstorm concepts for that fishing retailer prospect?” This is the kind of information that might become common knowledge around the water cooler, but you can neither force it nor expect it to come up naturally in office conversation.
Fresh Eyes and Ears
When we schedule brainstorm sessions for client requests or forward strategy, we like to invite one or two co-workers who might have ideas or know-how on the subject who might not have been invited otherwise.
Each brainstorming session is often a new mix of people and the project manager usually walks away with a new cache of ideas that he or she may have never otherwise come up with.
By including colleagues that don’t have a day-to-day stake in the work, we give ourselves the ability to think above and beyond that box to bring the best possible ideas to our clients.
Remote Doesn’t Mean Disconnected
Remote employees don’t have to be left out of the mix. By creating an atmosphere of positive connection – both with infrastructure and teammates – brainstorming meetings can be effective and efficient no matter where your colleagues are in the world. Introducing Slack into the office has worked wonders for our ability to share tidbits and formulate ideas in conversations that can quickly develop into fully formed concepts – without the necessity of an in-person meeting.
However, sometimes the absolute best way to brainstorm is to collect a bunch of people in a room and let them talk. When that’s the case, video conferencing is a useful tool. Plus, since these brainstorming sessions are usually less formal than other meetings that a remote employee might call in for, there’s an added benefit of personal connection between remote and in-person employees.
Digital marketing agencies are hotbeds for creative thinking across wide ranges of skillsets. Every member of our staff, from our developers to our paid media team, brings a unique perspective into the office.
So, the next time you need to find the best way to market a meal delivery service to Millennials or need to come up with dazzling campaign concepts for an electric utility cooperative, bring it up to your whole staff and make an invitation to attend a brainstorming session! You might learn something new about a colleague and an industry all at the same time.
